There are so many help desk software providers out there, costs ranging from free to over $4,000 for every advanced user (i.e. Technical Support Rep or Customer Support Rep) and a vast array of architectures, internet services, and features to look at, choosing the right helpdesk software for your company can be a time consuming and aggravating process.

The reason for this post is to attempt to and simplify the procedure for you. This article will deal with ordinary issues that everyone in the help desk software market should understand before making the final choice. Understanding these issues will help you make a more educated decision.

Help Desk Software – 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 quickly depreciating. At one point, an great improvement over main frame solutions, C/S technology has been phased out due to the availability and advantages of web-based solution structures. The main reason some helpdesk software businesses continue to sell C/S solutions is due to the fact that they do not have the expansion assets to adapt their elder product to a web-based architecture. Some of the rewards that web-based solutions include over C/S solutions include:

• No client-side software installation, updates, or support

• Log in from anywhere, anytime with any browser

• Access to all features and functions anytime and from any place

When you begin to try different customer support software solutions please take notice if you are required to load code on your desktop to starts the demo. If so, you are not doing business with a vendor that gives a web-based solution. True web-based structures need only a URL in order to do 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 customer support software solution. The file that business is sending you is either front ending a C/S system or is a entire canned demo on your desktop. Make sure you assess the solution you are going to purchase! If you do buya 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.

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