How is Polar Help Desk 5 Beta Different

The major differences between Polar Help Desk 5 beta and Polar previous releases are improved software architecture and protocols used as much as new features and more powerful customization. Our goal was to build a stable scalable base that can capitalize on customization via integration with other business applications, widgets and form implementation, feature customization and usability.

We believe that such a solid base will be able to respond to increase in customer behavior changes, ways in which they demand support, and thus ensure you continuality in providing an effective, outstanding support service.

Polar Help Desk 5 beta uses RESTful API protocols and standard JSON data format that will give you more flexibility in organizing and integrating your support processes with internal business operations.
A brief list of other major features includes:

• clean URLs (URL rewriting), e.g. yourhelpdesk.com/incident/1
• powerful and customizable permissions for every user
• interactive API interface for widgets and developers
• customizable email notifications
• improved email account handling
• support for all major browsers
• adjustable time-zone

We focused on ITIL standards that connect support services with internal organizational processes and also improvements in user interface design. Because of that your customers and support personnel can use it easy and quickly.

Download Polar Help Desk 5 Beta Software and Join Testing

We invite you to join testing this software by downloading and installing Polar Help Desk 5 beta. Your feedback (comments, bug reports, new feature suggestions, ”how to” questions) will help us speed up development and make Polar Help Desk 5 become the solution your business requires. If you suggest new features and valuable changes that should be included in final release, the participation in early evaluation can also be an opportunity to tailor the software by your size.
You can use feedback form in the left panel of your beta release, you can leave a comment on Skype chat, Twitter, Facebook and also you can send us an email via support@polarsoftware.com.

System requirements

Before installing, please make sure you have all the system requirements fulfilled.

Server Requirements

• Windows 2003 (IIS 6.0), Windows 2008 (IIS 7.0), Windows® XP (IIS 5.1)
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.5
• Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 and more

Client Requirements

• Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari or Microsoft Internet Explorer

Please note that technical expertise is not needed for participation in beta program: every opinion is greatly appreciated because it is very important to us to build software that is functional, powerful, flexible and user friendy.

If you need assistance please refer to our Frequently asked questions or official beta help page.

How do you deal with it? Are you one of many who think that it is a good thing to give up on marketing? I hope not. One of the most terrible ways to fight downtime is to reduce marketing activities, IT investments, and cut on customer support and quality of customer service. Why?

1. Because your customers expectation have not changed

The finances are tight but people still value good service. Even tough we are more likely to be extra careful with buying decisions, our expectations about service we should get have not change. Not for a dime.

Did you became more patient ? No, of course. Do you have more nerves to deal with low quality support? No, of course. Under the stress, we are more likely to become opposite; more demanding and unwilling to bear with bad products/services support we paid for.

2. Because almost everybody else does

The most small and middle-sized companies are doing just as described. They cut expenses by decreasing marketing activities and providing lower quality support. Of course, they have no starting attention to decrease quality of support services, but when you lay off a couple of support people, get mission impossible task in front of support personnel left, cut a couple of lines.. Occasionally it will decline.

Now it is time to take advantage of the situation and win customer through an outstanding, fast support. When the economic rises again, you will have a better market share.

3. Customer Experience Does Impact Your Business

According to 3rd annual report on Customer Experience Impact released by RightNow Technologies and Harris Interactive last October, customers care deeply about the experience they have with your company.

- 87% have stopped doing business with a company that provided a bad experience

- 84% will spread a word about their bad experience

4. Help Desk Software is a Saving Solution

Besides keeping focus on your current customers by providing faster and reliable support, help desk software can save you a lot of money. Let’s look at one simple, typical cost-benefit analysis in terms of reducing time per call (only one of the help desk benefits!)

For example, suppose that an organization has 200 users. Assume that all employees costs $30 per hour and a year has 200 working days. If a help desk software incident management feature reduces user down time only 1 minute per day per user, we got

200 users x 200 days x $30/hr x 1/60 min = $ 20.000/annually

Where and how can you save $20.000 annually for just one minute?

So, why companies are investing in help desk software now? To cut costs in a manner that will now negatively affect efficiency and productivity and to retain customers.

No matter how hard it is, we can’t afford to lose customers now. We should make the recession work for us.
Investing in an IT tool as automated customer support solution may sound unreal but opportunity costs are far greater. At least you can give it a try because help desk software can make a difference.

Especially in a slow economy.  To help you out, Polar software gives you a fully featured web-based Polar Help Desk software, free of charge for commercial use, and full customer support.

Ps. One great article on fighting recession time and attracting new customers in a bad economy you can read here.

Also, don’t miss Seth Godin’s and Robert Kiyosaki’s tips about great benefits for startups those days. If it is good for startups, it may serve to older companies as well.

In today’s changing and competitive environment, new products and services arrive on the market daily. Acquiring new clients is harder than ever and losing existing customers is easier than ever. They just go somewhere else. They keep you awake at night.

Advertising space you pay, you invest a lot of money to make some money and you are still not sure if your ad is one of the many others that people are confused by.

Instead of advertising, have you ever considered improving services and tools that you already have – the real ways that will get you into your customer’s hearts and make them spread a good word about you?

It is not so easy to sell, and it even harder to repeat sale and sell more. Some people and businesses can, are they luckier? No, it is not about luck, it is about customer service. Customer service is vital to every part of the business but real customer service, that will give you degree of competitive advantage and get you deserved loyal customers, starts right after sale.

Speaking of customer service, we all know that great means surviving, excellence means future. Great is not good enough any more. Excellent customer service is what a help desk software solution is all about – respond quicker, get it done quicker, put a smile on your customer’s face.

What a Help Desk Software Is

If you type ‘define: help desk’ into Google search field and hit search button, you will get various answers and descriptions. Mostly, they will rather explain technological and functional aspects then its real purpose. Why can’t be simple? Why can’t definition state Help desk software is your tool to stop fighting for customers and start having loyal customers. It is a tool that can make difference between profitable vs. surviving business.

What a Help Desk Software Can Do

Whether your business is a small IT equipment shop or a large department store, help desk software can help you to:

• provide customers with better care
• serve and retain your customers
• maintain in healthy after-sale relationship
• exceed your customers’ expectation
• increase loyalty and new sales
• get many positive referrals
• make your employees and management more satisfied
• save a lot of time
• give the best possible value
• make your business more profitable
• reduce your costs

How a help desk software does things, what are its core features, and much more we are going to discuss in the coming posts.

Until then, we give you the chance to learn the priceless difference between buying advertising space and word-of-the-mouth marketing that excellent customer service can brought to you. Take a look at our fully featured web-based Polar Help Desk software , free of charge for commercial use, 1 technician, unlimited end users, and full customer support through our help desk.

Remember, it is not a trial, it is a free fully featured help desk software without limitations in functionality that enables you to provide online customer support.

Or you can try our demo version .

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.