10 Best Enterprise Help Desk Software Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 20 tools reviewed.
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
Managing customer inquiries and support requests can feel overwhelming. You might find your team struggling to keep up with tickets, leading to delays and frustration for both staff and customers. Enterprise help desk software can be your ally in organizing and simplifying these challenges.
I've spent years testing and reviewing software, focusing on what truly matters for improving customer experiences. In this listicle, I'll share my top picks of help desk solutions that can make a real difference for you and your team.
You'll discover tools that can enhance your workflow, improve response times, and elevate customer satisfaction. Let's dive in and find the right fit for your needs.
The Best Enterprise Help Desk Software Comparison Chart
This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top enterprise help desk software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Best for customizable ticketing systems | Free trial available | From $26/seat/month (3 seat minimum) | Website | |
2 | Best for omnichannel ticket submission | Free trial + free demo available | From $27/user/month | Website | |
3 | Best for IT service teams | 30-day free trial available | From $0.21/node/month (billed annually) | Website | |
4 | Best enterprise help desk software for providing remote access support | 15-day free trial available | From $12/month | Website | |
5 | Best for automating help desk tasks | 15-day free trial | From $7/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
6 | Best for scalable customer support | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $15/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
7 | Best for AI-powered enterprise search | 30-day free trial | From $10/user/month | Website | |
8 | Best for creating personalized experiences with AI | Free trial + free demo available | From $25/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
9 | Best enterprise help desk software for Google Workspace users | 7-day free trial | From $15/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
10 | Best enterprise help desk software for customer engagement | 14-day free trial | From $29/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
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CRM Creatio
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.7 -
monday Service
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.6 -
Issuetrak
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.1
Overviews of the 10 Best Enterprise Help Desk Software
Here’s a brief description of each enterprise help desk software that showcases each vendor’s best use case, their noteworthy features, and some pros and cons. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a preview of their user interface too.
monday Service is a highly customizable and intuitive service platform designed to optimize service operations for help desk teams. This platform allows teams to manage and automate their service operations and processes effectively, ensuring that incidents and requests are resolved within Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Why I picked monday Service: monday Service offers a robust suite of features tailored specifically for enterprise use, making it an ideal choice for large organizations. One of the standout features is its highly customizable ticketing system, which allows teams to manage IT requests, changes, problems, and incidents efficiently. The platform supports multiple customizable email servers through the monday-inbox, which helps streamline communication and ensures that all support requests are captured and addressed promptly. Additionally, monday Service provides enterprise-scale automations and integrations, facilitating workflows and reducing the need for manual intervention.
monday Service Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a customizable ticketing system, customizable email servers, enterprise-scale automations, multi-channel support, AI-driven automations, analytics and reporting, and custom workflows.
Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, GitHub, Outlook, Jira, Zendesk, Typeform, Gmail, and HubSpot.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Visual data representation
- Email automation
- Customizable workflows
Cons:
- Complex for new users
- Mobile app limitations
Issuetrak is a software tool that provides businesses with a system for tracking and managing issues, offering customizable, omnichannel ticket submission. It is designed to support various functions such as customer support, site management, and trend analysis for businesses of all sizes, including large-scale enterprises.
Why I picked Issuetrak: Issuetrak provides a platform for omnichannel ticket submission, ensuring that all customer interactions are captured and addressed. The software then automates ticket assignment to the appropriate team members, which helps distribute the workload and ensures timely responses. Collaboration on tasks is also facilitated within the system, and a knowledge base is available for storing solutions to common problems, aiding in faster resolution of future inquiries.
Asset management is another key feature of the tool, enabling the tracking of company assets and their associated issues. Issuetrak also offers industry-specific solutions and customizable dashboards to monitor help desk activities.
Issuetrak Standout Features and Integrations
Features include quick notes, which enables users to add pre-written notes to issues quickly, functionalities for managing customer complaints. Issuetrak also offers comprehensive customer support, including a dedicated support department that provides 24/7 technical assistance and in-house services such as site configuration and training for support agents.
