Other pages in the review
By Michael Palamountain, Enex Test Lab
Most of us have had contact with a computer support helpdesk at one time or another and most will agree it’s an experience that can leave both the user and computer engineer exasperated. Many of us working in the IT industry probably even remember working on such helpdesk in a past life, and will be familiar with the wry humour that has become a symptom of this kind of work. What this really reflects though, is the difficulties that surround IT support desks. Take one common example pulled off the Web: “Tip number one for calling the support desk—when you call us to have your computer moved, be sure to leave it buried under half a ton of postcards, baby pictures, stuffed animals, dried flowers, bowling trophies and children’s art. We don’t have a life, and we find it deeply moving to catch a fleeting glimpse of yours.”
Despite all of the advances made with graphical user interfaces, context-sensitive help and plug-and-play technology, the computer and its associated devices still manages to frustrate users. As a result, the worlds of computer user and computer expert remain far apart.
The service desk is often considered as a business-critical department because it provides a buffer between the users and experts, and it is usually the first port of call for frustrated staff members. In short, if the helpdesk doesn’t have the answers quickly it can result in lost productivity for the company.
Service desk services may be internal or external to the company. Many businesses and government services outsource IT problem solving to dedicated service desk providers. These providers include: Multiplex (yes the construction company—or at least a branch of it), PicNet and Unisys. But a company may also decide to set up an internal service desk, and the software available to assist in this is diverse.
It is this latter scenario that we are concerned about in this review. We have rounded up somftware useful for an IT service desk scenario. The products reviewed here represent a selection of the main leaders and innovators available today, including Altiris, BMC, CA, FrontRange, HP and Unisoft.
Helpdesk vs Service Desk
At times the terms helpdesk and service desk are used synonymously but it is best to distinguish between them. Properly speaking the service desk is a single point of contact between IT end users and the staff members who deal with their difficulties; included in this are phone, email and web contact and there are separate software modules for facilitating service requests. The term helpdesk applies to the self-service web interface through which IT users can input queries, receive query replies and access information in the knowledgebase.