A good ticketing system is one of the most essential tools an effective service desk can have. Properly implemented, ticketing software can help service desks log, update, manage, and resolve incidents and service requests effectively. Efficient ticket management streamlines support processes, ensuring responsiveness and quality.
In this article, we'll look at everything you need to know about them, their must-have features, and some of the top ITSM vendors in the market to choose from in 2024.
Let's begin!
Table of contents
- TL;DR
- What is a ticketing system
- 10 best ticketing systems to try in 2024
- Why do you need a help desk ticketing system
- How does a ticketing system work
- 8 ticketing system features to look for
- How to implement a ticketing system
TL;DR
- A ticketing system streamlines the delivery of IT services by centralizing customer requests, ticket creation and lifecycle management.
- By using ticketing software, IT support becomes more efficient, as it helps guarantee nothing is lost, ignored, or forgotten about.
- The main ticketing system software features to look out for are ticket logging and management, omnichannel support, automation, and integrations.
- Every business is different. Take the time to research the market and find a tool vendor that will work with you to deliver a ticketing service that will best meet your organization's and its users' needs.
What is a ticketing system?
A ticketing system is a piece of software that automates the manual tasks IT professionals carry out when dealing with incidents and service requests.
Put simply, in front-line IT support, you deal with two types of tickets:
- Incidents, which are break-fix.
- Service requests, which are there to handle requests for new hardware, software, or permissions.
A ticketing system manages these requests, so instead of the tech support person relying on post-it notes, emails, or spreadsheets, the system creates a new incident or service request every time a ticket is submitted.
In doing so, the software platform captures all the relevant customer data and requirements as part of the Ticket Management process, and it generates a unique reference number so the ticket can be tracked throughout its lifecycle. Some ticketing systems also have additional tools and functionality to support Problem, Change, and Asset Management.
10 best ticketing systems to try in 2024
Ready to start looking at ticketing systems? Here are some of the best.
- InvGate Service Desk
- ManageEngine
- Hornbill
- TOPdesk
- Ivanti Neurons
- SysAid
- Freshservice
- Zendesk
- SolarWinds
- Marval
1. InvGate Service Desk
InvGate Service Desk is the all-in-one solution to streamline your IT operations. It's a centralized platform that's suitable for companies of all sizes and offers on-premise and cloud implementations.
Its user-friendly interface not only improves the adoption rates by end-users but also helps the implementation time by allowing your agents to start working with it in no time and with very little training time required.
InvGate Service Desk software features
- An intuitive ticketing system.
- Self-service capabilities (knowledge base, self-service portal, and service catalog).
- Support automation features (a no-code workflow builder, alerts, and notifications).
- Customizable reporting and dashboards.
- ITIL-certified practices.
- Add-on modules to include Asset Management and gamification.
- SLA Management.
- AI capabilities.
And you can explore all of these for free for 30 days or navigate through the live demo.
InvGate Service Desk pricing
- $17/agent/month (billed annually).
InvGate Service Desk review rating
- Gartner: 4.6
- G2: 4.7
2. ManageEngine
ManageEngine overview
ManageEngine provides a consistent solution for IT Service Management with key features such as Incident, Problem, Change, Asset, and SLA management, self-service features, a CMDB to manage configuration items, IT project management, and reporting.
ManageEngine pricing
- Not disclosed.
ManageEngine review rating
- Gartner: 4.3
- G2: 4.2
ManageEngine alternatives
- ManageEngine vs. ServiceNow
- ManageEngine vs. Cherwell
- ManageEngine vs. Ivanti Neurons
- ManageEngine vs. Jira
- ManageEngine vs. Freshservice
- ManageEngine vs. SolarWinds
- ManageEngine vs. Aranda Service Management
- ManageEngine vs. BMC Helix
- ManageEngine vs. TOPdesk
- ManageEngine vs. SysAid
- ManageEngine vs. Zendesk
- ManageEngine vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- ManageEngine vs. EasyVista
- ManageEngine vs. TeamDynamix
3. Hornbill
Hornbill overview
Hornbill is a comprehensive Service Management solution that streamlines IT and business processes.
