Navigating IT ticketing systems: A comprehensive guide

For companies of all sizes and in all industries, efficient IT management is becoming more and more crucial for ensuring smooth operations and minimizing downtime.

An IT ticketing system serves as a central hub for managing and resolving technical issues, requests, and tasks within an organization.

In this context, IT ticketing systems become essential for troubleshooting issues in a standardized way and boosting the operational efficiency of organizations. To help you navigate this area, we've prepared this article where you'll find:

• The definition of a ticketing system, and its importance in IT

• Key features of an IT ticketing system software

• How to choose the right IT help desk ticketing system

• Examples of IT ticketing systems

What is an IT ticketing system?

An IT ticketing system efficiently manages internal support inquiries within a company. When employees encounter issues with their tools or gadgets, they submit cases through the help desk ticketing system. This software creates a digital record of the inquiry, promptly notifying IT professionals for assistance. By formalizing the internal support process, this type of program streamlines case tracking, minimizing resolution times and ensuring employees experience quicker issue resolution.

Key features of an IT ticketing system software

1. Ticket creation, categorization and assignment

When an employee experiences an IT issue, they can easily create a ticket with all the necessary details, such as the problem description, affected systems, and priority level. The system then categorizes the ticket based on the issue, such as hardware, software, or network, which helps the support team to prioritize and address the problem appropriately.

The IT ticketing system also assigns the ticket to the relevant support team member, ensuring that the issue is handled by the right person with the required expertise. This process eliminates the need for manual intervention, which saves time and minimizes the risk of errors.

Do you want to learn more about this type of tool? Check out our article on this topic: What is a ticket management system? A complete guide.

2. Workflow automation

This is a feature that streamlines the process of creating, assigning, tracking, and resolving IT tickets, enabling employees to focus on other tasks.

With workflow automation, IT ticketing systems can automatically route tickets to the appropriate staff member, escalate issues when necessary, and generate notifications to keep employees informed of the status of their requests.

This not only saves time and effort, but it also ensures that IT issues are resolved faster and more efficiently. Moreover, this feature helps employees track their tasks and monitor their progress, allowing them to stay on top of their workloads.

Tired of manual tasks? Find out how powerful IT support automation can be for business efficiency.

3. Omnichannel support

Omnichannel support is a key feature of IT ticketing systems that allows employees to get assistance across various communication channels, without losing important details or context. It means that employees can raise a ticket through any touchpoint (be it email, phone, chat, or social media) and receive a consistent response.

This feature allows employees to choose the channel that suits their preference, making it more convenient for them to get the support they need. The omnichannel approach also helps IT teams track and manage all the support requests from a single platform, improving the overall efficiency of the support process.

4. Reporting and analysis

Analytics resources allow employees to gain valuable insights into their work processes and identify areas for improvement.

This feature enables users to generate reports on various aspects of their workflow, such as the number and types of tickets received, the time taken to resolve them, and the overall effectiveness of the IT support team. This information can then be used to recognize common issues and trends, improve service delivery, and optimize workflows.

For instance, if a particular type of issue is consistently taking longer to resolve, it may indicate a need for additional training or resources. By utilizing the reporting and analysis feature, IT teams can be more proactive in addressing these challenges and ultimately provide better service to their colleagues.

5. Knowledge base

A knowledge base is an essential component of IT ticketing systems that enables employees to access information and solutions to common issues that they may encounter while working.

It’s a centralized repository where employees can find answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting tips, and best practices for using software and hardware.

The knowledge base empowers employees to resolve issues on their own, without having to wait for IT support. They can search for solutions to their problems using keywords, which saves time and ensures that they get the information they need quickly.

This feature can significantly reduce the workload of IT teams and improve employee productivity by providing them with self-service support and enabling them to work more efficiently.

Why are IT ticketing systems important?

1. It reduces manual tasks

One of the key benefits of IT ticketing systems is that they help reduce manual tasks, which can be a major time-saver for both employees and the company overall.

With an effective IT ticketing system software in place, employees can easily submit support requests and track the status of their cases, without having to spend time following up with IT staff or navigating complex support processes.

This not only helps employees get the help they need more efficiently, but it also frees up IT staff to focus on more complex tasks and projects that require their expertise.

Additionally, by reducing manual tasks and streamlining support processes, a ticketing system in IT can help improve productivity and reduce costs, making them a smart investment for any organization looking to improve their numbers.

It’s no wonder then that 70% of organizations around the world are currently testing automated technology in at least one business unit or operational area.¹

2. It helps to meet SLAs

IT ticketing systems are essential for ensuring that IT teams can meet their service level agreements (SLAs) with users.

With this software running, the representatives can track and prioritize support requests based on their level of urgency and importance, confirming that critical issues are addressed first.

Furthermore, by providing transparency into the support process and automating many of the manual tasks associated with IT support, those systems can help build trust and confidence among employees, leading to higher levels of satisfaction.

3. It allows companies to allocate resources strategically

With an IT help desk ticketing system, businesses can prioritize and address issues in a timely and efficient manner. This helps in reducing downtime for employees and ensuring that they can continue working without any interruptions.

