Helpdesklist.com

Mission Statement:

Helpdesklist has been created to enable customer service managers and IT directors to make an a more informed decision about the possibilities presented by differing helpdesk software packages and solutions. This site aims to present an unbiased appraisal of several of the leading software options, listing their pros and cons, and thus reduce the amount of leg work a prospective buyer would have to do.

What is a helpdesk?

A helpdesk is simply an information storage and presentation device. As such the differences between various helpdesk software packages can be narrowed down to how that information is stored, manipulated and then presented. The simplest CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems are spreadsheet type databases that assign individual reference numbers to inputted textual information. The more sophisticated helpdesk software provides customized web interfaces for both clients and technicians, knowledgebases that 'learn' from previous calls, data manipulation producing reports and graphs, time allocation, scheduled tasking functions etc.

Which helpdesk software is right for you?

It doesn't matter what you call it, tracking software, customer relationship management (CRM), problem management software or helpdesk software the question is the same -- which package is right for you.

When purchasing helpdesk softwarew you can start by considering the following general points:

1) What services would I like to provide?
2) What services do I absolutely need to provide?
3) How much money can we spend initially and also per year for support and upgrade costs?
4) What existing hardware do we have and can we use that or do we need to upgrade our hardware?

Also you should consider whether a web based solution is what you are looking for. Certainly customers are beginning to expect a certain amount of self help to be available to them. Mostly this consists of a searchable FAQ section that they can enter or even submit questions directly through a web interface to a customer support technician. Some of the higher end solutions offer automation as part of their product.
These products can:

a) Record and issue with all particulars, date, time, contact, problem, assigned tech etc.
b) Send emails to or page the various parties informing them of their assignment and or the status of the problem
c) Add the solution to the database increasing the knowledgebase
d) Create reports, graphs and other data manipulation tasks
e) Schedule certain tasks
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