How 'Dash' Buttons Could Work For IT
If the Amazon Dash button could be used for repetitive household activities, could something similar be used for repetitive IT support tasks? Well, yes and no.
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Earlier this month, Amazon announced the Dash button, a WiFi-connected button that, when pushed, will re-order pre-defined household products, such as detergent. It's the latest in a long string of efforts to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) in homes.
This got me thinking: If the Amazon Dash button could be used for repetitive household activities, could something similar be used for repetitive IT support tasks?
For some tasks, a "dash button" would work out splendidly and save a decent amount of time. For other IT support purposes, the dash button is an absolutely terrible idea -- and one that would likely be abused by your fellow employees.
In reality, the dash button concept for IT points out areas of inefficiency where automated processes could replace current manual ones. After all, today's IT support dash button would be basically like a ticketing system with a one-button interface.
It’s easy to go through your ticketing system today to see where your support staff is wasting time. Are they assisting others using manual processes that could be fully automated via a self-service option for users? That's precisely where we think most of the dash button benefits would come from. It would be a one-click fix for employees with specific, yet common issues.
Where would an IT dash button go terribly wrong? One place is where employees file tickets informing IT support staff of a major problem that we’re almost certainly already aware of. The second is where issues arise that are far more complex to fix than the end-users think. In either situation, a dash button either creates unwanted noise for IT, slowing down a fix of the problem, or presents a problem that cannot possibly be solved using automated processes.
Dash buttons could be used in IT -- as long as they are directed toward the right tasks. We'll explore these ideas on the following pages. And if you have some IT uses for the dash button that we didn’t think of, tell us all about them in the comments section below.
This particular dash button would serve no purpose other than to be therapeutic for IT support staff. If you happen to have a very challenging task -- or perhaps have had to deal with an especially difficult customer -- then mashing on a "close ticket" dash button could work wonders for stress relief. In fact, the button should look more like a detonator.
When it comes down to it, a dash button in IT support situations could actually be useful for customers and IT staff. The Internet of Things (IoT) is all about using our infrastructure resources to better connect daily tasks to make us more efficient. And for some tasks that are manual today, a dash button might be a step in the right direction toward full automation of many IT services.
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