Finding software can be overwhelming. Software Advice has helped thousands of IT support desks choose the right help desk software to manage their tickets and improve end-user experience.
Showing 1-20 of 278 products
Zendesk is a cloud-based help desk management solution offering customizable tools to build customer service portal, knowledge base and online communities. The solution offers a customizable front-end portal, live chat features and... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
The Salesforce cloud is an on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) suite offering applications for small, midsize and enterprise organizations, with a focus on sales and support. The Salesforce app has capabilities that include... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Service Cloud from SalesForce is a cloud-based customer service management solution that is designed to initiate customer service activities from anywhere. Built on the Salesforce1 Platform, Service Cloud works to centralize and optimize... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Salesforce Essentials is a cloud-based helpdesk solution for small and midsize businesses. The product is built on the Salesforce platform and includes features such as contact management, a real-time activity feed and opportunity... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Samanage is suitable for companies seeking a help desk solution that offers IT service management (ITSM) functionalities. Samanage offers comprehensive service desk functionality that helps businesses respond to service requests in... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Freshservice is a cloud-based IT Help Desk and service management solution that enables organizations to simplify their IT operations. The solution offers features that include a ticketing system, self-service portal and knowledge-base.... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
SysAid is a cloud-based IT Service Management, service desk and help desk solution that helps users in businesses of all sizes across various industries resolve technology relates issues. Key features include help desk automation,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
ServiceDesk Plus is a help desk management platform. It includes core help desk and IT management applications, as well as project management, contract management and features for ITIL (information technology infrastructure library)... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
MSP Anywhere is a cloud-based help desk solution for for small to midsize Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT service providers. Key features include live chat, file transfers, session recordings, user management and queuing. It... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
InvGate Service Desk is an IT service management platform that offers help desk request fulfillment, customer service and support and self-service knowledge management. The system is compatible with Mac, Windows, and iPad (or other... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk solution from Zoho Corporation, catering to businesses of all sizes. Key features include management of customer support tickets, a customer support portal, contract management and report creation. Zoho... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Cayzu is a cloud-based help desk management solution designed for small and midsize businesses. It offers ticket management, issue management, a self service portal and automated routing functionalities within a suite. The software... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
LiveAgent is an online live chat platform for e-commerce businesses at the small and midsize level. The platform offers live chat application, ticket management, online self-service portals and change and license management, all... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Alloy Navigator is an IT service and asset management solution that enables organizations of all sizes to manage their IT operations. This solution offers fully integrated help desk, network inventory and knowledge base capabilities,... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
everything HelpDesk is a help desk solution that helps users manage incidental requests, tracking issues and reports. Key features include multi-departmental desk support, dashboards, email and calendar integration. everything HelpDesk’s... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Vision Helpdesk is a cloud-based ticket management solution for businesses of all sizes across multiple industry segments. This software allows businesses to automate ticket workflow using rule-based criteria and centralize the recording... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Jira Service Desk is an IT service management solution that assists IT and service teams in incident management, problem management and change management. The solution offers both cloud-based and on-premise deployments. Jira Service... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
OTRS is an ISO/IEC 27001 standard compliant Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) solution for help desks, customer service centers and corporate security teams. The solution offers users features that allow them to create... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
SeamlessDesk is a cloud-based help desk solution that lets customers create tickets to address issues. Key features include time tracking, ticket management and agent inbox management. SeamlessDesk’s ticket submission form helps... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Giva is a cloud-based IT help desk that offers ticketing, knowledgebase, asset management, change management, dashboards, self-service portal, user satisfaction surveys, reporting and a mobile app at a very affordable price. Giva is... Read more
Platforms: MacWinLinux
Deployments: Cloud, On premise
Business Size:
Help desk software solutions vary in functionality, pricing and underlying technology. We’ve created this buyer’s guide to assist potential purchasers in determining which help desk software best fits their needs. Here’s what we’ll cover:
What Is Help Desk Software
Common Features of Help Desk Software
Why Do I Need Help Desk Software?
Benefits of Help Desk Software
Market Trends to Understand
The Vendor Landscape
Recent Events You Should Know About
What Is Help Desk Software?
Traditionally, the term “help desk” has generated some confusion since it can refer to two different types of support organizations: teams that serve external customers (consumers or businesses that have purchased goods or services from your company), and teams that serve internal customers (employees).
We describe these two use cases in greater detail later in the “Help Desk Software Landscape” section of this guide. But in either instance, help desk management software stores customer information in a searchable database, tracks interactions and automates the issue resolution process using an issue tracking system. This core functionality increases efficiency and organization.
When someone contacts the service desk by phone, Web form, email or other means, the system creates an electronic trouble ticket. Technicians or customer service representatives (CSRs) record details about the incident or problem, or review what the customer has entered if submitted using a self-service tool. The responder marks it as resolved once the issue is handled, or escalates the issue to a specialist or executive if needed.
Tickets are associated with customer profiles, which include the customer’s contact information and potentially purchase history or assets. This allows agents to see a customer’s entire interaction history.
Example of a dashboard from Freshdesk
With some systems, the handling process can be standardized with workflow rules and canned responses. As an agent completes one task, they might choose a follow-up step from a dropdown menu and set a due date. This way nothing falls through the cracks and agents stay efficient and on track.
Some systems allow users to link incidents by issue type, so responders can refer back to a resolved issue when they encounter a similar problem.
Example of incident linking from Zendesk
Common Features of Help Desk Software
In addition to this core functionality, the best help desk support software vendors might offer some or all of the following differentiating capabilities.
| Knowledge management system | This describes a repository of descriptions to common or previously resolved problems. These resources might be available publicly via a customer self-service website, or reserved for internal use by CSRs and technicians. Most knowledge bases incorporate advanced search technologies to help users find the the right answer. Some may autosuggest queries or articles as the user types. |
| Self-service | Customers use these online portals to search for solutions to their problems. Self-service resources can include product documentation, downloadable patches, searchable FAQs, how-to pages or forums and other types of user communities. If the customer can’t find a solution, self-service tools often let them submit issues online. |
| IT asset management systems/network management | Asset management tools inventory and track changes to hardware and software configurations, while network monitoring tools oversee the health of servers and other network components. These functions are sometimes offered through integrations with IT service management (ITSM) tools. |
| Reporting | Management uses reporting to |