The survey revealed how customers leveraged solutions outside of IT. The most popular method was changing management (43%), facilities management (26%), development and bug tracking (28%), external customer support (26%) and human resources (21%). Additionally, the survey revealed that 39% of respondents used the software to introduce automation to a department for the first time.

Numara recently released a paper called “Working Outside the IT Service Desk Box” as well as a related webinar “Do You Have the Right Service Management Tool for Your Business?” The collateral educates clients on optimizing their efficiency by automating and standardizing their company-wide processes.

Numara FootPrints has received much praise for being a flexible platform that can be used across organizational departments, as well as being a platform that can grow with company needs. “At the moment we’re using Numara FootPrints for ten different automation tracking projects in these departments, and we’re confident that the solution will continue to help us maximize ROI and grow with our needs in the near future,” said Kent Fuller, director of operations center and PC services at BCBG Max Azria.

Ultimately, the survey results reveal the true value of solutions platforms like FootPrints and what they can do for businesses. For more information, check out “Working Outside the IT Service Desk Box” and “Do You Have the Right Service Management Tool for Your Business?“.

One step often overlooked in the process of selecting a help desk solution is its implementation period. This often ignored step can greatly hamper employee productivity and hamper customer service.

Implementation periods range widely in the amount of time needed to get the help desk solution up and running. Simple web-based help desk platforms can be up instantaneously, while other more complicated platforms may take weeks or even months to be fully implemented. The time cost of implementation is something that is often not taken into consideration which can be a very costly mistake. Failing to account for and prepare for these implementation periods can have a negative impact on company operations which could have negative repercussions on the company’s customer relationships.

The implementation period is a transition period that can be a very stressful time for employees and customers as people are still getting used to and learning the new system. After implementation, training may be necessary to allow employees to familiarize themselves with the new system. Customer service and employee support may suffer as a result of this transition. Being aware of these potential deficiencies during this period can help companies ready themselves for these effects and try to limit the negative effects during this period.

Implementation periods, although troubling and often problematic, are a very necessary step in the process of adopting a new help desk solution. Although many of these problems will arise regardless of the amount of preparation, being prepared can help mitigate or soften the negative impact an implementation period can have on your organization.

There is a common misperception out there that business software such as help desk software is developed and made specifically for larger businesses. The popular belief is that software developers gear their products with only the largest businesses in mind due to their large company size and the amount of revenue they can generate off one company. However, this is not true. In fact, there are a number of help desk and business software providers who build products specifically for SMBs.

Help Desk Software can prove to be very beneficial for smaller companies. By organizing and automating much of the work, companies with fewer employees can get a lot more work done. Help desk software facilitates the growth of smaller companies in helping to provide the customer support and service necessary to attract and retain customers for the long run.

In addition, many help desk software platforms are built with the small business in mind. Many platforms facilitate the growth of your company with help desk software packages that grow alongside the company which eliminates the need for companies to worry about switching to newer software when they outgrow their current software.

SMB Help Desk packages are also significantly cheaper and more flexible. Help Desk software is not as expensive as many believe. With a smaller company, there are many great cost-effective options available. Smaller companies can even consider web-based help desk platforms that are considerably cheaper and in some cases free. In addition, many platforms are built with flexibility in mind, providing specialized platforms that allow companies to specifically choose which modules they want included.

Help Desk Software can be very advantageous for SMBs to have. It enables companies to be more competitive and do a lot of things that may have once been out of their reach. SMBs can benefit significantly from investing in a help desk solution.

In today’s tough competition, the ability to differentiate your company from others is very difficult. Many companies are offering the same products and services, making it critical for companies to be perfect in every aspect in order to retain customers and maintain a customer relationship. Customer satisfaction is key to securing a long term relationship and holding on to customers for the long run. Improving customer service is one aspect a company should look to improve upon in every single way.

Help Desk software can help companies improve in this area. With many features that are directed towards faster issue resolution times as well as improved oversight, customer service becomes much more manageable for the company. Issue tracking features track the progress of submitted request from start to finish; ensuring customer requests are resolved in a timely manner.

Self help features also play a huge role in improving customer service. Features such as a knowledgebase or a FAQ database may not seem so important. However, the secondary effects of these tools are definitely noticeable. With these self-service capabilities, customers can quickly resolve simple issues on their own and decrease the strain on the help desk staff. This allows employees to focus on more complex issues, putting their time to better use and improving customer response times.

With Help Desk Software, issues with customer service and support can be easily addressed. Investing in the right help desk solution can do wonders for your customer service/support department and help you develop the loyal customers necessary to be successful in order to continue growing your business.

