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Help Desk Software

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by grl

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Does anyone have a recommendation on Help Desk software? We are looking for something under 5k for at least 4 simultaneous technician logins. Our specifications are:

1)Asset and Inventory Management
2)Escalation
3)Automatic E-mail Notification4)The ability to associate any user with any machine.
5)Optional Web interface
6)Simple, intuitive and easy to use features
7)Straightforward clean user interface without a great deal of buttons, shortcuts and menu options.
8)The ability to create multiple groups or projects.

We are not looking for a lot of features, just something attractively designed that will allow us to track help desk tickets and be able to identify the user along with the machine the user was working on at the time. An extremely professional looking interface is important as it will reflect the professionalism of the Help Desk itself.

Thanks for your help!

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by timmitchell

I went through that same search three months ago. The only product that I found in the sub-$5K range was a product called BridgeTrak by Kemma Software. It does have all the options that you listed, and can be configured to use a web interface for end-user interaction. A problem that I found when running the demo was that the automatic email notification has some bugs. The software engineer I spoke with assured me that the bugs would be worked out by the next release, but I'm more inclined to spend money on something that I know will work. All in all, it seemed to be a good product.

We ended up buying another product, HEAT by FrontRange solutions. It's going to cost me about $30K, but that includes one year of support and a trip for myself and a technician to Colorado Springs for a week of administrators training. The HEAT product has been around for over 10 years, and it's known as the 'Cadillac' of help desk software.

Hope this helps.... Good luck!

by zomack

Ahh...the classic question of which HDS to select. It's good to put much thought into this one as it'll be central to your support processes(workflow, problem resolution, knowledge management, etc.).

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll usually better off finding a solution that enables/facilitates your support process, instead of one that requires you to change your process to fit it -- unless of course, any change would be for the better. Most packages out there offer enough flexibility and customization to allow for this, so you shouldn't have a problem.

With your given requirements and conditions, I would suggest Blue Ocean Software's Track-it (www.blueocean.com). As a support consultant and manager, I've implemented the product about 8 times already and have almost always found that it met or exceeded expectations -- and at the best price you'll find for what you get. Great value.

There are other solutions out there, including the option to custom develop your own tracking system(database + front-end + etc.).

If you need more details or recommendations feel to contact me directly: zomack@hotmail.com.

Best wishes --Russ

by soccerman

I am presently using this software in my company. This is fairly simple to implement and use. Depending on the size of your company it's fairly inexpensive. It tracks where what and when, as well as emails you or the person you tell it to mail when a certain problem occurs. The reporting feature is quite well written as well.

by abraxas21

We use it, we love it, it does all we wanted without the high $ of Heat and the never-used bells and whistles.

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