Our team of specialists has reviewed Help Connection. We actually connected to a demo version of the product, test drove it and wrote down our comments. The review was written objectively and isn't advertising-driven.
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HelpConnection.NET delivers a highly flexible web-based help desk system, packed with many outstanding features. Expinion.net, the company behind this customer support solution, has been around since 1999. They've been around for quite a while and they definitely know how to build quality software. Expinion.net currently offers 10+ software products.
The support console is original. The dashboard can be fully customized by choosing what to show/hide or by using predefined profiles (e.g. Power User, Occasional User, etc.). Besides the typical panels, the "Twitter Cloud" panel caught our attention. Since HelpConnection.NET integrates with Twitter, agents can actually tweet resolved issues. As an agent, you can monitor your colleagues' tweets from the dashboard. Another great feature is the "I want to..." drop-down, which empowers an agent to perform various actions quickly, without having to navigate through every section in the system. Interface-wise, this help desk solution is very intuitive, thanks in great part to its contextual help and numerous explanations in strategic areas. Contextual help is always displayed at the bottom of every page. The content is well-written and provides answers to frequently asked questions. Of course, experienced users can hide this help if they wish. Even report sections are explained, which is pretty useful.
The amount of tools and system settings are worth mentioning. HelpConnection.NET mentions that their Source Code is available for purchase, but definitely not required, and they're right. There are so many settings, so many tools and so many preferences that we wonder why they sell the Source Code (for integration with third-party systems or offline use, maybe).
Although the customer side is not customizable, there's no need for this anyways. Every item available on the customer side is useful. Submitting a ticket is a child's play (step-by-step procedure) and the link to do so couldn't be easier to find. The knowledge base, the news stand and the downloads are awesome features for the customer. The knowledge base provides answers, the news stand provides the latest announcements and updates, and the downloads section is great to provide patches, extra documentation, podcasts and other relevant files. Another nice feature is the "Latest Issues" roll menu. This is actually an alternative, up-to-date FAQ. With the other FAQ, the knowledge base and contextual help, HelpConnection.NET deserves two thumbs up for intuitiveness.
Hosted package pricing range is $100-$500 per month, depending on the number of agents you need. For license purchase, two one-time fee options are available: "Full Version" for $800 and "Source Code" for $2000.
HelpConnection.NET is a flexible and affordable help desk program that can be used online (SaaS) or installed locally. The agent side is highly customizable and integrates with Twitter, and the customer side is loaded with useful resources (FAQ, knowledge base, contextual help). Submitting and managing tickets is a breeze. Some comparable help desk systems cost twice and even three times the price. If you're looking for a help desk program, no matter how big or small your organization is, consider HelpConnection.NET.