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Questions to ask before choosing the best IT helpdesk

Q&A written by Gowri Shankar (Shane) Prem Kumar, technical support at ITR Technology


Pretoria, 30 Sep 2015
Gowri Shankar (Shane) Prem Kumar, ITR Technology
Gowri Shankar (Shane) Prem Kumar, ITR Technology

An IT helpdesk ensures seamless end-user experience by centralising and automating service management processes. The right IT helpdesk improves productivity, guarantees end-user satisfaction, cuts costs, and aligns IT with business.

A helpdesk with the right fit can be the catalyst for IT efficiency, so make sure you are asking the right questions before you make a purchasing decision, says Gowri Shankar (Shane) Prem Kumar, technical support at ITR Technology.

Here are the nine questions you must ask when choosing an IT helpdesk for your organisation.

Do you know your budget?

You will find helpdesk solutions ranging from $0 to just about any figure you can image. Certain vendors charge a monthly fee, and although some of them offer a number of amazing features, the cost might be out of reach. With your budget in mind, don't make any assumptions that the more you pay, the better the tool will be.

Cloud or on-premises?

A cloud-based helpdesk requires less capital, can be deployed quickly, assures hassle-free upgrades, and provides scalability. On the other hand, on-premises models provide better control over data security and software. The cloud-based model is suited for small companies, whereas the on-premises model is well suited to meet the demands of large enterprises.

Does it have a robust feature set?

Today, helpdesk software comes with a dizzying array of features and functions. Here are some pointers to help you find the one with the right feature set:

* Analyse the gaps in your current IT support.
* Identify the core IT service management processes that you want to implement in the short, medium, and long term.
* Prioritise and sort out the critical IT service management processes.
* Narrow down your choice by soliciting RFPs (requests for proposals) from the vendors.
* Investigate the availability of real-time dashboards, mobility, social enablement, app development platforms and other features that will give your organisation a winning edge.

Can you implement best practices?

With the right helpdesk software, you'll be able to implement ITIL best practices out of the box. So check whether your helpdesk facilitates optimised ticket routing; better communication between the IT staff and end-users; streamlined SLAs; reporting on KPIs; and workflows for incident, problem, change, and release management. Also, you'll want to find the number of core ITIL processes the helpdesk can support.

Is it customisable?

Customisation gives an organisation the opportunity to incorporate its internal process workflows into the helpdesk. Check whether customisation is possible with e-mail templates, Web forms, business rules, SLAs, knowledge base, and dashboard themes. This will bring advantages such as faster request submissions and ticket resolutions, streamlined knowledge base, tailored dashboards, and personalised communication with end-users.

Does it integrate seamlessly?

The IT helpdesk software in any organisation must seamlessly interact with and complement other applications in the environment through APIs. So, while selecting your helpdesk software, check whether it can integrate with applications such as network and application monitoring tools, asset management systems, and SharePoint portals. This will ensure smooth information flow and reduce communication redundancy.

Can the tool be secured?

In many cases, your ticketing system will be passing client data back and forth. This data might contain passwords, addresses, names, and other sensitive information you don't want outsiders to lay their eyes on. For this reason, make sure the tool you select can be secured in both environment and data transfer. If you are using an e-mail-driven ticketing system, consider SSL or some form of encryption.

Is the vendor credible?

Evaluate your vendor's credibility by checking the company's reputation, size, and number of years in business. Read analyst reports and position the vendors in the ITSM landscape. Seek feedback about the vendor from organisations that have already used its products. Here, case studies, customer testimonials, and direct customer interactions come in handy.

Will you get continuous support?

Effective product support is crucial to a successful helpdesk implementation. Therefore, vendor support in the form of product training, best practice consultations, post-implementation issue handling, and prompt fixes for bugs will make all the difference to your IT service. The vendor teams should be reachable around the clock and respond positively to feature requests and feedback.

Remember, this tool will serve a much greater purpose than allowing clients to tell you they are having trouble. It will make your workflow reliable and productive, and far fewer tickets will fall through the cracks.

Don't just settle for any helpdesk. Ask yourself these nine questions; narrow down your choices and find the perfect helpdesk solution that fits your business needs.

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ITR Technology

ITR Technology has been the sub-Saharan African partner to Zoho Corporation for a number of years, providing resellers and end-users local access to the ManageEngine enterprise management solutions. ITR has successfully built a strong reseller and end-user base through cost-effective solutions and management applications. Apart from ManageEngine, ITR Technology is also the distributor of Prism Suite, Empirum Pro from Matrix42 and EgoSecure Endpoint Security. For more information, please e-mail lauren@itrtech.co.za, call (+27) 12 665 5551, visit www.itrtech.co.za or follow the company on Facebook at facebook.com/itrtech and on Twitter at @ITRTech_za.

ManageEngine

ManageEngine delivers the real-time IT management tools that empower IT teams to meet organisational needs for real-time services and support. Worldwide, established and emerging enterprises - including more than 60% of the Fortune 500 - rely on ManageEngine products to ensure the optimal performance of their critical IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, applications, desktops and more. ManageEngine is a division of Zoho Corporation with offices worldwide, including the United States, India, Singapore, Japan and China. For more information, please visit http://buzz.manageengine.com/.

Editorial contacts

Chantel Suleman
ITR Technology
(+27) 12 665 5551
chantel@itrtech.co.za