With over 100 Support Desk vendors in the market, prices ranging from free to over $5,000 per advanced user (i.e. Technical Support Rep or Customer Support Rep) and an overwhelming array of architectures, web services, and features to evaluate, selecting the right Support Desk for your organization can be a time consuming and frustrating process.

The purpose of this document is to try and simplify the process for you. This industry brief will address common issues that everyone in the Support Desk Market should understand prior to making the final selection. Understanding these issues will help you make a more informed decision.

Architecture

The issue that tends to cause the most confusion in our industry is client/server web-enabled solutions (C/S) vs. 100% web-based solutions. In general, C/S architected solutions are a dying breed. At one point, an excellent improvement over main frame solutions, C/S technology has been phased out due to the availability and advantages of web-based solution architectures. The main reason some vendors continue to sell C/S solutions is due to the fact that they do not have the development resources to convert their older product to a web-based architecture. Some of the advantages that web-based solutions have over C/S solutions include:

When you begin to demo different solution please take note if you are required to load code on your desktop to begin the demo. If so, you are not dealing with a vendor that offers a web-based solution. True web-based architectures need only a URL in order to see a demo.

So, if the vendor sends you a 5 MB exe. file to demo their solution, you are not seeing a 100% web based solution. The file that vendor is sending you is either front ending a C/S system or is a complete “canned” demo on your desktop. Make sure you evaluate the solution you are going to purchasing! If you do purchase a C/S solution, please note that web-enabled add-on modules will not give you full access to all of the features when you are at a remote location.

Pricing, Terms & Conditions and Hosting

When obtaining solution pricing information, the key is to get a detailed itemized quote. Vendors seeking to entice prospects with low costs may only provide summary quotes. These summary quotes may not include features that are not a part of the core solution (add-on modules), but may be required by you for your specific support desk needs. For example, a vendor may tell you that their solution supports Active Directory (AD) and SQL Server, but when you receive a summary quote, it may only reflect the price of the core solution. You may later find out, after purchasing the solution, that AD is one of their add-on modules. You will then need to purchase this add-on functionality, driving your support solution price up much higher than you anticipated.

When requesting a price quote:

Solutions that offer “standard,” “professional,” and “enterprise” versions can be very confusing and it is difficult to tell what features you are getting. Many vendors offer multiple versions but only have a single demo: How do you know exactly what you are getting? Choose incorrectly and your budget takes another hit to upgrade to the “better” version. Pricing should be published, clear, and linear with no break points or multiple versions. Linear pricing allows you to “pay only for what you need.” Why should you purchase an 8-user Active Directory module if you only have 5 users? Linear pricing allows you to pay for the level of functionality you are using today with a very clear path as to what each additional user will cost.

In addition, always ask for a money back guarantee. If what you install is different than what you thought you purchased, any reputable vendor should solve the problem or be happy to refund your money.

Non-Specific User Attributes Can Lead To More Pricing Confusion

A Support Desk Solution vendor should also clearly define user attributes. For example, Advanced Users (i.e. an agent, tech, or CSR) and standard End Users of the solution will have different attributes. The cost of an Advanced User license should be spelled out very clearly, as it is easy to get trapped into expensive upgrades when vendors do not make advanced user attributes very clear.

Hosted Pricing

Do you require a hosted solution or will you run the solution on your server? “On demand” pricing for Hosted Support Desk Solutions is becoming the accepted model in the industry today. Pay only for what you use and only for as long as you need it. Look for vendors that require no long-term contracts. If a vendor is confident in the solution they provide, they will not require a long-term contract.

Customer Support 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 vendor’s 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 vendor’s 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.

The IssueTrak Team hopes this white paper on common
support desk selection issues was of value.