Helpdesk recommendations to replace Jira Service Management?

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Hi All

 

We've been running Jira SM for roughly 6 years.  It was good, and scaled quite nicely for our 19 school Trust.  Recently, we've seen consistent reliability issues, and some very odd design/functionality decisions that have made us question why we're paying them.

 

So, what alternatives can you recommend?

 

Beyond the normal helpdesk functionality, we need;

• API access to read, create and update tickets.
• Google SSO.
• A customizable frontend, so users only see their relevant ticket types.
• An automation system (without usage limits) to handle the basic stuff like notifications etc.
• Secure data connectors, so helpdesk forms can include relevant data (class/room names etc.).
• Multiple helpdesks within a single larger instance, so managers can easily see an overview of what's happening in a single dashboard.

We'd also like;

• Integration with Snipe-IT, so tickets can be attached to assets.
• Integration with a knowledgebase for the tiny fraction of users who want to figure out a fix themselves.

[Roberto]

You've not actually spoken about service desk method/model for the software which seems curious? For example, do you follow the ITIL service desk model? Do you make use of SLAs? Presumably something that's web-based so it can be used on anything with a browser, but did you want an app for service desk team to allow them to better deal with tickets 'on the go'.

 

I quite like Service Now but not sure what their educational presence and pricing is like.

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

@Roberto Sorry - FITS / ITIL model not specified, as for the most case, it's more of a nice-to-have rather than a game changer.  We have SLAs down to individual request type levels, but once the helpdesk was up and running, to odd few tickets with missed deadlines had reasonable explanations.

 

Not fussed about an app.

 

I'll take a look at Service Now.

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Service Now - "XXXX Orchestration transactions/mo/account" - So doing the same thing as Jira - Limiting automations.  

Edited June 18, 2025 by Shaun_Dark_Lord

[TechMonkey]

HALO ITSM seems to be very well regarded and (in my opinion) a verry good company.  Looking to move but inertia is a terrible thing.  One price and you get everything.

 

Currently with Freshservice, which isn't bad.  Has done well for us but they are constantly changing their prices and subscription model and everything seems to be coming an additional extra, which they push heavily.

 

Both do a lot more than just service desk though, we use them for workflows, HR, Estates, looking to finance requests as well. Trying to use the assets part of Freshservice but that was an additional cost above 100 items and has its quirks.

[PotNoodleTech]

Yeh had a quote/demo for Halo ITSM it was very good but sadly too expensive for this school.  Lots of fortune 500 types seem to use it so it should have the features you need?

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Halo ITSM looks pretty good - Have requested a sales call.

[tjbland]

I am also on the hunt for a helpdesk and asset management system.  Lansweeper is tripling their price, and Solarwinds WHD is just dated and buggy.  I looked at Genuity, the price is certainly right, but after a trial my techs decided it doesn't have the capabilities we need.  We are looking seriously at FMX (gofmx.com) after a recommendation from a colleague, but it is kind of expensive. That said, anything I've found so far has been more..

 

I'll take a look at Halo.

 

Shaun, have you looked at FreshDesk?  I'm not sure if it fits all your needs but it gets recommended a lot around the web.

[CrootUK]

I would recommend Halo ITSM also, I know other Mats use it. Powerful platform.

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

10 minutes ago, tjbland said:

I am also on the hunt for a helpdesk and asset management system.  Lansweeper is tripling their price, and Solarwinds WHD is just dated and buggy.  I looked at Genuity, the price is certainly right, but after a trial my techs decided it doesn't have the capabilities we need.  We are looking seriously at FMX (gofmx.com) after a recommendation from a colleague, but it is kind of expensive. That said, anything I've found so far has been more..

 

I'll take a look at Halo.

 

Shaun, have you looked at FreshDesk?  I'm not sure if it fits all your needs but it gets recommended a lot around the web.

If someone here recommends it, I'll take a look.

 

Halo ITSM being based in the UK saves some legal headaches regarding data protection.......

[StephenPink]

We started using HaloITSM last year. Not cheap - but not expensive compared to other paid-for offerings either. We've barely scratched the surface of what it can do if I'm honest, need time to setup and deploy additional features. Pricing wise - can be per named agent, or once you reach a certain number there's a concurrent usage model that could be better value. As others mentioned - it's one price, everything included. I got so annoyed of all the others where every feature/integration suddenly was an extra cost.

 

Also noticed a few MSPs using it - which as a MAT, seemed like a good fit (central MAT team probably operating similar to an MSP especially as the MAT grows)

 

Cheers

[tjbland]

1 hour ago, Shaun_Dark_Lord said:

If someone here recommends it, I'll take a look.

