Help Desk Software

Finding the right help desk software for your organization can be a complex process.  Everyone recognizes the costs of a poorly performing help desk. It has been our experience that the more time you spend researching the ever growing number of help desk software solutions, the more satisfied and confident you will be with your decision.

When looking for help desk software (or call center, contact center, tracking, and issue management software) you must be prepared to ask lots of questions, read through software spec sheets and even demo help desk software products. Because we do not sell any help desk software on this site, we can provide you with introductory tools and unbiased information to make an informed help desk software decision.

Browser-based vs. Software-based
In terms of scope, help desk software falls into two major categories: browser-based software solutions and software-based solutions.  Browser-based help desk solutions are more suited for small businesses who are looking for low-cost, feature-rich help desk automation tools that enable small companies to deal with increased IT service queries without having to hire additional employees to deal with a higher volume of requests.
Not only are browser-based help desk software solutions generally less expensive, but they are also less robust in scope, easier to install, maintain, support and train.
Software-based help desk solutions are more flexible than browser-based solutions and have the added benefit of streamlining with web-based software.  Software-based help desk software also has the ability to effectively organize and manage trouble tickets from both an internal process perspective and external customer relations perspective.

When a customer phones or emails a help desk with a question, that particular question or inquiry is called a “ticket”. 

Two-sided Functionality: Internal Support and External Customer Relations.
Help desk software has two sides to functionality.  One side, which interacts with the internal support community and the other side, which interacts with the end-user or customer community.  A good help desk software package will seamlessly combine the two sides of software functionality and ensure that the customer issue is resolved and the communication loop is closed.

Top Twelve Tips
Here are the top 12 most important features when choosing your help desk software solution:

  1. Size of User Community
    Most help desk software products have a 'sweet spot' that is the ideal range of end users to support.
  2. Size of Support Rep Community
    Similar to above, the number of support representatives that you need to support your users can be a determinant for the right help desk software.
  3. Hosted Environment
    Will the software reside on-site where your IT team will handle software maintenance, or offsite?
  4. End User Interface
    Keep in mind the needs of the customer.  What time of day will the end user most likely submit service requests?  How will they communicate this need – via phone, email, chat, or via a web interface?
  5. Support Rep Interface
    How complex or customized is the program for those will be using and managing the software?
  6. Ticket Creation
    Will the software allow for multi-media requests (phone, email, chat, etc.) and still keep appropriate track of the service requests?
  7. Confirmation
    What submission confirmations are available to the end user?  Are they automatic or support rep driven?
  8. Ticket Routing
    After a ticket is created, who will determine, priority, urgency, workload, etc.?
  9. Workflow Management
    What processes are necessary to close a ticket and satisfy a customer?  How does the software handle unopened, in progress, unanswered tickets?
  10. Escalation
    Can a service representative escalate a customer issue and how does such trigger occur?
  11. Reporting
    What reports are available which might indicate call flow, rep efficiency, first-call resolution, suggested resolutions, inventory, timesheets, billing, etc.
  12. Inventory/Asset Management
    With mid to large organizations, how well does a particular type of software scale both in terms of users and hardware?

The above tips and considerations are not an exhaustive list but should give you an introduction to the types of questions and features to consider when purchasing help desk software.