Importance of technical support growing

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

With the recent IT outages affecting Amazon's cloud computing service and Sony's PlayStation Network, the world has learned quickly not to underestimate the importance of the IT technical support team.

According to a recent E-Commerce Times report, evolution in the enterprise IT market has made technical support teams more important than ever. Especially with the emergence of cloud computing, IT support has become a critical part of business operations.

Developments in virtualization and mobile technology have compounded this trend. Enterprises now expect to be connected to their systems around the clock. Without a proper support team in place, a cloud services provider runs the risk of losing business or damaging its reputation.

"It's simply not enough to be a technical guru - not in today's industry," said Chris Tinker, who the news provider described as a "master technologist" at HP. "You have to have a good understanding of technology, yes, but you also have to understand the tools and realize that technology is simply a tool for business outcomes."

Given the technology's performance and efficiency benefits, some have predicted the rise of the cloud would reduce the role of the IT professional. However, as E-Commerce and many other experts have asserted, the cloud has merely shifted the role of the IT professional, but it will not likely eliminate it.