A look at the advantages of a web-based help-desk software solution

A web-based help-desk software solution helps customers to make help-desk calls by logging into a company's website. Customers, who have product enquiries or are experiencing any trouble with the product functionality, can fill in the necessary details in the online trouble ticket forms provided by the software and should log off when finished.

A web-based help-desk software solution provides many advantages. Since the web-based help-desk software is located on a web server, users have the advantage of accessing it from any place and at any time. All that is required is an internet connection. If the software is used for internal purposes such as receiving enquiries from staff within the organization, it can be accessed using an intranet connection. In other words, a web-based help desk solution offers the primary advantage of mobility to it' users. If help-desk software is installed in a PC, the application must be loaded only on that machine and can be used only through that system.

A web-based solution is easy to install and upgrade. In PC and server based applications, the help-desk software has to be installed in every PC. This is a time-consuming job. Whenever there is an upgrade the software and all instances of it in all machines must be updated simultaneously. A web-based software solution needs to be installed only once and similarly any upgrades need to be done to only one instance of the software.

Web-based solution will provide a central database, which acts as a repository of information such as the calls logged in by a customer. When using a PC and server-based trouble-ticket software, it has to be linked to a central database on a server. Furthermore, the software must be configured to run smoothly with the database. If any changes are made to the database, it is necessary for the administrator to reconfigure all instances of the software to the new change made to the database. In a web-based help-desk software solution, there is only one database. Any changes made to it only affect one instance of the software and there is no need to access a server to reach the database.

Joushua James - Help Desk Software Solutions

Pointers on what to look for before selecting a help-desk software solution

A help-desk software solution automates your help-desk activities so that you can carry out your customer support services efficiently. This means happier customers which will in turn have a positive effect on organizational growth and profits.

The first aspect to decide upon is whether you are going to implement a help-desk software solution to service help requests arising from within the organization or to handle customer calls. This is because you need to select a help-desk software system that has features to support your choice in implementation. For example, help-desk software that is going to handle customer calls must include features specifically catering to such requirements.

Look for software that can record questions received from customers and store them in a database. It is important for a knowledgebase to be incorporated with the software. You can refer to the knowledge base to solve future problems. It's important to select software that will grow with the company. If you purchase software that can work only with certain specifications, you may have to buy another one in the future as your business expands. This will prove to be expensive and time consuming because you will have to migrate data form the existing help system to a new one. Better to look in for a system that can work with multiple databases as this kind of a system will be more scalable.

You need to look into the operating system and hardware requirements need by the help-desk software solution for instillation. See if the requirements match with the existing operating system and hardware you use in your organization. If not better find one that can be customized to your needs, rather than purchase one off-the-shelf and pay a heavy price to get equipment to support it's functioning.

The help-desk software solution you intend to purchase must be able to integrate with your existing system. This factor is important because you would have already spent a lot of money in purchasing and implementing an email system. So look towards a software solution that is compatible with the e-mail system.

Finally and one of the most important factors influencing your decision to purchase a particular software is the price. Does the cost of the solution fit within your budget? If not can you get a customized solution developed at a price lesser that what's available in the market? You need to find answers to all these questions so that you can purchase quality software that is cost effective and can help you to tackle your help-desk issues.

Joushua James - Help Desk Software Solutions

Benefits of a help-desk software solution

A help-desk software solution is designed to help you manage your help-desk operations systematically and efficiently. Its purpose is to enable you to easily track and follow customer calls. Installing a help-desk software solution will help to better manage your customer relationships as it provides processes that can systematically track calls thereby enabling quick responses.

The help-desk software will act as a database for all your customer issues. It provides features to store customer-call information such as the time a call was made, a brief description of the call and the person to whom the call was assigned. You can view the list of calls that need to be attended in the form of a sorted list, report or a graph. It will maintain a history of customer calls, which could be based on the product type and this can be used to collect information on which products received maximum customer call or enquiries.

Most solutions offer a knowledge base which will store of a list of problems or issues that customers have encountered, and the action or solution taken against the problem. Should the problem arise again with another customer, the same solution can be applied and your staff will be able to move on to attend the next call. This saves your organization time and money. Since your staff quickly resolves calls, you do not need more members to attend and service customer calls. Furthermore, the knowledgebase acts as a training device for new staff and you can also reduce money spent to train employees as the knowledge base stores solutions for problem encountered. Help-desk software solutions provide for better communication amongst organization members. It can be configured to send alerts or mails to the concerned staff so that they will respond to the issue in time. Administrators and authorized management personnel can view reports, sorted lists on customer calls and how issues were tacked by their staff at any time and so a constant communication is always maintained. Better communication flow provides way for quick problem solving and better work efficiencies.

Linda James - Benefits of a help-desk software solution