Data is like oxygen for modern businesses: it keeps things moving, and you can’t make progress without it.
But just as oxygen needs to reach the right parts of the body at the right time for you to function, the value of data comes from how it is delivered throughout your organization.
Optimizing your ticketing system requires inputs from across the organization to ensure the system is being used effectively - and that’s why every IT team needs custom reporting... which is exactly what DeskDirector offers through Microsoft Power BI.
Reporting vs. Business Intelligence - What's the Difference?
Both reporting and Business Intelligence (BI) provide data about your organization. The difference is reporting simply tells you what happened, whereas true BI gives you deep insight that can be used to improve your organization’s processes.
In ticketing systems, reporting is delivered through a software program in whatever way the designers felt would be useful. The problem with this is every organization has its own specific uses for that data, and the time it takes to move it or translate it into a format that fits your needs is time you aren’t spending solving your business problems.
BI is all about creating the flexibility to explore and organize data in whatever way fits your needs. This turns data from simple information into the lifeblood of your organization, helping you make smarter, more cost-effective decisions.
How to Build Custom Reports with DeskDirector
Power BI is a popular program that comes with most Microsoft 365 subscriptions. And while it is valuable in-itself, it is only by syncing your data from DeskDirector that it becomes an essential tool for improving your ticketing processes.
Once data is synced, you have free reign to build exactly the kind of BI system that will support your goals. You can create custom reports and dashboards directly in the Power BI platform and distribute them to anyone within your Microsoft Environment via automated emails, Teams chats, or any other Microsoft app your organization uses.
Better still, users can then comment on your dashboard to provide context or extra insight. They can also share them to accelerate communication and increase clarity when discussing the ticket process. This leads to…
3 Benefits of Robust Reporting with DeskDirector
1. Visibility into the ticket process
Access detailed data from multiple departments to understand how ticketing is used (or not!). Rather than asking department leads or cobbling together data from elsewhere, you have all the information you need at your fingertips.
This helps you gain insight into the system’s efficacy and…
2. Target inefficiencies and improve the system
Increased visibility shows you where the system is stalling, who is not using tickets, and where tickets are not being properly dealt with. Over time, this will help you optimize the system, increase usage and improve the end-user experience.
Better still, it enables you to…
3. Improve performance review
Whether you’re looking to increase usage or improve resolution time, having detailed data at hand makes assessing your team’s KPIs easier and more objective. The only question is what exactly you should be reporting on.
5 Essential Reports to Make Ticketing More Efficient
1. Number of open tickets
How many tickets are being opened during a particular period? This helps you gain insight into the workload of your techs, as well as any increases in usage.
2. Age of open tickets
How long are tickets being left unresolved? Is the average ticket being dealt with in a reasonable period? This helps you assess the efficiency of your service desk, and whether you are properly prioritizing tickets.
3. Resolution time
How quickly is the average ticket resolved? This helps you benchmark and optimize your team’s performance to build confidence and encourage end-users to issue tickets.
4. Resolution effort
How much work do specific types of tickets require? Are there kinds of issues that are taking too long? This helps you assess the skills and efficacy of you team members.
5. Tickets submitted by department
How many tickets does each department issue? Is it changing over time? This helps you gain insight into usage increases, as well as which departments are struggling the most with IT.
Turn Business Intelligence into Your Secret Weapon
DeskDirector’s reporting features have always been valuable to IT teams. But by integrating your data into Power BI, IT teams gain a new level of control and insight that will help you take your ticketing system to the next level.
Want to see the integration in action?
