Ultimate service desk checklist

What do you need in a service desk? How do different vendors stack up? When you're comparing software options, there are lots of things to consider. It can help to make a list to keep track. Below, you'll find our list of the questions you should ask about your service desk software options with our answers filled in for Jira Service Management.

Admin experience

Can admins tailor the service desk software to the needs of their teams?

Out-of-the-box and configurable workflows and requests

Multi-lingual support for customers around the world

Configurable email notifications and access

Customizable portal to show off your branding

Agent experience

Does the service desk software help agents streamline their work?

Automated task assignment, rules, and canned responses integration to cover routine tasks

Custom SLA goals to fit your criteria and hours

Mobile app for work on the go

RM app and Confluence integration allow work to be done right from the ticket

Customer experience

Does the service desk software allow customers to get help where and how they need it?

Portal, email channel, and embedded widget meet customers where they are

Live chat, social media, phone and SMS apps extend service channels

Configurable workflows, status updates, and notifications, so customers know where their request stands

Confluence knowledge base integration with automated article suggestions for self service

Customer satisfaction (CSAT) feedback and self-service ratings

Reporting and management

Does the service desk software provide reports on the service you're providing and help you forecast what's to come? Does it show your team's value?

Default reports on workload, SLAs, customer satisfaction, deflected requests, and more

Configurable dashboards highlight the daily information you need

Time tracking integrations to analyze productivity

Real-time queue updates to see that you're working on the right thing at the right time

Exportable reports, customer-facing reports and billing apps for external stakeholders

Collaboration

Does the service desk software enable work across teams?

Capability for internal support, external support, or both

Permissions and role-based ability to set, view, edit, share, and act on requests to fit your team's needs

Tickets linked across teams to involve the right people

Ready for ITSM

Does the service desk software have everything you need to excel in ITSM?

PinkVerify™ and Axelos ITIL™ certification

Workflows for incident management, service request management, change management, and problem management

Best practice guides and playbooks to help your team continuously improve

Asset management and discovery apps

Automatic prioritization to triage requests

Resources and support

Does the service desk software have everything you need to excel in ITSM?

Comprehensive documentation, how-to articles, and best practice guides

Demo videos with live chat support

Training and certification program

Active Atlassian online user community

Local Atlassian user groups and Atlassian conferences

Network of certified solutions partners available to provide product configuration, implementation, and training

Variety of support offerings

Developer resources

Can the service desk software integrate with other tools? Can you develop your own solutions and build a service desk that fits your team?

Marketplace with over 800 apps to build a service desk that fits your unique needs

Free access to APIs with no API call limits and ability to develop your own apps

Developer documentation including tutorials and online developer community

Transparent uptime status and incident communications

Security and compliance

Does the service desk software have data and security policies that won't keep you up at night?

Data encryption at rest, frequent data back-ups, disaster recovery

Rigorous security testing and assessments and commitment to personal data protection and privacy

ISO/IEC compliance

SOC2 compliance

PCI DSS compliance

CSA STAR compliance

Configurable in accordance with industry and area standards such as HIPAA and GDPR

Pricing and licensing

Is the service desk software a good value now? Will the investment pay off in the years to come?

Transparent pricing with no sales games

Volume pricing discount

Free, fully functional trial to get to know the product

Deployment choice

Does the service desk software offer deployment options?

Cloud to get started quickly and avoid hosting complexity

Data Center with infrastructure choice for scaleability

*Product features vary across deployment options

Platform

Is the service desk software built on a platform that helps you avoid hassle, cost, and complexity?

Atlassian product integrations including Jira Software, Confluence, Bitbucket, Statuspage, and others

Jira platform reporting, cross-product functionality, and licensing

User management and authentication across Atlassian Cloud products

Data import via CSV

Vendor track record

Are you confident that the service desk software vendor is stable and continually investing in product improvements?

Publicly traded company with 15+ years of experience building software for teams

125,000+ Atlassian customers

Ongoing investment in research and development