Tools For Small to Mid-Sized Support Centers

KR Consulting does not recommend one vendor’s tool over another, but provides a list of tools that are appropriately priced and featured for the small to mid-sized support center.  This list accompanies the Support Tools chapter in Kristin Robertson’s book, Spectacular Support Centers.

Service Management Systems:

Licensed Software:

• Track-It! by Numara Software, http://www.numarasoftware.com/
• FootPrints by Numara Software, www.numarasoftware.com
• Service Desk Express Suite (formerly Magic Service Desk Suite) by BMC Software, http://www.bmc.com/products/proddocview/0,2832,19052_19429_24031552_123799,00.html
• HEAT by Front Range Systems, http://www.frontrange.com/ProductsSolutions/SubCategory.aspx?id=35&ccid=6
• C2 Enterprise by CPL Technologies, http://www.cpl-inc.com/
• Tracker by PhaseWare, http://www.phaseware.com/products

      Hosted software:

• RightNow Service by RightNow Technologies, www.rightnowtechnologies.com
• SalesForce Service and Support by SalesForce.com, www.salesforce.com 

Phone systems:

Voice over Internet Protocol systems:

• Internet Protocol Call Center (IPCC) by Front Range Systems, www.frontrange.com
• Five9, http://www.five9.com/
• Contactual, http://www.contactual.com/
• Syntellect’s Apropos platform, http://www.syntellect.com/products/voice.asp
• Telephony@Work    http://www.oracle.com/telephonyatwork/index.html

Call recording solutions:

• Sound Snooper by Soft Cab, http://www.sound-snooper.com/en/features.php
• RecOnPhone, www.reconphone.com
• RadioShack (for analog recording devices and adaptors), www.radioshack.com
• Headsets.com – Personal Call Recorder and Logger http://www.headsets.com/headsets/corded/headsets/call_logger/description.html

Surveying Tools:

Email/web survey tools:

• Zoomerang, www.zoomerang.com
• Survey Monkey, www.surveymonkey.com
• Many service management systems have integrated survey tools

IVR-based telephone surveys tools:

• Western Wats, http://www.westernwats.com/wats_ivr.htm

Knowledge bases:

Most stand-alone knowledge bases are too expensive for smaller support centers.  Fortunately, many service management systems have integrated knowledge bases.

Instant Messaging/Chat Tools

• Yahoo Instant Messaging, www.yahoo.com
• AOL Instant Messaging, www.aim.com
• Instant Service, http://www.instantservice.com

Staffing and Scheduling Tools:

Free tools:

• Merlang demo, www.pipkins.com/demo
• Online Erlang Traffic Calculators, www.erlang.com

Low-cost tools:

• cc-Modeler, www.kooltoolz.com
• AgentTime Scheduler, www.portagecommunications.com
• Call Center Designer, www.portagecommunications.com

Remote Control:

• Landesk, http://www.landesk.com/
• Novell ZENworks Suite, http://www.novell.com/products/zenworks/
• GoToAssist, http://www.gotoassist.com/
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/default.mspx