The need for better and more specialized systems has been the major call for the fast-paced evolution of technology over the years. Newer hardware and software systems are constantly introduced. Hence, it is always a matter of time before older special-purpose systems are outdated and deprived of resources for support and maintenance.
Legacy system companies specialize in supporting and maintaining hardware and software systems with long life cycles which are still in service and are considerably hard to replace either due to lack of technical specification or because they are fundamental parts of a business operation.
These businesses operate in a relatively small niche market, and due to the intricate nature of legacy systems, they often require the collaboration of subject matter experts, Engineers, and existing operators of such systems. This highly technical interaction requires a robust technical support system, and a particular Legacy Hardware Company found OneDesk to be the answer to their software needs.
While our latest client isn’t new to helpdesk and ticketing systems, the existing system in use was reported to be “rather large” and uneconomical for the company’s needs. A Legacy Hardware Company of their size requires a ticketing and project management system that is well cut-out to capture the specialized projects and activities in the company.
Managing User Tickets with OneDesk
Ticketing is two-way communication, and OneDesk achieves that through its customer app – the customer-facing side of the ticketing system, and the project app – which provides the interface for internal users to respond and manage user-submitted tickets.
The Customer App is a widget embedded on the company’s website for easy access. Installing the widget is as simple as pasting a JavaScript code snippet or installing a WordPress plugin as the case may be.
The app widget presents four tabs to the external users – the messenger tab is used as a live chat tool through which external users can connect and converse with internal teams. The second tab is the Customer Portal through which external users can view status and check for updates on tickets they have submitted. The webform tab is used for ticket creation and submission, and the Knowledgebase tab houses useful articles and videos meant to aid the external users in their activities.
Aside from submitting tickets via the customer app webform, receiving tickets is possible in several other ways on OneDesk. This includes sending tickets by email and having the internal team create the tickets either by importing them, generating them from live chat conversations, or even creating tickets manually on the project app.
A record of all live chat sessions and tickets are maintained within the project or main app. The company’s internal teams use the app to view and manage tickets. Each ticket can be assigned to an internal user or team of users. Other members such as contributors and Administrators can follow the ticket to get notifications and updates about the ticket.
Assigned users can create two types of conversation threads on a ticket. They are customer reply and internal messages, and this feature is also available for other items as well as including tasks, bug reports, and more.
Tickets and other items are organized in a hierarchy of folders, each representing the projects and the customers or external users responsible for those projects. The main app’s User Interface is very comprehensive with drag-and-drop capabilities. This makes sorting and organizing tickets much easier.
Project Management tool For a Legacy Hardware Company
While Tickets are designed for more immediate activities, OneDesk also makes it possible to create tasks for activities that require further planning or layers of actions. The team can also convert ongoing tickets to tasks if needed, and the conversion process preserves all files and conversations on the ticket. This ensures all conversations are still accessible even after the ticket has been converted to a task.
The lifecycle status for a task is automatically set to open when the task is created. It changes in response to activities in the project throughout the task’s lifecycle. At any point, it indicates the current status of the task or ticket.
OneDesk’s time logging tool allows the assigned user to log time spent carrying out the task or working on a ticket. This can be achieved by starting the timer on the task panel, or by manually entering the time elapsed, or by importing timesheets in predefined formats. The lifecycle status changes automatically in response to the timesheet logged to reflect the status of the item after a certain operation has been performed. These cycle statuses are configurable and can be modified to match specific organizational processes.
Keeping an eye on projects and items on OneDesk is simplified with views. There are several views, each presenting a distinct perspective. The Gantt view, for example, presents a time-bound comparison of the schedules and actual implementation of all items. It uses a color scheme to differentiate between the planned and actual schedules. This view is particularly handy for project management tasks, making it easy to identify vacant and cluttered periods. This also helps to identify flaws in scheduling or planning and to improve on them.
Due to the sensitive nature of our client’s operation, effective record keeping is a critical component of their software requirement. In certain cases where the manager is required to review previously concluded tasks or projects. OneDesk provides an optional project archive where closed and completed tasks can be stored and retrieved on demand.
Customizing OneDesk
OneDesk makes it possible to customize the entire system including the system interface for the customer apps. From colours to language setting, to logos, and even work hours and email templates, it can all be configured and reconfigured.
The app interface and email templates are all completely customizable. OneDesk even makes it easy for the client to disable any feature or application considered irrelevant with the option to enable them again at will if they ever found the need for such features as the company scales.
Customer accounts are also managed internally on OneDesk, ensuring the company has control over what each customer can see on the customer app widget. OneDesk has several project views to help users keep track of activities such as timesheets logged in a certain project. These views are made available in standard layouts, and users can also create custom views that can be saved and shared with other users on the same OneDesk plan.
When it comes to integrations, OneDesk makes the option available through zappier – A third-party integration platform. There are several hundreds of readily available OneDesk integrations for prominent enterprise systems. In addition to this, the company can also create custom integrations for bespoke systems.
Automation on OneDesk
Within the OneDesk ticketing system, A mail notification is automatically sent to the customer when the ticket is created. This is to notify the customer and the mails can be modified or adjusted to match the company’s branding and other preferences. The entire process is handled by the OneDesk Workflow Automation tool.
Reports can be generated for any activity performed OneDesk based on any of the views. The default appearance of the report is that of the view it is being generated from, but can be modified as needed by adding or removing certain fields or properties. With OneDesk, the teams now have the tools to generate automated reports at intervals and forward them to the manager, engineers, or specialists via email. The email reports can be scheduled and sent in PDF or CSV format.
OneDesk Support Team
OneDesk Combines project management and Helpdesk in One App, allowing the client’s teams to manage all projects and interact with subject matter experts all in one app. The platform is also supported by a fully responsive support and a technical team who are happy to tend to client requests and questions. The platform also has various user plans suited for all sizes and structures of organizations, from start-up to large organizations.