Requests get lost across several mailboxes, response times keep growing, and nobody knows who is handling what? That is a clear sign it is time to structure your support with a proper ticketing tool.
GLPI is the open source ticketing tool that brings your customer service ticket management and your IT asset inventory together in a single platform. Download it, or try the Cloud version free for 45 days.
What is a ticketing tool?
A ticketing tool is a software solution that organizes, prioritizes and tracks the resolution of requests sent to a customer service, a support desk or an IT team. Each request becomes a ticket, with an assigned owner, a status and a response time to meet.
Instead of letting requests scatter across a standard inbox, a ticketing system gathers them in a single, traceable queue that the whole team can see. You will also hear the terms ticket management software or ticketing software for this same family of tools.
How ticketing software works
A ticketing tool relies on 4 steps:
- Intake: the request comes in by email, through a form, via live chat or from social media, and automatically becomes a ticket.
- Qualification: the ticket is classified by category and urgency, based on predefined rules.
- Assignment: it is assigned to the technician or team best placed to handle it.
- Resolution: the ticket is tracked until it is closed, with a complete history available at any time to both the support team and the requester.
Internal ticketing and customer support: two complementary uses
A ticketing tool is not only for external customer support. Internally, it also structures requests between employees and the IT department, such as creating an access, installing software or fixing a hardware incident.
This dual role, covering both customer support and IT support, is what sets a good ticketing tool apart from a simple shared inbox.
Implement ITIL processes with an open source ticketing tool
Implementing ITIL processes requires a ticketing tool that can categorize each request according to business rules, meet committed processing times, and document every step for later analysis. An open source tool meets these needs without creating technical dependency on a single vendor.
Open, free, no commitment
An open source ticketing tool can be downloaded and hosted freely, with no licensing fees and no limit on the number of users.
A licence-free model
This free model gives you full control: the source code can be audited, the data remains the property of the organization, and there is no commercial lock-in.
Full control over your data
The source code stays open and hosting happens wherever the organization chooses, which avoids the single-vendor dependency typical of closed SaaS solutions.
Ticket management software linked to your IT assets
A good practice is to link each ticket to the device, software or user involved, rather than handling ticketing and inventory in two separate systems.
A ticket linked to every device
This direct link between a request and the asset it concerns gives the technician a complete view of a machine's history, its licences and its past interventions.
Faster diagnosis for technicians
With immediate access to the hardware context of a ticket, technicians spend less time on diagnosis and avoid back-and-forth with the user. This is the approach GLPI takes, combining ticketing and IT asset management software in a single platform.
A global community and over 20 years of expertise
An open source ticketing tool grows more robust over time, driven by a community of contributors who evolve its core, its plugins and its documentation. Unlike proprietary solutions, GLPI's long-term viability does not depend on any single vendor.
A network of certified partners
Organizations looking for professional support can rely on our network of certified partners for deployment, migration, configuration or support of the tool. This approach deliberately separates freedom of use (free software) from optional support (paid services through partners). Working with these experts ensures a smooth, well-tuned integration and saves valuable time when going live. You get the most out of the solution with peace of mind, without ever giving up your technological independence.
An active community of contributors
GLPI has been around for over 20 years and keeps evolving thanks to regular contributions from its open source community.
A worldwide installed base
The solution is used by more than 10 million users around the world, in organizations of every size.
Key features of a ticketing tool
To meet your deadlines and relieve pressure on your support team, a complete ticketing tool must cover three needs: handling every ticket on time, reducing request volume through self-service, and steering activity through reporting. Find the full details of these features in our complete Helpdesk solution.
Ticket management, SLAs and automation
Meet every time commitment with ticket management that covers creation, qualification, assignment and tracking through to resolution.
Creation, qualification and assignment
Each incoming request is turned into a ticket, classified by category and priority, then assigned to the most relevant person based on the nature of the request.
Response times: SLAs and OLAs
SLAs and OLAs set committed response and resolution times according to the criticality of each request, ensuring consistent service quality.
Automation rules
Assignment by category, reminders on pending tickets, status changes triggered by a specific action: these rules reduce technicians' manual workload and make it possible to handle a larger volume of tickets.
Self-service portal and knowledge base
Cut down the number of calls and emails to handle with a self-service portal that lets every user submit a request directly.
The self-service portal
Requests are centralized whatever their original channel, web interface or email, which simplifies intake for the support team.
The knowledge base
Paired with the portal, a knowledge base available at any time lets users find answers to frequently asked questions on their own, without opening a ticket. This reduces the volume of requests on recurring topics.
Dashboards and reporting
Quickly identify your bottlenecks with reliable indicators, tracked in dedicated dashboards.
