How To Select A Help Desk Software Solution: Part 1

How To Select A Help Desk Software Solution: Part 1

With over 100 Help Desk Software, Customer Support and Service Software vendors in the market, prices ranging from free to over $5,000 per advanced user (i.e. Technical Support Rep or Customer Support Rep) and an overwhelming array of architectures, web services, and features to evaluate, selecting the right Support Desk for your organization can be a time consuming and frustrating process. The purpose of this document is to try and simplify the process for you. This industry brief will address common issues that everyone in the Support Help Desk Market should understand prior to making the final selection. Understanding these issues will help you make a more informed decision.

Architecture

The issue that tends to cause the most confusion in our industry is client/server web-enabled solutions (C/S) vs. 100 web based solution. The file that vendor is sending you is either front ending a C/S system or is a complete canned demo on your desktop. Make sure you evaluate the solution you are going to purchasing! If you do purchase a C/S solution, please note that web-enabled add-on modules will not give you full access to all of the features when you are at a remote location. Pricing, Terms Conditions and Hosting

When obtaining solution pricing information, the key is to get a detailed itemized quote. Vendors seeking to entice prospects with low costs may only provide summary quotes. These summary quotes may not include features that are not a part of the core solution (add-on modules), but may be required by you for your specific support desk needs. For example, a vendor may tell you that their solution supports Active Directory (AD) and SQL Server, but when you receive a summary quote, it may only reflect the price of the core solution. You may later find out, after purchasing the solution, that AD is one of their add-on modules. You will then need to purchase this add-on functionality, driving your support solution price up much higher than you anticipated.

When requesting a price quote:

Specifically point out what you require, and make sure that what you saw in the solution demo is what will be quoted.

Ask for a price sheet that lists the vendors full range of solutions and add-on modules, so as your needs change you will not suffer from sticker-shock when it comes time to add more functionality/features.

Solutions that offer standard, professional, and enterprise versions can be very confusing and it is difficult to tell what features you are getting. Many vendors offer multiple versions but only have a single demo: How do you know exactly what you are getting? Choose incorrectly and your budget takes another hit to upgrade to the better version. Pricing should be published, clear, and linear with no break points or multiple versions. Linear pricing allows you to pay only for what you need. Why should you purchase an 8-user Active Directory module if you only have 5 users? Linear pricing allows you to pay for the level of functionality you are using today with a very clear path as to what each additional user will cost. In addition, always ask for a money back guarantee. If what you install is different than what you thought you purchased, any reputable vendor should solve the problem or be happy to refund your money.

Non-Specific User Attributes Can Lead To More Pricing Confusion

A Support Desk Solution vendor should also clearly define user attributes. For example, Advanced Users (i.e. an agent, tech, or CSR) and standard End Users of the solution will have different attributes. The cost of an Advanced User license should be spelled out very clearly, as it is easy to get trapped into expensive upgrades when vendors do not make advanced user attributes very clear.

Hosted Pricing

Do you require a hosted solution or will you run the solution on your server? On demand pricing for Hosted Support Desk Solutions is becoming the accepted model in the industry today. Pay only for what you use and only for as long as you need it. Look for vendors that require no long-term contracts. If a vendor is confident in the solution they provide, they will not require a long-term contract.

Tim Johnson is a web developer, SEO and webmaster for IssueTrak, Inc.

tim.johnson@issuetrak.com http://www.issuetrak.com