IT Support Management software has become an essential tool for businesses looking to streamline their operations. As organizations continue to rely more on technology to function properly, the need for effective IT Service Management (ITSM) has also become increasingly crucial.
With so many tools available in the market, choosing the right solution to empower your IT support team can be an overwhelming and sometimes confusing task. However, considering some key factors and features that a competent tool must include will help you find software that fits your organization's needs.
In this article, we will provide you with a comprehensive guide to the best IT Support Management software available in 2023. Plus, we will look at the benefits of implementing it and the must-have features to consider.
So, keep reading to find out your best option and start boosting your ITSM right away!
What is IT Support Management?
Before even considering acquiring a new tool, it's important to thoroughly understand what IT Support Management implies. This practice takes on the whole process of managing the technology infrastructure of an organization, ensuring that its computer systems and networks are operating efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of the business. It also involves providing technical support to end-users, whether they are employees or customers. This includes managing hardware and software installations, performing updates and maintenance, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise.
Why do you need an IT Support Management tool?
With the increasing complexity of technology and the growing reliance on digital tools in business operations, IT Support Management tools have become more important than ever. The reason behind this is that they allow businesses to streamline IT operations, reduce costs, and improve the overall performance of their technology infrastructure.
Without the right tools and processes in place, managing IT support can be a time-consuming and frustrating task for businesses, and you may incur in some of the most common pain points that Support Management software avoids:
- Disorganized support requests - Without a centralized system in place to manage requests, IT teams can easily become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of requests and lack the resources to organize and prioritize the workload effectively.
- Inefficient workflows - Manual processes and lack of automation can lead to inefficiencies and mistakes in the support process.
- Limited visibility - Without a way to track and monitor support requests and assets, IT teams may lack visibility into their IT infrastructure and the relevant data they need to address issues.
- Poor communication - Communication breakdowns, misunderstandings, and unclear agreements between IT teams and end-users can lead to frustration and delays in resolving issues.
- High workload on IT staff - IT Support Management software can provide a self-service portal for end-users, reducing the workload on IT staff.
Thus, any organization that relies on technology to carry out its day-to-day operations (and, to be honest, it's hard to think of an industry that doesn't these days) will benefit from it. This includes businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large corporations.
Nevertheless, you should always analyze your organizations specific needs when choosing the right option to acquire
How does IT Support Management software work?
In essence, IT Support Management software offers a centralized platform to manage IT support processes. It usually takes the form of a service desk, and thus enables users to benefit from all its perks (more on this later, we promise!).
The basic way in which support platforms work involves:
- Organizing information in a comprehensive way so that end-users have the possibility to self-solve issues before contacting the IT department.
- Channeling requests (that can be submitted through multiple channels if you have the right integrations) in a single place.
- Assigning requests to help desk agents for their resolution.
- Tracking the entire ticket process flow to ensure SLA fulfillment and provide visibility into the agents' workload and performance.
- Generating reports to evaluate the performance of the entire team, and identify areas to be improved.
5 benefits of implementing IT support software
Any organization that implements IT support software can optimize its operations. So, let's go into more detail about the value it will bring to your work. Here are the key benefits of implementing a new tool:
- Improved efficiency - Businesses improve the efficiency of their IT operations by providing a centralized platform for managing assets, service requests, and system performance.
- Increased visibility - Through its reporting tools, it provides greater visibility into IT support operations, allowing teams to identify bottlenecks, track trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve service delivery.
- Higher productivity - By automating routine tasks, IT Support Management software can help free up IT staff to focus on more complex projects, which can increase productivity and enable them to add more value to the business.
- Better customer satisfaction - With a self-service portal for end-users, they can submit service requests, search knowledge bases for solutions, and track the status of their requests. This will save time, give them autonomy, and also reduce the workload on IT agents.
- Reduced costs - All of this makes organizations operate more efficiently and effectively, which translates into overall cost savings.
5 must-have features for IT Support Management software
IT Support Management software features vary from vendor to vendor. However, there are a couple of them you can’t lack.
1. Ticket Management
One of the primary functions of IT Support Management software is Ticket Management, which allows you to create, track, and manage IT support requests from employees through a centralized ticketing system.
The tool should have a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create new tickets and assign them to the appropriate agent or team. It's important to also have customizable workflows that can help you prioritize tickets based on their urgency.
