What Are L1, L2, & L3 IT Support And Their Significance?

IT infrastructure support aims at maintaining the performance and stability of the on-premises, cloud, or hybrid IT environment. Instead of conventional training, IT support assists a certain user concern or issue, and it is similar to the general customer service that an organization provides.

The technical support team may consist of a single individual or several divisions and members. Some big organizations even have an internal IT infra support team to assist workers when they face any technical problem and simultaneously have an external support team for helping customers and clients.

Based on the service level, IT infrastructure support can be provided in numerous ways through email, phone, video or live chat, chatbots, online videos, message boards, etc. Other third-party applications are also there for help desk support, such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Any Desk, Freshdesk, etc.

L1 Technical Support

L1 IT infra support is the first line of assistance provided through phone, chat, or email. The pre-sale support chats and emails are addressed by Level 1 technicians whose technical knowledge is limited compared to the L2 and L3 level technicians. Their job involves dealing with problems that can be fixed by the control panels, such as cPanel, Plesk, etc.

Support for L1 includes knowing clients’ challenges, engaging with them, and producing tickets against them. The technicians have basic service and product knowledge and can solve fundamental problems, such as resetting passwords, uninstalling or installing applications, etc. They also assist with particular customer problems, including solving utilization issues and fulfilling demands for help desks that need IT participation. The IT engineers of this level learn through scripts to resolve common IT issues and respond to service requests. After that, a ticket is redirected to the L2 support when needed.

In cases where more expertise is required to solve the problems, they are forwarded to the L2 and L3 IT infra support.

L2 Technical Support

These professionally qualified technicians and experts analyze issues and provide solutions to problems that cannot be resolved by tier 1. The L2 support team handles the tickets routed by L1 support or can themselves produce tickets for any issue they observe. They are more skilled and experienced in solving complex problems related to them and can help the L1 team solve problems. They can simplify any technical problems that need server back-end access. They are also capable of handling the technical chats and fixing most of the issues. If they cannot resolve any problems, they escalate them to the L3 IT infrastructure support.

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L3 Technical Support

L3 IT infra support is the final line of support and comprises a development team that deals with technical problems. They are proficient in their jobs and can handle the most complicated issues, such as modifying the code and studying and enhancing the solution for the unknown problems.

With years of experience, the L3 experts can manage and resolve almost any problem that requires high expertise. They can also control the infrastructure, cloud, network, and DC level operations. All the high-end administration tasks are secure in their hands, and it is advisable to have at least an L3 level technician as a team leader in every operation. These engineers use code, product designs, or requirements and aim to replicate problems to detect the root cause. They have access to the highest technological support for fixing issues or developing new features. Their team mainly consists of chief engineers who designed the product or service.

Is It Important to Have Tiered IT Infrastructure Support?

Collaboration or communication is the ideal solution. A help desk ticket is allocated to a particular group or individual who either fixes the problem or sends the ticket to a higher tier through the support system. It allows IT infra support members to know about other aspects of the company and ensure that customers are satisfied. A collaborative approach revolves around teams and their abilities to solve various problems.

Establishing a Tiered Technical Support

Modifying your IT infra support team can be challenging while your company expands. Designing a structure is the initial step, and you can begin by detecting your situation and requirements. For instance, a software company has to deal with several technical issues, whereas a retail company might have more financial issues. Once you have built your support structure, you can continue to help your staff to create a satisfying customer experience.

Define Top Skills for Help Desk Staff – It involves strong written and verbal communication, empathy, technical expertise, good listening skills, etc.
Define Top Skills for Support Managers – It includes motivation, goal setting, change management experience, strong communication, conflict management, etc.
Produce Growth Opportunities – It includes informal and formal training, ongoing education through web resources, and mentorships.