I manage the Desktop Support Services for a large automotive manufacturing group and our department has tripled in size over the last three years. We utilize the services of Consultants on a limited basis and only for complex projects in which the team does not have a solid skillset for the task at hand.

When I first started in the business back in the late 80's, the desktop technician had to be very hands-on in every aspect of the daily support from hardware, software and basic user training. Back then the users did not know anything about computers and they knew it. They looked to us for guidance and training.

Today's user believes that because they grew up playing with the Playstations and Xbox that they are somehow masters of the computer and know everything there is to know about a computer when in-fact they have no clue how to troubleshoot an issue they may encounter. Have you actually had to sit at a modern helpdesk and try to assist these users? They are absolutely horrible to work with from a desktop support perspective. They spend more time arguing with us and making the situation worse instead of following our instructions and easily resolving the issues.

Yes, the operating systems have gotten easier to operate as compared to the DOS and Windows 95 days but all this has done is make the user think they know more than they actually do.

I personally do not see the need for trained in-house desktop support technicians going away anytime soon.