Likelihood to Recommend I think this tool is an absolute have to have for MSPs, especially those using
ConnectWise PSA for a ticketing system. From internal KPIs to showing customer's the value of your Managed Service, you will need this tool. 9/10 because the need for longer data sets is growing for my team. Trend lines over time are a big push industry wide to show improvements in our customers over the time as our MSP customer. Presently my team has to use CW
PSA 's Report Writer and that tool is the least user friendly we've encountered. Looking forward to the evolution of BrightGauge for our business
Read full review Compared to other analytics functions of other Ticket Management System, Zendesk Explore is the easiest to learn. Moreover, the learning curve is high. Once you pick up the fundamentals, you will be able to create all types of analytic reports. In addition, if you know basic coding or SQL, you can create your own metrics and attributes to capture extremely specific elements such as the tickets that contain a certain word or etc.
Read full review Pros Robust and flexible kinds of dashboards and gauges Great customer support that often leaves custom video recordings answering your question, showing you how to do what you're asking Good ability to tie into critical data sources for our company's operations Read full review As with most "suite" products, if you already use other Zendesk features (Chat, Talk, etc), then Zendesk Explore adds an extra facet to the customer experience. The more we know about our clientele, the better we can understand/anticipate their needs. I like that we can get as in-depth as we feel is necessary. For example, is just one customer having an issue? Or are many experiencing a similar problem? We can better rack this type of trend using Explore. Our team can dive deep into the data based on exactly what we're looking for. If the marketing team wants a certain kind of segment, we can give them that info. If we want to sort by date or another set of parameters, we can do that as well. Read full review Cons Modifying data sets to bring in custom fields requires an experienced SQL engineer Cost when bringing in lots of data sources can be prohibitive Limited ability to format gauges and reports Make MFA a requirement - this data is sensitive and giving the admin the ability to force MFA is a MUST! Read full review Flexibility: the platform is somewhat limited for the creation of "non-standard" metrics It is complicated to create dashboards with no previous Zendesk Explore knowledge The reliability of Zendesk Explore has not been great: we had at least 5 situations when the dashboard was not showing data and had to approach Customer service for support Read full review Usability Usability is BrightGauge's strength. Granting the ability of virtually any user to be able to create a dashboard is incredibly valuable. If an organization very simple and straight forward reporting needs then BrightGauge is a perfect fit for them. Connecting to the dataset we used was very quick and easy and I imagine it would be the same for any major data source you would like to pull from.
Read full review As previously mentioned, Zendesk Explore is easy to use. There are lots of materials in Zendesk Community. In addition, the live support will also help a lot in learning Zendesk Explore, especially for beginners. Zendesk Explore might be difficult at first to learn, but anyone could learn it in just 7 days. Once the fundamentals are locked in, moving from that place to becoming an amateur at Zendesk Explore is extremely easy. Lastly, if you know basic coding and SQL, you can be a pro at it already.
Read full review Support Rating We did not need to use BrightGauge's support for the entire time that we used it. Best support is always the one that isn't needed because nothing breaks.
Read full review Support for all of Zendesk has exceeding my expectations. This company will always get a 10 out of 10 in my book. Any question you have they make sure you have the answer plus a step-by-step guide on how to do each step so you are set up for success!
Read full review Alternatives Considered We looked very briefly at Solar Winds, but due to Connectwise the reporting was not very accurate and was conflicted.
Read full review Zendesk Explore is more user friendly and the software plus maintenance cost is less. The report section is more detailed and no lag while creating report for a large data source. The report segments and formats are editable which make it more convenient to make a report according to a requirement for an individual.
Read full review Return on Investment Faster compilation of Business Review material For larger customers, the dashboarding has helped our customers to remain sticky and add services/revenue to our MSP. They want to add more fragments of their IT for the 1 pane rollup. From a leadership perspective, BG has allowed me to make difficult staffing decisions with confidence. Detailed metric driven decisions on who is hitting KPIs/who isn't - as well as when data proved we were overstaffed and understaffed. Read full review Money saved due to proper staffing. Happier Staff- proper staffing ensures no one is overworked. Ability to quickly pinpoint where issues are and why. Read full review ScreenShots