<s>
Help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
that	O
enables	O
customer-care	O
operators	O
to	O
keep	O
track	O
of	O
user	O
requests	O
and	O
deal	O
with	O
other	O
customer-care-related	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generally	O
,	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
umbrella	O
category	O
called	O
the	O
service	O
desk	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
asset	O
management	O
and	O
IT	O
service	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
two	O
terms	O
are	O
sometimes	O
used	O
interchangeably	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
specifically	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
that	O
addresses	O
customer	O
queries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
history	O
of	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
dates	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
20th	O
century	O
when	O
businesses	O
relied	O
mostly	O
on	O
face-to-face	O
interaction	O
to	O
resolve	O
customer	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
20th-century	O
era	O
,	O
companies	O
used	O
mainly	O
equipment	O
like	O
dictation	O
machines	O
,	O
typewriters	O
,	O
and	O
dumb	O
terminals	O
with	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
,	O
to	O
address	O
customer	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
use	O
of	O
computers	O
for	O
customer	O
service	O
was	O
done	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
massive	O
use	O
of	O
email	O
and	O
live	O
chat	B-Protocol
systems	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
massive	O
production	O
of	O
different	O
kinds	O
of	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
programs	O
across	O
the	O
internet	O
and	O
the	O
world	O
at	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
recent	O
times	O
,	O
the	O
internet	O
and	O
networked	O
systems	O
make	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
more	O
interactive	O
and	O
participatory	O
for	O
customers	O
and	O
agents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customer	O
service	O
and	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
systems	O
have	O
become	O
increasingly	O
popular	O
in	O
recent	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
recent	O
report	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
massive	O
increase	O
in	O
sales	O
of	O
customer	O
relationship	O
management	O
(	O
CRM	O
)	O
software	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
across	O
the	O
globe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
automates	O
customer	O
services	O
in	O
diverse	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
Ticket	B-Application
Management	O
,	O
Automation	O
Suite	O
,	O
and	O
Reporting/Optimization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
has	O
a	O
point	O
of	O
contact	O
for	O
customers	O
to	O
send	O
their	O
queries	O
and	O
a	O
ticketing	B-Application
system	I-Application
that	O
tracks	O
and	O
organizes	O
issues	O
for	O
faster	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
help	O
desk	O
applications	O
feature	O
online	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
,	O
insights	O
and	O
analytics	O
,	O
automated	O
processes	O
,	O
multiple	O
contact	O
channels	O
,	O
reporting	O
tools	O
,	O
collaboration	O
tools	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
CRM	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
benefits	O
are	O
typically	O
associated	O
with	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
business	O
that	O
uses	O
webmail	B-Protocol
for	O
support	O
tends	O
to	O
resolve	O
customer	O
support	O
issues	O
quicker	O
and	O
sees	O
an	O
increase	O
in	O
support	O
productivity	O
when	O
they	O
switch	O
to	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
automates	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
ticket	B-Application
categorization	O
and	O
prioritization	O
,	O
ticket	B-Application
routing	O
,	O
alerts	O
and	O
notifications	O
,	O
ticket	B-Application
status	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
right	O
help	O
desk	O
solution	O
,	O
the	O
workload	O
is	O
cut	O
down	O
as	O
many	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
issue	B-Application
tracking	I-Application
,	O
assigning	O
,	O
and	O
ticket	B-Application
management	O
can	O
be	O
automated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
cloud-based	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
has	O
built-in	O
security	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
HIPAA	O
compliance	O
if	O
for	O
handling	O
US	O
health	O
care	O
information	O
,	O
or	O
GDPR	O
compliance	O
for	O
accepting	O
requests	O
from	O
persons	O
located	O
in	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
some	O
disadvantages	O
related	O
to	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
as	O
well	O
,	O
mainly	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
platforms	O
have	O
expensive	O
upfront	O
costs	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
time-consuming	O
implementation	O
periods	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
significantly	O
drain	O
company	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
's	O
also	O
difficult	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
software	O
with	O
a	O
full	O
volume	O
of	O
tickets	B-Application
and	O
staff	O
in	O
a	O
short	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On-premises	O
help	O
desks	O
can	O
have	O
costs	O
associated	O
with	O
maintenance	O
,	O
upgrades	O
,	O
and	O
scheduled	O
downtime	O
of	O
servers	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
borne	O
by	O
the	O
customer	O
,	O
not	O
the	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
provider	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud-based	O
help	B-Application
desk	I-Application
software	I-Application
can	O
become	O
partially	O
or	O
entirely	O
unavailable	O
to	O
users	O
without	O
an	O
Internet	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