Integrations include Okta, Onelogin, Gmail, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Analytics, and PowerBI.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Can create custom workflows
- Can track work and projects
Cons:
- Some issues with email ticket generation
- Limited reporting capabilities
InvGate Service Management is an IT service management (ITSM) solution designed to enhance your organization's IT operations. It offers tools to automate processes, gain AI-driven insights, and create intuitive workflows.
Why I picked InvGate Service Management: One reason to consider InvGate Service Management is its comprehensive ticket management system. This feature allows your team to organize work based on priority, SLA, and urgency, helping to prevent bottlenecks. It also highlights actions that can be resolved with minimal effort, enabling your agents to focus on critical tasks.
I also like its ITSM analytics capability. You can customize and share performance dashboards to provide transparency into your service desk's status. With access to over 150 metrics, your team can cross-analyze data to make informed decisions quickly.
InvGate Service Management Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a self-service portal that encourages users to resolve common issues independently by accessing a comprehensive knowledge base. This reduces the volume of incoming tickets and empowers users to find solutions quickly. Additionally, the problem management feature enables your team to proactively identify and address recurring issues, minimizing future disruptions.
Integrations include FileWave, Lansweeper, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Active Directory, Azure DevOps, Okta, Office 365, OpenAI, Outlook, and Jira.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Rule-based SLA configuration for tracking performance metrics
- Incorporates AI and low-code automation
- Provides a robust platform for incident and ticket management
Cons:
- Could offer more native integrations
- No social media ticket support
Best enterprise help desk software for providing remote access support
Zoho Assist is a customer support software that allows users to provide customer support through remote access sessions. It's compatible with other Zoho products.
Why I picked Zoho Assist: Security is a top priority, and the software is GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, and CJIR compliant and has SSL 256-bit AES encryption. Enterprise businesses can rest assured that they're meeting security parameters while providing support to customers or employees through both on-demand and unattended remote access sessions. Unattended remote access allows for pushing updates, diagnosing issues, and rebooting devices even if a customer or team member isn't at their computer.
Live chat, video, and voice calls are all supported to facilitate communication between support reps and customers. You can exchange files as needed, and remote billing is included. Sessions can be recorded for auditing, record-keeping, and training purposes. Organizational management is also included so the right people have the right access permissions in the platform.
Zoho Assist Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a service queue and session scheduling. This helps you manage incoming support requests and address high-priority needs first. The software helps you automate how you handle issues, speeding up your processes and giving you more time to focus on high-impact work.
Integrations include the Zoho product suite, Zendesk, ServiceNow, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Freshdesk, Spiceworks, and the Google Suite, among others.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- On-demand and unattended remote access
- Ability to deploy bulk updates
- High-level security (multi-factor authentication, conditional access)
Cons:
- Some features may require coding knowledge
- Might not be ideal for non-Zoho users
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk solution designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, including enterprises. It offers a comprehensive suite of features including customer support ticket management, a customer support portal, contract management, and report creation.
Why I picked Zoho Desk: Zoho Desk offers multichannel support, which allows customer interactions through email, phone, social media, and live chat. Additionally, its robust ticket management system automatically organizes tickets and provides tools to increase efficiency and agent productivity.
The inclusion of an AI tool, Zia, further enhances the platform by automating tasks such as ticket tagging, alerting agents to unusual activity, and even conducting sentiment analysis on customer interactions. This level of automation not only reduces the workload on support agents but also ensures quicker and more accurate responses to customer queries.
Zoho Desk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include extensive customization of the user interface, ticket views, and workflow processes, making it adaptable to the specific needs of any organization. Additionally, the platform's reporting and analytics features offer customizable reports and dashboards that provide valuable insights into support performance and customer satisfaction.
Integrations include Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Slack, Jira, Trello, Asana, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, GitHub, Bitbucket, Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Intercom, Freshdesk, and other Zoho apps.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Detailed control over ticket management
- Includes robust automation features
- Allows for extensive customization
Cons:
- The user interface can be overwhelming for some users
- Can be complex to customize its features
Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support software provided by Freshworks, offering comprehensive help desk support solutions tailored for enterprises seeking to enhance their customer service operations.