2. Self-service portal
A self-service portal allows users to submit support tickets, track their status, and access knowledge base articles. This way, employees are not only able to manage their own requests, but also resolve simple IT issues themselves, reducing the workload on your IT team and increasing employee satisfaction by providing them with a quicker way to address some of their needs.
3. Knowledge base
Another critical feature is an internal knowledge base. It allows you to create a database of articles, documents, and other practical resources that your employees can access to apply proper Incident Management. This will not only empower agents with the information they need to carry out their tasks, but it can also help your team normalize procedures, saving time and resources.
In addition, a knowledge base available for end-users can also reduce the number of support requests that your team receives, as clients will be able to self-solve common issues.
4. Reporting and analytics
Your chosen software should have robust reporting capabilities to track the performance of your IT support team through key support metrics, including First Response Time, Ticket Volume, and Time to Resolution. This can help you identify trends and patterns in your requests to help you make data-driven decisions about the IT support processes.
5. Asset Management integration
IT Support Management software should also have an Asset Management integration to track your company's IT assets, including hardware, software, and licenses. By integrating ITSM with ITAM, you will have easy access to the devices related to the requests, which can save tons of time and help with troubleshooting.
8 IT Support Management software alternatives in the market
Now that we covered everything you need to know before making the important decision of acquiring an IT Support Management software, let's take a look and compare most popular alternatives that are currently in the market.
1. InvGate Service Desk
InvGate Service Desk is an IT Service Management solution designed to streamline IT support operations throughout organizations, empowering agents with all the information they need to operate, and improving end-user satisfaction at the same time. To do so, it provides you with a full package of all-round capabilities to boost your performance:
- Ticket Management
- Customizable forms for submitting service requests
- Self-service capabilities
- Automated workflows
- Tasks creation and assignment
- Service-level agreements (SLAs)
- Knowledge base
- Integrations
- Reporting capabilities.
Don't hesitate to try out the free 30 day trial to see for yourself!
2. Freshservice
Freshservice offers ticketing, Asset Management, and self-service capabilities. It allows users to create and manage service requests, incidents, problems, and changes from a single platform. The software also offers a self-service portal where users can submit service requests and search for solutions to common issues.
3. SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds Service Desk counts with ticketing, Asset Management, and self-service capabilities. The software is designed to help businesses automate their IT support processes and improve service delivery. It provides customizable ticket forms, automated workflows, and a knowledge base for users to search for solutions to common issues. The software also offers asset discovery and management, allowing users to track and manage hardware and software assets throughout their lifecycle. It provides detailed reporting on ticket resolution time, technician performance, and service desk performance.
4. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is a solution that allows you to deliver ITSM on a single platform. It has great capabilities for detailed reporting on ticket resolution time, technician performance, and service desk performance. The software helps manage IT support operations more efficiently and improve end-user satisfaction. It has a central repository for managing incidents, problems, changes, and requests, allowing for streamlined ticket resolution and automation of IT processes.
5. Jira Service Desk
Jira Service Desk provides customizable ticket forms that will help you to triage the request in a simpler way. It also offers asset discovery and management, allowing users to track and manage hardware and software assets throughout their lifecycle. The software is designed to help businesses streamline their IT support processes and improve service delivery.
6. Zendesk
Zendesk aims to improve their support operations and provide a better customer experience. It offers customizable ticket forms, automated workflows, a self-service portal, and a knowledge base for users to search for solutions to common issues. It allows for detailed reporting on ticket resolution time, technician performance, and service desk performance.
7. BMC Helix ITSM
BMC Helix ITSM is a comprehensive platform that offers a wide range of capabilities to help businesses automate their IT support processes and improve service delivery. We can highlight its automation capabilities, which reduce response time and eliminates manual effort.
8. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is a cloud-based IT Service Management solution that is designed to help businesses streamline their IT support processes and improve service delivery. It counts on a ticketing system to manage requests. We can also highlight its Asset Management, self-service, and knowledge base capabilities.
In conclusion
As you probably know by now, counting on the right IT Support Management software is key if you’re seeking to provide smooth service throughout your whole organization By automating and streamlining IT support processes, you can make sure everything and everyone are working at the highest possible level, reduce downtime and extra costs, and boost overall productivity.
But to do so it's crucial to look for certain decisive. This includes Ticket Management, Asset Management integrations, reporting and workflow automation, as well as options for self-service, and integration with other systems. Apart from making sure all of this is met, remember to analyze your organization’s specific needs to make sure the solution satisfies all your demands.
Ask for a 30-day free trial and improve your IT support operations with InvGate Service Desk right away!
