We are happy to support open-source software like Zammad

The Challenge

Every day, numerous tickets found their way to Helmut Joost and his IT colleagues at Cube. For the most part, the team creates software that is used in-house, so there were lots of questions from other departments such as Purchasing or Production.

To bring order to the chaos, a solution was needed. Joost started to research online. Shortly afterward, Zendesk was introduced. "But unfortunately the tool didn't fit our needs very well," Joost remembers. "We were interested in a few features that were only available in their larger plans - for example, a Slack integration. But the large plans didn't fit our company size ...“

So the research continued until he finally found Zammad. "It simply offers us everything we need," Joost explains. "And if a function or feature is not available as standard, we usually find a workaround to implement our requirement anyway. Plus, Zammad even allows us to have on-premise hosting. That is the icing on the cake!“

The Switch to Open Source With Zammad

We’ve always liked the fact that Zammad is open-source software," says Joost. "It's nice to know that you can always look into the source code and see how the software works.

This also allowed Joost and his colleagues to test Zammad easily and completely free of charge in advance. "First of all, we familiarized ourselves with Zammad and the code. When we were sure that the system works for us, we decided to sign a support contract. That takes a lot of work off our shoulders and is worth the money."

We didn't make a clear cut between the ticket systems," says Joost. "That was never our intention. We simply migrated open tickets from Zendesk, which worked out really well.

All team members understood why yet another system had to be introduced. "They found the change comprehensible and see it as progress. They also find the Zammad interface intuitive and pleasant, which is a plus. We then held small Zammad training sessions in the various departments so that everyone could quickly become familiar with it."

Two-Level Support

Cube has now introduced a model for two-tier support. Joost explains this as follows: "There are two key users per department who are well acquainted with Zammad, the user group, and the software. They are the first to receive every request. If they can't help, the request is forwarded to my colleagues and me.“

This structure pays off. "Since we introduced this system, 20% of questions are answered in advance directly by the first level, i.e. the key users. Our developers have more time to focus on their work. It turns out that many questions can be answered by using the search function," he smiles. The remaining tickets are distributed among the IT colleagues via Slack. "That's what we needed the integration for!"

What Does the Future Look Like?

There is bound to be a lot going on at Cube. "We usually sell our bikes to retailers. But since the Corona pandemic, more and more inquiries are reaching us directly from end customers," says Joost. "Of course we are happy to answer them, and will set up a separate Zammad system for this purpose."