Field-First IT Service Desk for a Multi-Brand Home Services Platform

Introduction

A private equity–backed, multi-brand home services platform was scaling rapidly through acquisitions. With field teams distributed across job sites and a lean corporate structure, the organization needed a practical way to manage IT requests without adding operational friction.

As growth accelerated, the lack of a centralized IT support system became a clear risk to stability and scale.

The Problem (Gut-Based Decisions)

At the time of engagement, the organization had no formal IT operations in place. Support requests were handled informally through emails, messages, and verbal conversations. This resulted in:

• No standardized IT support process

• No visibility into recurring issues or request volume

• Difficulty prioritizing issues affecting multiple users

• Decisions driven by intuition rather than data

Enterprise ITSM platforms were evaluated, but they introduced high costs, unnecessary complexity, and low usability for field technicians with limited technical comfort.

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The Solution (How Data Changes the Game)

Instead of deploying an over-engineered ITSM tool, a purpose-built, field-first service desk was designed using Google Forms and Google Sheets.

The solution introduced structure without friction:

• A mobile-friendly form allowed field staff to submit IT requests in under 60 seconds

• Submissions flowed automatically into a centralized tracking system

• Automation generated ticket IDs, assigned operational fields, and tracked ticket status

This approach transformed informal IT requests into structured, actionable data—without introducing new tools or maintenance overhead.

Real-World Example (Specific Client Outcomes)

Within days of rollout:

• All IT requests were centralized into a single system

• Leadership gained visibility into issue categories and impact levels

• Field teams adopted the process with little to no training

• IT issues could be prioritized using real data instead of guesswork

The solution delivered the core benefits of an ITSM platform at a fraction of the cost and complexity.

Conclusion

By replacing gut-based IT decisions with a lightweight, data-driven service desk, the organization gained clarity without sacrificing simplicity. The system aligned with how field teams actually work and provided a scalable foundation for future growth—proving that effective IT operations don’t require enterprise tooling.