Why I picked Freshdesk: As enterprise help desk software, Freshdesk excels in providing scalable, intuitive, and integrated solutions for managing customer inquiries, streamlining support processes, and improving customer satisfaction across various channels. Its advanced analytics offers deep insights into support operations and customer satisfaction. Crucial for continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.
The platform also features a self-service knowledge base and custom widgets to help customers find answers independently, reducing the load on support agents.
Freshdesk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include its AI-powered automation that helps you streamline ticket routing, prioritization, and responses., enhances efficiency and reduces response times. Also, its omnichannel support centralizes support from email, chat, phone, and social media. Ideal for unified customer experiences.
Integrations include Salesforce, Slack, Jira, Office 365, Zapier, Shopify, Magento, WordPress, Mailchimp, and Trello. Additionally, it has a marketplace that includes over 1,000 apps that you can connect to and custom workflows and applications you can create to meet your unique business needs using its Neo Platform.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful analytics and reporting tools for data-driven decisions
- Customizable to fit enterprise-level needs and workflows
- Comprehensive support across multiple channels, improving customer engagement
Cons:
- Pricing may be prohibitive for smaller organizations.
- Can be complex to use without proper training
Guru is an AI-powered enterprise search tool that offers company knowledge search, employee intranet, and company wiki. It brings your company's collective intelligence into your existing tools and workflows.
Why I picked Guru: This platform earned its spot on my list not only for its integrated, AI-powered search, but also for its enterprise-grade security. It stands out with its zero-data retention policy, private AI models, and role-based access controls, which make it a strong choice for organizations looking for a secure and customizable enterprise search solution.
The platform also offers a customizable employee engagement hub and an automated, centralized knowledge base. It connects with all your apps, documents, and chats, providing instant answers within the user's workflow. This helps to eliminate knowledge silos and increase team productivity.
Guru Standout Features and Integrations
Features include advanced search capabilities, customizable dashboards, secure data storage, real-time collaboration tools, knowledge management, AI-powered suggestions, robust analytics and reporting, integration with multiple platforms, personalized user experiences, mobile accessibility, document management, workflow automation, social networking features, and multilingual support.
Integrations include Google Chrome, Google Workspace, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook, HRIS solutions, Vimeo, Loom, Airtable, Sendesk, Salesforce, Intercom, Freshworks, Confluence, and more. Plus, you can use Zapier, Workato, or the custom API to connect more tools.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- AI-powered helpdesk suggestions
- Tons of integrations with other tools
- Excels in organizing and managing knowledge
Cons:
- Limited offline capabilities
- Comes with a learning curve
Best for creating personalized experiences with AI
Salesforce Service Cloud is a robust, multi-channel helpdesk tool that's well-suited to the needs of enterprise businesses. It helps service teams deliver exceptional experiences with AI-powered personalization.
Why I chose Salesforce Service Cloud: I chose this software because of its AI and automation features that handle repetitive tasks, allowing your agents to focus on providing high-quality support. Its AI chatbots and automatic triaging save time, create consistent experiences, and boost efficiency for your team. The AI ensures that customer queries are directed to the most qualified agents, offering a personalized support experience.
The software's AI can also analyze customer interactions to provide proactive service recommendations, anticipate customer needs, and customize interactions at scale. This makes it particularly good for large businesses and enterprises. The platform also has a drag-and-drop editor to create a self-service center, enabling customers to find solutions independently, further enhancing personalized support.
Salesforce Service Cloud Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a robust knowledge base that helps agents to quickly find information and solutions to common issues, speeding up resolution times. The field service feature supports mobile workforce management, equipping field technicians with the necessary tools and information to deliver outstanding service.
Integrations include Freshdesk, CloudTalk, Twilio, Brandwatch, Paligo, Mailchimp, HubSpot CRM, Trello, TeamViewer, Smartsheet, Klaviyo, Aircall, Gainsight, and Conversocial.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Adaptable to users’ needs
- Multiple pricing tiers to support various stages of growth
- Effectively simplifies support procedures
Cons:
- Comes with a learning curve
- Can be cumbersome to implement
Hiver is a Gmail inbox management tool trusted by 2000+ companies worldwide. It's the best tool for Gmail users as it transforms their inbox into a collaborative workspace, enabling them to share and manage emails, delegate tasks, and track email metrics, all within the familiar Gmail interface.
