Inside Help Desk Software

Ever since FrontRange announced their shift from CRM software to IT service management software, we’ve been interested in what they’re releasing. Luckily for us, 2010 has started off well for the company, as FrontRange won a customer service award and launched the ninth version of FrontRange Discovery, a solution for finding and tracking all physical and virtual assets across a corporate network.

Seems refocusing on ITSM software is boding well for FrontRange, as FrontRange Customer Service Management received a 2009 Product of the Year Award this January. The award was given by Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, which is published by the Technology Market Corporation (TMC). Considering FrontRange’s mission to optimize customer interactions, they were highly pleased with the award.

Whether the ninth iteration of FrontRange Discovery is as pleasing remains to be seen, but surely it’s a deftly crafted update and a product of their reconcentrated efforts. Discovery 9 allows users a multi-faceted approach to network management, and they now also have the ability to automatically detect and then audit virtual assets, from servers to desktops to thin client applications. The underlying objective during development was to help users efficiently maintain their virtual assets—something many companies want to do, but fail.

One interesting tidbit to come out of the Discovery 9 press release: FrontRange is repositioning as the “Swiss Army knife” software company—with the ability to offer varied solutions for myriad issues. With that in mind, we’re curious to see what other multi-function tools they add.

Technorati Tags: Awards, FrontRange, FrontRange Customer Service Management, FrontRange Discovery

Matrix42, a company providing client lifecycle and IT service management, announced a survey study of theirs concluded that 80% of companies would be deploying user-self-help portals for software requests and/or IT services.

The survey specifically asked participants whether their organization would allow end-users to begin Windows 7 migration themselves, through a self-help portal, and of the 126 participants, 101 answered in the affirmative. Self-help portals would offer companies cost savings, yet their deployment is currently not possible in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

Microsoft SCCM is typically employed for inventory, software distribution, and management of end nodes, but survey respondents suggested their IT departments need more flexibility and functionality. Martix42 announced survey results through a press release, and though their motivation in doing so is to hawk their IT-Commerce suite—which allows users to “redefine” how IT departments interact with their customers—the survey findings are still interesting.

Matrix42 was founded in 1992, and by technology standards is not a young company, and they seem to have carved a decent niche in the self-help portal market. We’re curious to see if they generate some serious competition this year with these kinds of surveys. Only time will tell!

Technorati Tags: Matrix42, Self-Help Portal, Surveys

Alloy Software, a company providing service and asset management solutions, is a young company that’s starting to make a big impact on the IT service desk market. This week it was announced that, for the second consecutive year, Alloy was named one of the fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. Magazine.

Plenty of companies struggled to stay afloat in 2009, but thanks to Alloy’s Navigator, and Discovery, products, they did not experience the same crushing amount of stress. In fact, the company noted that most of their growth can be attributed to Alloy Navigator, the comprehensive IT service management solution that is also the company’s flagship product. Last year, Alloy extended Navigator by offering a Navigator Express product for SMBs; the express platform gave users help desk, hardware, and software management tools.

The other product contributing to the company’s success is Alloy Discovery, a network inventory solution offering accurate and up-to-date information for every computer connected to a particular network. Alloy has also successfully maintained a good rapport with existing customers, in part through their JumpStart program, which is a free and intensive technical tutorial service offered to all new and prospective customers to help them become acquainted with the program quickly.

This recognition from Inc. Magazine is not the first Alloy has received. Last year they were also awarded the CRM Excellence Award by Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, and Navigator Express was named “Best New Product” at the American Business Awards. Considering Alloy Software isn’t one of those companies trumpeting the benefits of cloud computing on every turn, they must be offering a really sharp product to have gained such ground in 2009, and we are certainly curious to see how they’ll do in 2010.

Technorati Tags: Alloy Discovery, Alloy Navigator, Alloy Navigator Express, Alloy Software, up and coming solutions

The slow economy has left many IT departments having to “make do” with help-desk software investments that are becoming antiquated. Luckily, there are companies like the Israel-based help-desk software vendor SysAid, which recently launched integrated IT help desk live chat.

The latest version of their help desk platform, SysAid 6.5, will feature the live chat integration. This newest addition will help IT departments make their technology last longer, and more specifically, will help them manage the influx of inquiries via phone and email. SysAid surveyed customers globally, and found that a large percentage weren’t utilizing a live chat platform for their help desk needs. However, the vast majority of users are familiar with SMS services, so the integration allows IT technicians to support multiple channels and end users much more easily.

It is interesting that this solutions pretty much eliminates the need for phones in help desk, but an IDC research director notes that live chat capabilities are essential to any company offering a SaaS help desk solution. Having the ability to support five to six users at once—far more than can be helped via phone support—offers a great competitive advantage. SaaS help desk software is very young right now, but live chat integrations could be the innovation that helps it mature, and quickly.

Technorati Tags: Live Chat Integration, SaaS Help Desk, SysAid

Most companies have been concerned with weathering the economic storm, but FrontRange Solutions had to worry about lackluster sales six years earlier. Thanks in large part to CEO Michael McCloskey (who came aboard in 2003), the enterprise software company—whose HEAT Help Desk solution is exceedingly popular—has thrived during the recession.

