What is 1st line, 2nd line, and 3rd line IT support?

When outsourcing your IT to a managed services provider, such as Solutions 4 IT, it’s important that they have a team of technicians who are experts in different areas of IT. They should have IT professionals who have different knowledge and skill levels, meaning they can assist with a range of different queries and issues that you and your team may have.

So, when working with a team of tech support experts like Red Bigfoot that provides it consulting services, what should you pay close attention to?

Commonly, IT support will be broken down into three categories 1st line, 2nd line, and 3rd line. Different technicians will then operate in these different tiers based on their expertise and knowledge. Often, companies that offer outsourced it services have all levels of technicians who can step in and support your company’s IT infrastructure whenever needed.

Take a look at these different levels of IT support and what they mean:

  • 1st Line

1st line IT support often includes onsite tickets and initial phone calls. The team dealing with these enquiries will give basic level support to see if an issue can be resolved quickly. If not, they will escalate an issue and offer support to 2nd line teams where possible.

  • 2nd Line

This line of support will come in the form of more experienced technicians, who have a deeper knowledge of the servers and networks which enables them to solve more complex issues. Most UK IT solutions will provide this level of support on a day-to-day basis, only bumping up to the next tier when strictly necessary. They will aim to resolve as many as issues as possible whilst working remotely, rather than attending the site which is having issues, which saves time and money.

  • 3rd Line

3rd line support technicians are often busy working behind the scenes to keep IT systems and networks working fully. They are more experienced technicians, who will usually specialise in one area of IT rather than offering a broader level of support that the level 2 technicians offer. When an issue is too complex to be fixed in one of the lower tiers, they will step in to offer more advanced and specific advice to try and find a solution to a problem.

Whether you think it or not, you will find that your business will need each of these different levels of support at one stage. It’s crucial to find an expert IT support provider who has technicians of different skill levels and knowledge bases and who will be able to offer support regardless of the issue.