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Help Desk FAQ - Software and Related Tools

The definitive global resource for helpdesks, customer relationship management and technical support.

Third Party Reviews of Customer Service Software

Reviews by Magazines

Service News reviews a help desk package each month. You can look at current and past reviews at http://www.servicenews.com (This magazine has shut down in 2001, but you should be able to find archives on Google.)
Support Management reviews help desk packages. Contact them at
http://www.supportmanagement.com
This magazine also shut down in 2001.
You may also find reviews appearing in magazines such as Call Center Magazine, Datamation, PC Week, InfoWorld etc.

Compilers of software (in a different format than my listing of software

Helpdesklist.com and helpdesk.com.

Reviews by Organizations or Consulting Firms

Aberdeen Group	Publishes a detailed review of customer service software each year.
Forrester Group	Analyzes and predicts the impact of technology change on large companies, consumers, and society.
Gartner Group	Has some reports on prominent vendors and compares them. Their reports gives you an idea about the market and puts the larger vendors in an 'Ability to Execute vs. Completeness of Vision' grid.
Giga Group	Their research focus is on helping companies integrate their businesses with the Internet.
IDC	Is a comprehensive resource on worldwide IT markets, trends, products, vendors, and geographies.
Jupiter Communications	Focuses exclusively on how the Internet and other technologies are changing traditional consumer industries.
Knowledge Networks	Has reports titled: "Automating Your Support Center - A Practical Guide to Assessing Service Automation Tools" 4th edition. "A Field-Tested RFP Template - For Selecting a Customer Response Center Automation System" (includes an Excel spreadsheet form) "Implementation Lessons from Leading-Edge Users" "Creating A Support Web Site - The Process, Potential and Pitfalls."
Meta Group	Has done research on Help Desks and Call Centers.
The Muns Group -- contact Lon Hendrickson at webmaster@bendata.com.	Prior to forming Renaissance Partners, published a booklet titled: "Selecting Customer Support Technology, 23 Important Considerations"
National Software Testing Labs	Reviewed some help desk products.
Ovum	Is an independent research and consulting company offering advice on IT and telecommunications markets. They have a regularly updated report titled "Ovum Evaluates: Help Desk and Customer Support Systems."
SPEX (Software Product Expertise)	Is an IT research firm that provides comprehensive software package evaluations to assist global companies in the selection of critical applications. The reports can be downloaded from their site. Site visitors can obtain more than 20 free sample reports from the kits.
Unified Business Solutions	Has a web-based software selection tool.
Yankee Group	Focuses on strategic planning assistance, technology forecasting and IT industry analysis.

Review by a Reader of the Help Desk List
(suitable for smaller organizations)

Tom Heisey from Texas Tech University made available his research on software that met his needs and his budget.
Click here for the file.