Practical IT Research that Drives Measurable Results Vendor Landscape Plus: Help Desk Solutions

Introduction Info-Tech Research Group2 Whether you are just getting started with a help desk and need a solution to help you track incidents, or operating an advanced service desk and looking for a solution to help you automate service management processes, Info-Tech’s research, tools, and templates will help you find a solution that fits your technology and budget needs. This solution set will: Help you understand the help desk software market. Identify key selection criteria for your scenario. Guide you to a suitable shortlist. Provide templates and tools to help you make a decision.

Ensure you’ve done everything you can to effectively leverage your existing software before moving to a new solution. Info-Tech Research Group7 Product Usage Are you using your current product as effectively as possible? Training and use of new features may breathe life into existing help desk software. Vendor Upgrades Are there vendor upgrades that would mean the product will meet current needs? If the help desk software has not been kept up to date, will updates significantly enhance functionality? Additional Modules Does the vendor offer additional modules for your existing solution? Can you keep the current solution just by adding other modules? Maintenance Costs If you have an issue with your maintenance costs, have you hammered the vendor enough for cost reductions? For negotiation tips, refer to the following ITA Premium notes: “Top Negotiation Strategies to Cut Costs on IT Contracts,” and “Contract Negotiation Strategy Tool.”Top Negotiation Strategies to Cut Costs on IT ContractsContract Negotiation Strategy Tool In conversation with Info-Tech clients, we have often identified that their existing solution would meet their needs with upgrades, training, and implementation of newer features. Info-Tech Insight: Consider the following before moving to a new solution:

The help desk market has changed considerably. There are plenty of choices, including excellent free solutions. Info-Tech Research Group8 Best of breed doesn’t work. Several clients told us that due to integration issues best of breed implementations were impeding their ability to provide good service. Business process automation is key. Enterprises are seeing tremendous benefit from using workflow and automation to improve IT effectiveness. In addition, with workflow, IT leaders are extending IT services and business integration farther, resulting in greater alignment with the business. Budget is the simplest way to navigate the market. Budget will put you in the ballpark and help narrow the field of tools you need to look at. Whether it’s zero or $1 million dollars, there are hundreds of solutions out there. Help desk software is dead. Info-Tech’s recent in-depth report declares “service management should be the new normal” for IT. Incident tracking alone is not enough for any credible IT department. Service management suites facilitate greater efficiency and service quality. A little sweat equity can yield big payoffs for those willing to consider free, open source and low cost solutions. Open source no longer means “no support”. Info-Tech Insight:

Get to a shortlist using three main categories: budget, mid-market, and alternative. Info-Tech Research Group12 Look beyond IT when considering a service management solution. There may be a broader need for CRM and service management in sales, customer service, or human resources that would benefit from a combined solution. Info-Tech Insight: Budget solutions are best suited for financially challenged enterprises. If spending on a help desk solution is not in the cards use this short list. Mid-market solutions incorporate IT centric service management capabilities. If budget is less of a concern and there aren’t broader service management needs in the enterprise, use this short list. Alternative solutions address those enterprises that have a broader service management need, or are comfortable with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery methods. Start with this short list if your enterprise falls into this category.

No budget doesn’t mean no software. Consider free, open source, or low budget solutions. Info-Tech Research Group13 OTRS is a leader in this space. The vendor offers the best of open source at no initial cost, with as much support and consulting as the enterprise needs. SysAid is appropriate if you need a simple solution to meet everyday needs. But compare it with commercial software packages if you’ll require more than a free version in the near future. Spiceworks is an excellent choice for small enterprises that operate all systems on a single LAN. Web Help Desk is a free version of commercial software. It’s appropriate if you have only one person on help desk. Bigger shops will need to upgrade to the professional version. Request Tracker is a solid basic incident and ticket tracking solution, but unlike OTRS, it does not market as a complete solution. For an evaluation of top ‘free, open source, or low budget’ solutions, review the ITA Premium note, “Help Desk Vendor Landscape: Powerful Solutions on the Cheap.”Help Desk Vendor Landscape: Powerful Solutions on the Cheap Features Ilient SysAid OTRS Request Tracker Spiceworks Web Help Desk Basic Functionality MediumHighMedium Advanced Functionality MediumHighLowMedium ITIL/ITSM-High--Medium Compliance----- SupportMediumHigh LowHigh Vendor viability MediumHighMedium High RankCompetitorLeaderFollowerCompetitor Source: Info-Tech Research Group

Clients that skipped requirements definition overspent on the acquisition and implementation of their help desk solution. The statement of work that provides the purpose for the RFP. General information to describe the enterprise, the existing technology environment, and the schedule of events required. The scope of work, the specifications, and requirements. Vendor qualifications and references. Budget and pricing information, including a five-year total cost summary. Whether you need to use the RFP process or not, a comprehensive list of help desk evaluation criteria is important to making the right choice. Use Info-Tech’s “Help Desk Solution RFP Template,” to collect vendor feedback. This time- saving, editable template ensures the following is covered:Help Desk Solution RFP Template Info-Tech Research Group7

