Helpdesk Software Frequently Asked Questions
Learn about helpdesk software
Helpdesk software
Helpdesk software is a term used for software that is used to log, track and manage customer support issues. It allows end-users to log new tickets via a web portal, and gives helpdesk support agents the tools to classify, triage and work the helpdesk cases from their initial logging through to resolution and completion.
Not really. Helpdesk software and ITSM (IT Service Management) software are similar but serve different scopes within an organization. Helpdesk software primarily focuses on ticketing and supporting end-user issues, providing a straightforward way to manage and resolve customer or employee queries. ITSM software on the other hand, encompasses a broader range of IT services aligned with frameworks like ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) to support comprehensive IT operations. ITSM includes incident, problem, change, and asset management, among other processes. So, while helpdesk software is often a component of ITSM, ITSM software covers a wider range of IT service management needs.
There are many benefits to using helpdesk software. Clients have a standard way of logging and communicating with support staff. Helpdesk agents have a dedicated queue of tickets to work through in a structured and meaningful way. Automations and triggers can be configured to simplify many common tasks. Management have access to proper metrics such as call volume, KPIs, SLAs etc. By using a structured process to log, track and manage support issues, the business as a whole benefits from an increased support maturity focus.
Basic features include an easy and intuitive web portal for clients to log tickets and browse knowledge base articles. Once the ticket has been logged, the ability to classify, triage, and assign tickets to individual staff, or work-groups is key. Other fundamental features would include automation capability, workflow, email communications and email-to-ticket conversion, good reporting, asseting management and linking and an overall focus of working with, and managing tickets quickly and easily.
Helpdesk software will often integrate with email systems for automated communications and for converting support email into helpdesk tickets. Links to reporting and other databases may also be possible and the ability to communicate with and by other WebAPIs will allow the helpdesk software to communicate with virtually any software that supports a WebAPI.
Most helpdesk ticketing systems these days will include automation and process support for common support functions. This typically includes automatic email for confirmation of a ticket being logged or updated, as well as automated status updates, prioritization and other triage/classification processes. More sophisticated helpdesk software will also include full process workflow mapping that can be used to guide helpdesk staff through the processes involved in each unique job type.
It absolutely should! A multi-national, multi-site organization absolutely requires time-zone support. If a ticket is logged in New Zealand and then supported in Australia, both the client that logged the ticket (in NZ) and the Australian tech rep need to know and understand when the ticket was logged, how long the ticket has been opened and any relevant time-based service level agreements and KPIs.
A common practice in small, or start-up businesses is to use email, Excel spreadsheets, or some other improvised helpdesk ticketing system. Such systems quickly become unwieldy and ineffective as they do not allow proper communication, classification and collaboration among team members. They also simply lack the basic functionality of ticketing software. Once a business starts supporting customers, having a dedicated helpdesk system to log, track and manage customer support tickets becomes a necessity. Not only will it allow the internal team to provide proper support, but it gives the customers, or clients of the business confidence that there is a dedicated support process and channel that can assist them. Nothing falls through the cracks, and support agents, management and stakeholders of the business all benefit.
Capturing and documenting corportate knowledge is a fundamental part of providing an effective helpdesk interface to clients, staff and others. When corporate knowledge is distilled into easy to understand knowledge base articles that are classified and tagged with appropriate keywords and meta-data, everyone in the support pipeline can benefit.
A core component of helpdesk software is to provide end-users with a web-based support portal that end-users can access to create new helpdesk tickets, check on the status of existing tickets and search knowledge articles that have been created by the business to provide information about common topics, or known-issues/errors.
Some do, some do not - depending on their focus and product maturity. Products such as HelpMaster feature a powerful workflow engine that has both approval and process support. Build single, or multi-staged approvals and embed them within ITIL-based processes such as incident, problema and change management processes at key stages to ask for, and gather approval.
Both are good options depending on your business needs and circumstances. On-premise helpdesk software allows total control over your data access and sovereignty (which is useful for integrations, reporting, analysis etc.), security, privacy and costs. Cloud-based helpdesk software offers a quick and easy initial setup and configuration and updateability. Both are good options, depending on your needs.
ITIL and Service Management
ITIL is a service management best-practice framework that offers descriptive processes for a wide range of service-management disciplines such as incident, problem and change management. Many other processes are also documented, and service management teams can refer to this guidance to design, deliver and management their support services to their end-users. ITIL is suited to small or large teams and is typically seen as a pathway to greater service management process maturity.
A helpdesk has traditionally been seen as the business unit in IT departments where end-users can contact to report an issue in order to get it resolved. It is typically a report/classify/assign/fix support cycle. A service-desk on the other hand has a much broader scope within the business. In additional to break/fix support offerings, a service desk is concerned also about the preventative maintenance of equipment, and offering a wide range of services to the organization including human resources, facilities management, complaints handling, business unit enquiries and more. A service desk has a services approach to providing support to the business and its stakeholders.
Yes, it can support some, depending on configuration and scope. ITIL processes such as Incident, Problem and Knowledge Management can often be supported in some form depending on the software and configuration and an organizations requirements. The important thing to remember is that ITIL is descriptive, not prescriptive, meaning that the way an organization uses ITIL is essentially up to them to execute the ideas in found in ITIL in a way that works for them.
Key concepts found in incident management such as classification, prioritization, triage and assignment are common features in helpdesk software. Once a ticket, or job has been logged (by either a client or a staff member), it can be further classified, assigned to an appropriate support team/personnel for action until a resolution and fix/closure is performed. During this process a knowledge base of known errors, work-around and fixes may be consulted for guidance and support assistance.
If an incident represents an issue that presents itself to an end-user, Problem management is concerned with what caused the incident to occur in the first place. Problem management often invovles logging a separate suport record which is then linked to an existing incident, or change request record. The support life-cycle of a problem record will often include a detailled analysis of what caused an incident and will involve not only remediation action, but also a proactive approach to ensure that such an issue will not re-occur if possible. HelpMaster features a comprehensive linking mechanism where entities of all types (clients, sites, knowledge articles, incidents, problems, changes etc can all be linked to each other for reference, as well as for workflow purposes)
Yes, HelpMaster supports change management
processes. Core concepts in change management such as change scope and definition are supported, as are implementation dates, project rationale, rollback plans, review analysis, change advisory board (CAB) approvals and more.
Helpdesk and Service Managment ITSM reporting
Helpdesk metrics and reporting comes in many types, and most helpdesk software solutions will feature a range of reporting metrics delivered in different formats. Report types include management dashboards for easy to read and digest top-level statistics. Line-based reports will cover basic ticket information, while detailed reports will provide in-depth coverage of individual tickets and their contents. Analytical reports such as trend reporting, peak busy times, and issue trends are also common, as are service-level-agreement reports and a range of KPI style reports to track agent and skillgroup performance.
The helpdesk and service-desk are perfect business environments for generating statistics, data and analytics. Helpdesk software such as HelpMaster has a wide range of reports and data available that can be used to gain insight into many business operations. HelpMaster uses Crystal Reports for standard reports, PowerBI for dashboard-style analtics and support Excel and other reporting tools for ad-hoc reporting and data analysis.
Depending on your solution, developing reports will vary. With on-premise helpdesk software, reporting will usually be easier and more approachable - having easy access to data and query design. If using cloud-based software, depending on the vendor and suppported features and access, you may need to work with a reporting API, or be able to access the database/data in some way. Sometimes this will come at an additional cost. Many cloud-based products will feature a report-building component that will allow a certain level of report generation and customization.
HelpMaster uses a Microsoft SQL Server database and has many pre-built reporting queries that have been designed for many types of reporting scenarios.