IT help desk outsourcing: L1/L2 service desk support
A trained service desk resolves L1 and L2 tickets in your ITSM tool and escalates the rest with a complete record.
Actigy BPO is a Prague-based nearshore business process outsourcing (BPO) company providing help desk outsourcing for internal users and customers. Support agents handle level 1 (L1) and approved level 2 (L2) tickets, including identity-checked access requests. A process audit defines the actions to test in a paid pilot. Your information technology (IT) team retains changes, security decisions and deeper engineering.
Published · Last updated
Identity checks · Logged actions · Client-approved access
Key takeaways
- Actigy BPO delivers from teams in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Ukraine.
- Every Actigy BPO engagement starts with a process audit and a paid pilot.
- Actigy BPO works in the client's tools, with access limited to the systems the client approves.
- Client owners approve changes; quality assurance (QA) checks the work and its ticket record.
| Service | L1 and approved L2 incident and request handling |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Internal IT teams and customer-facing service desks |
| Delivery locations | Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Ukraine |
| Coverage | Business hours to 24/7, set per engagement |
| Pricing model | Per full-time equivalent (FTE) by role; quote after the audit |
| Typical start | Pilot usually 2 to 4 weeks after the audit, subject to readiness |
Help desk outsourcing scope and service levels
Actigy BPO scopes help desk work in your IT service management (ITSM) tool. Support agents log incidents, check access requests and follow approved fixes. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) troubleshooting and remote device support stay within the tools and permissions you approve.
| Tier | Actigy BPO scope | Measure to define | Client boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 0 | Approved knowledge and self-service content | Unresolved self-service requests | Approves content and automation |
| L1 | Triage, verified resets and known fixes | First contact resolution; reopen rate | Approves identity and access rules |
| L2 | Permitted diagnostics and remote checks | Resolution time; handoff completeness | Defines diagnostic and system limits |
| Level 3 (L3) | Evidence collection and approved status updates | Time to accepted escalation | Retains engineering, changes and incident command |
Onboarding and offboarding tasks follow a named approval owner. Record the requester, identity evidence, action and result. Vendor escalations include versions, approved logs, reproduction steps and business impact.
Help desk vs service desk
Actigy BPO can scope a help desk around incidents or a service desk that also handles defined requests. Both need clear approvals.
| Need | Actigy BPO help desk | Broader service desk scope |
|---|---|---|
| Restore use | Triage and approved fixes | Incidents plus service requests |
| Joiners and leavers | Tickets routed to an owner | Approved account and access tasks |
| Service changes | Collect evidence and escalate | Track requests; client approves changes |
How Actigy BPO runs your service desk
Actigy BPO runs ITIL-style processes under client-owned standard operating procedures (SOPs). Training sign-off precedes production tickets.
- Process audit. Map ticket types, arrival patterns, permissions, known fixes and client escalation owners.
- Design and training. Define acceptance rules, select support agents and test their work against your procedures.
- Paid pilot. Test routine tickets, identity failures, unknown faults and an urgent handoff in one queue.
- Scale and review. Add volume after the agreed thresholds hold. Review defects, knowledge changes and staffing needs.
A pilot with Actigy BPO usually starts 2 to 4 weeks after the process audit. Access, training and your approvals determine the date.
Service desk metrics that show quality
Actigy BPO agrees key performance indicators (KPIs) before work starts. Measures must separate a correct fix from a quick ticket closure. Review user feedback alongside reopens and handoffs to expose repeat problems.
- First contact resolution (FCR): eligible tickets resolved without another contact, using agreed exclusions.
- Mean time to resolve (MTTR): average elapsed time to an accepted resolution, with waiting periods defined.
- Service level agreement (SLA) attainment: eligible tickets meeting the agreed response or resolution threshold.
- Backlog age: open-ticket age by priority and owner.
- Reopen rate: closed tickets reopened within the review period.
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT): positive user survey responses within the defined response sample.
What are the risks of help desk outsourcing?
Actigy BPO addresses access risk, knowledge loss and quality drift with written limits and review evidence. The client keeps change approval and security decisions. Test identity failures and incomplete handoffs before wider access. A cheaper ticket price is not useful when errors create more work for your engineers.
| Risk | Control to test | Client check |
|---|---|---|
| Access misuse | Identity checks, least privilege and logged actions | Approve roles and reset rules |
| Knowledge loss | Maintain approved runbooks and ticket history | Name the knowledge owner |
| Quality drift | Maker-checker QA, sampling and defect reviews | Calibrate the scorecard |
| Lock-in | Maintain client-owned procedures and handover records | Agree exit and access removal |
Use the attrition benchmark to frame continuity questions, not predict this team's turnover. Ask about replacement training and absence cover.
How Actigy BPO keeps desk access controlled
Actigy BPO checks identity before password resets or access actions. Failed verification stops the action and routes the ticket to an authorized owner. Support agents use approved remote tools, restricted roles and logged sessions. Client approval remains necessary for new permissions and system changes.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-compliant delivery uses agreed locations and data-processing terms. Ukraine is outside the EU. The written scope names work locations, subprocessors and any transfer terms.
ISO 9001-aligned quality management. Aligned, not certified. SOC 2-aligned controls: role-based access, logging and segregation of duties. Aligned, not audited. Review the published security practices.
Human review of AI-assisted desk work
Actigy BPO can scope artificial intelligence (AI) for triage, suggested replies and knowledge upkeep. Human reviewers handle every exception. A suggested reset or fix cannot bypass identity checks, access rules or the client's approval path.
