I must say, I think I am in love! The other day, I was working like mad to finish a project at work, when I suddenly realized that I had a much more important project that needed to be done even sooner than the one I was working on. I wanted to rip my hair out! How could I have forgotten the other project?? I took a moment to write out what needed to be done, scouring my emails, and 3 todo lists, and found I actually had a ton of things that needed to be done! What was I to do??? I started thinking back to some of the conversations I’ve had with my dad, wondering how a large organization can handle so many requests and needs, and how to prioritize them so that you can get done quickly what needs to get done. He had mentioned they had a help desk system that allows them to track and prioritize their issues, so I go to my good friend google, and do a search for open source ticket support. lo and behold, I find a program called OsTicket. It looked like exactly what we needed, so I downloaded the software, and upload it to our server. I create a sql database as well, and start the install process. The install process takes about 5 minutes at most, if you already have the sql information handy. I put it in, and lo and behold the software was up and running quickly. There isnt much to edit, mostly the logos, which I quickly FTP’d in, and overwrote the old ones. If you like clean minimalist interfaces, then you will be in heaven!

For a small IT helpdesk, or even a one man IT department, making your users submit requests in writing isn’t just convenient, its bloody necessary. How many times have you had a person request something, then forget the details of that request? With Osticket, The person can submit the request then login with their ticket number and email, and see their original request, as well as any updates that you have placed on the site.

When its finished, it will show as closed. This is a very handy feature to have. I can imagine this can be used as well by anyone that does IT on the side, and has a web server available. You can manually create a ticket for a friend, then place updates as you go, letting them know where you stand on their tech issue. They can even leave you information on the ticket, allowing for a dialog.

All in all, this program works very well, and the only issue that I have had with them is that one of my department members is not getting email updates from the site, but I think its an issue with the email, not the program because another member, as well as myself, both are receiving the emails just fine. If you are looking for a way to manage your IT and computer jobs, without pulling out your hair, take a look at OSticket, the fact that it gives you the basics is its biggest strength!