What is IT Ticketing System?
An IT ticketing system is a tool for tracking IT service requests, events, problems, and warnings that may necessitate further action from IT.
About 40% of businesses say that adopting a digital model has made them more efficient. 35% say that it has helped them meet consumer expectations better. Additionally, 52% of enterprises say that “digital business” means increasing employee productivity with automation and similar tools.
An IT ticketing system is one of the best things to automate. Doing so ensures that your business tech stays running at its fullest capacity to maximize employee efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Read on to learn the basics of IT ticketing and the reasons that you should implement one within your business.
What is an IT ticket?
An IT ticket is a request for information technology (IT) services. Tickets are generally created by users who need help with computer hardware, software, networking, or other IT issues. These end-users can be customers or other employees within your business.
Upon its creation, an automated script or a manager assigns a ticket to an IT support technician who will resolve the issue. Tickets can also be used to track IT projects and changes.
End-users submit IT tickets via IT ticketing software. These self-service systems allow users to submit forms that outline their issues. Users might also input other information, such as their issue’s category and priority level.
The self-service portal then sends tickets to the IT department for resolution. They can look at information, determine which tickets are the highest priority, and organize them by category. They can better choose how to troubleshoot current issues within your small business technology.
Information that users share within the ticket can also help assign jobs to the appropriate agents. Some professionals may be better versed in some applications than others. Tickets can help users get help from the most knowledgeable person about their specific issue.
What is an incident?
IT tickets serve the purpose of documenting and reporting IT incidents. But what exactly does this mean?
An incident, according to ITIL, is an unanticipated interruption or deterioration in the quality of service. When incidents occur (or have the potential to do so), it negatively impacts the usual operations of your company. You risk wasting time, lowering efficiency, adversely affecting earnings, and provoking employee frustration.
Many IT-related issues also become worse over time when unresolved. It is critical to resolve incidents as soon as they occur.
IT incident reporting is the end goal of an IT ticketing system because it lets IT teams understand and resolve problems. For example, if a user faces a login failure due to a corrupted database, they can submit an incident report and an IT ticket.
This makes an IT ticketing system an essential part of incident management. They help your IT Service Desk prioritize issues like data breaches or login failures. The objective is for your daily operations to remain undisrupted.
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The IT ticket lifecycle in the IT ticketing system
Navigating the IT ticket system effectively is vital for businesses and enterprises. By understanding the ticket lifecycle, one can discern the frequency of certain ticket types and pinpoint those that are quickly resolved versus those that require more time.
Here’s a breakdown of the four pivotal stages in the IT ticket journey:
Creation
The journey begins when a user submits a ticket. This can be done through various channels like email, messaging apps (such as Microsoft Teams or Slack), web forms, chats, or even phone calls.
However, the best option is to use an online support portal to enter and manage tickets. IT teams can then use this same interface to identify and proactively respond to tickets.
Another benefit of an IT Service Desk is that customers can also submit new service requests. Your team will know when they are having trouble accessing your software or website. This means faster and more efficient customer service.
Assessment
Once the ticket is created and accessible by automation software, it will analyze the request. This means determining its severity/urgency and dealing with the most pressing issues first. This is also the point where tickets are categorized for delegation to the appropriate department or team member.
IT workers then will prioritize their tickets based on urgency. They will then figure out billing coverage and authorization requirements for issue resolution.
Dispatch
At the dispatch stage, the ticket will be scheduled with a due date based on how urgent the issue is. Based on the issue type and severity, the system will then assign it to a technician.
Other considerations for delegation include what technology each team member has access to and what their work locations are. For example, an onsite worker may need to resolve certain issues because they have access to different databases than offsite workers do.
Resolution
The final stage of the ticket system process is resolution. A technician works on the issue by validating it and requesting further information when necessary.
The process involves consultations, dialogues with the end-user, and problem-solving. Post-resolution, the technological aspect of the business should be back in alignment.
How can tickets be tracked?
Typically, you track tickets on a dashboard. For example, Alloy Software’s top-notch automation platform features multiple dashboards with all relevant IT information. This lets all members of your business, including your IT team, see the tickets that are in progress. You can capture and track tickets within this dashboard for simple progress tracking.
Integrated Alloy Software’s asset management software allows you to monitor and manage all aspects of your IT environment, including tickets. You will also be able to see all purchasing decisions and costs.
Complimentary Alloy Software’s network inventory system automatically discovers all network devices, such as computers, laptops, and switches on your system, and detects the software installed. This enables you to track IT issues in progress on specific network devices that are facing difficulties.
The benefits of an IT ticketing system
As we brushed on earlier, implementing an automated IT ticketing system is a great way to maximize efficiency. Your existing processes will easily fit into Alloy’s IT software management platform, so you will not need to get rid of old processes and workflows. This makes the transition simple and smooth.
You also will be able to provide a better customer experience and retain loyal clients. This is because our multi-channel support system can give your customers easy access to IT ticketing and problem resolution. They can choose the platform that they want to use, request assistance, and get fast results.
Ticketing systems also make life easier for people within your business. If an employee in sales or human resources is struggling with a tech issue, they can submit a ticket on one of your many channels. This keeps the entire business running efficiently.
In the end, an IT ticketing system helps you to achieve your fullest potential. Change management, problem management, and the CMDB may all be integrated into current IT ticketing systems. You will save time, optimize services, and turn a higher profit.
IT ticketing systems vs ITSM
Your company or any other organization that gets a significant volume of IT support requests through a variety of channels might benefit from the implementation of an effective ticketing system in a number of ways. These advantages include the following: more advanced ticketing systems provide options for monitoring tickets throughout their lifecycles, from request to resolution. Moreover, they may incorporate automation to assist IT support personnel in managing high numbers of assistance requests. Ticket lifecycles include everything from the initial request to the final resolution. On the other hand, ticketing comes to an end when ITSM begins, and ITSM provides full IT solutions for ticketing in addition to other things.
Real-life IT ticketing system examples
If you are wondering what these benefits look like in practice, look no further than the successful app Instacart, a grocery delivery and pick-up service. It recently added 300,000 more shoppers and has been expanding since the start of 2020.
Instacart gets about 175,000 support tickets each month, which means that there is no way to manually deal with these ticket trends. They instead leverage ticket automation to access customer views, route tickets, and find solutions. However, their automated system also serves another purpose: data collection on customer experience.
The company can pull tickets from its automated database, slice the data, and create a clear picture of what customers like (as well as what they struggle with). This means that your business could use automated technologies to understand consumer trends as well. Your customer service will improve in more ways than one!
Grubhub—another food delivery service— also uses an automated ticketing system. They note that agents often deal with extremely complex workflows since they consistently deal with large order volumes.
This software simplified the workflows for drivers. They began to adjust orders without switching tabs for a simpler experience. Your business can also reap this benefit—every ticket exists within a single accessible dashboard.
Upgrade your IT ticketing system today
While keeping your informational technology running smoothly can be challenging, having a well-ordered IT ticketing system makes things much smoother. People can easily request help from technology experts while remaining organized and goal-oriented. Now that you know the basics of how a ticketing system for IT help works, it is time to get started.
Alloy Software is committed to helping your business implement automated technologies for IT service management. We are executed to help you streamline, manage, and improve your IT department and overall business success. Schedule a demo of our services to see what we can do for you!
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