 

Halo ITSM being based in the UK saves some legal headaches regarding data protection.......

Ah, I didn't know Halo was UK, nice.  I used Freshdesk and would have recommended it, but it's been about 7 years and the product has changed a lot in that time.  And, as Stephen mentioned above, they are one of those vendors who has started puting a lot of their function behind a separate product/payment so it gets expensive fast.

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Got the pricing back for Halo - Not an option for us

[listen2blacksabbath]

Zammad should be able to most/ all of what you require. It will need a lot of setting up though. Its free open source and works really well for us, there are paid support options too so if you need a little hand holding for the more complicated things that should work out well for you

[jmak]

We're quite embedded in Jira, but it's definitely "glitchy". We lost all the queues in the main interface for half an hour this afternoon. It didn't stop is working, but it was inconvenient. We still haven't found anything else as feature rich for comparable prices.

[Olliekai]

On 18/06/2025 at 09:37, TechMonkey said:

HALO ITSM seems to be very well regarded and (in my opinion) a verry good company.  Looking to move but inertia is a terrible thing.  One price and you get everything.

 

Currently with Freshservice, which isn't bad.  Has done well for us but they are constantly changing their prices and subscription model and everything seems to be coming an additional extra, which they push heavily.

 

Both do a lot more than just service desk though, we use them for workflows, HR, Estates, looking to finance requests as well. Trying to use the assets part of Freshservice but that was an additional cost above 100 items and has its quirks.

If you do move and want some help with Halo PM me  

[Olliekai]

I use Halo, they are happy to amend pricing to be more competitive if needed. 😊Much as I love it, have you considered MS lists with power automation? I’m currently looking at it for another department. 

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

On 19/06/2025 at 19:30, Olliekai said:

I use Halo, they are happy to amend pricing to be more competitive if needed. 😊Much as I love it, have you considered MS lists with power automation? I’m currently looking at it for another department. 

We're primarily a Google shop, so MS would be a headache to implement.

 

I did ask Halo about pricing - No additional discount offered.

[nikaso]

On 23/06/2025 at 13:54, Shaun_Dark_Lord said:

We're primarily a Google shop, so MS would be a headache to implement.

 

I did ask Halo about pricing - No additional discount offered.

I was about to suggest Plumsail helpdesk if you needed something basic and cheap but I think it's only for M365

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Morning!

 

Jira has been getting worse, so replacing it is no longer optional.

 

I've been trialing Zammad - Self hosted, so the running cost is negligible, and it get's us 95% of the way to replacing Jira - But it has some niggly issues that are annoying, and they don't seem overly flexible regarding feature requests.

 

Has anyone found anything else they like?

[Shaun_Dark_Lord]

Over a month has gone by.  Still trialing Zammad.  It's far from perfect, but with effort, can be made to meet our requirements.

 

The price makes it really attractive - Just have to pay for an SSL cert.  Their hosted solution isn't as competitive compared to the educational pricing offered by their competitors (including Jira), but if you need something and have time to tinker, the free self-hosted Zammad isn't a bad option.

 

Would still be interested to know if there's anything better out there - But for the moment, it looks like we'll be saving some money but increasing my workload.......

[mukz]

We are building our own IT Help desk unique to our needs but have built in functionality to onboard schools if some of our neighbours schools wants to use it.

Currently has a helpdesk with trackable assets, a loan system which is integrated into a full asset management system and a form module for parents who sign for responsibility of the laptops away from school.

 

It is currently has standalone and M365 integration.

Users can be synced from Bromcom as we use that in our consortium.

 

We are nowhere near a fully finished product yet but its been working well for us.

 

Will be happy to share a trial for any schools who want to use it once we have finished.

 

(We 3 techs are building it in our own time so its taking a little longer than we had hoped)

[Olliekai]

55 minutes ago, mukz said:

We are building our own IT Help desk unique to our needs but have built in functionality to onboard schools if some of our neighbours schools wants to use it.

Currently has a helpdesk with trackable assets, a loan system which is integrated into a full asset management system and a form module for parents who sign for responsibility of the laptops away from school.

 

It is currently has standalone and M365 integration.

Users can be synced from Bromcom as we use that in our consortium.

 

We are nowhere near a fully finished product yet but its been working well for us.

 

Will be happy to share a trial for any schools who want to use it once we have finished.

 

(We 3 techs are building it in our own time so its taking a little longer than we had hoped)

That sounds really good. I’ll dm you if you don’t mind. 

[mukz]

15 hours ago, Olliekai said:

That sounds really good. I’ll dm you if you don’t mind. 

sure, please do - but i must stress that it is not ready for other schools to use yet as i need to clean up alot of the code and tighten up the security before i can share a working version.