Help Desk Software

What is the best Help Desk Software?

Help Desk software is a centralized portal where customers or internal team members can submit questions, receive product support, or resolve technical issues efficiently through an automated ticketing system.

Most help desk software systems leverage a ticket system that gives the customer or team member the option to select the type of support they need and submit their question using menus or free-form text boxes. Once this information is submitted, the system creates a ticket and moves the request into queue, according the nature of the request and which department should receive it to provide assistance.

Your staff can work through tickets in order of priority or submission to provide answers and support in a streamlined, organized fashion that is all tracked and stored in your system, creating a record of all the communication and work that took place from the time the ticket was opened until the issue was resolved. Using help desk software ensures that customer or team support requests are handled in a timely manner and gives your support teams the tools they need to work more efficiently. 

Help Desk Software Vs. Contact Center Software

While help desk software and contact center software solutions are both rooted in service, these two systems are typically used in quite different ways.

Companies typically use help desk software to provide internal technical support to their own teams or help track work done in certain releases and upgrades to their systems. It may also be used by companies who offer technology-based services, as a way to manage technical requests and questions. 

On the other hand, contact center software provides a full suite of multi-channel (email, phone, chat, etc.) tools intended to serve customers and help them with questions, resolve issues related to products or services, or upsell them to other products. Contact center software tracks customer interactions and provides tools to analyze customer behavior and patterns with advanced analytics. A contact center may support many departments within a company, including inbound customer care and outbound sales and marketing.

Features of Help Desk Software

The top features of Help Desk software include:

  • Ticketing automation
  • Customizable ticket submission forms
  • Grouping of related tickets
  • Service Level Agreement (SLA) management
  • Tags for organizing tickets
  • Customizable ticket pages by customer or employee
  • Customizable, individual ticket queues
  • Customizable ticket statuses (other than just “open” or “closed”)
  • Control of public and private ticket updates and actions
  • Inventory integration

Benefits of Help Desk Software

The benefits of Help Desk software include:

  • Streamlined, efficient management of tech support requests and issues.
  • Enhanced visibility into all open issues, for staff and customers, from when a ticket is opened until it’s resolved.
  • Improved agent and technical support productivity and organization.
  • Fewer missed service or support requests.
  • Simplified operations and more ease in meeting SLAs.

The level of service that customers and internal employees expect has increased substantially thanks to the conveniences and speed of technology and how it supports service today. Help desk software will continue to innovate along with this trend to ensure that solutions offer all the tools that a company needs to provide superior support and keep pace with the demands that are put on staff. 

Support and service are becoming more popular on social channels, and many consumers will seek help, advice, and support through social channels. Help desk software (along with other software solutions) are becoming more robust in how they integrates with social channels and will continue to provide tools to support this trend.

Top 10 Help Desk Software

Zoho Desk / GoTo Resolve / Vision Help Desk / LiveAgent / TOPdesk / ServiceDesk Plus / Zendesk Suite / NinjaOne / MSP Manager / Ameyo

WH Score
9.4
Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk

18reviews
Starting Price:$0 per user / per month
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer support platform, furnishing an extensive toolkit to manage customer inquiries and support tickets adeptly. The platform's user-friendly interface and robust features position it as an optimal solution for businesses of diverse sizes aiming to streamline their cus...
WH Score
9.2
GoTo Resolve

GoTo Resolve

17reviews
Starting Price:$0 per user / per month
GoTo Resolve is the all-in-one IT Management solution that offers advanced tools for both proactive and reactive IT support needs. With GoToResolve, you can provide streamlined IT support with remote access, camera sharing, ticketing, and IT support tools from one simple to use platform. 
WH Score
9.1
Vision Help Desk

Vision Help Desk

10reviews
Starting Price:$12 per user / per month
Vision Help Desk offers a full suite of customizable tools that you can use to elevate your customer experience and streamline both your internal and external Help Desk functions. Vision Help Desk packages range from basic, must-have tools for ticketing and incident management to Enterprise-grade sy...
WH Score
8.9
LiveAgent

LiveAgent

34reviews
Starting Price:$0 per user / per month
Live Agent is a help desk software designed to provide customer support through multiple communication channels, including live chat, phone, email, and social media. Its user-friendly interface and advanced features offer a real-time and personalized customer experience.
WH Score
8.8
TOPdesk

TOPdesk

11reviews
Starting Price:N/A
TOPdesk is an IT service management software that helps organizations streamline their service management processes. With TOPdesk, users can easily manage incidents, requests, changes, and problems within a single platform. The software features an intuitive user interface that makes it easy to navi...
WH Score
8.7
ServiceDesk Plus

