In the world of today that is so reliant on technology, where companies mostly depend on virtual infrastructure, technical issues are a far-from-unique experience. Be it a software bug, hardware failure, network connectivity, or any other technological snag, users tend to be in dire need of support.
The function of the Best IT service desk tools is to close the gap between users and the knowledge to solve these issues. It acts as a central point where users can ask for help, log incidents, and request service.
The last you want is having employees or customers tripping up on slow-moving support systems. Your best IT service desk software allows your employees to deliver prompt, simple, and tailored support to customers as well as staff. After all, when support desk agents get the tools and equipment they require, your enterprise will be operating more smoothly.
To assist you in selecting the appropriate solution for your company, we’ve shortlisted 10 top IT service desk tools alternatives. Whether you’re a startup or a long-standing business, our detailed analysis is meant to simplify your choice, helping you invest in an instrument that not only performs well but revolutionizes your support process.
What is IT service desk tools?
IT service desk software is a must for any contemporary company that is technology-dependent. The service desk acts as the operations center for an organization’s internal technology support services, offering a single point for users to place service requests, report problems, and monitor resolution.
With IT service desk tools, companies are able to properly handle and solve a variety of users’ issues, acting as the first point of contact for support. Whether the end users are employees needing help with technology or customers in need of assistance, the software enables the provision of a higher quality of service.
Major Characteristics of IT Service Desk Software
ITSD software typically has a massive feature set to cover the various requirements of IT groups. Some of the most basic features you’ll want to look for are:
- Incident Management: Log, track, and close incidents quickly and have an audit trail in place
- Change Management: Make planning, testing and installing changes to IT services an easier process.
- Asset Management: Monitor hardware and software assets with efficient inventory control.
- Service Catalog: Create and release an IT service catalog which end-users can utilize to simplify requesting services.
- Automation Capacity: ITSM tools automate routine tasks, such as password resets and software patches, reducing manual labor and eliminating human errors.
- Reporting & Analytics: Report to measure performance, identify bottlenecks, and make better decisions.
- Self-Service Portals: A majority of the tools have self-service portals, through which end-users are able to resolve recurring issues on their own. It not only spares time for IT personnel but also provides greater control to end-users.
Through this blog article, we shall be discussing all the top IT service desk tools and their functionalities available in the market.
The 10 best IT service desk tools
1. Zendesk
Zendesk offers AI-driven service desk software that’s quick to deploy and simple to use, with low costs. It’s adaptable and customizable to both IT and customer service scenarios.
Zendesk AI is pre-trained on IT and customer service ticket data, so you can just use it out of the box—no technical assets needed. Generative AI is integrated into agents’ workspaces to give them useful insights to accelerate resolution times, like similar tickets, macro suggestions relevant to the situation, and ticket summaries. And intelligent ticket routing ensures that questions reach the correct team. Meanwhile, Zendesk AI agents and AI-powered knowledge bases assist in keeping ticket queues under control because they automatically resolve tickets and enable customers to self-serve.
The integrated Zendesk Agent Workspace allows teams to view messages from all channels in one place with a complete 360-degree view of the customer, such as live chat, email, and phone, or newer messaging channels such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp. Strong user profiles with all key context enable agents to customize responses at scale.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- AI and automations
- AI agents
- Knowledge base and help center
- Reporting and analytics
- 360-degree customer view
- Security and privacy
- 1,700+ integrations
- Service catalog
- Industry-leading ticketing system
Pros
- Personalize to your heart’s content with conditional functions, custom fields, triggers, and more
- Collects and consolidates all back-and-forth communication in one place
Cons
- High cost for growing businesses
- Customer support needs training and improvement
Pricing
- Support team: $19/month per agent billed annually
- Suite team: $55/month per agent billed annually
- Suite Professional: $115/month per agent billed annually
2. Help Scout
Help Scout is an IT and customer support team’s service desk software solution. Features of Help Scout involve multichannel support, through which companies can manage customer queries from various channels within the community inbox for improved cross-team collaboration. Users can also set up prewritten answers for frequently asked questions to assist agents in responding to queries.