Hornbill software features
- Customizable workflows
- Self-Service portal
- Collaboration tools
- Analytics and reporting
- Integrations with third-party tools and systems
Honrbill pricing
- Not disclosed.
Hornbill review rating
- Gartner: 4.1
- G2: 4.5
4. TOPdesk
TOPdesk overview
TOPdesk provides organizations with tools to manage their IT services effectively and ensure business continuity.
TOPdesk software features
- Incident and Problem Management
- Change Management
- Self-Service portal
- Reporting and analytics
- Integrations
TOPdesk pricing
- Not disclosed.
TOPdesk review rating
- Gartner: 4.5
- G2: 4.1
TOPdesk alternatives
- TOPdesk vs. ServiceNow
- TOPdesk vs. Jira Service Management
- TOPdesk vs. SolarWinds
- TOPdesk vs. Aranda Service Management
- TOPdesk vs. BMC Helix
- TOPdesk vs. Freshservice
- TOPdesk vs. Ivanti
- TOPdesk vs. Cherwell
- TOPdesk vs. ManageEngine
- TOPdesk vs. SysAid
- TOPdesk vs. Zendesk
- TOPdesk vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- TOPdesk vs. EasyVista
5. Ivanti Neurons
Ivanti Neurons overview
Ivanti Neurons helps organizations meet company demands and streamline IT processes.
Ivanti Neurons software features
- ITIL-aligned processes
- Integration with IT Asset Management
- Omnichannel support
- CMDB
Ivanti Neurons pricing
- Not disclosed.
Ivanti Neurons review rating
- Gartner: 4.3
- G2: 3.9
Ivanti Neurons alternatives
- Ivanti Neurons vs. ServiceNow
- Ivanti Neurons vs. Freshservice
- Ivanti Neurons vs. ManageEngine
- Ivanti Neurons vs. SolarWinds
- Ivanti Neurons vs. Aranda Service Management
- Ivanti Neurons vs. BMC Helix
- Ivanti Neurons vs. TOPdesk
- Ivanti Neurons vs. SysAid
- Ivanti Neurons vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- Ivanti Neurons vs. EasyVista
- Ivanti Neurons vs. TeamDynamix
6. SysAid
SysAid overview
SysAid provides its users with an ITSM solution to automate service desk tasks. It comes with an ITIL package, workflow automation, third-party integrations, advanced customization, and Service Level Management.
SysAid pricing
- Not disclosed.
SysAid review rating
- Gartner: 4.4
- G2: 4.5
SysAid alternatives
- SysAid vs. SolarWinds
- SysAid vs. ServiceNow
- SysAid vs. Aranda Service Management
- SysAid vs. BMC Helix
- SysAid vs. TOPdesk
- SysAid vs. Freshworks
- SysAid vs. Ivanti Neurons
- SysAid vs. Jira
- SysAid vs. Cherwell
- SysAid vs. ManageEngine
- SysAid vs. Zendesk
- SysAid vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- SysAid vs. EasyVista
7. Freshservice
Freshservice overview
Freshservice is an intuitive solution to automate repetitive tasks, remove data silos, and reduce costs.
Freshservice software features
- Integrations with communication tools to provide omnichannel support
- Knowledge base and self-service options
- AI capabilities
Freshservice pricing
- $19/agent/month (billed annually).
Freshservice review rating
- Gartner: 4.3
- G2: 4.6
Freshservice alternatives
- Freshservice vs. ServiceNow
- Freshservice vs. Jira
- Freshservice vs. Ivanti Neurons
- Freshservice vs. Cherwell
- Freshservice vs. ManageEngine
- Freshservice vs. Zendesk
- Freshservice vs. SolarWinds
- Freshservice vs. Aranda Service Management
- Freshservice vs. BMC Helix
- Freshservice vs. TOPdesk
- Freshservice vs. SysAid
- Freshservice vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- Freshservice vs. EasyVista
- Freshservice vs. TeamDynamix
8. Zendesk
Zendesk overview
Zendesk is a platform oriented to customer service, with a focus on experience. It offers products for service and sales.
Zendesk software features
- Self-service capabilities
- Omnichannel support features
- AI and bots
- Collaboration tools
- Integrations
Zendesk pricing
- $19/agent/month (billed annually).