Why I picked Hiver: I picked Hiver because it not only converts Gmail into a support channel for customer service but also offers various functionalities for various business operations. With Hiver, businesses can manage email, live chat, knowledge base, phone, and WhatsApp support. You can also use Hiver to collaborate on finance operations and manage people and ITSM operations.
Hiver also complies with various data protection laws and regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. It is ISO 27001:2013 certified, which is a globally recognized standard for information security management. Additionally, Hiver is also SOC 2 Type II compliant, which ensures that the company has appropriate security and privacy controls in place.
Hiver Standout Features and Integrations
Features include shared inbox management functionality, which allows teams to work together on shared inboxes like customer support, sales, and HR, without switching between multiple tools. It also offers a range of collaboration features, including shared labels, internal notes, and reminders, that enable users to delegate tasks, track progress, and communicate with team members in real time.
Integrations are available with Aircall, Asana, Jira, Okta, QuickBooks, Salesforce, Slack, WhatsApp, and Zapier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy-to-navigate
- Advanced security and compliance features
- Good collaboration features
Cons:
- Limited features in the mobile app
- Limited integrations
Intercom is a customer messaging platform that enables businesses to engage with customers through personalized and targeted communications.
Why I picked Intercom: One cool feature of Intercom is its 'Smart Campaigns' feature, which uses customer behavior data to automatically send targeted messages and promotions to customers at the right time and in the right context, increasing engagement and revenue.
Another useful feature is the 'Custom Bots' feature, which allows businesses to create and automate custom chatbots that can handle common customer queries and tasks, saving time and improving efficiency in customer support.
Intercom Standout Features and Integrations
Features include customizable chat widgets, in-app messaging, and mobile messaging capabilities to meet customers where they are. It also provides powerful data analytics and segmentation tools to help businesses better understand and engage with customers.
Integrations include Salesforce, Jira Cloud, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Calendar, HubSpot, Calendly, Google Analytics, Clearbit, Outlook Calendar, and other software options. Intercom also offers APIs that you can use to build your apps.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Offers customizable chat widgets
- Integrates with popular business software
- Powerful data analytics tools
Cons:
- No free plans
- Steep learning curve
Other Help Desk Options
Here are a few more options that didn’t make the best enterprise help desk software list but are still worth considering:
- Help Scout
Enterprise help desk that’s easy to use
- Kustomer
Enterprise help desk for ecommerce businesses
- TeamSupport
Enterprise help desk software for B2B businesses
- Zendesk
Enterprise help desk software for customer self-service
- SysAid
Enterprise help desk for internal IT services
- Sprinklr Service
Enterprise help desk software for built-in analytics features
- Rescue
Enterprise help desk software for remote support teams
- ManageEngine
Enterprise help desk software for IT service management
- Gladly
Enterprise help desk software for omnichannel support
- UserGuiding
For creating in-app experiences without coding
Related CX Software Lists
If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for here, check out these related customer experience management tools that I’ve tested and evaluated.
