\n\tRunning an IT help desk is a daunting task. Here are a few good apps that can help reduce problems and simplify operations.
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\n\tNote: You can read the full post in our Five Apps blog.
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\n\tPhoto copyright \u00a9 iStockphoto.com/mevans
\n\tSAManage is an online, on-demand ITIL help desk tool that provides asset and service management. It is integrated with salesforce.com and Google Apps for Business.
\n\tSAManage lets you create customized workflows, and it provides a help desk portal for your end users. The pricing is competitive with other SaaS options, including an attractively priced small business option.
\n\tSpiceworks has a tight focus on the smaller companies, and the feature set reflects it.
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\n\tNote: The author has performed contract work for Spiceworks in the past to write content for its library. At the time of this writing, the most recent work was in 2010.
\n\tRemedyforce comes from BMC, which also makes the Remedy system for enterprises. Like SAManage, it’s sold on the SaaS model and lives in the cloud, so there is no installation pain.
\n\tBecause Remedyforce is built on top of Force.com, it integrates with other products, like the Chatter system. It also has mobile access, which is a huge help for busy IT administrators and managers.
\n\tLike other products, ServiceDesk Plus is based on the ITIL model and has a self-service portal. It also supports SLAs to help technicians meet their contractual obligations.
\n\tNumara’s Footprints Incident and Problem Manager is an enterprise-class help desk application. In that vein, it enables you to create dashboards of the sort that management teams often like, and it allows a fair degree of customization.
\n\tFootprints lets you create your own workflows and escalation paths. It is a Web-based application and can be used in a SaaS model directly provisioned by Numara.
I am an all purpose IT person. If there's a generic job title in IT, I've probably had it, most likely more than once. Programmer, systems administrator, DBA, PC tech/repair, Help Desk, webmaster, web designer, web developer, applications developer, network engineering. Somehow I have managed to get my thumb stuck in each one of those pies!
