[PLUG] Open Source Help Desk software

[Chuck Hast]

Wow!! a treasure trove. Thank you all for all of this. It will keep me busy
trying to sort it all out, but basically
we have the customer piece that tracks the equipment then the trouble piece
which generates work orders
and post them out to the field engineers, they do whatever is needed add
the service data and any parts
used and sent it back for billing, billing does their thing and collect the
$$ from the customer or if it is a contract,
it checks to make sure that all that was done was covered under the
contract (actually it will hoot at the FSE
if he/she goes to do something out of contract). The present product has an
iOS/Android app, which is nice
but I use the web site, as I prefer to carry a ThinkPad and work from a
full sized screen rather than try to diddle
with a small screen. The app is kinda klunky (SP!) anyhow, making the web
pages that much more attractive.

The product in question is MhelpDesk, if you go on their web site you will
see that they are a big M$  house
though they have toned that part down quite a bit, but here is an exert
from the page "about us":
Enterprise-Level Database – mHelpDesk runs on Microsoft SQL Server, which
is arguably one of the most
reliable and robust databases on the planet. In addition, database access
and queries are all handled using
best practices to prevent unauthorized access and attacks.

I just never got enamored of MS SQL Server, that is probably due to my
experience during my 10 years in
the utility industry when they were all moving from paper to electronic.
The guy who was doing the gateway
was going to do it in Linux, then they hired a guy from IBM to head up
development, he killed that one and
forced them to use WindowsNT. MS SQL Server was part of it and it was
always tossing a lugi and having to
be restarted. The company I worked for did software for utilities, it was
basically a system to handle work orders
Both on the CSR end and on the field end, it also handled inventory on the
vehicles and would flag a vehicle
if critical parts went low, it also managed the field people matching them
to the jobs so that you had a line
man on high voltage and a gas tech on gas, you had someone who had
residential knowledge on home
services. It talked to the customer database and kept everyone up to date
on what was going on, if you
were out in the field you not only got the work order but any history
(dogs, difficult customer, fleas, alligator
in ditch [I got to deal with both of those] and any other important info)
All of the rest of the system ran on
Sun gear or linux boxen, just that idiot gateway was NT.  When I was in the
glass industry I had a glass
container inspector that used MS SQL, it was always having to be updated,
it was always going down and
the machine had to be many times totally wiped and started with a new
install, the db would get so messed
up. Yeah, not a fan of MS SQL...

Again thank you for all you  have sent me, I continue to be open ears for
any and all sent.



On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 3:47 PM Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com>
wrote:

> On Wed, 3 Jul 2019, wes wrote:
>
> > I like RT. https://bestpractical.com/request-tracker
> > Might be a little overkill for a small team, but worth a look.
>
> Well, as long as we're giving Chuck things to do on the holiday these web
> sites might be worth a look:
> <https://blog.capterra.com/the-7-best-free-help-desk-software-tools/>
> <
> https://www.predictiveanalyticstoday.com/top-free-open-source-helpdesk-software/
> >
> <https://www.linuxlinks.com/troubleticketing/>
>
> Happy and safe holiday all,
>
> Rich
> _______________________________________________
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> PLUG at pdxlinux.org
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>


-- 

Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Ph 4:13 KJV
Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece.
Fil 4:13 RVR1960