Web+Center Free Help Desk Test
Is Web+Center, a free web help desk for real? If you have 3 users or less this web help desk solution is free of charge. I've checked it out for you!
Internet Software Sciences (ISS) was started in 1995. ISS develops Internet and World Wide Web based products for external customer support and internal help desks.
Their product, Web+Center, is a suite of web based customer support applications (priced $1,500 for 5 users to $15,000 for unlimited users):
- Customer+Center - Allows customers to register themselves and log their support cases.
- Tech+Center - The web application for the support staff
- Business+Center - Web based contact management system
- Pocket+Center - Scaled down Tech+Center interface for the Pocket PC
System Requirements
- MS webserver running on:
- NT (Workstation/Server) -or-
- Windows 2000(Professional/Server)
- -or- Linux running MySQL
My Impressions
I have tested Web+Center web help desk software. Specifically, I checked out the modules Tech+Center and Customer+Center and tested them against the following areas, where I grade them with stars, 1 thru 5 (more is better):
- Functionality: I look for useful functions rather than a lot
- Customizability: If you need to align your tool to your business, you'll probably need to customize the tool
- Ease of use: A helpdesk tool must aid, not hinder, the support process
- Speed: Any customer service rep that had to wait on a system while talking to
a customer, understands the "need for speed"
:-) - Reliability: You need a tool you can trust, with data integrity, and that works when you need to
The Score
FunctionalityWeb+Center's web help desk has a pretty extensive set of functions, I especially like the fact that users can register themselves, and log and track their own cases, which means that your support team can focus on resolving the cases. You can search the cases, which acts as a rudimentary knowledge base. The function for the Pocket PC is an extra function, which you don't see often, but could be a valuable addition if your team needs to be mobile. **** 4 stars.
Customizability
According to ISS's own feature list, "all features and user choices are configurable with easy to use
Web-based forms and menus." This sounds pretty extensive, however, I found no function to change
case screens, if needed. But then again, that could just be me. The rest of the customizing functions of this web help desk solution seem ok by me. **** 4 stars.
Ease of Use
I feel that working in a web browser takes some getting used to, especially using the navigation
of the application rather than the infamous "BACK" button. When I take this into account, the
system is pretty self-explanatory. **** 4 stars.
Speed
Web+Center works quick, very quick. I'm very impressed by this web help desk's speed. 'Nuff said, ***** 5 stars.
Reliability
The system works fine, but here also I found a small bug. When I try to start Business+Center from
the menu, I get a "Page not found". More a sloppy error than a serious bug, but it says something about
the reliability of the entire system **** 4 stars.
Conclusion
I liked the speed and extensive functions of Web+Center's web help desk solution. I would like to see a true knowledge base, rather than the case search they have in place now, but it could work for you. The fact that customers can register themselves and log and track their own cases can be a real cost saver for your team. If your team is 3 users or less, it's free of charge, which is great for software that costs $1,500 and up!
**** I give ISS Web+Center's Web Help Desk Software
4 stars out of 5.
