HelpDesk & Asset Management Software - Choosing The Right One

If you are to buy a HelpDesk & Asset Management software, see the following checklist before you decide on one.

Comprehensive Help Desk Functionality

A good Help Desk product can dramatically rise the productivity of the Help Desk Personnel (which in turn will rise the organisation's productivity as a whole). Computer users can be made to submit their requests by mail, phone or through the web interface provided by the product. These requests gathered centrally will be attended to by technicians (who already are automatically notified about the request). Adding memos/notes to the requests & viewing the history of Requests can help too.

Buildable Knowledge Base (KB)

Even before a complaint is registered, Users can be made to search a prebuilt KB which will result in time savings for the Help Desk Personnel. The KB will also result in increasing the first call resolutions. The Help Desk personnel should be able to add on to, edit & delete from the existing KB.

Asset Managenment

What is considered here as an organisation's Assets are typical hardware components like PCs, Printers, Scanners etc & Licensed Software like MS Office, Adobe Photoshop etc. The product should allow these assets to be well tracked & their records to be maintained - from their purchase till end-of-life. It should also allow easy software license tracking which will contribute to a significant cost saving for the organisation.

Contracts (AMCs) Management

Most hardware components in an IT organisation come under some Annual Maintenance Plan. The product you choose should allow you to create & maintain various AMCs with the various vendors. If the product reminds you days before a contract ends (say, through an auto-generated email), it will be an added advantage.

Purchasing

Your IT department is constantly in need of spendable Hardware (floppies, CDs, printer ribbons, printers, PCs etc) and software. All these needs will be typically taken care by a separate Purchase Department. Seamless tracking between the two departments is an essentiality which will result in getting the required needs on schedule & their optimal use. Also, see whether the product you choose lets you mail the Purchase Orders to Vendors & track them too.

Out-of-the-box

The product installation should go on like a breeze. Moreover, it should be put into operation with nil to minimum initial configuration & all the features should be inbuilt with no extra development effort.

User friendly UI

The product you are looking at should have a very user friendly client interface as it'll be used by all employees in your organisation. The UI should be simple & at the same time offer easy-to-use features. If the product is web enabled, it'll make things much more easier - any user can login from anywhere using just a browser.

Pricing & Licensing

Most Help Desk products in the market are prohibitively costly with many hidden costs associated with them. Coupled with this, the products' licensing models can be tedious to understand & implement. Make sure the product you choose offers affordable pricing with an easy licensing model.

AdventNet's ServiceDesk Plus offers to solve all the above & has much more to offer. The product is available at a very affordable price starting from $495 & there's a Free Edition too that can manage 25 Workstations. For further information, mail to sales@adventnet.com or visit http://www.servicedeskplus.com

Natarajan Aravind
Market Analyst
AdventNet,Inc.
http://www.servicedeskplus.com

---

Running a Program on a Remote Server Using SSH

How do you run a program on a remote server... Read More

Windows x: Basic Windows ?Security? Issues

Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems... Read More

5 Mac Security Tips You Can?t Live Without

So, you've bought a new Macintosh, and now you may... Read More

New SQL Delta Version 3.1

COMMAND LINE FUNCTIONA powerful command line script processor has been... Read More

Microsoft CRM Programming Secrets ? Tips For Developers

This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More

Mozilla Vs. Firefox

For those who are unclear on the differences between the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Upgrade ? Version 8.0 Overview for IT Director/Controller

If you have Microsoft Great Plains as main accounting and... Read More

Linux vs Windows Operating Systems

With so many Microsoft Windows related viruses, errors, and other... Read More

Microsoft CRM ? Typical Customizations

Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM... Read More

The Top 5 Wrong Reasons For Not Hiring Testers

Considering whether or not your software company should hire a... Read More

Off The Record - Tips For Picking Recording Software

Need software to record your voice, streaming audio or musical... Read More

Cisco Certification: Five Things To Do DURING Your CCNA Exam

There are plenty of articles out there about how to... Read More

Screenplay and Script Writing Software

When it comes to screenplay software each screenwriter needs to... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions Products Selection: ERP, CRM, Retail Management

Let's first look at your ERP system selection (without Retail... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation for Midsize & Large Corporation: Lockbox Processing

Microsoft Great Plains is now targeting large and midsize businesses... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Service Business Customization & Integration Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains might be considered as ERP... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains customization ? Freight Forwarding/Transportation industry example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains version 8.5, 8.0, 7.5, Great... Read More

Great Plains Dynamics on Pervasive/Ctree support ? overview for consultant

All of us know that Microsoft bought former Great Plains... Read More

Microsoft CRM Implementation - US Market Lessons

Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft Business Solutions. If... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization Secrets ? Second Edition

This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More

Internet Relay Chat - A Basic Introduction

What is IRC?IRC is Internet Relay Chat. It is a... Read More

Software Engineering: An Introduction

Software Engineering is the Systematic Approach for analysis design implementation... Read More

Intro to UNIX Shells

A UNIX Shell is in simplest terms, a command line... Read More

Outlook... Not Just for Email! Using Your Outlook Calendar

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used software... Read More

What is Software Piracy?

There are several kinds of software piracy. The bottom line... Read More

Anti-Spyware Protection ? Holes in the Shining Armor

Looking at all the ads which promise to get rid... Read More

Internet Faxing Service Review

The Internet is reshaping every form of communications medium, and... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Annual Enhancement Program ? How To Be Re-Enrolled

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More

eCommerce development for Microsoft Great Plains: tools and highlights for programmer

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration with Legacy Systems ? Overview For Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

eStore Advantage ? Extending Microsoft eConnect for MBS Great Plains

eStore Advantage allows front-office applications to communicate with back-office business... Read More

S is for Spying, Surveillance -- and for Software as Well

Words we choose to describe things and phenomena often show... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integrations ? Retail Management Sample

Microsoft Business Solutions is emerging as very attractive vendor for... Read More