Out of hours service desk for UK companies
Actigy BPO teams in Central and Eastern Europe cover the full UK business day and the US morning. Extra shifts need a written plan. Match weekdays, weekends, holidays and urgent escalation cover to ticket arrivals, not headquarters alone.
24/7 help desk outsourcing
Actigy BPO can agree coverage from business hours to 24/7 across scoped email, chat and voice channels. Define each channel's hours and handoff. Continuous ticket intake does not mean client engineers are always available.
For peaks or launches, agree notice, training, added capacity and reduced shifts afterward. A managed service provider (MSP) can use a scoped desk for overflow. Each client's access, records and escalation owner must remain separate.
Help desk outsourcing cost per user
Actigy BPO usually prices help desk work per FTE by role, not per user. User counts alone omit ticket demand and complexity. A per-user offer needs included services and limits; a per-ticket offer needs rules for repeat contacts and reopens. Per-minute models measure handling time, not resolution quality.
Compare training, tools, team leadership, shift cover and retained IT time in the same scope. Measure cost per accepted resolution against your baseline.
Choosing service desk outsourcing companies in Europe
Actigy BPO fits when internal users need a controlled desk, routine tickets consume engineering time or demand exceeds trained capacity. Test the same cases with each finalist in the technical support outsourcing companies comparison. Inspect safe actions, useful records and accepted handoffs.
| Responsibility | Actigy BPO managed team | In-house team | Freelancers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily work | Team lead runs agreed tickets | Your manager | Your manager or agreed lead |
| SOP ownership | Client owns procedures | Client owns procedures | Confirm ownership in writing |
| Quality checks | Maker-checker review and sampling | Your QA process | Review duties in the contract |
| Coverage | Agreed shifts and handoffs | Your staff schedules | Contracted availability |
| Start | Audit and paid pilot | Recruitment and training | Selection and training |
| Pricing | Per FTE by role | Employment and oversight costs | Agreed time or scope |
| Exit | Procedures and ticket handover | Internal knowledge transfer | Agree records and access removal |
Actigy BPO is not the right fit when you need on-site hardware work, mostly L3 fixes or staff located only in the US.
Help desk outsourcing questions
What is IT help desk outsourcing?
IT help desk outsourcing assigns defined incident and request handling to an external support team.
Actigy BPO provides L1 and approved L2 work in your tools, with identity checks and documented escalation. The client approves access, changes and security decisions. A process audit and paid pilot test the queue before expansion. The scope must distinguish internal users from customers and identify who accepts unresolved issues.
What is the difference between a help desk and a service desk?
A help desk usually focuses on incidents; a service desk also handles defined service requests and their approval paths. Labels alone do not set authority. Agree the actual ticket categories, access rights and handoff owners.
Actigy BPO scopes both around client-approved tasks. Onboarding, offboarding and access changes require explicit rules. Broader service desk wording does not transfer change approval, security command or engineering responsibility.
Which tickets should stay with our internal IT team?
Keep production changes, security decisions, unrestricted access and L3 engineering with authorized client staff. Support agents can collect approved evidence and provide agreed updates. Unknown faults need a receiving owner, not repeated attempts at unapproved fixes.
A high share of undocumented issues means the knowledge base needs work. Define the stop conditions, incident severity and on-call path before moving tickets into an external queue.
How do you secure password resets and access requests?
Actigy BPO follows the client's identity checks before a reset or access action. The support agent records the evidence, approval and result in the ticket. Failed verification stops the action. Role limits restrict what the agent can change.
Test impersonation attempts and missing approvals during the pilot. Client owners approve the verification method and exceptions. Remote support uses only approved tools and logged actions.
Can the help desk cover out of hours and 24/7?
Actigy BPO can scope business-hours, extended-hours or 24/7 desk coverage. The agreement names shifts, channels, holidays and escalation contacts. Staffed support hours and engineering availability are separate decisions.
Review ticket arrivals and urgency before adding shifts. Confirm backup cover and the handoff between teams. Languages need explicit agreement. A ticket received overnight can still need a client decision before the support agent can resolve it.
Which ITSM tools can the team work in?
Actigy BPO works in client-approved ITSM tools after access and training review. The process audit checks queues, fields, knowledge, permissions and escalation routes. The client approves each role and any remote-support tool.
Test whether the proposed team can produce a complete ticket trail in that environment. A product name alone does not establish training or vendor certification. Tool access also does not confer unrestricted system authority.
How is help desk outsourcing priced?
Actigy BPO usually prices the help desk per FTE by role after a process audit. The quote reflects ticket work, coverage, training and the agreed lead and QA roles. It does not follow a universal cost per user.
Compare offers using the same included tasks and resolution rules. Account for retained IT oversight, software, transition work, holiday cover and exit duties before judging total cost.
What are the risks of outsourcing an IT help desk?
Access misuse, weak handoffs, lost knowledge and inconsistent fixes are the main risks to test. An external queue still needs a client owner and current procedures. Cheap handling can create costly rework when those controls are absent.
Actigy BPO tests approved actions, ticket records and escalation in the paid pilot. Keep procedures and knowledge client-owned, review errors and agree access removal before any later handover.
Related support work
Actigy BPO separates the desk from wider IT outsourcing, customer-facing technical support and QA outsourcing. Scope each workstream and its client-held decisions separately.
Page updates
October 4, 2026: published the help desk scope, access controls, tier measures and buyer checks.
Test one help desk queue
Bring sample tickets, approved identity rules and a named IT owner. Keep passwords and private records out of the enquiry.
Approve the written scope before live ticket work.
Scope a pilot
What happens next
The team reviews the workflow before proposing a written scope. You decide whether to start a paid pilot after reviewing it.