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greggo greggo
 
M$5 January 08, 2009 07:42 AM

What is the best web based help desk system?

It must be dead simple for users. For example, everyone should be able to manage all their tickets by email. That goes for ticket creators and responders.

There needs to be privacy controls. It's for a relatively small group (< 500 users), and only those users should be able to access the tickets.

I'm fairly technical, so I appreciate flexibility when needed, but would really prefer for it to "just work". I wouldn't mind hearing about self-hosted solutions, but at this point, I prefer a hosted solution for the maintenance ease.

Price is one consideration, but not necessarily the most important one.

The best answer will provide a list of the top 3 - 5 solutions, along with their features, strengths, limitations, price, and other info that helps me make a decision. A further listing of 5-10 alternatives outside the top 5 would be greatly appreciated (to give me a broad idea of what's out there).

Thanks in advance.
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Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

robbrown robbrown
 
 January 08, 2009 12:17 PM
This is the most popular and robust issue-tracking system available:

http://www.kayako.com/

I've used this personally for a few years, have installed it for a few companies and know that it is very widely used. Take some time and have a really good look at this software Greggo. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just know that they're the best.

Strengths:
* AJAX based Rich User Interface
* Active Directory (LDAP), vBulletin, ModernBill integration
* ViewShare feature allowing you to guide your clients in realtime
* Staff to Staff Voice Chats
* SLA's, Work Schedules and Escalations
* Detailed Reports and Analytics
* Microsoft Outlook Integration
* Teamwork module allowing you to create shared Events, Contacts and Tasks

Limitations:
Helpdesk software is as much about the support process itself as it is about the functions and features of the software. This software is no different.

Price:
http://www.kayako.com/purchasing/pricing.php

eSupport costs $30 per month
Or $300 to own it outright
Source(s):
I am an I.T. pro and have a fair bit of experience setting up and using this software. In the past, I have deeply compared and evaluated all issue-tracking options and short of developing one in house, this is the best solution.

Asker's Rating:


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greggo greggo
 
January 09, 2009 02:25 AM
Thanks for the answer robbrown!

I haven't heard of Kayako before. The software looks interesting. I'll have to take a closer look at them.

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mblogger mblogger
 
January 10, 2009 01:08 AM
Best of the best is ZenDesk. http://zendesk.com.

It is the only web 2.0 helpdesk, they give you 30 days trial, and it is fully customizable with triggers, automations, and macros.

I started using it a month ago, and it is simply excellent.

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Other Answers (5)

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seovice seovice
 
January 08, 2009 10:45 AM
GetSatisfaction.com is becoming huge. It's simple to install, good UI. Highly recommended.
Source(s):
Various websites and mentioned on www.hypick.com -
http://www.hypick.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=105


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greggo greggo
 
January 09, 2009 02:29 AM
I've used GetSatisfaction from the other side (user asking for support), and it seems okay.

Do they do private groups? My needs are for an "internal" help desk with a limited group of users who can see the tickets.

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bugsy bugsy
 
January 08, 2009 11:07 AM
You can get a top based on rank here:

http://www.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Help_Desk/Browser_Based/

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garryvicto... garryvicto...
 
January 08, 2009 12:37 PM
OTRS is an Open source Ticket Request System (also well known as trouble ticket system) with many features to manage customer telephone calls and e-mails. The system is built to allow your support, sales, pre-sales, billing, internal IT, helpdesk, etc. department to react quickly to inbound inquiries. Do you receive many e-mails and want to answer them with a team of agents? You're going to love the OTRS!

It is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and tested on Linux, Solaris, AIX, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Mac OS 10.x and Windows.

The ((otrs)) company provides commercial services (e.g. support, consulting, training, pre-build-systems, etc.) for the OTRS (English and German).
Source(s):
http://otrs.org/


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robbrown robbrown
 
January 08, 2009 02:52 PM
OTRS would be my first choice if I needed something free.

I tested it for almost a year and the users / support folks who used the system weren't happy with the user interface or support processes. This definatly could have just been my process & users, but I decided to continue my search for a good support system.

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lfnovo lfnovo
 
January 08, 2009 08:05 PM
There is two that I really like:

1-) Fogbugz - http://www.fogcreek.com/FogBUGZ/

Really user friendly. Your customers can pretty much do everything through email (most of them actually do that regardless of having that option). This works for any type of Help Desk in any business.

2-) Jira - http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/

Much more powerful, but really focused on Software Development. Very detailed and technical.
Source(s):
My experience


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greggo greggo
 
January 09, 2009 02:24 AM
Thanks for the answer lfnovo.

I'm looking at FogBugz. They have an "unadvertised" Student and Startup Edition that is fully featured and free-forever for up to 2 users (admins). After the first 2 users, it's like the regular version at $25/user/month.

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joelchrist joelchrist
 
November 09, 2009 05:47 AM
AJ Help Desk Software is a Best web based help desk software, which having numerous number of user friendly Features.
Source(s):
http://www.ajsquare.com/products/helpdesk-software/index.php


Tags: web, software, based, help, desk

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