Probably the easiest way for your clients to submit tickets to the service support desk is by simply emailing to a specially provided email address.

Helpdesk runs a process which monitors the POP3 inbox for this account and detects any new mail.

Either a new Incident is created based on the content, OR if the email contains an existing Incident number, it gets added to the email conversation list for that Incident.

In either case, the help desk administrator is notified by email of the arrival of a new communication. 

No additional software is required and their description of the issue goes straight into the ticket description field, saving valuable time for the engineer and ensuring the Incident is recorded accurately according the user.

Mail Integration is achieved through standard SMPT and POP3 connectors.

Helpdesk will create a new ticket number and send a response back confirming receipt of the submitted Incident.

Any future correspondence bearing the Incident number in the subject field will automatically be associated with the existing ticket and the email will be stored in the email conversation list.

A notification can be sent by email to the help desk technician to alert them to any new incomming emails associated with the ticket.

Email Response Templates

Standard email responses to set changes in Incident status, say from Opened to Assigned and Assigned to Escalated, can be configured and sent out automatically, when these Incident Status changes are made.

This does two important things:

1. Ensures that the client gets notified and kept up-to-date of the Incident Status, without imposing additional duplicate work for the support technician.
   
   
2. Formalises the Incident Management process into work-flow pattern which becomes familiar to the support technician and the recipient, providing greater visibility on the progress of Incidents.