Reflection of Help Desk Software

I learned many things while researching help desk software. The first thing I learned was that it exists. I had no idea that there was a program that people at a help desk use and that it in fact helps the workers of the help desk with their job. In many aspects it is the most important tool in a help desk workers job. There is a huge demand for help desk software and competition among the developers is fierce. One thing that can set one help desk program apart from others is if it follows the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices.

ITIL is basically a code of conduct within the information technology service industry where everything is “standardized” so that everyone speaks the same language. It would be like someone who sews trying to understand a carpenter and vice versa. Each profession has its own “language” but the information technology field has made it a language that is teachable and certifiable.

Help desk software is teachable as well and it is of great importance that this software is easy to use and easy to teach. Most entry level information technology workers start out at a level one help desk and do not have much training so it is crucial that the software vital to their job be easy to learn.

I learned some new words too. Tickets keep track of each service order and are kept open or closed based on the completion of the customer’s request. I learned the phrase “knowledge base”. A knowledge base is an archive of tickets. These tickets can be recalled with a search based on the ticket number, customer name, phone number, area of the company etc. With such a huge knowledge base at everyone’s fingertips, most problems should be able to be handled simply based on past experience. This makes everybody more efficient and even makes people’s jobs easier. Now when was the last time someone made anything that helped make your job easier!?

I will most likely be using help desk software in the future to accomplish what everyone uses it for…money. That was a joke. But the real uses for this type of software are numerous and I imagine I will use them for the main reason they exist which is keeping track of problems within the company I am employed with. The knowledge base will be a great resource for me to use to aid customers with their technology issues. I picture myself sitting at my desk with my headset answering calls and building relationships with people inside the company I’m working for and documenting the issues people have in a professional manner, escalating problems when necessary, and making sure that I have the information necessary to help the customer.

Help desk software is a tool that helps people be more effective with assisting customers with their technology issues. This software is not the end all be all of customer support though. I could know this software inside and out and still not be an effective computer support employee. It is the ability to talk with people, show empathy for their problems, and have the ability and knowledge to be able to fix those problems that will always be more important than any help desk software. I certainly wouldn’t want be on a computer support team that ignored the importance of this software. This software is a necessary tool for organization and aiding the customer support specialist.

Advertisement