Enterprise Help Desk Software Selection Criteria
When selecting the best enterprise help desk software to include in this list, I considered common buyer needs and pain points like scalability and customization options. I also used the following framework to keep my evaluation structured and fair:
Core Functionality (25% of total score)
To be considered for inclusion in this list, each solution had to fulfill these common use cases:
- Manage support tickets
- Provide multi-channel support
- Offer customer self-service options
- Track and analyze performance metrics
- Automate repetitive tasks
Additional Standout Features (25% of total score)
To help further narrow down the competition, I also looked for unique features, such as:
- AI-driven insights
- Advanced customization options
- Integration with IoT devices
- Support for multiple languages
- Compliance with industry-specific regulations
- Tools for a help desk knowledge base
Usability (10% of total score)
To get a sense of the usability of each system, I considered the following:
- Intuitive interface design
- Ease of navigation
- Customizable dashboards
- Minimal learning curve
- Mobile accessibility
Onboarding (10% of total score)
To evaluate the onboarding experience for each platform, I considered the following:
- Availability of training videos
- Access to interactive product tours
- Presence of templates for setup
- Support through chatbots
- Participation in webinars
Customer Support (10% of total score)
To assess each software provider’s customer support services, I considered the following:
- 24/7 availability
- Multilingual support options
- Access to a dedicated account manager
- Comprehensive knowledge base
- Response time to inquiries
Value For Money (10% of total score)
To evaluate the value for money of each platform, I considered the following:
- Pricing transparency
- Features included in base price
- Discounts for annual billing
- Comparison to similar tools
- Return on investment potential
Customer Reviews (10% of total score)
To get a sense of overall customer satisfaction, I considered the following when reading customer reviews:
- Frequency of updates and improvements
- Quality of customer support interactions
- Overall satisfaction scores
- Specific feedback on features
- Reports of downtime or outages
How to Choose Enterprise Help Desk Software
It’s easy to get bogged down in long feature lists and complex pricing structures. To help you stay focused as you work through your unique help desk software selection process, here’s a checklist of factors to keep in mind:
Factor | What to Consider |
---|---|
Scalability | Ensure the software can grow with your business, handling increased ticket volume and supporting additional agents without a hitch. |
Integrations | Look for tools that integrate with your existing systems like CRM, email, and chat platforms to keep workflows smooth and data centralized. |
Customizability | Check if you can tailor the software to match your team’s processes, including setting up custom workflows, fields, and reports. |
Ease of Use | Choose a tool with an intuitive interface that requires minimal training, so your team can get up and running quickly. |
Budget | Assess the total cost, including any hidden fees, to ensure it fits within your financial plans without sacrificing necessary features. |
User Feedback | Gather data on what other users in your industry or niche think about the tool you are considering. |
Software Reviews | Leverage review averages from trusted sites to get a gauge on whether the software is well-received generally. |
Support Options | Consider the availability of customer support and resources like tutorials, forums, and live chat to assist when issues arise. |
Trends in Enterprise Help Desk Software
In my research, I sourced countless product updates, press releases, and release logs from different enterprise help desk software vendors. Trends around modern help desk software adoption include:
- AI and Automation in Help Desks: AI help desk software is being used to analyze customer interactions and provide actionable insights. This helps teams predict issues and improve service quality. Some vendors are offering AI-powered dashboards that highlight trends and suggest improvements.
- Omnichannel Support: Users want support across multiple channels like email, chat, and social media. Vendors are integrating these into a single platform, allowing agents to manage all interactions in one place. This trend is making customer support more efficient and cohesive.
- Self-Service Portals: More businesses are implementing self-service options to reduce agent workload. These portals let customers find answers independently. Vendors are enhancing these with community forums and detailed knowledge bases.
- Personalization Features: Personalization is becoming a focus, with vendors offering tools to tailor interactions based on customer data and preferences. This trend enhances customer satisfaction by making support feel more relevant and personalized.
What Is Enterprise Help Desk Software?
Enterprise help desk software is a tool designed to manage and resolve customer inquiries and support requests efficiently. It's commonly used by customer support teams, IT departments, and service desks to enhance communication and service delivery.
Ticket management, omnichannel support, and self-service portals help with organizing requests, improving response times, and empowering customers to find solutions on their own. These tools provide significant value by boosting customer satisfaction and optimizing team productivity.
Features of Enterprise Help Desk Software
When selecting enterprise help desk software, keep an eye out for the following key features:
- Ticketing workflow optimization: Organizes and tracks customer inquiries to ensure timely responses and resolution.
- Omnichannel support: Allows interaction with customers across various platforms like email, chat, and social media from a single interface.
- Self-service portals: Empowers customers to find solutions independently through knowledge bases and community forums.
- AI-driven insights: Analyzes customer data to provide actionable insights and improve service quality.
- Customizable workflows: Lets teams tailor processes to fit their specific needs and improve efficiency.
- Remote work support: Offers tools and capabilities to enable support teams to work effectively from anywhere.
