Disclaimer:
The Helpdesk crew are a modest bunch and won’t like this post – they’re the type of people that just get on and get the job done and don’t like talking about themselves. They’re just good people.
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We all need a little help sometimes. Conceptually that’s why service organisations have Helpdesk staff. It’s kind of a non negotiable – if your organisation has a product or service then you need to support it. That’s a fairly standard formula, but what organisations often struggle with is implementation of said service. Not us – our Helpdesk team are the unsung heroes of N4L and today I’m singing (not literally – nobody needs to hear that).

What makes our helpdesk so good you ask? Simple, they know their stuff, work as a team and are passionate about the education sector. They also know that the work they do makes it easy for schools to get on with the important business of teaching and learning and it’s this laser focus that drives them to perform.

But it’s easy to wax lyrical about your own – I can see you rolling your eyes already. So before you tick this post up as a Helpdesk puff piece let’s look at some simple facts:

We have a lot of interaction with schools – you’d expect that. We receive calls to alter web filtering, assign new IP addresses, make changes to firewall settings, troubleshoot faults and to discuss N4L’s products. And our 97.6% customer satisfaction (service user survey results) suggests we are doing a reasonable job of it. What’s more, 95% of regular service requests are actioned within 4 hours; schools can be assured that if you speak to our team, it gets done.

How do they do it? First and foremost, they’re an intelligent bunch of problem solvers. They also have some nifty tools available that supercharge the team’s effectiveness. You’re probably aware that it’s often difficult to explain technical issues you may be experiencing. The good news is that with our Helpdesk often you don’t have to. N4L’s Raspberry Pi sits on your network and provides our team a secure window into your world. This means that when a school contacts us, the Helpdesk can simulate the school’s experience and assess what may be going on – in real time. The focus here is on solving school problems. Fast. 

They’re not just responsive; i.e. they don’t just wait for a school to contact them. That would only be doing half the job. The team monitor school performance across the country and proactively respond if they see something of concern. They’ve got monitors all over the office to view (at a glance) the performance of the network. This ensures that network performance remains front and centre. Often the Helpdesk team know a school has a problem before the school themselves.

They also have a series of complicated tools that run complicated scripts and produce complex reports. The good news is that the Helpdesk analyse the results so that a school doesn’t have to. Without ruining the magic, N4L utilises proactive (or ‘synthetic’) monitoring to analyse activity occurring across the Managed Network. This monitoring identifies any issues with speed (‘ping latency’), router performance (‘CPU utilisation’) and data usage  (‘throughput’) that may affect a school’s network experience. When anomalies are identified, cases are automatically generated and the Helpdesk team launch into gear to troubleshoot and find a solution. 

The Helpdesk team continue to oil the moving parts of your network to ensure its smooth running and performance, but they always want to hear from the customer directly. Call us regarding:

• Internet connectivity (slowdown/outages)
• N4L Web-filtering services – changes to block or allow websites
• Changes to the N4L Firewall
• Threat control and management (i.e. DDos Attacks, Malware, Virus protection)
• Assigning new IP addresses
• Product information/guidance
• General chit chat – we’re a friendly bunch after all!

But if you’re sitting there thinking, should I call? The basic rule is that if it involves schools and technology, the chances are the team will be able to help you out. If not, they will always do their best to point you in the right direction.

Have you ever wondered who you’re talking to when you call N4L? Meet the N4L Helpdesk team:

What’s the Helpdesk’s superpower? Invisibility. Because they work hard to make the technical issues facing schools disappear – hopefully you don’t see a problem with that!

Still have questions? Want to know more? Give the team a call…

N4L’s Helpdesk
Monday to Friday | 8am to 5pm
0800 LEARNING | [email protected]