I’ve been testing out HelpSpot for a some hours now as part of an assignment on Help Desks I have to do for college and I must say I’m pretty impressed with HelpSpot even if I did encounter some problems when installing it, at first it wouldn’t let me install in on my home PC which is running WAMP.

And then it wouldn’t work on my web server which hosts this site as the php files are encrypted so you either need to upload them in binary or decompress the archive on your web server, I went for the later and that seemed to let me install it.

Here’s a bit of information on it:

HelpSpot is User Centered help desk software.
HelpSpot goes beyond simply creating efficiency, it makes your help desk better
The unique design and workflow enables your support staff to solve problems the first time and easily manage many requests from multiple sources. Beyond simple help desk software, HelpSpot is an entire web based help desk portal; providing your customers with powerful self-help functionality that drives down cost and improves the customer experience.

A new help desk management solution, built for ease from the ground up
Our dedication to creating a simple but powerful user interface means your team can get started using HelpSpot in minutes weeks of training not required. A plethora of innovative user interface features such as color coding, dynamic viewing of request details from your queue, and fully customizable queue views ease the workflow for staff.

We’ve applied this same principle to the integrated customer portal by empowering your customers with built in knowledge books and forums, accessible through a user-friendly interface.

Unlike many other web based help desk software offerings, HelpSpot was conceived from the ground up as a web based help desk software application. It makes use of the latest web technologies like AJAX, CSS, and Javascript to provide a fluid browser based experience. HelpSpot is fully RSS enabled; letting you check on requests and forums from any RSS enabled software or device.

Integration is the key….
Effective management of your customers inquires depends on tight integration of information from various sources. HelpSpot email integration is a snap with built in POP and IMAP; allowing you to seamlessly pull email inquires from any support mailbox. Powerful bayesian SPAM filtering identifies and removes SPAM emails keeping them out of your request queues. The integrated portal offers a web based alternative for request submissions. The powerful Live Lookup API allows real time, access to customer information stored in other IT systems.

Supporting your unique help desk needs
We understand flexibility is key to meeting your unique business needs, which is why you can add an unlimited number of custom fields to track request data. Five types of custom fields give you the flexibility to hold any type of data and because custom fields are tightly integrated, like other request data fields, they can be shown in the help desk portal as well as reported on and filtered against.

Who’s HelpSpot for?
Any businesses looking for a customer service/help desk solution that will improve and manage the interactions with customers. HelpSpots current customer base includes: formal help desk groups, not-for-profits, e-learning teams, software and health care companies.

What does HelpSpot bring?
Ease of use – leveraging modern web based technologies for an improved user experience, for staff and customers alike.

Integration – pulling support inquires from a variety of submission points and real-time inclusion of other IT data.

Flexibility with customization – well designed customer fields and reporting tags allow for the flexibility you need in a reportable format.

Quick technical highlights:

• Installs in 10 minutes
• Runs on all platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac)
• Supports Microsoft SQL Server 2000, MySQL, and PosgreSQL 8
• All data and files are stored in the database making backups easy
• Integrates into single sign on systems

Now the question is would I buy Helpspot if I wasn’t a student and I needed it in a work place situation, maybe I would but I think it really depends on the circumstances but I do say I like what it as to offer, it even as mobile access page for your mobile phones or pda’s which is pretty cool if you ask me!

Now if you excuse me I better carry on investicating the rest of it and then finish of the documentation of it for my assignment!

Via: UserScape | Ian Landsman’s Weblog