2020-07-06T12:35:00Z

What are some tips for setting up and running an effective and efficient IT help desk?

Which help desk software would you recommend for this purpose?

Rony_Sklar - PeerSpot reviewer
Community Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
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PeerSpot user
7 Answers
CS
Director of IT Support Services at University of Michigan School of Business
Real User
2020-07-08T18:54:49Z
Jul 8, 2020

The tool that you use should have the functions that are important to your organization.  In looking at tools, my recommendation is to seek a tool that has most or all of what you are looking for as part of their base package; that way, you avoid having to add on a bunch of extra costs.


Regarding what to use, the best practice is to seek a tool that functions to the level of complexity you are seeking. What that means is how much detail and functionality is needed.  For example, if you want a knowledge base, what do you want that knowledge base to do, straight text,  attachments, videos, formatting, etc.  The more you clarify that within your organization, then you can assess any tools against those requirements.


I choose SysAid because if offered the modules that we needed within the base package. It also provided the level of complexity and functionality that aligned with our needs in terms of filling out a ticket,  integration of the ticket with the knowledge base, and the CMDB can integrate with our customer tickets.  


For us, it provided critical functions with the right level of complexity and integration.




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Anuj Mishra - PeerSpot reviewer
Marketing Expert at ProProfs
Vendor
2021-07-15T04:35:04Z
Jul 15, 2021

Running a successful IT help desk is not rocket science like most entrepreneurs think. All you need to do is keep certain tips and strategies in mind. Here are some strategies you can adopt today:


Make Knowledge Accessible to All: Knowledge is the best investment your business can make in this 21st century. Make sure all your internal employees, as well as external customers, have access to self-help articles, FAQs, video tutorials, and more.


Automate Your Workflow: We all know that manual and repetitive tasks can be a serious productivity killer. You must look to automate your workflow to save time and share quick responses. For instance, with the right tool, you can automatically route tickets to relevant agents, assist customers via chatbots, and keep everyone updated using automated alerts and notifications.


Invest in the Right IT Help Desk Software


Last but definitely not least, you must invest in feature-rich and affordable IT help desk software. Go for the one that offers incredible automation features, ticket management, self-service capabilities, chatbots, and helps you capture user feedback in real-time.

VT
Project Manager, Manager of ITSM Consulting Team at EPAM Systems
Real User
2020-07-07T08:54:25Z
Jul 7, 2020

Setting up and running the IT help desk you most probably think about their ability to receive and route tickets in an efficient way. You need to address the following things:


- How they get tickets (portal, calls, e-mail). Good solution would do it mostly automatically without involving help desk members into the process. Proper self-service would allow optimizing the number of tickets.


- How they route tickets to higher levels of support. Again, in many cases it's possible to route tickets automatically so humans mostly focus on exceptional cases.


- How they communicate with users and higher-level support, if it's convenient enough, if the communication is logged properly.


- How smoothly Help Desk integrated with Incident Management and Request Fulfillment processes.


- How Knowledge about resolved tickets is accumulated and shared.


- How to measure Help Desk performance.


To put it, in a nutshell, I'd recommend to look at ITSM Service Desk function holistically, as at the process (even though ITIL say it's a function) and consider typical people-processes-products-partners combination to ensure processes (SD and adjoining ones) are set accurately, properly automated and people are trained to follow them. Consider Help Desk outsourcing as major service providers have this capability in place and can provide Help Desk as an effective service already.

Real User
2020-07-06T21:50:37Z
Jul 6, 2020

Greetings, first of all what makes a good ticket system?


Responding to your doubts, for ticket management to work, there must be an internal user commitment, document all the required information, follow up and solve what is required as far as possible, on the contrary, with proper follow-up.


However, I recommend GLPI TICKET, which can help you and with statistics.


Here a video how it works has subtitles in Spanish but it is easy to configure.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p2hn_pbXpk


I recommend installing it in centos.


I'm to order.

Rupesh Jethwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Globant
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
2021-08-17T14:46:45Z
Aug 17, 2021

Hi Rony,


Hope you are doing well!


Here are some tips for making sure your service desk is set up for success. Whether on-premises, outsourced or hybrid, these some operational methods can help keep your help desk relevant and aligned with business priorities:
1. Streamline the ticket process
2. Provide sufficient staffing
3. Train them to handle your company’s current needs
4. Develop a culture of helping within the help desk
5. Build a workflow that tracks issues end-to-end
6. Focus on new developments and trends
7. Add value addition in the existing process, remove repeated work and build 30% to 40% automation to reduce the operation cost and rework
8. Build virtual agent to auto resolved tickets and issue
9. Offload as many tasks as possible
10. Provide useful tips about computing best practices
11. Get feedback


Hope this helps with your question. Let us know if anything is required from our side. It would be our pleasure to help you.

Marcos L. Domingos - PeerSpot reviewer
ITSM Specialist at Qintess
Real User
2021-06-15T18:24:16Z
Jun 15, 2021

I consider only four main points:


1. Continuous training of staff on software and processes;
2. Don't forget about Knowledge Management;
3. Investing in automations; and
4. Have a good team responsible for the solution.

I think that with this, the software will be what best serve the corporation in financial terms.


My organization uses Clarity Service Management.

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VK
Software Development Manager & UX / UI enthusiast at Accelya World SLU
Real User
2020-07-12T05:04:22Z
Jul 12, 2020

There are lot of processes involved in the ITSM.  You need to check what type of functionality is required for your company like Incident management, change management, problem management , defect management.  If you are looking only for incident management then there are lot of software's available in the market based on your cost.  However, if you have plans to add further modules in future then i will recommend to go for complete ITSM suite like HPSM, Service now , JIRA etc., because these software's comes with various modules integrated.

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Rony_Sklar - PeerSpot reviewer
Community Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Aug 30, 2021
Hi peers,  Can you share with other users what your preferred choice is for help desk software and why? Did you compare it to other solutions?  Thanks!
2 out of 10 answers
it_user1379664 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Account Manager at On_Serve
Sep 3, 2020
At the Enterprise level Ivanti, mid-tier SysAid, or SAManage.
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Regional Manager at VDart
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JIRA Due to its agility.
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