Zendesk review rating
- Gartner: 4.2
- G2: 4.3
Zendesk alternatives
- Zendesk vs. Freshdesk
- Zendesk vs. Zoho Desk
- Zendesk vs. ServiceNow
- Zendesk vs. Jira Service Management
- Zendesk vs. Cherwell
- Zendesk vs. ManageEngine
- Zendesk vs. SysAid
- Zendesk vs. TOPdesk
- Zendesk vs. SolarWinds
9. SolarWinds
SolarWinds overview
SolarWinds is helpful to better control your IT processes and improve customer service. It specializes in industries with tight controls and audits.
Solarwinds software features
- Integrated IT Asset management
- Self-service options
- Problem, Change, and Incident Management
Solarwinds pricing
- $39/technician/month.
Solarwinds review rating
- Gartner: 4.3
- G2: 4.3
SolarWinds alternatives
- SolarWinds vs. ServiceNow
- SolarWinds vs. ManageEngine
- SolarWinds vs. Freshservice
- SolarWinds vs. Ivanti Neurons
- SolarWinds vs. Jira Service Management
- SolarWinds vs. SysAid
- SolarWinds vs. BMC Helix
- SolarWinds vs. Cherwell
- SolarWinds vs. Aranda Service Management
- SolarWinds vs. TOPdesk
- SolarWinds vs. Zendesk
- SolarWinds vs. SymphonyAI Summit
- SolarWinds vs. EasyVista
- SolarWinds vs. TeamDynamix
10. Marval
Marval overview
Lastly, Marval offers a powerful Enterprise Service Management solution to enhance productivity and customer service and improve control and accountability. It has a user-friendly interface, cloud and on-premise options, and easy implementation.
Marval pricing
- Not disclosed.
Marval review rating
- Gartner: 4.0
- G2: Not listed.
Why do you need a help desk ticketing system?
Support ticket systems allow organizations to handle customer requests efficiently. They constitute a centralized place to organize customer data, sort support tickets, and ultimately, help businesses make data-driven decisions.
A ticketing system (also known as help desk software) makes the support process more cohesive and ensures nothing is lost, ignored, or forgotten about. Thanks to its automation capabilities, it will provide you with a unified and updated view of your ticket volume and ticket status - making it much easier to provide superb customer experience.
6 benefits of ticketing software
The benefits of ticketing software include the following:
- A more professional help desk experience - Everything is logged consistently, and nothing can be lost, ignored, or forgotten (which also boosts your customer satisfaction levels!).
- Automation - Your support team can get rid of repetitive tasks and keep track of all incoming requests with automatically assigned tickets and escalations.
- Omnichannel support - A ticketing system allows organizations to connect all support channels (such as email or Microsoft Teams) into one single platform so that support teams don't have to go back and forth among multiple systems.
- Self-service options - By letting end-users self-solve their issues through a knowledge base, for instance, you can get a grip of your ticket volume.
- Unified reporting - By having all your support operations in one place, companies can unify their reporting and get a more comprehensive picture of their performance.
- Scalability - Ultimately, help desk software streamlines support operations and lets organizations scale their support offering without headaches.
How does a ticketing system work?
Ticketing systems capture all customer messages, questions, and issues into tickets, acting as one central point of contact for all IT support. The system will then track the ticket status of each request as it's investigated and worked on, and all actions relating to them are recorded in an audit diary so that they can be referred back to if necessary.
When the ticket has been resolved, it doesn't just disappear; it's updated with what has been done to solve the issue (you can also transform this ticket resolution into a knowledge article using AI!). This way, if it recurs or the same issue is experienced by a different colleague or customer, ticketing software can return and use it as part of the fix effort.
8 ticketing system features to look for
The IT ticketing system market is a crowded one, but here are the essential features to look for:
- Ticket logging and management
- Self-service capabilities
- Omnichannel support
- Automation
- IT security
- Integrations
- Reporting and metrics
- AI capabilities
1. Ticket logging and management
The clue is in the name! The most important thing your ticketing system needs to be able to do is to log and manage tickets quickly and effectively to establish a seamless ticketing process flow.
