Help Desk Software

Peregrine recently released a Call Optimization option for its ServiceCenter and Remedy Help Desk products. The Call Optimization option (which starts at about $65,000) can frequently reveal the cause of a problem without requiring Help desk analysts to spend time gathering information from the end user. Call Optimization agents run on end users' systems and continually gather information such as PC hardware configuration, network settings, information about installed printers, and email client configuration. When a problem occurs, the agent can provide relevant information to the Help desk analyst. For example, if a user receives an error message while sending an email message, the Call Optimization agent puts an HTML link into the error-message dialog box. The user can click the link to automatically generate a trouble ticket. When the analyst opens the trouble ticket, the Call Optimization Viewer presents faults it has gleaned from comparing the mail client configuration with the last known good configuration, as Figure 7 shows, and the analyst can choose to revert to a good configuration. Call Optimization can't help analysts deal with application usage questions or forgotten passwords, but it can help analysts answer more calls, thus shortening call queues.

Making the Move
Selecting a new Help desk software package can require a substantial time investment, but if your software is simply inadequate for your current needs, the time and money you spend to investigate new offerings should prove worthwhile. The first step is to define your current requirements. Meet with Help desk staff to determine the strengths and limitations of your existing software and to identify new features that you might need. Also meet with managers from departments that use the Help desk: Their needs can help you prioritize the features that your new software should have.

If your organizational structure has changed substantially since you last upgraded your Help desk software or if you've revised your support model, you should probably define how information should flow in the support structure. For example, if a call comes in from the sales group indicating that a crucial application is unavailable, who should be notified, and should notification be by pager, phone, or email? If an end user requests a new application or peripheral on his or her desktop computer, who needs to approve the purchase? This exercise will help you define the workflow capabilities your new product must have. After narrowing your choices, obtain evaluation copies of each product and evaluate features and ease of use firsthand before you decide which product to purchase.