Hello Front Community! 👋 I'm Greg, Front's Director of Corporate IT & Enterprise Security, and I'm thrilled to share how our team is leveraging Front to revolutionize our internal IT support.
It's been a while since my last update, and with all the exciting product enhancements over the last year, I couldn't wait to give you a fresh perspective on our journey.
Some of these features that I am going to talk about are in beta, so contact your Front account team or our Support team should you have any questions or want to try them out yourself!
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Quick Snapshot of Our IT Landscape
- Our mighty team of five handled an average of 120 tickets per month in 2024.
- We're proud to report an average ticket resolution time of just 1 hour and 15 minutes, often wrapping things up in two replies or fewer. (Thanks to our shiny new resolution report for this insight!)
- We've built a robust tech ecosystem with Okta (identity provider), Okta Workflows (integration platform), BlueTally (asset management), and Revivn (laptop returns and e-waste services), just to name a few!
Streamlining Support with Front's Features
- Intelligent Intake and Assignment
We've set up a dedicated email channel for IT support, connected to a shared inbox. Our assignment rule, based on business hours, ensures tickets land with the right team member at the right time. As we grow, we're exploring more sophisticated routing options (i.e. based on content and AI tags) to enhance our efficiency further. - Crystal Clear Ticket Statuses and IDs
As early adopters of Front's ticket statuses, we've elevated our ticket classification game. Our custom statuses help us differentiate between tickets awaiting our action and those pending user input. This clarity has been a game-changer for tracking and improving our response times. Plus, we now use the new ticket IDs instead of conversation IDs, simplifying how we refer to tickets. - Knowledge is Power: AI-Powered Support
We're excited about our recently launched IT knowledge base, secured with Okta SSO. By integrating this with Front's AI Assist, we're now utilizing suggested replies based on our knowledge base and similar past conversations. This not only speeds up our responses but ensures consistency in our support. - AI Assist: Your Support Sidekick
AI Assist has become our team's secret weapon. Its conversation summaries are invaluable when transferring or escalating tickets, allowing us to quickly get up to speed on complex issues. Looking ahead, we're excited about how AI-powered knowledge base queries (Ask AI) will accelerate onboarding for new team members. We're also using AI Tagging to automatically categorize tickets, streamlining our reporting without adding manual work. - Beyond the Inbox: How Connectors Transform Our Support Workflow
Front's Connectors, especially application objects and requests, have truly transformed our support workflow. These powerful integrations allow us to access and act on data from our third-party systems without leaving Front. For instance, we've built application objects that provide instant context about users and their devices, enabling us to offer personalized, efficient support from the get-go.
Imagine this: A user reports a slow computer. In seconds, we can see their location, role, device age, and last restart time – all within Front. If a new computer is needed, a simple macro triggers an application request to send a return box to remote users. Other than buying the laptop, it's almost end-to-end support, all from the Front interface!
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Want to see how this all comes together? Check out this demo!
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What's Next?
We're constantly innovating, with new app requests in the pipeline for tasks like adding users to Google and Okta groups. The possibilities are endless, and we're just getting started!
Stay tuned for more posts diving deeper into why Front is our go-to IT support tool and a technical exploration of our custom app connectors. We're excited to share our journey and help you unlock the full potential of Front for your team!
Remember, exceptional customer service isn't just for external clients – it's equally crucial for internal support. With Front, we're not just managing tickets; we're creating harmonious, efficient experiences that empower our entire organization.Â
Have you discovered innovative ways to use Front in your IT support workflows? Any questions for me? We'd love to hear from you in the comments!
