CCS HelpDesk 4.0 Enhancement Details

Enhanced Web Pages

Improved login for the Web pages - By using Integrated Windows Authentication, users who are already logged into the Windows domain do not have to log in again to the Help Desk web pages. Only users who are not logged in have to authenticate. Previously, every user had to log in to use the Web pages.
Flexible list of tickets on the Web  - The list of tickets can now be modified to show tickets in any number of ways, such as all tickets, just those for one user,  just those assigned to one tech, all active tickets, all completed tickets, all tickets in one category, etc., etc. The tickets can be sorted and  filtered easily through the Web interface. In previous versions, all tickets were displayed in the folder list on the Web pages, with only limited ability to sort or filter.
Knowledge Base available on Web - The Knowledge Base can be listed and the articles viewed over the Web.
Attachments can be added to new tickets - Any file -- document, text, screenshot, picture, spreadsheet, web page, etc. - can be attached and uploaded as part of a new Ticket. These attachments can also be displayed over the Web when viewing a ticket.

Improved Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base Integrated with Tickets - CCS HelpDesk 4.0  includes an enhanced Knowledge Base. This feature was very popular in our 3.0 release, so we have expanded it. You can send a KB article directly from the Assigned Ticket, thereby easily providing the user or customer with information to solve the problem. The Assigned Ticket's Work Log records that you sent the KB article to the user. 
Knowledge Base Integrated with Web - The Knowledge Base articles are available through the web interface. Any user with a browser can access the articles. You can use the articles to create a FAQ/Support site for your users and customers.
Knowledge Base Searchable with Web - The Knowledge Base articles can be searched through the web interface. Any user with a browser can enter in words or phrases to search the Knowledge Base for relevant articles.

Quick Resolution  - Some tickets can be resolved and closed immediately. For these, CCS HelpDesk 4.0 has a "Quick Resolution" button that assigns, moves and closes the ticket all at once. With Quick Resolution, the ticket is kept in the database for reference and recording, but it is marked Complete right away. This gives you a quick and easy way to immediately resolve tickets.

Auto-reply - Users and customers like to be informed when a ticket is received and when it is being worked on. The Auto-reply feature informs them when their ticket is created and submitted successfully and gives them a case number to use in future correspondence with the Help Desk.

Ticket Assignment limited  - In previous versions, users could have access to the ticket assignment page. In version 4.0, ticket assignment is limited to designated staff members. Users do not have access to the ticket assignment page. This prevents rogue users from assigning their own tickets.

Improvements to Logging in the Assigned Tickets

Work Log entries can be designated as Internal – The user or customer does not need to be privy to all the entries in the Work Log. CCS HelpDesk 4.0 allows staff to mark an entry as "Internal". These entries will not be sent to the user during an update. This allows the help desk staff to enter notes that they do not want the customer to see.
Work Log entries can be designated as User Comments – Sometimes a note is added to the Work Log as a response or comment from the user. These entries can now be clearly marked as a User Comment and not a staff entry, making the thread of conversation in the Work Log much easier to follow.
Entries in the Log can be automatically emailed - When you add a new entry to the Work Log, this can also be sent to the user. That way, the fix to the problem can be simultaneously  sent to the user and recorded in the Log. Also, you can keep track of email correspondence with the user in this way.
Work Log can grow to three times previous size - The Work Log can now hold much more text. Previously, the Log could hold the equivalent of about 3 pages of text. Now, the Work Log can hold about 10 pages of text, allowing for lengthy staff input, if needed, on a ticket.

Four Custom Fields - CCS HelpDesk 4.0 includes four custom fields that you can use for the specific needs of your company. These include two drop-down lists and two text boxes. The names of the fields and the contents of the drop-down lists can be changed using List Manager, giving you full flexibility on how you want to use and name these fields.

Additional Contact name and email - A second contact for the ticket can be designated in the Additional Contact Name and Email address fields. This can be a manager, a co-worker, or other interested party. A checkbox gives you the option to include this contact in updates to the user.

Vendor Case ID field - If a vendor must be contacted to help solve an issue, the vendor will frequently issue a case number or support ticket ID. This number can now be added to the ticket for easy reference when talking to vendor.

Integration with CCS Network Inventory -- CCS HelpDesk 4.0 links with CCS Network Inventory, an asset tracking and network auditing tool that is part of our support productivity tools. When you are working on a ticket, this will allow you to bring up information about the computer or asset involved. Our tickets can connect with the CCS Network Inventory audit database, providing information that is invaluable in solving problems quickly.

Additional Options in Version 4.0

  • Escalation - We can provide scripts that escalate tickets based on your criteria. Escalation can be based on events such as the Ticket is overdue, or if it has not been modified, or the status has remained not started. The actions taken could include notifying the Tech or a manager, or raising the Priority level of the ticket. In this way, you the Escalation Scripts can meet the needs of your organization.
  • Task Recurrence - We can provide scripts that escalate tickets based on your criteria. Escalation can be based on events such as the Ticket is overdue, or if it has not been modified, or the status has remained not started. The actions taken could include notifying the Tech or a manager, or raising the Priority level of the ticket. In this way, you the Escalation Scripts can meet the needs of your organization.
  • Create Ticket from Email button – With this button, the Help Desk staff can quickly and easily create a new Help Desk ticket from any email. Instead of dragging and dropping or manually moving an email, the staff can press the "Create Ticket from Email" button on their toolbar and a new Ticket is created in the Help Desk.

  • Export to Access or SQL - The new Export Utility pushes the ticket data out to Microsoft Access, SQL or other ODBC-compliant database. This allows you to use the full power of a relational database to derive reports and statistics on Help Desk activity. We provide the Access database and sample reports and queries, which you can then build and expand upon to precisely meet your Help Desk management needs.

     

Great Features from Previous Versions

  • Sync with a PDA with "Copy to Tasks"  - People sometimes want their assigned tickets in a PDA or handheld computer. However, tickets (which are tasks) in public folders do not sync to PDAs or pocket PCs. With this feature, staff can create a "reminder" copy of the Ticket in their personal Tasks folder and synch that with the PDA. They will need to use Outlook to update and complete the Ticket, but they will be able to work more effectively with Ticket reminders in their handheld devices.
  • Special Notifications for High Importance tickets - Users can mark a ticket high priority and this will send an email to a specially designated email or pager address. Standard tickets will go to the usual notification address. This allows you to get immediate and specific notice of critical tickets.
  • Task Splitter -- One ticket can be split into multiple tasks. Sometimes, one ticket requires multiple staffers to work on parts of it separately. It could be a ticket to upgrade a company with three locations, for example. One ticket is created, but you could split the ticket up when assigning it so that each site has a separate task to complete.
  • Web Support Pages - For external users, you can set up a Web form that generates an email to the Help Desk folder. This email from the Web form is then converted to a new Help Desk Ticket like any other email using our event sink or agent script.
  • Attachment Copying is done more efficiently - Attachments are copied from the Help Desk ticket to the Assigned ticket using the temp folder. No remnant files are left on the hard drive.