The “Help Desk Software Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool” will help with requirements definition and prioritization. Even if you don’t send the tool to vendors, you can use it to do your own evaluation and comparison before proceeding with a demonstration.Help Desk Software Evaluation and RFP Scoring Tool This tool will allow you to: Compare solutions with Info-Tech’s help desk software evaluation tool. Info-Tech Research Group8 Choose the features necessary from a comprehensive list Identify their importance to the enterprise Score vendors on their ability to provide those features

Don’t be lulled by an initially low price, ensure you understand the long term costs of any solution. Info-Tech Research Group9 Vendors may reduce the initial cost of a solution expecting that they’ll make it up with maintenance and additional license/module sales. Determine the costs over at least a 5 year period to understand the real cost of ownership. Beyond acquisition costs, some solutions may require specialized training, additional staff, or expensive consulting to own and operate. Don’t discount these costs as they can be substantial. Cost categories overview. Major cost categories that should be included in the TCO analysis. Sample TCO information. An example of a help desk software implementation, based on case studies and industry estimates. TCO calculator. A spreadsheet that dynamically calculates total cost per category, total cost for year, and overall TCO for SaaS and on-premise help desk solutions. Info-Tech’s “Help Desk Software: TCO Comparison Tool” helps you compare the TCO of SaaS and on-premise solutions. It includes the following components:Help Desk Software: TCO Comparison Tool

Info-Tech Research Group20 Get to a final decision with a vendor demonstration. Vendors will want to follow their own demonstration script to highlight strengths and minimize weaknesses. By following Info-Tech’s scripted demonstration methodology you’ll be able to compare solutions more objectively. You can easily customize and tailor our client tested demonstration script and evaluation tool to your needs to compare solutions. By providing a script to a vendor in advance, you demonstrate that this won’t simply be a “dog and pony” show. Info-Tech’s “Help Desk Solution Demonstration Script Template” will help you evaluate the following:Help Desk Solution Demonstration Script Template Incident logging, triage, and workflow. Asset capture and management. Item sign-out, special setup request management, and equipment service management. Systems setup, administration, and configuration. Change and problem management.

Evaluate vendor demonstrations with Info-Tech’s help desk scoring tool. Info-Tech Research Group21 Use Info-Tech’s “Help Desk Software Demonstration Script and Scoring Tool” to score and compare potential help desk software solutions during a scripted demonstration.Help Desk Software Demonstration Script and Scoring Tool Compare up to four help desk vendors with a weighted scorecard. Record first impressions and scoring during the five demonstration scenarios outlined in the demonstration script template. Evaluate the vendor’s implementation experience and qualifications. Compile additional comments during the demonstration.

Summary Info-Tech Research Group22 Help desk software is mandatory for any IT department. The solution you had five years ago may not be what you need now, don’t be afraid to replace it. It’s better to slightly under buy a help desk solution as implementation will be easier and less likely to fail. Enterprises that overbought often failed to realize all of the benefits or scrapped the project. Budget is the simplest way to get to a shortlist. No budget doesn’t mean no software. Evaluate free, low budget, and open source solutions. Review enterprise service management needs or you may be giving up an opportunity for significant business impact. Make the vendors work for you, but use objective criteria to make a final decision. Clients that skipped requirements definition overspent on the acquisition and implementation of their help desk solution. Don’t be lulled by an initially low price, ensure you understand the long term costs of any solution.

Additional Tools and Insight Included in Complete Report Discussion of help desk landscape. Analysis of primary and secondary criteria businesses should consider when replacing an existing help desk. Recommendations on key requirements that should be included to avoid over or under buying features that will diminish benefits. Analysis of 18 common features of help desk covering must-have, nice-to-have, and advanced features. Vendor comparison of 5 leading help desk software providers for mid-sized enterprises. Vendor comparison of 5 leading help desk software providers for larger enterprises with more complex service management needs that go beyond IT.

Info-Tech Research Group14 Info-Tech Helps Professionals To: 1.Quickly get up to speed with new technologies 2.Make the right technology purchasing decision – fast 3.Deliver critical IT projects, on time and within budget 4.Manage business expectations 5.Justify IT spending and prove the value of IT 6.Train IT staff and effectively manage an IT department “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment.” - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP “Info-Tech helps me to be proactive instead of reactive – a cardinal rule in a stable and leading edge IT environment.” - ARCS Commercial Mortgage Co., LP Sign up for a free trial to get practical solutions to your IT challenges. Sign up for a free trial