Tracking indicators
Average resolution time, workload per technician, ticket distribution by category, user satisfaction once the request is handled.
Steering support activity
These indicators help identify friction points in how support is organized, and back up hiring or upskilling decisions with management.
How to choose your ticketing tool
The ticketing market is broad, ranging from vendors specialized in customer support to extended CRM platforms and collaboration suites. Several criteria shape the choice of the right ticketing tool for an organization.
How to recognize a good ticketing tool
Before choosing a solution, an organization should assess several points.
Open source code
The ability to audit or modify the code, a point often overlooked in favor of the customization options highlighted on the surface.
Total cost of ownership
The cost calculated over several years, including free use and optional services (partner support, managed subscription) depending on your needs.
Ability to grow with the organization
How well the tool keeps up with a growing number of users, teams and channels.
Quality of support
The level of support offered by the network of certified partners (for free use) or by the publisher (for the managed version).
Open source or proprietary SaaS: which model suits your organization?
The choice between the two models depends on the organization's priorities in terms of control, cost and speed of setup.
The advantages of open source
Full control over the code, the data and the hosting, at the cost of in-house technical skills or a partner to make the most of it.
The advantages of proprietary SaaS
Fast setup and maintenance handled by the vendor, at the cost of stronger dependency on that vendor and costs that rise with the number of users. Some tools, such as GLPI, let you start with free open source and later switch to a managed Cloud version without changing platforms.
GLPI compared with other ticketing tools
Several families of solutions on the market address ticketing needs, each with a different positioning from GLPI.
Zendesk and Zoho Desk
These solutions focus on external customer support, with advanced live chat and social media integration features, but without a built-in IT asset management module like GLPI's.
Jira Service Management
Designed for teams already using the Atlassian ecosystem, this tool covers IT ticketing and part of ITSM, with per-user pricing that differs from GLPI's free model.
ServiceNow
Built specifically for large enterprises and complex IT environments, this ITSM tool offers a very broad functional scope, but comes with significant deployment complexity and a high overall cost.
GLPI Network Cloud, the managed version of your ticketing tool
For organizations that prefer to delegate hosting and maintenance, GLPI Network Cloud offers all the features of the tool in a plan managed by the publisher.
What your managed tool includes
Find the details of the offer and the GLPI Network Cloud subscription pricing, which provides a contractual guarantee, managed hosting, automatic updates and level 3 support directly from the publisher. End users are never billed, only technician profiles count.
45-day trial
Before committing, every organization can test the plan for 45 days, with no upfront commitment: try GLPI Network Cloud for 45 days.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a ticketing tool and a complete ITSM solution?
A ticketing tool covers the creation, assignment and tracking of requests, which makes it a subset of ITSM processes. A complete ITSM solution adds asset management, a CMDB, change management and problem management.
Is GLPI really free?
The On-Premise version of GLPI is completely free: no licensing fees, no limit on users or technicians. The organization hosts the tool itself. Optional costs are clearly stated: partner support (billed per service) or a GLPI Network Cloud subscription (billed per technician).
How much does a GLPI Network Cloud subscription cost?
The subscription is billed per technician profile, and end users are not counted. The exact price depends on the size of the support team and the level of service required.
Can I host GLPI myself instead of using the Cloud?
Yes, that is actually the foundation of the model: free On-Premise use is the starting point. You can deploy GLPI on your own, with the help of a partner, or switch to the managed Cloud later with no risk of lock-in.
What is a knowledge base in a ticketing tool?
It is a space users can browse, gathering answers to frequently asked questions, which makes it possible to resolve some requests without going through a ticket.
How does a ticketing tool improve customer satisfaction?
By ensuring response times are met, providing full traceability of exchanges and handling every request in a structured way, the organization reduces friction points in its relationship with its customers.
Is an open source ticketing tool reliable for a business?
Yes, as long as it is built on a mature, well-maintained project. Over 20 years of existence, more than 10 million users and a community of regular contributors place GLPI among the most solid open source ticketing tools on the market. If you prefer a contractual guarantee, GLPI Network Cloud provides one.
Does GLPI integrate with other tools such as a CRM?
GLPI can connect to other business systems through its plugins and APIs, linking IT ticketing to other parts of the organization's application landscape.
How long does it take to get started with a ticketing tool like GLPI?
End users generally get comfortable with the portal and ticket creation within a few days, while fully configuring SLAs and automation takes administrators longer. A partner can speed up this phase.
What is the difference between an SLA and an OLA?
An SLA commits the organization to a timeframe towards the requester, while an OLA sets an internal agreement between teams to meet that same timeframe.
