One of the most difficult challenges growing businesses face is creating a standardized response for internal IT incidents. If you don’t have a process or robust software in place to help you manage IT errors, your team will waste time figuring out how to put out each fire.
With IT incident tracking management software, you give your techs the tools they need to process, keep track of, and resolve issues as they appear. That way, you can limit the impact of IT problems on your internal productivity and day-to-day operations.
In this article, we’ll explain what to look for in incident tracking software for your business. Then we’ll introduce you to five options you can choose from.
What Is Incident Tracking Software?
Incident tracking software enables you to process new IT incidents, troubleshoot problems with other members of your team, and track your overall progress.
By using a single system to centralize the IT issues a modern business runs into, you can train your team on how to tackle different problems more efficiently. Over time, this should help you develop measures to prevent repeat technical problems and save you money by preventing issues that can impact regular operations.
Ideally, IT incident tracking management software should include all or most of the following features:
- It should provide you with an overview of all your IT assets, including hardware and software.
- You should be able to process support requests through multiple channels.
- It should keep a log of all the technical issues you or your employees run into.
Most incident tracking software options go well beyond those “basic” features, however.
Top Five Incident Tracking Software Options for Your Company
To help you choose a solution, we’ve put together five of the best incident tracking software options for companies of all sizes. Keep in mind prices vary across the board, and the platforms are presented in no particular order.
1. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is a full IT services management platform that provides you with access to a broad range of tools. For incident management, the software can automatically generate reports and assigning them to specific agents.
You can configure ServiceNow to notify the right team members, depending on the nature of each incident. The software can also help you generate reports for incidents, and it provides your agents with individual workspaces to monitor the tasks they need to tackle.
Price: ServiceNow plans vary depending on what tools you need and the size of your team.
2. Freshservice
Freshservice enables you to monitor your network to create a full inventory of connected IT assets. This platform lets employees submit incident or service requests, which you can link to specific assets.
Using Freshservice, you can keep track of the impact caused by IT incidents, create event timelines, and generate a full database of past issues. You can mark problems as duplicates to prevent redundancy and include information on how to solve each one alongside its support request.
Price: The Freshservice Estate plan starts at $79 per agent per month.
3. Zendesk Support Suite
Although the Zendesk Support Suite is primarily geared towards customer-facing service requests, you can also use it for internal incident tracking. With Zendesk, your team can submit incident reports through multiple channels, and get access to a self-service portal to troubleshoot technical issues.
Your agents, in turn, can set up internal knowledge bases to log solutions for common IT incidents. Using the Zendesk Support Suite, you also get access to in-depth reports and agent productivity.
Price: The Zendesk Support Suite Professional plan starts at $89 per agent per month.
4. Spiceworks
Spiceworks is a free IT management software option with both self-hosted and cloud versions. The latter is called Help Desk, and it enables you to scan the IT assets on your network and process requests for support services.
Using Spiceworks, you can track tickets from multiple organizations or departments through unique portals and process those requests from a master help desk. The software also enables you to set up front-facing self-service portals and internal knowledge bases to aid your agents in their work.
Price: Spiceworks is a free IT incident tracking management solution.
5. SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds® Service Desk is another example of a software solution designed to work for both customer and internal IT incident management. The software enables you to process tickets that come in through a public customer portal. This same portal includes information to help your employees troubleshoot simple IT issues.
Your agents also have access to a private knowledge base that can house more internal documentation. More importantly, Service Desk can do a full analysis of all the IT assets in your network, which enables you to log which device or software is causing you trouble.
Price: SolarWinds Service Desk Professional plan starts at $69 per agent per month.
Conclusion
Incident tracking software is essential for businesses reliant on complex IT architectures. The larger your company is, the more you can benefit from access to tools that enable you to track technical issues and log information on how to solve them. With the right software, you can save your business from potential downtime and monetary losses.
If you’re not sure what option to choose, here are our top five suggestions for incident tracking software once again:
- ServiceNow: You can request a custom quote for access to the tools you need.
- Freshservice: The Estate plan starts at $79 per agent per month.
- Zendesk Support Suite: The Professional plan starts at $89 per agent per month.
- Spiceworks: Both the self-hosted and cloud versions of the software are free.
- SolarWinds Service Desk: The Professional plan costs $69 per agent per month.
*As of August 31, 2020. All pricing is USD.