Revolutionising the IT Service Desk Model
Written by Steve Jennings, Managing Director of Spherica.
The story of ServiceHive is one of frustration, determination, and innovation. It’s a journey that essentially began two decades ago and culminated in a revolutionary AI-driven IT service desk product that challenges and redefines the traditional service desk model. This blog explores the journey that brought us here, the obstacles we overcame, and the groundbreaking solution we developed to create a truly transformative product.
Frustration with the Status Quo
The seeds of ServiceHive were sown in the early 2000s when I worked as client site team leader for a well-established IT managed service provider (MSP), responsible for delivering IT support services to numerous clients around the country. Their support model was simple: First-line support was handled by a centralised service desk function, optimistically dubbed the “Centre of Excellence,” while second and third-line support teams typically operated on-site at the client’s premises.
The role of the user facing service desk was straightforward: log the issue, create a ticket, perform basic triage and attempt a fix. If the issue couldn’t be resolved, the ticket was escalated to the on-site teams.
Sounds reasonable enough right? Well, the reality was that the service was appalling. The service desk team were responsible for significant errors and delays in ticket processing, primarily caused by low-skilled, inexperienced and demotivated service desk agents. By the time tickets were escalated to the on-site teams, users had often lost patience and were extremely irate.
On visiting the so called “Centre of Excellence”, the problems were glaringly apparent; the service was designed purely to be a low-cost, volume-based “log and flog” operation with scant regard for the user experience. It was a people-based service, heavily reliant on the quality of the service desk agents it employed. Yet the recruitment process for these agents was deeply flawed. Mass recruitment days were held, targeting young people on low wages with no relevant IT or job experience. The whole process was a blatant attempt to keep operational costs as low as possible.
When I questioned this approach, I was told that “most service desk tasks are repetitive and low-value and therefore require minimal skill levels. Hiring low paid agents is essential to us remaining competitive and protecting our bottom line.”
Little wonder that the service was so poor!
History Repeats Itself
So why is the story of a service desk operation from 20 years ago relevant to our journey?
A few years ago, Spherica were contracted to provide a number of managed IT services to a large, UK wide client. The Service Desk element was outsourced to an established, award-winning MSP who were contracted to provide 1st line support to all users. Spherica’s managed service teams were there to provide 2nd and 3rd line support via its technology-aligned resolving groups. Within months of the new service desk provider being onboarded, I started to hear many of the same complaints from my team that I had heard all those years ago. Such as: -
Log-and-flog approach: Tickets hastily assigned to Spherica’s teams without any meaningful triage.
Inexperienced staff: Recurring mistakes and incorrect ticket categorisation making trend analysis and service improvements extremely challenging
Continual knowledge loss: Poorly maintained knowledge base and high staff turnover leading to continual errors and training of new agents
SLA first approach: Achievement of SLAs significantly prioritised over the quality of the user experience
Ticket-based pricing model: No root cause analysis being performed because there was no incentive to reduce ticket volumes
The conclusion was inescapable: the problem wasn’t just with individual providers; it was with the service desk model itself. Better tools were available, and some processes had been improved, but the underlying operational model had barely changed in two decades.
The Spark of Innovation
With frustration as our catalyst, we set out to challenge the status quo. Having recently invested heavily in IT automation tools and expertise, we knew there was potential to do better. We brought together our best technical minds - architects, consultants, and support teams, for a series of after-hours workshops. These sessions led to the creation of a compelling vision: to create a highly automated, intelligent service desk that would replace the outdated model with something truly transformative.
The challenge was set!
Revolution, Not Evolution
That vision eventually crystallised into the product we now call ServiceHive. However, turning that vision into reality was anything but straightforward. We quickly realised that achieving our goals required significant investment - not just in tools, but in people, skills and processes. Perhaps the most impactful change we made was to bring operational expertise into the team to design the unique workflow methodology that underpins the ServiceHive technology stack.
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring that ServiceHive wouldn’t merely replicate the inefficiencies of traditional models with automation just layered on top. Instead, we sought to fundamentally redesign how IT support was delivered. Every feature was designed with the customer and end-user experience in mind and through the strict adherence to these principles, we were able to build a product that is:
Cost-effective: AI agents and automated tasks drastically reduce operational expenses
Fast and efficient: Tasks are handled quickly, consistently and accurately, without human error
Knowledge retaining: Customer specific knowledge is embedded within the system, ensuring it is retained forever
Highly scalable: Has the capacity to instantly meet surges in demand and adapt to business changes
What sets ServiceHive apart is the way in which it places leading edge technology at the fingertips of every user in the organisation. By reducing the reliance on human agents for first-line contact and support, we’re able to help organisations reduce costs, improve efficiency and deliver exceptional user experiences.
ServiceHive transforms the IT service desk from a reactive support function into a proactive enabler of business success.
Looking Ahead
The journey to develop ServiceHive has been both challenging and rewarding, culminating in a product that we believe redefines the landscape of IT support. ServiceHive delivers unparalleled value, unlocking possibilities that were once beyond reach. For organisations aiming to modernise their IT service delivery, it offers a forward-thinking solution - a glimpse into a future where AI and automation empower businesses to work smarter, faster, and more efficiently.