The benefits of this system are two-fold. For employees, it guarantees that they have access to a reliable IT support system that can resolve their problems promptly, which ultimately saves them time and increases their productivity. For businesses, it boosts operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

4. It keeps track of all problems and requests

With IT ticketing systems, businesses can monitor all issues, whether it's a network outage or a software malfunction. This helps in assuring that no problem goes unresolved and unaddressed.

For employees, the system provides them with the ability to easily submit their IT-related issues and requests, which are then automatically logged and tracked by the respective team.

For business, a well-implemented IT ticketing system can also provide valuable data insights that can be used to identify patterns and trends in IT issues, allowing companies to make data-driven decisions about resource allocation for this type of support.

5. It enables visibility on team’s performance

One of the key reasons why IT ticketing systems are important is that they enable visibility on the team's performance. This means that every IT issue raised by employees can be tracked, prioritized, and resolved in a timely manner.

Thanks to IT help desk ticketing systems, team leaders can easily monitor the performance of their collaborators and identify areas that need improvement. This not only benefits the employees who rely on technology to do their jobs, but also the company as a whole. Moreover, it helps to maintain a positive company culture by instilling confidence in the IT team's abilities.

How to choose the right IT help desk ticketing system

Choosing the right IT help desk ticketing system is crucial for any organization to provide smooth and efficient troubleshooting. However, with so many options available in the market, it can be challenging to make the right choice. To help you with this, we have compiled a list of five essential factors to consider when selecting a ticketing system in IT.

1. Assess your organization needs

The first step is to assess your organization's requirements and identify the key features and functionalities that are necessary for your business. This includes:

• The size of your organization

• The complexity of your IT infrastructure

• The number of support requests you receive

• The level of customer service you want to provide

Once you have a clear understanding of your needs, you can narrow down your options based on the features that are most important to you.

2. Make sure the solution is able to scale up

As your business grows, your help desk ticketing system should be able to scale up accordingly to accommodate the increasing number of support requests. Therefore, it's essential to choose a solution that is flexible and can adapt to your business needs. Look for a system that provides a scalable architecture and can handle a high volume of requests without compromising performance.

3. Evaluate the customization options

Every organization has unique requirements, and a one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for everyone. So, when looking for IT ticketing systems, prioritize those that offer customization options, such as branding, custom fields, and workflows. This allows you to tailor the platform to your organization's specific needs and improve user adoption.

4. Look for integration capabilities

Your IT ticketing system software should be able to integrate seamlessly with your existing IT infrastructure and other business-critical applications. This includes connection with your CRM, email, chat, and social media platforms. Seek a solution that provides robust integration capabilities and offers pre-built integrations with popular third-party apps.

5. Take a closer look at the provider’s security and compliance practices

The safeness and compliance of your data should be a top priority when choosing IT ticketing systems. Look for a provider that adheres to industry-standard security practices, such as SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, and data backup and recovery. It's also essential to ensure that the provider complies with regulatory requirements, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.

Examples of IT ticketing systems

1. Intercom

Intercom’s help desk solution is the perfect software for companies that want to get more done, faster. Its state-of-the-art interface connects your inbox, tickets, and help center into one central, AI-enhanced workspace. By doing so, it maximizes productivity and allows your IT team to work smarter and collaborate more contextually.

Main features:

• An AI copilot that instantly summarizes conversations, personalizes replies, and autofills ticket information.

• An omnichannel approach that unifies your conversations via email, WhatsApp, live chat, phone, and social directly in your inbox.

• A smart tracker that enables you to easily share updates and resolve issues impacting multiple customers with a single ticket.

• A fully customizable help center, with no coding needed, so you provide the most accurate answers when and where your users need them.

• Advanced analytics features, with real-time dashboards and monitoring views make it easy to take action and optimize your team’s performance.

You should choose Intercom if:

If your help desk needs an upgrade as fast as possible, with minimum downtime and maximum results.

2. ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a solution that aims to transform digital experiences with hyper-automation and low code.

Main features:

• Employee center to unify the service delivery across the organization.

• Self-service basic resources to deal with low-complexity issues.

• Workplace optimization to gain visibility into a team's productivity.

3. FreshWorks

FreshWorks is an intermediate help desk solution. Its multichannel approach allows users to reach out for assistance through different channels, such as e-mail and social media. However, they’re not fully connected, which can lead to loss of context and an overall disjointed experience.

Main features

• Multi-channel support for easy access.

• AI-powered ticketing for simplicity.

• Workflow automation for efficiency.

Take your IT ticketing system to the next level

Selecting the right IT help desk ticketing system can be a daunting task. However, by considering the factors mentioned above, you can narrow down your options and choose a solution that meets your organization's needs.

If you were drawn to Intercom’s solution, look no further. Experience all the features of our platform firsthand and discover for yourself what our tool can do for your company. Click here and start your free trial today.

Sources

1 McKinsey, Your questions about automation, answered. The survey was conducted online with 639 respondents “representing the full range of regions, industries, companies sizes, functional specialties, and tenures”.