It should be easy to raise, update, and resolve issues, and you should be able to create templates of your most commonly occurring tickets.
2. Self-service capabilities
A self-service portal, service catalog, and knowledge base allow end-users to become more self-sufficient by empowering them to log and update their own incidents and service requests.
3. Omnichannel support
Colleagues don't all contact IT in the same way. Some call, some email, and some show up in person. So, having a strategy for ensuring that everyone is treated transparently and fairly no matter how the ticket was logged is essential.
Thus, ensure that your go-to ticketing platform can integrate with tools such as Zapier, Microsoft Teams, and email to enable IT to support customers using their preferred channels.
4. Ticket routing
It's not just about logging and resolving incidents and service requests; you must also route them effectively. Sometimes, you have to assign an incident to a different team or the next level of support if more specialized knowledge is required.
To achieve this, help desk tools must provide features like automatic assignment of tickets, workflows, and simple ticket escalation options. Regardless of your ticketing system, ticket reassignments and escalations are vital parts of the ticket management lifecycle. So, ensure your tool can support this and that the functionality is easy to use.
5. Automation
Your ticketing system can use workflow automation to free up your help desk to focus on the most valuable customer interactions. Create workflows to automate routine processes across IT and the rest of the business.
6. Integrations
The help desk is too important to work alone, so look at how it can link to other systems within your organization. One integration in particular to leverage is combining support ticketing systems with an Asset Management platform because it'll provide your agents with all the information they need to solve issues faster and more efficiently.
7. Reporting & analytics
There's nothing like solid metrics to keep us all accountable. Done well, reporting can help identify blockers and pain points and be used as the basis for Problem Management and continuous improvement practices.
9. AI capabilities
Artificial intelligence is pivotal in enhancing the efficiency, precision, and user satisfaction of service processes within a ticketing system.
The implementation of AI-driven features introduces intelligent automation and predictive insights, leading to the simplification and streamlining of Ticket Management in the IT support domain.
This includes functions such as summarizing tickets, creating knowledge article drafts, and suggesting improvements to agents answers. This way, it doesn't just improve the workflow for support agents but also heightens the overall experience for end-users.
How to implement a ticketing system: 4 tips and best practices
Implementing a ticketing system is one of the most important actions you can take in improving IT service provision to your organization. We have an ITSM implementation checklist to help you out, but in short, remember the following:
- Know your organization - Every business is different. Take the time to research the market and find a tool vendor that will work with you to deliver a ticketing service that will best meet your organization's and its users' needs.
- Know your requirements - We've discussed the main ones in the previous section. Before you start looking at solutions, sit down with your help desk and tech support teams, and watch them work support tickets through the entire lifecycle in case a requirement or way of working needs to be captured.
- The tool is not a silver bullet - Don't forget that the tool is there to make life easier for your end-users and support team. If your processes are broken, having a new ticketing system won't fix that, no matter how sparkly and new it is. Ensure your process works end to end and address any pain points before you go live with the tool to ensure the best possible chance of a successful outcome.
- Keep it simple - Just because you can automate something doesn't necessarily mean you should. Start simple while you and your end-users get accustomed to the tool, and add more automation and process improvements over time.
The bottom line
The reality is that a ticketing system will enable your IT support teams to handle support requests more effectively and efficiently, delivering better outcomes to end-users. It will help you manage, control, and protect your IT infrastructure, keep costs under control, and plan for future challenges.
When selecting ticketing system software, don't forget to keep in mind your company's needs and must-have features such as automation, integrations, and self-service capabilities – they will make the difference in the long run, we can assure you!
Lastly, if you want to know if InvGate Service Desk is the right tool for your organization, our experts are ready to jump in and answer your questions!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ticketing in tech?
Ticketing keeps track of end-users' issues and requests, ensuring nothing is lost, ignored, or forgotten about.
What is an incident in a ticketing tool?
An incident is a type of ticket that refers to break-fix work. ITIL best practice defines it as an interruption to or degrading normal service levels.
What is an email ticketing system?
An email ticketing system is a system that is used to generate tickets from end-user emails.
Which software is used for ticketing?
ITSM tool software is used for ticketing systems.
