How To Select A Help Desk Software Solution: Part 2
Customer Support Software and Training
Support options also generate confusion with many customers and should be clearly understood up front (again, customer references are always the best way to judge post sale support). It does not make sense for there to be more than one support option. For many vendors, Level 1 is usually a college student that reads the manual to you prior to putting you in the queue for second line support. The last thing you should hear from the vendor support staff is this appears to be a Microsoft problem, give them a call. Also, if you have a critical problem, support should be available 24 hours a day at no additional charge.
If a customer has a problem, it needs to be addressed immediately and with the least amount of frustration and productivity loss.
The educational offerings and training from a vendor also provide significant insight into the ease of use and ease of installation for a support desk solution. Training charges can be a very lucrative side business for vendors. How can a vendor claim ease of use and the ability to be up and running in less then 8 hours if they suggest you attend a three day training class?
Product Development, Releases and Packaging
Consistent feature releases, both historical and near future, will tell you a lot about how quickly you can expect improvements and fixes. No matter how closely you pick your solution, you will find features you want changed or enhanced. Waiting two years for the next release with your requested features is not an acceptable situation. A good question to ask is: what percent of the vendors employees are working on development and support vs. sales and marketing?
It is also critical to understand how the software is packaged, including add-on modules. All but the smallest vendors offer them and for good reason. You do not want to pay for functionality you do not need. For example, if you support external customers vs. internal employees, the odds are you do not need asset management, so why pay for it? Many vendors offer modules that look great on paper but are not fully integrated with the solution. You should require tight integration or look elsewhere.
Extensibility
A best of breed solution offers extensibility. For example, if you purchase a solution today to address IT issues, and later your CEO wants you to also address customer issues, what are the ramifications? Do you need a new and separate solution, or can your support desk solution be extended to other audiences. It is very important to understand the different requirements for these two groups of users. Users outside your organization require different security criteria, privacy attributes, and most likely will need to take advantage of web-based self-registration and will most certainly require zero code installation on their work station. Make sure the solution you choose can service both customers and employees with its unique multi-organizational feature. You should not need a separate solution or infrastructure to track external or internal issues.
Other Considerations
If Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, or the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act affects your industry, then it will probably affect your solution selection as well. You need to understand how your vendor solution addresses these requirements.
Vendor reputation, customer base, and financial stability are all key factors in your decision to buy software. Do they have a solid financial base and can they prove it? Are they for sale or have they been recently acquired? How will these events affect the future of the solution? Why are they selling or why did they acquire the solution? How many customers are actively using the solution and are their profiles similar to yours? If a large sector of the Fortune 500 has purchased this particular solution, there is a better chance that other organizations have done the required due diligence for you to have a high confidence level in that vendors solution.
Is source code availability a factor? It provides significant protection, should the vendor go bankrupt, and provides extensive capability to modify the solution to your exact requirements. Look for a vendor that offers source code for free and has extensive experience assisting customers in doing their own unique modifications while continuing to let the customer stay on the solution upgrade path.
