Skip to main content
ServiceXRG
  • Your Challenges
    • Overview
    • Self-Assessment
  • Our Solution
    • Overview
    • Achieving Service Success
    • Our Process
    • Service Success Framework
    • Membership
  • Why ServiceXRG
    • Overview
    • Capabilities
    • Clients
    • Team
  • Resources
    • Resource Library
    • Blog
  • Member Login
ServiceXRG
  • Member Login
  • Self-Assessment
  • Let’s Talk
  • Your Challenges
    • Overview
    • Self-Assessment
  • Our Solution
    • Overview
    • Achieving Service Success
    • Our Process
    • Service Success Framework
    • Membership
  • Why ServiceXRG
    • Overview
    • Capabilities
    • Clients
    • Team
  • Resources
    • Resource Library
    • Blog

Blog : Protecting Customer Data During the Support Process

  • Previous Post
  • All Posts
  • Next Post

Protecting Customer Data During the Support Process

By Tom Sweeny January 24, 2022

With new data protection requirements and security threats it’s important that Support organizations understand their role in protecting their organizations from these risks.  As Support is an external interface to customers and partners, it’s important to understand how to minimize risk associated with troubleshooting products in customers’ environments.

Guest Post By Paul Esch: Strategy and Business Development, TSANet

Protecting Customer Data During the Support Process

Over the past several years the importance of securing customer data has become a top priority for companies.  With laws such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the government can impose fines on organizations that misuse or expose customer data.  Attacks such as ransomware also have also highlighted the risk of doing business in todays connected business environment.

With new data protection requirements and security threats it’s important that Support organizations understand their role in protecting their organizations from these risks.  As Support is an external interface to customers and partners, it’s important to understand how to minimize risk associated with troubleshooting products in customers’ environments.

Partnering with your IT group

Protecting customer data is a corporate level responsibility that often managed by the organizations IT group.    While the IT group may have overall responsibility for securing the data, it is the support organization that is using and updating this information and often the source of breaches.

Partnering with the IT organization to define best practices and obtain certifications such as ISO 27001 is a great way to ensure the security of customer data.  ISO/IEC 27001 is widely known, providing requirements for an information security management system (ISMS).   Using this standard enables organizations of any kind to manage the security of assets such as customer data, financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties.

Working with Partners – Multi Vendor Support

While obtaining ISO27001 is a great way to ensure the protection of customer data within your organization, working with Partners adds a challenge if the collaboration requires the exchange of customer information.   Vendors working with Partners on common customer issues should follow the best practices below:

  1. Ensure that the collaboration is supported by a legal agreement
  2. Ensure that the customer is aware of the collaboration and has authorized it
  3. Only share what is needed to solve the technical issue

For more information about Multi Vendor Support read:

Optimizing Multi-Vendor Support Collaboration

TSANet – Operational Framework to Protect Customer Data

TSANet provides the operational framework and best practices for Members to collaborate on customer issues by providing the following:

  1. A legal framework that supports collaboration on customer issues
  2. The ISO 27001 certified TSANet Connect platform for requesting collaboration between members
  3. A set of best practices integrated into the multi-vendor support processes

About TSANet

TSANet is a member run community with over 800 companies committed to streamlining multi-vendor support collaboration. TSANet is a not-for-profit industry organization founded in 1993 to provide a common legal framework and technology platform to facilitate vendor collaboration.

If you do not have a multi-vendor strategy or are looking to streamline the way you cooperate with other companies, visit TSANet for more information (www.tsanet.org).

SUPPORT: The Essential Practices & Metrics Guide

Support is changing — Are you prepared?

For many companies Support remains a reactive post-sales activity driven by metrics that emphasize the volume and velocity of case closure. However, in an era of subscription licensing and everything-as-a-service, reactive Support models are not enough.

Learn about the trends shaping Support and the best practices and performance metrics companies use to transform and optimize Support.

Actionable data, analysis, and recommendations informed by:

  • More than 300 survey responses
  • 1:1 interviews with Support leaders
  • Analysis of more than 44 million anonymous support case records
Download Now

Reach your goals faster and take your services farther

Our process determines where you stand today and provides a custom roadmap and coaching to reach your outcomes faster with insights for ongoing success.

Our Process
  • Previous Post
  • All Posts
  • Next Post

Where do your services stand?

Take the Assessment

Subscribe for even more resources and the latest in your inbox.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*

By clicking the "Submit" button you accept and agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts

  • 3.30.23 Read Time: < 1

    Self-Service Initiatives (Still) Fall Short

    The impact of self-help is often overstated (or worse, not known) and the ability to improve self-help performance is underfunded.

  • 3.29.23 Read Time: < 1

    Upcoming Webinar: Scaling Customer Service in the Era of ChatGPT

    Apr 13, 2023 11:00 AM EDT / 8:00 AM PDT   Search is the way we access knowledge today. It is the foundation for customer self-help and the way service …

  • 3.15.23 Read Time: 2 Mins

    What is the primary expected outcome of your service organization?

    Service teams are shifting their focus to the attainment of strategic outcomes.

ServiceXRG

© Service Excellence Research Group, LLC 2023. All Rights Reserved.

Website by Imagebox

Contact Info
  • Email: info@servicexrg.com
  • Phone: 800-475-0089
Quick Links
  • Your Challenges
    • Overview
    • Self-Assessment (Old)
  • Our Solution
    • Overview
    • Achieving Service Success
    • Our Process
    • Service Success Framework
    • Membership
  • Why ServiceXRG
    • Overview
    • Capabilities
    • Clients
    • Team
  • Resources
  • Let’s Talk
Social Media
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletter
  • Twitter