What Is Help Desk Software?

Keeping customers and users happy is essential to the idea of ​​the success of most organizations. You could run a support table for a product that your company is selling or it could be an IT professional who runs a Help Desk IT for a large internal user base. The situation is generally the same (users of a service that occasionally has problems) of the objectives (solve problems quickly and make people happy). With these help desk platforms, the IT department can better manage user problems and shorten the time from termination to termination.

Help desk software is the heart of a well-managed help desk and is a vital consideration for business owners. In fact, it is one of a company's top priorities if it is a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) or a large organization. Fortunately, there is no shortage of options to choose from, as a wide range of help desk software is available. Some solutions are more suitable for SMEs, while others are more suitable for larger organizations; others are better for internal IT operations than for organizations that handle customer requests. Furthermore, not all help desk software is created in the same way.

For example, help desk software like Cayzu, Freshdesk, HappyFox, Vivantio Pro and Zendesk Support include social links that allow you to get tickets from social networking websites like Twitter. This could be an important feature for a company that deals with a large customer base, but it is not so important (or even relevant) for someone who uses the system simply as an internal IT service platform.

Other help desks software, such as Jira Service Desk, provides additional security measures and identity management features (mainly Single Sign-On or SSO), which can be key differentiators for some companies. SSO gives users the option of a set of login credentials for multiple applications. Watch for these types of security features.

In this summary, we test the 10 best help desk software offerings, including Agiloft Service Desk, Cayzu, Freshdesk, Freshservice, HappyFox, Jira Service Desk, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus 9.3, Vivantio Pro, Zendesk Support and Zoho Desk. All these help desk solutions are available as SaaS (software as a service) solutions. This means that it is not necessary to install any help desk software on a local computer. As SaaS solutions, all the tested help desk software can be run on someone else's servers, a fact that could attract many SME owners.

ITIL Adherence

During the tests, we found that some help desk software stood out from the others in an important way: joining the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ITIL is a consolidated service framework used primarily by IT management companies. It is a set of best practices that includes many checklists, procedures, processes and activities. Making ITIL able to effectively govern the way your business does things can be restrictive and beneficial, depending on your specific industry. ITIL should be followed whenever possible, even if it seems to be a bit overwhelming for smaller companies.

The tested IT Help Desk Support is divided into two fields: those that follow the ITIL guidelines and those that do not follow them. The most advanced services tested follow ITIL, including Freshservice, Jira Service Desk and ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus 9.3. It would make more sense for large companies working in the service management sector, perhaps overseeing data centers or large corporations where service level agreements (SLAs) and sanctions are more than just passwords. If your company follows ITIL, then you should opt for an offer of help desk software that adheres to the ITIL framework.

But not all companies that need help desk software follow ITIL or even need it. For example, if you are a software developer looking for something to handle incoming customer support requests, solid change management (something that governs ITIL) is probably not something you need. And it is likely that Freshdesk, one of the proven Service Desk Support offerings, is not useful for a company responsible for managing a large data center. Some companies that do not participate in ITIL could focus more on customer service where tickets generated by social networks are offered. These companies would benefit from help desk solutions like Cayzu, HappyFox and Zendesk Support. Therefore, first determine if ITIL is something that your company must follow and then buy accordingly