This service desk software allows companies to create and maintain a knowledge base so that customers are able to resolve issues on their own. Service desk software such as notes, mentions, and chat support communication between agents. Reporting and analytics software help monitor metrics like response times and resolution times.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- Shared inbox
- Service catalog
- Live chat software
- Agent collision detection
Pros
- Setup and maintenance of the platform is very easy
- Useful, stable, and consistent support team
Cons
- Limited template choices for the knowledgebase
- Useful, stable, and consistent support team
Pricing
- Free plan
- Basic plan: $50/month
- Plus plan: $75/month
3. Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management is Atlassian’s cloud-based IT service desk solution for project and service management within dev, IT, and other internal support teams. Conversational ticketing, automation, self-service, incident management, and native knowledge base integrations are all included. A Confluence subscription, however, is needed to access the knowledge base integration.
Additional IT service management capabilities of Jira include workflow and issue type customization as well as task automation such as ticket routing and escalation based on predefined SLAs. Jira Service Management provides agent collaboration tools, reporting and analytics, and third-party integrations. It also utilizes Jira’s security infrastructure to protect data.
Features:
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Shared inbox
- APIs and SDKs
- Post-incident analysis
Pros
- Has great backend support
- The workflow designer is intuitive and helpful
Cons
- Certain UI elements and screens may feel outdated
- Configuring workflows and customizations takes time
Pricing
- Custom pricing
4. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is a Zoho IT service desk solution. Its on-premises and cloud-based IT services management solution can assist IT support teams with IT service management and IT asset management. It includes a ticketing system, a configuration management database (CMDB), and issue reporting via email, web portals, or mobile applications.
Automation features manage repetitive work, and the self-service portal enables users to discover answers in a knowledge base. The application provides remote control for resolving issues, report and analytics for monitoring metrics, and security tools with access control and encryption.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Agent ratings
- Email-to-ticket conversion
- Change management
Pros
- Single management of apps, patches, and updates assists IT teams
- Quick ticket management and incident resolution workflows
Cons
- Missing some features found in competitors at comparable prices
- Level zero support processing for end users
Pricing
- Custom pricing
5. Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce Service Cloud is a service desk product on the Salesforce CRM platform, emphasizing IT support and customer service. Agents handle customer requests from different channels—e.g., phone, email, and social media—within a single workspace. The service desk leverages Einstein, Salesforce’s AI platform, to assist Salesforce Service Cloud in case routing, sentiment analysis, and knowledge base suggestions.
New Salesforce users may find the service desk difficult to learn, though. Plus, workflows can be complicated and need extra dev resources to implement. That being said, it might be simpler for enterprises and harder for small businesses to roll out.
Features:
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- 1,500+ integrations
- Service catalog
- Process automations
- Community forums
Pros
- Quick deployment easily transitions the email-only service model to a case management solution
- Users who have never used a CRM before can easily use it
Cons
- Server problems are frequent and require repair
- Some easy things such as resubmitting a case can become complicated
Pricing
- Starter Suite: $25/month/user billed annually
- Pro Suite: $100/month/user billed annually
- Enterprise Suite: $165/month/user billed annually
- Unlimited: $25/month/user billed annually
- Einstein 1: $500/month/user billed annually
6. Hiver
Hiver is a Google Workspace-integrated service desk that operates within the Gmail environment. The software allows teams to manage shared inboxes within Gmail itself. The service desk application includes a ticketing system, through which users can convert emails to tasks and collaborate on email conversations. While email is the main feature, Hiver can be extended to other channels (e.g., live chat or chatbots) within Gmail. Automated workflows handle tasks such as ticket routing and automated follow-up emails.
Hiver service desk offers support for knowledge base integration, where agents can see and share articles with customers in the context of an email dialogue. Performance analytics track metrics such as team performance and customer satisfaction. Hiver integrates with Google Workspace apps such as Docs and Sheets, making it possible for a workflow of support teams. Hiver uses Google Workspace’s security infrastructure for data security and compliance.
Features:
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Email tracking
- Data collection
- Shared labels
Pros
- Email routing and tagging
- Inter-team collaboration
Cons
- Highly expensive
- Unstable system
Pricing
- Paid plans start at $19 per user/month, billed annually.
7. Freshservice
Freshworks has a service desk solution named Freshservice, which helps teams handle and close IT and customer requests. The service desk features a team inbox and allows teams to tag and work on IT tickets. Some of Freshservice’s features include task automation, including outbound ticket notifications, status changes, and hourly scans for action items. Freshservice supports native apps and third-party integrations. It’s also ITIL-compatible and provides similar processes such as problem and change management.
