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In the 1960s, companies began to set up call centers and also train staff to receive and handle customer inquiries in an organized and efficient manner. This was the era of [[Interactive voice response]] (IVR) which became a big boost to the telephone customer service system. Later on, Desktop PCs and email significantly improved help desk systems. Customers could communicate their problems by email, bypassing paper forms. Help desk agents could provide status updates and resolutions by email as well.
Meanwhile, the actual introduction of help desk systems began in 1980 when the internet was officially made available for public use. Many companies started outsourcing their [[customer service]] department. This led to the massive use of email and live chat systems in the 1990s. This new development enabled several [[United States|US]] companies to outsource their help desk to [[Low-cost country sourcing|low-cost countries]] like [[India]] and the [[Philippines]].
In the 2000s, companies began to use diverse kinds of software packages to deal with customer-care issues. This led to the massive production of different kinds of help desk software programs across the internet and the world at large. In recent times, the internet and networked systems make help desk software more interactive and participatory for customers and agents. Customer can now submit and track their issues more easily.
Customer service and help desk software systems have become increasingly popular in recent times. According to a recent report, there is a massive increase in sales of [[customer relationship management]] (CRM) software, which includes help desk software across the globe.<ref name="ITWC">{{cite news|url=http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/canada-lags-u-s-in-adopting-help-desk-software-as-email-spreadsheets-still-prevail/376078|title=Canada lags U.S. in adopting help desk software as email, spreadsheets still prevail|last=Gary|first=Hilson|date=23 July 2015|accessdate=11 January 2016|publisher=IT World Canada}}</ref>
==Basic characteristics==
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* Any business that uses [[webmail]] for support tends to resolve customer support issues quicker and sees an increase in support productivity when they switch to help desk software.<ref>{{cite magazine|last =Suzanne|first=Kattau|title=5 Tips: Pick the Right Help Desk Software for Your Small or Midsize Business|magazine=Pcmag|date=4 September 2014|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2489868,00.asp|accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=How to Find the Right Helpdesk Software to Turbo-Charge Your Business|work=huffington Post|date=2 December 2015|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andre-bourque/how-to-find-the-right-hel_b_6674220.html|accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref>
* Help desk software automates tasks such as: ticket categorization and prioritization, ticket routing, alerts and notifications, ticket status management, and so on. With the right help desk solution, the workload is cut down as many tasks such as issue tracking, assigning, and ticket management can be automated.
* Some cloud-based help desk software has built-in security features, such as [[Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act|HIPAA]] compliance if for handling US health care information, or [[General Data Protection Regulation|GDPR]] compliance for accepting requests from persons located in the [[European Union]].
==Disadvantages==
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