- Personalization features: Tailors customer interactions based on data and preferences to enhance satisfaction.
- Reporting tools: Provides detailed analytics to help track performance and make informed decisions.
Benefits of Enterprise Help Desk Software
Implementing enterprise help desk software provides several benefits for your team and your business. Here are a few you can look forward to:
- Improved efficiency: Ticket management and automated workflows help your team resolve issues faster.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction: Omnichannel support and personalization features ensure customers feel heard and valued.
- Better decision-making: AI-driven insights and reporting tools provide data to guide strategic improvements.
- Increased accessibility: Remote work support ensures your team can provide assistance from anywhere.
- Cost savings: Self-service portals reduce the workload on your support staff by allowing customers to solve common issues themselves.
- Scalability: Customizable workflows and scalability features allow your business to grow without outgrowing the software.
- Compliance assurance: Security safeguards and compliance features help protect sensitive information and meet regulatory requirements.
Enterprise Help Desk Software Integration with Business Tools
Integrations let help desk software work smoothly with other tools, so support teams can get things done faster without switching between apps. This makes it easier to track customer issues, fix problems quickly, and keep everything organized in one place.
Here are essential business tools that enterprise help desk software should be able to integrate with:
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Syncs customer data for better support (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot).
- IT Asset Management: Tracks company hardware and software (e.g., ServiceNow, Lansweeper).
- Project Management: Helps coordinate support-related projects (e.g., Jira, Trello).
- Communication Tools: Enables easy team collaboration (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams).
- Email & Ticketing: Automates support requests from emails (e.g., Outlook, Gmail).
- Knowledge Base & Self-Service: Provides FAQs and documentation (e.g., Confluence, Zendesk Guide).
- Remote Desktop & Monitoring: Allows IT teams to troubleshoot remotely (e.g., TeamViewer, AnyDesk).
- AI Chatbots & Automation: Enhances support with self-service AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Freshdesk AI).
Costs and Pricing of Enterprise Help Desk Software
Selecting enterprise help desk software requires an understanding of the various pricing models and plans available. Costs vary based on features, team size, add-ons, and more. The table below summarizes common plans, their average prices, and typical features included in enterprise help desk software solutions:
Plan Comparison Table for Help Desk Software
Plan Type | Average Price | Common Features |
---|---|---|
Free Plan | $0 | Basic ticketing, email support, and limited reporting. |
Personal Plan | $5-$25/user/month | Ticket management, self-service portal, and basic analytics. |
Business Plan | $30-$75/user/month | Omnichannel support, customizable workflows, and advanced reporting tools. |
Enterprise Plan | $80-$150/user/month | AI-driven insights, dedicated account manager, and enhanced security features. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about enterprise help desk software:
What's the difference between enterprise vs. SMB help desk solutions?
The key difference between enterprise help desk software and basic help desk software lies in scalability, features, and customization:
Enterprise Help Desk Software
✅ Built for large organizations with complex needs
✅ Advanced automation (AI-powered ticketing, workflow automation)
✅ Multi-channel support (email, chat, phone, social media)
✅ Custom reporting & analytics for deeper insights
✅ Integrations with CRM, ITSM, and ERP systems
✅ Multi-department & multi-location support
✅ Security & compliance (SSO, SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA)
✅ Customizable user roles & permissions
Basic Help Desk Software
✅ Ideal for small to mid-sized businesses
✅ Basic ticketing system (email or web-based)
✅ Limited automation (basic triggers & rules)
✅ Fewer integrations (may connect with email & chat tools)
✅ Standard reporting with basic analytics
✅ Lower cost and easy to set up
Which One Do You Need?
- Choose enterprise help desk software if you need scalability, automation, and integrations for multiple teams.
- Choose basic help desk software if you need a cost-effective, simple solution for handling customer or internal tickets.
What is the difference between a service desk and a help desk?
The key difference between a service desk and a help desk lies in their scope, approach, and objectives.