Deciding on new help desk software can be a daunting task. With so many different options out there, differentiating between them can be confusing and time consuming. What should companies pay attention to when selecting a new help desk software provider?

The first two things to look at are fairly obvious to everyone. Pricing and features are both critically important. Pricing is definitely the first thing companies usually look out for as it determines whether or not a solution is within budget and whether or not the solution should be considered in the first place. The features the help desk software provides also tells whether or not the help desk solution matches a company’s needs and if it is a good fit for the company. Although pricing and features are the most important things to look out for, there are other things prospective help desk buyers should look out for in their selection process.

Other things to look out for when choosing a new help desk are things like implementation periods and training requirements. These two things are often overlooked as companies wrongly ignore the time investment associated with help desk software. Timely implementation periods can drastically harm a company’s performance by crippling its customer service and damaging the company’s reputation. Long training periods can also cause employee productivity to suffer which can lead to other effects such as poor performance and lowered employee morale. Although these two issues are harder to research, it’s important to take the time out to try to learn as much about a new software platform as you can. Reading through case studies or company reviews can help you get a deeper insight into how a help desk provider functions and helps you identify any flaws that may not be apparent.

Taking the time out to do the appropriate research can be a pain. However, adequate research and preparation can help save the company a lot of money and frustration in the long run.

• Automated Issue Tracking and Assignment – Allows issues to be automatically re-routed and assigned to agents while also tracking the progress of the issue to ensure issues are resolved.
• Knowledgebase and FAQs – With a comprehensive database of information to easily solved issues, customers and employees benefit as self service allows issues to be resolved quicker, increasing customer service and decreasing employee workload.
• Change Management – Allows the issue to be changed or edited to correct any prior mistakes. Records also track any changes made to ensure clarity.
• Reports/Analytics – Track the performance of your help desk department with key statistics and reports. See how many issues are resolved and average issue resolution times to quickly identify problem spots within the organization.
• Web-Based Interfaces – Many help desk solutions are now offered through the web, enabling customers to log in and see the status of their issues or easily edit or add on to their issues.

Help Desk Solutions continue to get more complex as new features are always being introduced into the market. These features are common to many help desk solutions and can provide you a basic understanding of help desk solutions and what to look for when choosing a help desk solution.

One overlooked aspect in help desk selection is its implementation period and method of deployment. Deploying a new help desk solution has many different upfront costs that are not only monetary. Deployments can be time consuming and some may even require employee training to ensure proper use. Consider how long an implementation can take as some solutions can be up instantly while other may take months to be properly installed.

Features are often the most important thing companies must consider when they select a help desk platform. Ensuring that the features of a solution meet up with the needs of the company is critical in successfully implementing a help desk solution. Prior to selecting a help desk solution, it is beneficial for companies to come up with a list of issues that need to be addressed with the new solution. This makes it much easier to consider different solutions when companies already know what they are looking for.

Evaluating help desk solutions can be a very stressful task. Proper research and preparation beforehand can save your company many headaches in the long run.

However, there may be problems with help desk software for those who are not adequately prepared. With the many help desk solutions out there, choosing the right one is a difficult task. Many of the costs and negatives associated with help desk software are often in the selection and implementation periods. Many help desk software platforms have costly upfront costs as well as time consuming implementation periods which can significantly drain company resources. These problems are compounded when companies realize their selected solution does not meet their needs. However, many of these problems can easily be remedied with preparation and research beforehand to ensure a help desk solution properly fits what a company needs.

Expanding companies with multiple offices and growing customer bases may find that help desk software is also essential to succeed in their growth. Help Desk software will enable companies continue to grow in a manner that maintains the high levels of customer support necessary to stay successful.

If your support department is continuously swamped or is often incapable of handling issues in an efficient manner, help desk software could be the answer to your problems. By helping you optimize your inefficient processes and improving employee morale, customer service increases as issue response times decrease. With the right help desk software, both the company and employees can benefit tremendously.

In addition, the right help desk solution can provide companies with rewards that are immeasurable, but are even more important. Help Desk solutions help companies improve customer service leading to more loyal customers and providing companies with a stable customer base. Help Desk solutions can also drastically improve employee morale as their issues are quickly resolved, allowing employees more time to work and increasing employee productivity.

With the right help desk software, all these benefits can actually be achieved with decreased expenses as a result of the improved efficiencies. So, to sum it up, help desk software can provide companies with improved customer loyalty and increased employee productivity at a lower cost!