Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk vs. UpKeep Maintenance Management

It's a great helpdesk solution - we currently have five years of data within it, roughly 25,000 tickets. The older edition is a great inventory and software license tracking tool. It is easy for users to use the interface and submit tickets and requests on the web, and its email integration is solid. The new version is a below-average system monitoring tool, only giving up/down status and a few other metrics.

Incentivized

For companies that have larger facilities or multiple properties - this software is superb. You can track every maintenance plan - daily/weekly/monthly/annually - so nothing ever goes undone. I'm talking daily cleaning to refreshing the paint in the parking lot each year - you can easily schedule all of this maintenance within the app. Asset tracking - everything from machinery to tools to doors - you can tag and track all. Break/fix over time is huge - you can use the reporting function to see how many times something has broken over time - so now you can assess if it's more cost effective to replace rather than repair.

Incentivized

• It helps to multitask, even on the go with the mobile App.
• We can customize to meet your needs with automated responses, notifications, and templates.
• Detailed reports allow managers to keep track [of] and analyze data.
• Allows for a database to store notes helpful for future tickets.

Incentivized

• Tracking service issues - There's really no more excuses for not knowing when the machine was last serviced. Upkeep allows us to track that.
• Scheduling - Knowing in advance which machines will need maintenance in the future allows us to actively prepare for shut-down periods.
• General knowledge - Users can add their knowledge to the archives of each machine we have, helping to improve the trouble-shooting process.
• Easy to update, easy to make - It's almost too easy to create and update files for locations, assets, parts, and issues.

Incentivized

• I have always wanted a way to redirect a support request into another IS bin, such as a development task.
• It's possible to extract the data from the Spiceworks database, but it would be helpful if the process to do so were easier.
• Improved ability to customize the system generated emails to improve the formatting and company branding.

Incentivized

• Periodic maintenance needs are still a little tricky keeping in the system without flooding the user with too many work orders.
• It does not immediately update all the time. For example, closing out work orders and the number of total work orders stays the same until it’s rebooted.
• Search functions need improving.

Incentivized

Spiceworks is a free tool, so there would be no hesitation if we are required to upgrade it. We have installed Spiceworks on a dedicated server with more than enough resources to get the most from this tool, so we will have this running in our department for years to come.

Incentivized

We love how organized it has made our processes.

Incentivized

Spiceworks is user friendly and easy to set up. It can be customized to suit your needs. If there are any problems, you can go to the community forums for support and be in contact with many IT Pros, as well as the Spiceworks support staff and development teams who are always happy to help users out

Incentivized

I think the platform is user-friendly but there have been some issues that colleagues have been complaining about. For example, the program tends to run slow from time to time. Reporting could be better. We could use more fields for categories under parts and assets.

We use it both locally on our own server so up time is decided by us and we also use the hosted help desk. We have never had an outage of that.

Incentivized

Spiceworks has been working out of the box, and some of the basic customizations have been successful with just our internal staff handling. We don't have any other issues with the tool. It provides us with the inventory information we want in a quick and concise report in a variety of formats for our team.

Incentivized

I cannot say enough great things about their customer service. From the start of the purchase, Upkeep was extremely helpful and informative. They have been ongoingly keeping us informed and available to answer any of our questions as they arise. They ongoing learning portal is also helpful when new features and changes happen with the interface.

Incentivized

If you can spin up a VM to run it on, you'll thank yourself later. If you have remote sites, set up a local server (or dedicated computer) at each site and set them up as remote collectors for the main site. You'll save time and bandwidth

Incentivized

Everything went as planned.

Incentivized

EGroupware UI is clunky and hard to use, Jira is great but the pricing is expensive in comparison with spice works that has a free version and you can test it out properly before buying and make a correct decision based on your business plan and company objectives with the right software.

Incentivized

Previously had MEX, though had not implemented it throughout the business. It was way too difficult for the techs to use on the fly and was just a nightmare to implement. UpKeep, on the other hand, is a walk in the park.

Incentivized

• Positive - Allow organizations to implement structured Help Desk procedures.
• Positive - IT can begin to quantify their tickets and uncover needs within the organization.
• Positive - IT can develop a solid roadmap with [the] management of future needs, equipment refresh schedules, etc.
• Positive - IT can pinpoint employees who may need extra training or updated equipment based on historical ticketing data.

Incentivized

• Compared to other task managers, the user cost for Upkeep is very high. But to the degree the staff are willing to work with you, it is completely justified.
• The concern with an organization my size are items slipping through the cracks whether that is internally or by our renter base. Upkeep minimizes this to a great degree.
• You need to get everyone within your organization to buy into upkeep. It can only be as good to the degree that it is utilized.