Support tools directory

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Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. The most noticeable features of Zendesk are its ticket management system and its live chat facility. Webform , live chat , and email are centralized in the console, so the operative only needs to access one point to communicate with customers instead of having to swap between the email system, a chat app, and the web interface.

Although SaaS and cloud storage providers widely use Zendesk , it is also suitable for in-house support departments , including an IT help desk. Zendesk Suite is a package of support utilities available on the cloud. The suite includes a knowledge base platform , which can be your first port of call for users in trouble. Many calls to the IT help desk originate from users who just want to know what directory to save work in and which printer is the closest to them.

So, creating user manuals and a troubleshooting guide on the company intranet will ease pressure on the support team. Although live chat is probably more regularly regarded as a sales channel, using this feature for IT help desk provision can speed up the problem resolution process. All communications between a user and a support team member are logged in the system under a ticket number. That ticket can be forwarded to specialist staff or split to create multiple workflows.

The user is given the option to close a ticket , and if an operative closes the ticket without permission, the user can reopen the issue. The involvement of the user in deciding whether a job is finished supports team members who tend to close a ticket rather than deal with it. It is also possible to add in a user or customer satisfaction survey during the ticket closure process to monitor staff performance.

You can set goals to reduce the time each issue takes to resolve, identify the most common issues that provoke calls to the help desk, and track SLA performance. The standard reports produced by Zendesk support analysis and agreement performance delivery, but you can also create your own customized report formats.

The pricing model of Zendesk is entirely scalable. You pay a monthly subscription rate per agent. This makes a very high-quality support desk system available to the smallest of enterprises and you just add on more agent subscription as your company grows. Zendesk offers a free trial of the service so you can give it a run-through before committing any money.

Dameware is a division of SolarWinds. That company takes the top spot in this list of the best tools for IT help desks. However, Dameware Remote Support is a tool that you should consider to enhance the performance of your support technicians. This is an on-premises system and is priced per technician. It can be installed on Windows and Windows Server environments.

However, it is easy to expand your coverage just by buying in more agent licenses. As the name of this tool suggests, it enables your technicians to access user devices, explore issues, and fix problems. DameWare Mobile includes the same remote control mechanism used in the desktop version of DameWare Remote Support, so it allows IT pros and end-users to share the desktop screen during remote support sessions.

Although the Dameware system can be used for customer support, the issue of control over remote computers is easier to implement on in-house equipment.

So, you can expand the use of this software beyond the boundaries of your company , but this strategy is probably better suited to internal support functions, such as an IT help desk.

The software includes a range of network analysis tools, such as Ping and Traceroute. These enable technicians to check on possible network issues if a user query sounds as though its cause is outside the endpoint device. The Remote Support tool is shipped with a number of pre-written analysis and inventory reports, but you can also specify your own customized reports.

Security features of the tool include the enforcement of 2FA , and you can get access to devices that are powered off or in sleep mode. SolarWinds operates a user community, called THWACK , where your team leaders and technicians can get tips and troubleshooting advice from fellow owners of the Dameware Remote Support system. The company offers a day free trial for Dameware Remote Support.

It acts as a self-service platform in both searchable troubleshooting pages and in a chat window format. However, it is an interesting utility, which, as an add-on to your ticketing system, can drastically reduce calls to the IT Help Desk and maximize the capabilities of unqualified help desk agents.

The AI-driven knowledge base approach of Agent. This means you could outsource your help desk functions to a call center once you have the knowledge engine of the system correctly set up.

However, that approach would require a very comprehensive mapping of all the technical expertise in your IT support department. That encompasses not only the information on how to fix a problem but the process of decision making that derives the probable cause of a problem. In some instances, that can lead to very complicated paths. As most support technicians know, some problems are caused by an unexpected combination of errors, and it can be tough to isolate each contributing component.

The Agent. An effective support scenario implemented with Agent. This uses the Auto-pilot facility of Agent. The module asks questions of the user, successively narrowing down the problem to arrive at a solution.

