Spiceworks IT Desktop - Management Tool

Everything IT...for Free

The Spiceworks IT Desktop delivers nearly everything you need to simplify your IT job. Available in a variety of languages, Spiceworks' single, easy-to-use interface combines Network Inventory, Help Desk, Mapping, Reporting, Monitoring and Troubleshooting. And, it connects you with other IT pros to share ideas, solve problems and decide what additional features you need in Spiceworks.

And, the best part? It's free, thanks to top technology vendors that sponsor Spiceworks. After all, you should spend your money on cool new hardware and software for your company, not expensive management tools!

Read on to learn more about how Spiceworks can free you from daily IT hassles.

Inventory Everything on Your Network

Inventory all of your hardware and software and other assets you care about - either locally or across multiple networks via secure HTTPS.

• Discover the Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs and servers, routers, printers and any other IP-based devices on your network - all through completely customizable agent-free scans.
• Gather all of the relevant technical data including patches and services on each machine, then add data such as purchase price and physical location.
• Track all of your software and ensure you're always in compliance by tracking your licenses, number of installations and product keys.
• Keep track of other assets such as mobile phones and even office furniture. All without agents.
• Store all inventory information locally and securely on your network - so there's no concern about sensitive data flying across the Internet.

Run an IT Help Desk

If you've never used a help desk, Spiceworks will allow you to more easily manage your daily projects and user requests - all from one interface. And if you already know how much easier a help desk can make your life, you'll be amazed how easy Spiceworks is to get up and running!

• Create a ticket in one click if you discover an asset that requires your attention while browsing your network in Spiceworks.
• Let your clients submit tickets with attachments to you via email or the Web and then allow them to view the status of those tickets online.
• Organize tickets however you choose using fully customizable filters.
• Set rule-based actions to automatically set due dates, assign tickets, set priorities and much more - all based on whatever criteria you choose.
• Send and receive automated help desk notifications via sleek HTML emails that you can customize with your company's branding.
• Manage tickets from anywhere using your mobile device and handy hashmark commands.
• Customize an IT portal for your users including your company’s brand and helpful info such as maintenance schedules, knowledge articles and FAQs.
• Assign tickets across your IT team, attach them to hardware on your network and manage your projects.
• Easily run reports on your tickets so you can see things like due dates and which assets (or even departments!) cause you the most issues.

Monitor Your Network for Trouble

Stay instep with what's happening on your network using the Spiceworks IT Desktop.

• See and set up alerts for Windows events that occur across your environment - so you can easily detect, diagnose and troubleshoot issues that disrupt your network.
• Automatically identify PCs and servers with low disk space, the presence of unwanted software on your network, the status of your antivirus updates, printers with low toner & ink levels and offline servers.
• Keep tabs on things like how much bandwidth your routers are using and the health of your Microsoft Exchange server.
• Monitor your SQL servers with detailed and customizable charts that track the information you choose.
• Receive email alerts about potential issues.
• View all the monitors you care most about in one centralized spot.
• See real-time windows performance monitors.
• Keep up with your device warranties and receive alerts before they expire.
• Monitor your exchange server as well as Rackspace hosted email for inbox storage limits, number of mailboxes and more.

Map Your Network

See an automatically generated layout of your network elements and how they interrelate.

• See how your layer-3 devices are connected.
• View how much bandwidth each of them is consuming.
• Edit layout and customize by adding devices to better reflect your network and plan for future network expansion.
• Identify network “hotspots” where devices or users are consuming the bulk of your bandwidth.

Report on Your Network

Spiceworks IT Desktop gives you 20 ready-to-use reports you can use and share with people who need IT information at your company.

• With one click, see software installed on your machines, disk usage across the network, trouble tickets you've created in the past month and much more.
• Create the custom reports you need with a simple interface - including advanced SQL reports to shows granular data on your environment.
• Publish reports so others in your company can stay in the loop.
• Export any report to PDF and Excel.
• Exchange useful report templates with other Spiceworks users.

Troubleshoot Issues on Your Network

When problems arise, the Spiceworks IT Desktop helps you to quickly identify the cause and resolve the problem.

• See what software is on a machine that is causing it to run slowly.
• See all processes running on a device and kill them remotely.
• See a timeline of all changes that have occurred on your network.
• Launch your remote control tool from within Spiceworks.
• Compare two machines to see what settings are different.
• Ping machines to see if they are online.
• See traceroutes to identify the flow of data.
• Identify when a server is running out of capacity.
• ‘Look up’ info on your Windows Event IDs in one-quick-click.

Manage Your IT Purchasing

Use the built-in purchase workflow to manage your purchases from when they’re requested until they’re received.

• Keep track of IT-related purchases either tied to tickets or independently entered.
• Use the pre-built purchase workflow to track tickets: Pending Approval – Approved – Purchased – Received.
• See how much you spend across your inventory or by device – including the breakdown of hardware vs. time-and-labor.
• Quickly see which orders have been placed, but not yet delivered.
• Use Spiceworks to research what you are purchasing, whether it’s through the Spiceworks Community, Google, or CDW.

Manage Your Active Directory Users

With People View, you can really incorporate your Active Directory into Spiceworks to get even more information in your help tickets and network inventory.

• See all of a user’s network devices (including the manual ones that have a habit of disappearing).
• Import key details about your users from Active Directory, and do things like unlock accounts and reset user passwords.
• Add pictures so you can place a face with the name. Now when you have to go across the building for a help ticket, you’ll actually know who you’re looking for.
• Automatically associate network devices with help tickets based on who submitted the ticket.
• Edit your Active Directory through Spiceworks. If you make changes to someone’s profile, you’ll have the option to have Spiceworks update Active Directory (if your AD account has WRITE permissions).

Track Your Network Configuration Changes

• Automatically backup network configuration of your devices.
• Receive alerts when device configurations change.
• Compare current network configurations to previous backed up versions.
• Push network config changes to devices or restore network configurations to a previous version with a built-in TFTP server.

Connect with IT Pros

Spiceworks makes it easy for you to connect with the more than 1,500,000 IT pros like you using Spiceworks.

• Get info and answers from IT pros like you that can help you do your job.
• Access an IT Resource Center with whitepapers, buying guides, product trials and more.
• See tech product ratings, reviews & recommendations from other IT pros in the Spiceworks Community.
• Join and interact with groups of IT pros based on interests, geography, expertise and more.
• Read instructional "how-tos" IT pros have shared on how to tackle common IT tasks and challenges.
• Get tips and support on getting the most out of Spiceworks.
• Join Spiceworks user groups to expand your neighborhood IT network.

Get the Product You Want

Spiceworks makes you a virtual extension of our development team — allowing you to make the product what you want IT to be.

• Request and vote on new features.
• Pick from a variety of plugins to extend Spiceworks’ functionality.
• View other users' ratings of features.
• Submit feedback on existing features to help make them better.
• Preview upcoming releases.

Link: http://www.spiceworks.com