Help Desk
- Reactive support focused on resolving IT issues
- Handles break/fix requests (e.g., password resets, software glitches)
- Designed for incident management and troubleshooting
- Usually a standalone function or part of a larger service desk
- Ideal for short-term issue resolution
Service Desk
- Proactive approach focused on IT service management (ITSM)
- Includes help desk functions but extends to change management, service requests, and problem management
- Follows ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) best practices
- Aims to align IT services with business goals
- More strategic, offering a broader scope of IT support
Which One Do You Need?
- Choose a help desk if you need a basic ticketing system for resolving IT issues
- Choose a service desk if you need a comprehensive IT service management solution that improves overall IT efficiency and business alignment
Does Microsoft have a help desk software?
Yes, Microsoft offers help desk solutions through its ecosystem, primarily under Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Microsoft Service Manager (part of System Center).
1. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Best for external customer support.
- AI-powered ticketing system
- Omnichannel support (email, chat, social media, voice)
- Automation & workflows for case management
- Integration with Microsoft 365 & Teams
- Self-service portals & knowledge bases
🔹 Works for: Enterprises and mid-sized businesses needing a robust, AI-driven help desk for customer support.
2. Microsoft Service Manager
Best for IT help desk & internal support.
- IT service management (ITSM) for internal teams
- Incident & problem management
- Change & asset management
- Integration with Microsoft Endpoint Manager & Azure
🔹 Works for: IT departments needing an internal help desk for managing IT service requests.
Alternatives within the Microsoft ecosystem:
- Microsoft Teams + Power Automate → Can be customized for basic help desk ticketing
- SharePoint → Can be used to build internal support portals
What is ITIL compliance in enterprise help desks?
ITIL compliance means that an enterprise help desk follows best practices for IT service management (ITSM), ensuring that IT support is well-organized, efficient, and customer-friendly. It helps businesses handle IT issues, track service requests, and improve workflows using structured processes like incident management, problem resolution, and change control.
What are the different types of help desk software?
Help desk software comes in various types, each designed to streamline customer support, ticket management, and issue resolution. Here are the main types:
- Cloud-Based Help Desk Software – Hosted on the cloud, accessible from anywhere, and easy to scale.
- On-Premises Help Desk Software – Installed on a company’s local servers for full control and security.
- Open-Source Help Desk Software – Allows businesses to customize and modify the software code as needed.
- Enterprise Help Desk Software – Designed for large organizations with advanced automation, analytics, and multi-department support.
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Software – Focuses on IT support, incident management, and compliance with ITIL frameworks.
- AI-Powered Help Desk Software – Uses artificial intelligence for chatbots, automated responses, and predictive issue resolution.
- Self-Service Help Desk Software – Provides knowledge bases, FAQs, and automated responses for users to resolve issues independently.
- Internal Help Desk Software – Supports internal teams like HR, IT, and facilities management within an organization.
- Multi-Channel Help Desk Software – Integrates various support channels like email, chat, phone, and social media into a single platform.
- Omnichannel Help Desk Software – Offers a seamless and unified experience across multiple communication channels.
Help Desk Software for Varied Business Needs
Are you looking for a different type of help desk software? You may want to check out these other top 10 lists as well:
- Help Desk Software for Small Businesses: Focuses on cost-effective, user-friendly solutions designed for smaller teams with limited resources.
- Online Help Desk Software: Web-based platforms that enable customer support teams to manage inquiries from anywhere.
- Simple Help Desk Software for Ease of Use: Offers intuitive interfaces and minimal setup for teams needing a straightforward solution.
- Internal Help Desk Software: Designed for IT and HR teams to manage internal employee requests efficiently.
- Email Help Desk Software: Centralizes customer support emails into a shared inbox with ticketing and automation features.
- Cloud Help Desk Software: Fully hosted solutions that provide scalability, remote access, and automatic updates.
- Best Free Help Desk Software: Budget-friendly tools that offer essential help desk features without upfront costs.
Reduce Downtime with Enterprise Help Desk Software
Help desk software improves customer satisfaction by providing quick and efficient responses to inquiries. Features like omnichannel support ensure customers can reach you through their preferred platforms. Self-service options also enable customers to find answers on their own, reducing wait times.
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