ServiceDesk Plus

30reviews
Starting Price:$10 per user / per month
ServiceDesk Plus is a comprehensive help desk software solution developed by ManageEngine, a division of Zoho Corporation. It is an IT Service Management (ITSM) software that helps organizations of all sizes manage their IT assets, incidents, problems, changes, and knowledge base. One of the key fea...
WH Score
8.6
Zendesk Suite

Zendesk Suite

388reviews
Starting Price:$49 per user / per month
Zendesk Suite is an end-to-end customer relationship platform that combines help desk, voice and CX capabilities into one powerful application. AI is a key capability at Zendesk, offering users the ability to infuse intelligent automation across a variety of areas, from customer interactions to inte...
WH Score
8.5
NinjaOne

NinjaOne

23reviews
Starting Price:N/A
NinjaOne is a comprehensive Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform designed to empower IT professionals and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with efficient IT infrastructure management and monitoring capabilities. With a wide range of advanced features, NinjaOne simplifies the management of...
WH Score
8.4
MSP Manager

MSP Manager

22reviews
Starting Price:N/A
SolarWinds provides a variety of different security solutions to help you fully protect your business, from server backups, remote IT management, and all-inclusive systems for managing and protecting your business devices and data.
WH Score
8.3
Ameyo

Ameyo

8reviews
Starting Price:N/A
High cost savings and rapid deployment characterize Ameyo’s powerful cloud solution for Inbound, Outbound, and Multichannel contact centers. Their emphasis on a one-stop solution empowers users to effectively outsource resources and infrastructures to ensure a continuous improvement in technol...

Help Desk Software Topics

Learn more about Help Desk Software

What is Help Desk Software?

Help Desk software is a centralized portal where customers or internal team members can submit questions or resolve technical issues efficiently though a ticketing system. Help Desk software can be used to support customers or provide support to end users of products or services. 

What Does a Help Desk System Do? 

A Help Desk provides a centralized portal for customers or end users of a product or service offered by a company to obtain support, get answers to questions, and troubleshoot issues through an organized ticket system. 

What is the Difference Between Help Desk and Service Desk?

The difference between a help desk and a service desk is that a help desk is often used for IT support, fixes, and troubleshooting while a service desk is structed around customer questions and product support. 

What is the Difference Between Help Desk and Contact Center?

The difference between help desk and contact center is that a Help desk software is typically used by companies to provide internal technical support to their own teams or help track work done in certain releases and upgrades to their systems. 

On the other hand, contact center software provides a full suite of multi-channel (email, phone, chat, etc) tools that are intended to serve customers and help them with questions, resolve issues related to products or services, or upsell them to other products. 

What are the Common Features of Help Desk Software?

The common features of help desk software include:

  • Contact Points
  • User-Friendly Interface & Dashboards
  • Efficient Ticketing 
  • Knowledge Base
  • Self-Service Portal and Tools
  • Escalation Options
  • Workflow and Ticketing Automation
  • Customer Satisfaction Surveys

What are the Main Components of Help Desk Support?

The main components of help desk support include:

  • Incident Management and IT Support
  • Trouble-Shooting and Problem Solving
  • Change Management
  • Automated Ticketing Workflows
  • Service Requests

What are the Benefits of Help Desk Software?

The benefits of Help Desk software include:

  • Streamlined, efficient management of tech support requests and issues.
  • Enhanced visibility into all open issues, for staff and customers, from the time a ticket is opened until it’s resolved.
  • Improved agent and technical support productivity and organization.
  • Fewer missed service or support requests.
  • Simplified operations and more ease in meeting SLAs.

What are the Challenges with a Help Desk?

The challenges with a help desk include:

  • Multiple requests coming through multiple channels for support or service
  • Lost issues
  • Prolonged resolution times
  • Wasted time due to interruptions or dealing with repetitive, manual tasks
  • Low IT or customer satisfaction ratings
  • High operational costs

How to Buy Help Desk Software?

You can use the following checklist to help you determine how to buy the best Help Desk software for your business.

  • Focus on business needs, service issues, and growth goals driving the decision to get a new or upgraded Help Desk system.
  • Plan for data migration, implementation costs, IT involvement, and any downtime that may impact customer or technical support during the transition.
  • Make a plan to support user adoption through training.
  • Understand the support processes you’re looking to streamline and automate.
  • Don’t skip the product demos offered by Help Desk software vendors to show features and functionality.
  • Understand reporting and analytics needs.
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