Spiceworks Desktop is stopping support, meaning it’s prime time to start searching for Spiceworks alternatives. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a good guide to start.
If you received the title “It looks like you’re still using the legacy Desktop Help Desk of Spiceworks,” then you know the drill. Spiceworks is ceasing support for its on-premise version of the app. The question remains open, which alternatives to Spiceworks should you go to?
Don’t worry; we did the hard work for you. Our experts have prepared a list of 4 powerful Spiceworks help desk alternatives to pick from. So let’s dive right into things.
Table of Contents
What Features a Good Spiceworks Alternative Should Have?
Before we jump to the list, let’s briefly look at what features made Spiceworks Desktop so valuable in the first place. Doing so will allow you to understand why our alternatives are perfect replacements.
- Excellent automation
- Powerful self-service features
- IT asset management
- No ticket and admin limits
- Great device support
- Accurate tracking and reporting
- Superb ticket management
- More than 150 add-ons
Of course, we could list more features, but we don’t want to spend all day talking about an obsolete product. This is more than enough to find solid Spiceworks alternatives, so on to the next section.
These 5 Spiceworks Alternatives Will Cover All Your Needs
We picked those that either replicate Spiceworks or exceed its capabilities, as most of you will probably be looking for an upgrade anyway.
Zendesk — The All-Rounder
Zendesk is a powerhouse of features. The reason why you’d want to do a Zendesk migration is the fact that it offers practically the same functionality as Spiceworks.
Case and point, Zendesk allows you to automate things, but where Zendesk excels is that you can have a maximum of 500 active automation at a time. Another similarity is that you can expand both platforms with add-ons. However, Zendesk’s expansion number isn’t limited to 150. But instead to an entire marketplace that already has 1270 apps.
To put it bluntly, it offers everything Spiceworks. This will allow you to expand and scale your operations more effectively (not to mention efficiently). If you are looking for a futureproof system, we see no reason not to start a Zendesk import.
Freshdesk — Incredible Value for SMB
On the surface, both Freshdesk and Spiceworks seem very similar. Yet, what one from the other is its developed feature set. Every feature Freshdesk has, is more refined than what Spiceworks offers.
Freshdesk helpdesk is a matured platform that offers better automation, more complex ticketing options, and more significant support for more extensive customer requests. All of this is underpinned by a fully customizable UI, the ability to view in-ticket contextual customer information, intelligent suggestions for IT solutions, and ticket aggregation over various channels.
Frankly, Freshdesk is more of an alternative to Zendesk than Spiceworks. If you stack Freshdesk vs. Zendesk, scalability would be the only difference between the two. Freshdesk migration is a no-brainer if you are within the SMB-size.
Jira Service Desk — Designed to Manage a Ton of IT-related Requests
One of the best things about Jira Service Management lies not in its features but rather its ability to synchronize with other Atlassian products. Whether it is Confluence, or Trello, or Jira Align, all of this can work in tandem so you can deliver better results faster.
To make things better, unlike Spiceworks, the Jira Service Desk includes ITSM service desk templates which you can use to boost your workflow. Pair this with the concept of queues, and you can automate requests in a quicker, less convoluted manner. Every incoming request must be assigned to a team member who’ll resolve it with an answer. In other words, your entire workflow will be much more autonomous and visible. You won’t lose tickets in the pipeline and won’t need to thinker about where the process went wrong in the first place.
Lastly, if you stack Freshdesk vs Jira, it is clear that Jira is tailor-made for tech companies. This makes it a good option for those of you who are using Spiceworks to solve your IT needs and don’t utilize the help desk aspect of the platform. The only downfall about the medium is the Jira import CSV module which is limited. But you can remedy even that with a dedicated migration tool.
Freshservice — An Excellent Choice for Tech Companies
Much like Freshdesk, Freshservice is an equally well-made tool that’ll do wonders for small to medium-sized companies. The critical difference between it and its sibling is that Freshservice focuses on covering IT-related needs first and then on help desk needs.
Stacking Freshservice with Spiceworks, there’s simply no competition. For starters, it has dedicated ITIL support for change management, a myriad of integration options, and best-in-class gamification features, not to mention cutting-edge workflow support and customization. There’s also a dedicated subscription tracking/auto-renewal system, a proper asset lifetime tracker, and a wide range of widgets.
If you are migrating from Spiceworks, you aren’t just getting a solid substitute but a massive upgrade. It is the tool to keep track of your employee records, assets, subscriptions, and more. If IT is the name of the game, we highly recommend you start to import to Freshservice.
Do You Need to Move Your Spiceworks Records?
Before you can start moving your data to any of these platforms, you must do a data backup of your entire Spiceworks account. Doing so will help you prevent data loss, file corruption, and record mismatch.
While nothing is stopping you from moving your Spiceworks records manually, but that it’ll take a while. There’s no reason to bug your team when migration is way faster (not to mention more accurate) if you do it with dedicated software. If you don’t have a dedicated team to handle the process, and time is of the essence, an automated migration tool will get your records where you want, fast, easy, and affordable.
