Dell introduced this week a new suite of desktop support services for small and medium size businesses designed for companies with overstretched IT staffs.
Called PC Workspace Services, the suite includes asset tracking, a support Web portal, and on-site visits from field technicians, as well as around-the-clock help desk functions, such as remote support and routing of calls, Dell says.
Dell had previously provided some of the services included in this suite but not as part of a single program, a Dell spokesperson says. Some of the tasks Dell performs as part of the PC Workspace Services are installation, repairs, moving users to new locations, and software support.
PC Workspace Services is the latest program in Dell's portfolio of desktop services for SMBs. Existing services include factory integration of systems, system deployment and installation, system recovery and system discarding, training, and asset management.
The menu of services can be customized based on a client's needs and can cost as little as around $20 per desktop per month for a basic offering that includes the around-the-clock help desk support, the Dell spokesperson says. Financing is available from Dell Financial Services.
Dell PCs Not Required
The services cover multi-vendor, heterogeneous desktop environments and are targeted primarily at Windows-based desktop environments, the spokesperson says. Although Dell expects many buyers of PC Workspace Services to be existing Dell users, customers don't have to own Dell products to sign up for the program which is available now in the U.S., the spokesperson says.
With this program, Dell is aiming for SMB IT departments that are struggling with desktop support and would benefit from delegating those tasks to a services provider so that they can focus on IT tasks that are more sophisticated and important to their business.
SMB desktop services is a segment typically dominated by regional value-added resellers (VARs) or system integrators, because they provide customized, personalized services to clients, says Andrew Efstathiou, a Yankee Group analyst.
"These regional VARs and integrators typically do a lot of repeat business with those clients, so from job to job they begin to build up an understanding of what the [clients'] business is about," he says.
It is critical for companies selling these kinds of services to focus on customers' individual, specific needs and craft a unique services offering, Efstathiou says.
Something else SMB IT departments require is help with specific, narrow technologies their staff may not be versed in, Efstathiou says.
"A big need is specialization and expertise on certain technologies that don't justify the hiring of a staffer [to focus on them] but still are critical to the success of the business," he says.
Finally, SMBs also look for an IT services provider that can be a single point of contact and provide one-stop shopping for their services needs, Efstathiou says.
Ad Choices