Once the solution phase begins, the Auto-pilot requests feedback from the user on the effectiveness of the suggestion. This process repeats until the problem is solved. The Auto-pilot can be dressed up to pose as a real person. This can be achieved by implementing the utility through a chat window and giving it a human name. If no Auto-pilot solution works, the user should be passed on to a support agent and at this point, your ticketing system should kick in.

Again, this contact can be performed through a chat screen , or it can be carried out over the phone. The support agent has access to the other format of Agent.

This facility uses probability to guide the agent through investigation and solution options. This is probably going to be exactly the same path taken by Auto-pilot. However, the inclusion of the human element at this point can help improve the interaction between the user and the AI inference engine.

When all of these defenses fail, the ticket can then be passed on to an expert who, with the log of all of the facts unearthed during the Co-pilot stage, will already have much of the investigation taken care of. This investigation assistance will significantly reduce the time that each expert needs to dedicate to support tasks.

However, you will need to populate the knowledge base, and that task can take quite a long time. N-able MSP is a division of SolarWinds that focuses its efforts on providing support products for managed service providers. Each MSP can be expected to serve several companies simultaneously. The service comes with a brandable customer portal , which enables the employees of the supported company to raise a support request ticket and receive feedback on the progress of the problem resolution.

The portal is also accessible through a mobile app. Functions included in the N-able MSP Manager are a ticketing system , which creates access points for users into the support team through email or from the customer portal. The manager also queues queries form users and allocates them to technicians. The time information that comes out of the ticket management system automatically flows through to a billing system. MSPs using this system can generate their invoices from within N-able MSP Manager, or export the data through to a specialist billing system.

N-able MSP offers a day free trial of MSP Manager so you can put the system through its paces before you commit to sign-up for the subscription service. This package can be used to support in-house departments or customers and their staff.

The dashboard of the service can be tailored so that you create different screens for different roles. This gives call center staff access to the same system as technicians and managers without revealing functions and data views that could compromise data security.

The system copes with a range of communication channels including calls, email, chat, and web forms. The agents who field initial calls can be given a searchable troubleshooting system that enables them to identify the problem. If a ticket needs to be allocated to a back-office technician, the system carries through records of contacts and actions that have already been performed. A deeper technical knowledge search facility is available for technicians that give access to corporate-wide applications.

A troubleshooting option is specifically tailored to field agents. Managers can allocate staff to support calls either in-house or out in the field.

That allocation can also be automated. In the automated task allocation scenario, you need to set up groups of competence so specific problems are allocated to members of specific groups. Managers get live metrics in the dashboard that show current activity in the IT Help Desk Department and tickets that are open but not currently being worked on. You can set up workflows to set a path of actions and designate collaborators on a ticket. The progress along that critical path is visible in the management dashboard.

Standard administration tasks, such as logging and archiving can be performed automatically. The system also has a library of standard reports that cover all of the metrics you are likely to need for presentations to executives. It is also possible to create your own customized reports. The most expensive package is called Enterprise Contact Center and it includes a chat facility for communication with users. Their software reach now also extends to customer service productivity tools and support.

As the name suggests, this support system is delivered through the Cloud. Although the focus of this platform is to serve external customers, the software can also be used for an IT help desk or other in-house support services. The user contact with the IT help desk begins with a self-service portal. This can be used as a location for a troubleshooting guide, a FAQ page, and a searchable knowledgebase to encourage users to fix their own problems. If the problem is higher than the user can cope with, they can use many channels to contact the IT help desk.

The first of these lies in the self-service portal, where there is a ticket submission form. This portal also lists open tickets, progress, and any communications that were carried out on the ticket.

Then, on the Select Features page, expand Remote Server Administration Tools , and then select the tools that you want to install. Complete the wizard to install your management tools. To enable the tools, click Start , click Settings , click Apps , and then click Optional features , after that click on the panel Add a feature and enter Remote in the search bar.

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