But Freshservice’s multichannel solution provides only a minimum (and buggy) ticketing system, with every product having a different interface. This lack of integrated agent experience—along with minimal reporting capabilities and flaky integrations—can cause businesses to outgrow the platform very quickly.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- 1,500+ integrations
- Service catalog
- Incident management
- Self-service portal
Pros
- The new task or story default templates are very helpful
- Slack and Outlook feature-rich integration
Cons
- Some advanced workflow automation, such as assigning a task to the next user according to the bandwidth, is not possible
- The mobile is missing some key desktop features
Pricing
- Starter plan: $19/month
- Growth plan: $49/month
- Pro plan: $99/month
8. SysAid
SysAid provides a small business and large business service desk solution. The service desk software has a modular architecture, where companies can pick and choose functionalities. It has interfaces for both IT agents and end users. Copilot is a feature which employs generative AI to automate workflows and customize service experiences.
This service desk software also includes a ticketing system, asset management, self-service portal, remote control, automation, patch management, CMDB, and reporting features. The platform also includes automations and workflow customization options. SysAid supports third-party tools and offers data security through features such as access control and encryption.
Features:
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Change logs
- Asset and network dashboard
- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) integration
Pros
- Detailed reporting
- Ticket and asset management
Cons
- Terrible user interface
- Limited backend support
Pricing
- Call SysAid. There is a free trial.
9. ServiceNow IT Service Management
ServiceNow IT Service Management is a business IT service delivery platform. It follows the ITIL framework and provides integration capabilities to develop a customized IT ecosystem for big businesses and small businesses.
Some of the ServiceNow features are incident and problem management to reduce downtime and disruptions, change management for IT changes, and service request management for workflows. There is a self-service portal to enable users to fix issues on their own, while chatbots automate simple requests. Performance analytics provide visibility into IT service performance, and features include automation, machine learning, and mobile accessibility.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- AI and automations
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Request management
- Virtual agent
- Surveys and assessments
Pros
- Helpful integration with remote support
- Offers an easy method to categorize and sort help desk tickets
Cons
- Deficient in third-party integrations
- Customer support also requires improvement
Pricing
- It begins at $39
10. Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk is free help desk software for small and medium enterprises as well as IT teams. Some of its features include a ticket system to handle user-generated tickets, asset tracking to monitor IT assets, and a knowledge base.
This software also features reporting and analytics capabilities to monitor metrics such as ticket volume and resolution time. Support from the community provides an online support forum for exchanging best practices and obtaining assistance. Features include on-premise or cloud deployment choices.
Features:
- Omnichannel support
- Security and privacy
- Service catalog
- Remote support
- User portals
- Ticket management
Pros
- Totally free
- Simple to use
Cons
- Clunky with restricted functionality
- No SSO or LDAP sign-in features
Pricing
- Free
Ending Note
Best service desk tool will help you level up your IT service offering. Not only will it make it easier to manage, control, and secure your environment, but it will also assist in containing costs and planning for future troubles.
However, to make the proper choice, don’t forget to consider the following:
- Learn about the market – There are numerous alternatives available, and there will be a tool that will integrate into your ITSM environment. You simply need to find it.
- Don’t buy a service desk tool in isolation – Build a team around you to get the requirements right and make informed decisions.
- Think through how you intend to utilize the software – Will you use on-premises or SaaS, free vs. or full version, or explore open-source alternatives?
- Core functionality – Check for functionality that has Self-service, Incident, and Request Management.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between help desk and service desk?
Help desk and service desk tend to be synonymous terms. However, the latter may be described as a strategic big brother of the former. A help desk is reactive, and is employed in order to cope with issues once they’ve cropped up so they can be entered, traced, and (hopefully) at long last dealt with. Conversely, a service desk is capable of everything the help desk can do but also enables you to plan, organize, and deliver a variety of different IT services.
2. Why are IT service desks important?
IT service desks provide a central location to monitor IT issues and ticket requests. IT service management solutions—such as generative AI, smart routing, and knowledge management capabilities—enable service desks to improve productivity by simplifying issue resolution and request handling.
3. What is open-source service desk software?
Open-source desktop management software, on the contrary, is software published under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the authority to use, modify, study, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose.
4. Should I use a free service desk software?
Most ITSM tools will provide free versions of their service. With higher expenses and the hassle of operating IT since the pandemic, it can be tempting to use free service desk software versions.
5. Is my data secure with a service desk system?
The best IT service desk software respects the value of data security and goes the extra mile to assist businesses in maintaining information safety. Select a good SaaS vendor that has the required compliance with security standards, provides multiple security features, and handles user privileges.
