Spiceworks Strengths:
- Completely free support solution;
- Reliable functionality for essential internal IT solutions;
- Smart Report plugin.
Disadvantages:
- Some features are missing, such as social media links and chat support;
- The clipboard is practically not configurable;
- Ads in the app.
All the support products we reviewed have different pricing plans outside the Spiceworks Cloud Helpdesk. Because it's free, admittedly, it only offers some of the features you'll find in many other award-winning products like Freshdesk. However, essential call generation and reporting have proven powerful enough to support small internal business IT services. You'll also get access to innovative free plugins for advanced analysis and Spiceworks export's archive of technical capabilities to help you solve many common problems. Expert systems are needed for specific areas, decision support systems: business planning, diagnostics of equipment breakdowns, research, and financial audit. Instrumental software - programs for creating new applications (program development) and information systems. Programmers use various practical tools at the technical stages of designing, programming, debugging, and testing the completed program. Instrumental software includes programming languages and systems, integrated environments for developing software products, and CASE tools, software packages that automate developing programs. Software solutions should be tested for potential errors at the software development stage. Trying a software solution means checking whether the actual results match your expectations. This process involves installing and running a software solution or system component and evaluating one or more features. Testing software solutions can also help identify gaps or missing parts based on requirements. This can be done manually or with automated tools.
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Prices and benefits
As I mentioned earlier, the price of Spiceworks Cloud means nothing. The company makes money using the software to serve ads to IT professionals. It might sound intrusive, but it didn't bother me too much after using this tool. Spiceworks does not charge for other IT products such as asset management, infrastructure, network monitoring, remote management, and SLA management. These tools are built into the Spiceworks Cloud Helpdesk, so you can create a robust IT toolkit without breaking the bank if you track your results. Flexibility is the first thing Spiceworks gives up, aside from serving ads. First, Spiceworks Cloud Helpdesk focuses only on internal IT support and therefore does not compete with other platforms. You can't just use it as a customer support service as you do with products like Freshdesk or HappyFox. Spiceworks is also accessible and non-ITIL compliant, making it ideal for small IT shops that don't need the powerful features of commercial packages. Other competitive features Spiceworks missed out on include live chat, chatbot support, and the ability to embed support widgets on your website. Apart from the Smart Report plugin, there is little integration with external applications. While the price of a free product can be tempting, you should consider all of these factors when evaluating your choice.
Unique user interface and essential features
Spiceworks Cloud's interface is very similar to the other options, with a menu bar at the top of the page and icons on the left to access additional features. Here, Spiceworks offers asset management in the form of software inventory, hardware inventory, and contract management. This is important for some IT shops that manage many devices, as it gives service technicians the ability to access all the user device records they need quickly. All these tools are standalone but free and integrated with Spiceworks Support. Inventory tools work with IP scanners to discover devices on your network. Although this is convenient, an agent must be installed on the target device to collect hardware and software information. The Spiceworks mailbox works but cannot be edited. The view of the transition can be changed only for the last 7 or 30 days. More information is displayed when you hover over the chart, but it is not clickable. The same data can be used in reports, but the information cannot be exported from the dashboard either.
Spiceworks ticketing process
Company employees create tickets in Spiceworks using email, a mobile app, or a web browser. But for users, it depends only on the browser. Spiceworks does not currently support the creation of recurring or scheduled tickets. The portal provides a simple web page with three contact email addresses, a resume, and a description field. Click the "Submit" button to close the application, and a confirmation email will be sent to the email address entered in the form. Email requests will be added to the unassigned ticket list. Any broker can take responsibility for processing a ticket by clicking the "Acknowledge" link on the ticket submission page. Keys are managed through the main ticket desk. This is a list of requests in a grid format with required fields such as Summary, Assigned to, Created, Priority, Due Date, and Last Modified. Clicking on the search icon above the list of tickets will open a text box where you can enter the essential criteria you need. You can create a new view by clicking the narrowing icon. Click the Event menu item to view the ticket's event log by date. To search for text on the page, you can use the "Find" command in the browser (Ctrl+F).
Export of reports and data
As mentioned above, reporting is an important area of Spiceworks Cloud support. When comparing the product's internal reporting capabilities to other products in this summary, Spiceworks' reporting capabilities are, at first glance, average. But there is a Microsoft Power BI connector that changes everything. This simple plugin makes data from your Cloud Help Desk account available in Power BI templates. The connector plugin and report template are free from the Spiceworks website. Power BI can be a little intimidating for casual users. However, Spiceworks Cloud is intended for IT professionals, so the audience should be familiar with some basic logic and report formats. Then you can quickly create visually appealing messages. Best of all, Microsoft offers various tutorials, videos, and the main Power BI Desktop application. This ensures that Spiceworks' reporting functions work the same as other tested products and that the entire solution remains free (at least until Microsoft changes its mind).
Incredibly powerful and affordable
Spiceworks Cloud Helpdesk is a simple and free ticketing solution. This could be the product for small businesses that need a tool to track internal support requests, and large organizations are more efficient with a solution like Zoho Desk.