Julia Denisenko

October 2023 marks 7 years of Zammad! Wow, has it really been that long? What began as a daring vision to democratize customer service has blossomed into a self sustaining company in the open source environment. We haven't just crossed the pivotal point often referred to as the "seven-year itch" where many businesses stumble; we've thrived, fostering a strong community, expanding our user base, and earning the loyalty of countless customers along the way.

In various service and business models, providers offer their customers suitable cloud computing solutions to choose from. This often involves distinguishing between the options of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. But which model is the right fit for your company? Our guide explains the differences and provides tips on which application aligns with your needs.

Even as a 'fully-remote' company, we recognize that true magic happens when we meet in person. That's why once a year, we break free from the virtual world to learn, laugh, and experience the beauty of being together. Welcome to a behind-the-scenes look at our Team Offsite 2023!

With the conclusion of a successful year, we sincerely thank all customers and users for their loyalty and support. Some team members have stepped in front of the camera to personally wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Special Christmas greetings go out to the heroes behind the virtual helpdesk!

The thought of artificial intelligence evokes mixed feelings in many people - between the hope of a smart assistant and the fear of not being able to keep up with the new technology. On closer inspection, the apparent mystery of AI turns out to be a welcome opportunity for the future, which still needs time to mature in many use cases.

A picture is worth a thousand words – this is also true for emojis. These small graphic elements have become an integral part of our digital communication and are increasingly being used in customer communication. In this article, we delve into the fascinating world of emojis, exploring their origins, their impact on communication, and their significance in customer service.

Digital transformation in education presents both opportunities and challenges. For Philomath School District—serving 1,600 students across six schools—this journey requires strategic vision and practical solutions. Our interview with Joshua Martin, the system administrator of the school district, offers an insider's perspective on navigating the digital frontier, overcoming technological hurdles and leveraging tools like Zammad to achieve digital sovereignty.

Time is a valuable resource. Too little of it costs money—but so does too much. Do you know exactly how much time goes into your support tickets? Which projects consume the most resources? And which customers require the most attention? With Zammad’s integrated time tracking, these questions become measurable—and manageable.

Multilingual support is a key competitive advantage for internationally operating companies — but it can quickly become a challenge, especially when requests have to be manually assigned or forwarded first. The result: delays and misunderstandings that can impact customer satisfaction. With automatic language detection, this extra step is no longer necessary.

Businesses today use a variety of cloud-based services, and with every new tool comes another set of user accounts and passwords to manage. IT teams are under pressure to meet increasing security demands, while employees struggle to juggle countless logins every day. This costs time and increases security risk. Find out how single sign-on can help.

Zammad is entering a new phase in its development. What’s shaping the road ahead? In this interview, Product Owner Gerrit Daute shares insights into key technical decisions, fresh ideas around AI and explains why openness at Zammad is about more than just open source. A conversation about responsibility, innovation and where the product is headed next.

The digital transformation of public administration is gathering pace. An increasing number of public services can now be accessed online, from updating your address to applying for a driving licence. Yet, despite this growing number of digital forms, many citizens remain frustrated. What is often lacking is clear, consistent communication throughout the process. The City of Munich demonstrates how Zammad can address this issue.

More and more administrations are turning to open source – and not just for cost reasons. But what does it take to make the transition successful and sustainable? What hurdles are there and what are the long-term benefits of using open software? We discussed these and other questions with Klaus Mueller, head of the Open Source Program Office for the city of Munich.

Artificial intelligence is seen as a true game-changer in customer service, promising faster responses, lower costs, and improved quality. But relying blindly on automation often leads to frustration instead of progress. In this article, we’ll take a practical look at common mistakes and explain why, in our view, hybrid models are the right approach.

Open source means freedom of choice – including when it comes to hosting and support. But especially in complex setups, the partner you choose can make a world of difference. In this article, we’ll show you why working directly with the software creator not only ensures technical convenience but also delivers real added value in terms of stability, security, and ongoing development.

At the Smart Country Convention 2024, we gained valuable insights into the ongoing digital transformation of the public sector. In 2025, we’re returning — this time as an exhibitor — to showcase how our open-source helpdesk software helps optimize processes, integrate systems, and sustainably improve citizen services.

Zammad is flexible and powerful, but that’s exactly where a few pitfalls can sneak in. After countless solved support cases, Bozo from our support team knows the traps — and how to avoid them. In his LinkedIn series “Bozo Breaks It”, he shares real-world examples from daily practice. Along the way, he’s gathered a collection of tips that truly deserve their own article here on the Zammad Blog.

Nextcloud has published its first Digital Sovereignty Index. Germany ranks second, signaling optimism that self-hosting and open technologies are gaining broad acceptance. At the same time, the index makes clear that digital sovereignty is more than just a matter of infrastructure. With the growing use of artificial intelligence, it takes on an entirely new dimension.

Self-hosted AI is gaining momentum. With powerful LLMs from Meta, Google, DeepSeek, and OpenAI now freely available for download, running AI models on your own infrastructure has never been more appealing. But companies that overlook differences in licensing, usage rights, or governance may face serious legal and financial risks. This article breaks down the key considerations for organizations exploring self-hosted LLMs.

Back in spring, Gerrit Daute, Product Owner at Zammad, spoke in depth about the vision behind AI capabilities in the helpdesk. A lot has happened since then: the AI features for Zammad 7.0 are taking shape, the first beta tests are underway, and the development team has learned a great deal—especially about what AI can truly deliver in customer support and where it reaches its limits.