There’s a saying we hear in childhood about individuality: “Don’t just follow everyone else; be yourself.” The wording may change, but the main message is to be original and forge your own path. This mantra is especially true in the business world, where companies are constantly searching for new ways to set their practices and images apart from those of their competitors. Originality is a powerful marketing tool, but functionality shouldn’t be overlooked as a consequence. Being different simply for its own sake it can be shortsighted and, ultimately, a detriment to success.
These days, companies look toward “industry standards” to provide a basic set of functions to get started. SharePoint-based applications certainly fill the need for this foundation; the program’s framework provides simple forms and data entry tools to solve IT and building maintenance problems. But the true power and great advantage of this program comes from a company’s ability to customize their SharePoint service desk application.
What Does a SharePoint Service Desk Provide?
Businesses tend to approach solving their help desk problems from a “blank slate” perspective. They want to build something new and flashy from the ground up in an effort to fit their specific needs. This process is costly, however, and completely dismisses the malleability of SharePoint as an adaptable program.
By using SharePoint, the functionality of a service desk (or any ticket-based information system) can be fully implemented. SharePoint lays out a basic interface to pull whatever data is needed, including help desk tickets, maintenance schedules or inventory stock, for example, and makes it readily available for others to use. Sharing and communicating specific information quickly and easily is the highlight of SharePoint’s framework. A progressive company will look at a SharePoint service desk application and recognize its ability to fill in and expand the program to fit its specific needs.
Developing New Applications from a SharePoint Service Desk Application
In what ways can a company increase and build upon the capabilities of SharePoint? Quite simply, the answer is found in that company’s particular requirements — the unique skills they should foster and issues that must be overcome. For instance, a SharePoint service desk can be modified to include:
- A combination equipment tracking and ticketing system to keep tabs on moving inventory
- New forms/tickets that deal with very specific information sets that must be accessed by certain individuals.
A business can “grow” the SharePoint application into something that caters to the procedures and demands they face, while still retaining the strong base functionality of SharePoint.
SharePoint Service Desk Combines Function and Aesthetics
Aside from the practical modification aspect of SharePoint service desk, another factor in creating a matchless technological tool within a company comes from the look of the application itself. SharePoint comes with a basic skin that is sleek and complementary to the rest of Microsoft’s Office suite. Companies can put their very own stamp on it by changing color schemes or rearranging input fields.
The capability to make such changes isn’t there just for the fun of it; configuring a clear and functional service desk is the key to its success.
Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Crow Canyon Systems