FrontRange ended their fiscal year May 30 with revenue up 6.8% from last year ($138.1 million from $129.3 million), with a total earnings of $23.6 million, up slightly from last year. McCloskey told the San Francisco Business Journal that he plans to take the company public by the end of next year, and has already been CEO or CFO of other companies that went public, like Kana Communications and Genesys Telecom.

However, the uphill climb wasn’t just the benefit of eliminating what McCloskey calls the employees’ “defeatist attitude”—FrontRange has steadily been moving from CRM software to low-cost IT service management software, where they will continue to pursue medium-sized enterprises. The IT sector is highly competitive, but FrontRange is successfully carving its niche.

It will be interesting to see how this repositioning affects FrontRange’s product line. The Business Journal notes that they have a slew of new products to release this year, but does not say whether those products air on the IT side. Given the success of HEAT and some of their other CRM products, it’s unlikely they’ll drop the CRM focus completely, but who’s to say what will happen when IT service management software is in the spotlight.

Technorati Tags: FrontRange Solutions, HEAT Help Desk, Kana Communications

IT service and management systems in the United States have just received a potentially game-changing competitor: Matrix42.

The German-based company is a market leader of fully integrated service management, and announced at the International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers conference last week that they will be expanding to the US. Matrix42 offers solutions for lifecycle management, business continuity management, IT cost allocation and security, and asset management, just to name a few, and they take pride in their efficient handling of business processes, like licensing and service requests. They are a member of the Asseco Group, which is one of Europe’s largest software companies, and their global network of channel and alliance partners includes heavyweights like Lufthansa, VMWare, and IBM.

US headquarters will be in Atlanta, Ga., and Shane Eliason will oversee operations there. In addition to their international clout, Matrix42 will be bringing an aggressive confidence to the ITSM market in America. They’ll be bringing a wide range of offerings that can efficiently support companies in their day-to-day IT management tasks, and Eliason is assured that Matrix42’s product strategy “has the potential to change the IT service and systems management market in the US.”

Technorati Tags: Expansions, IT Service Management, Matrix42

Customer support continues to be critical to a company’s success. With the huge workload help desk departments usually handle, it can often be extremely frustrating for companies to deal with many issues. However, inaction on inefficient support processes can cause lost customers and lost revenue.

To better handle customer support and lower support costs, businesses are turning towards service desk software to improve many IT related activities. Service Desk applications now are responsible for managing a variety of processes other than traditional support. However, many of these processes help to improve existing IT functions and thus indirectly improve customer support by helping to diminish the number of IT related support requests.

With a capable service desk or help desk solution, your company can enjoy a much smoother support process and enable your comapny to save money while simultaneously improving customer support. For more information on the benefits of service desk software, you can find the full article here.

Technorati Tags: Customer Support, Help Desk Application, Service Desk

Numara Software has been a leader in IT Service Management solutions for a variety of different industries. Numara Software continues to add to its customer base as it announces the addition of thousands of educational organizations to its customer family. Despite the economic downturn, Numara Software is doing better than ever, with a 20% increase in new customers for Numara Software.

Numara Software is pleased with the success they have had among educational institutions and will expand on this by continuing to improve its tool and resources. Their goal is to be able to create a learning environment for the campus where customers do not have to focus on IT related issues. A number of prominent educational institutions have chosen Numara Software. Some of these names include Yale Law School, Wake Forest Business School, and Duquesne University.

With thousands of customers worldwide and a rapidly expanding customer base, the future for Numara Software looks extremely bright. For more information on Numara Software, you can read the full article found here.

Technorati Tags: Customer Support, Help Desk, IT Asset Management

Metsec, the largest cold roll steel-forming company in the UK, settled on Numara Software to provide its much need Service Desk Solution to upgrade Metsec’s existing help desk solution. Metsec has long been planning on upgrading its service management capabilities and will now push forward with Numara aiding in establishing their new upgraded service desk system.

Metsec spent a lot of time wading through the various different options that were presented before them. In the end, Metsec was looking for something simple and easily managed and learned. Numara Software best fit these criteria which is why Metsec decided upon Numara Software to provide its IT Service Desk support. The implementation of Numara Software should help Metsec fix its preexisting service desk issues.

For more information about this, you can read the full article found here.

Technorati Tags: Help Desk, IT Support, Service Desk, Service Management

IT Service Management serves an integral part in the role of businesses as it encompasses many other critical aspects such as service desk and service management. Digital Fuel has created a product that will help service desks maintain service levels and improve the level of support and oversight of organizational procedures.

Digital Fuel intends to have its software available via a variety of routes. They will allow outright purchases of licensing and will also allow hosted subscriptions to appeal to the variety of consumers out there. Digital Fuel’s application is one that will benefit service desks tremendously by helping to optimize service desk tasks and improve productivity within service desks.

With its offering, companies are able to stay in control of their service desks and manage their service desks efficiently. This new software should provide companies a chance to improve their service desks greatly and provide customers with a superior experience.

For more information on Digital Fuel’s new Service Desk product, you can read the full article found here.

Technorati Tags: ITSM, Service Desk, Service Management