Incident management is a powerful part of help desk software. Incident management allows help desk personnel, technicians, and managers track problems.

Software for incident management is used by internal and external support provides and software vendors. Advanced incident management software features include:

1. Web-based incident management software that allows technicians and customers to view and manage help desk trouble tickets from any computer;

2. The ability to assign priority to calls and immediately notify technicians about high-level emergencies;

3. A knowledge base that allows technicians to view and apply solutions;

4. Tools to track and manage computer inventory and changes;

5. A database of user and computer histories.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for help desk incident management software that includes asset management

Asset management is a powerful incident management software tool. Asset management provides information about your computers, servers and other equipment, and allows users to remove, add and move equipment. Including asset management tools with incident management interfaces gives technicians and support personnel an overall picture of the technology environment and allows them to manage it from one interface.

I recommend: The Novo Service Desk from Novo Solutions provides optional asset management, knowledge base and other tools. The Altiris Helpdesk Solution from Symantec integrates with asset management modules and other components like remote control and web-based services.

Consider web-based software for help desk incident management

Web-based software reduces the amount of work and time required to set up technicians, help desk personnel and managers, since there is no need to install an application on each computer. Call status is kept up to date, since technicians can view open tickets and enter information from remote locations. It also allows customers and end users to get information about their issues and view the progress.

I recommend: ManageEngine's ServiceDesk Plus is web-based help desk software with integrated asset management, change management and a knowledge base. IssueTrak allows you to manage service level agreements, view all issues and link assets to users. Polar Help Desk Professional provides email and active directory integration and service level management. The purchase includes the product source code, which you can modify and integrate with other applications.

Find incident management software suppliers that offer solutions for external providers

Companies that provide third-party support to organizations face special challenges with incident management. With multiple customers, technicians and priorities, they need powerful software to help them keep customers and meet service level agreements.

I recommend: TeamHeadquarters from Entry Software is powerful software used for managing support requests, sending email notifications, tracking incidents and bugs and creating reports. It includes tools for help desk support and strategic management. UNICOM Help Desk from UNICOM Systems can prioritize calls and automatically notify technicians of emergencies via pager or email. It includes a knowledge base and company histories.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep in mind that web-based incident management software will be unavailable if an individual user or the entire company loses an Internet connection.