Zendesk
Zendesk is a beautifully simple customer service platform. It's designed for companies that want to create customer relationships that are more meaningful, personal and productive. We start by helping companies to provide great support and then mature with self-service and proactive engagement.
Features
- Ticket /Incident Management
- Multi-Channel solution (email, chat, phone, social media)
- Reporting - Analytics and Insights
- Mobile apps and SDK for in-app development
- Self Service Help Centre (Knowledge base and Community Forum)
- Multi-language (28) and Multi-brand (unlimited)
- Fully Customisable (white label solution)
- Industry standard REST APIs, SDK and development framework
- Highly secure including SSO, 2-factor authentication, data encryption
Benefits
- Improve Agent efficiency with a single, multi-channel agent interface
- Connect your social channels (Facebook and Twitter).
- Take customer calls in Zendesk or via other telephony suppliers.
- Reduce support costs and drive sales via Chat.
- Streamline support with ticket views, triggers and automations.
- Provide 24/7 customer service support.
- Use Guide to build powerful self service capability.
- Transform your Zendesk to match your brand.
- Measure customers' satisfaction and your support team's performance.
- Use over 500 apps that sit natively within Zendesk's interface.
Pricing
£39 a user a month
- Education pricing available
- Free trial available
Service documents
Request an accessible format
Framework
G-Cloud 14
Service ID
5 5 3 0 7 9 3 6 4 2 8 3 9 3 5
Contact
Zendesk Inc
Rob Jones
Telephone: 020 3355 7960
Email: rob.jones@zendesk.com
Service scope
- Software add-on or extension
- No
- Cloud deployment model
- Public cloud
- Service constraints
- Zendesk is provided as a hosted solution only and is not available for implementation in an on-premise environment. As such, Zendesk requires a high speed internet connection to allow access to the solution and its use requires certain minimum specifications of the computer and browser (see "System Requirements").
- System requirements
-
- High speed Internet connection
- Computer must meet minimum specifications for OS (Windows/Mac OSX)
- Browser must be a stable release.
- Browser Configuration - Javascript must be enabled
- Browser Configuration - Cookies must be enabled
- Browser Configuration - localStorage must be enabled
- Browser Configuration - Security Protocol TLS v1.2 or above
User support
- Email or online ticketing support
- Email or online ticketing
- Support response times
- Detailed at zendesk.com
- User can manage status and priority of support tickets
- Yes
- Online ticketing support accessibility
- None or don’t know
- Phone support
- Yes
- Phone support availability
- 24 hours, 7 days a week
- Web chat support
- Yes, at an extra cost
- Web chat support availability
- 24 hours, 7 days a week
- Web chat support accessibility standard
- None or don’t know
- How the web chat support is accessible
- https://www.zendesk.com/company/policies-procedures/accessibility/
- Web chat accessibility testing
- https://www.zendesk.com/company/policies-procedures/accessibility/
- Onsite support
- Yes, at extra cost
- Support levels
-
Support levels are dependent on the service plan to which a customer is subscribed.
Zendesk’s Professional Support service plan includes 24x5 support via email and phone.
Zendesk’s Enterprise Support service plan includes 24x7 support via email, chat and phone. Priority support is also available to customers on the Enterprise Support service plan at additional cost (via our Priority Customer Support Add-On), providing a 1 hour first response time and 99.9% uptime SLA, backed up by service credits.
Zendesk's Customer Advocate team owns post-implementation support and is organised as follows:
(i) Product Support ("Tier 1"); (ii) Technical Support Engineers ("Tier 2"); and (iii) Technical Support Architects ("Tier 3").
These teams are globally distributed and available 24x7.
Additional technical support resources from the Professional Services team can be made available at extra cost and subject to execution of a Statement of Work. - Support available to third parties
- No
Onboarding and offboarding
- Getting started
-
Extensive user documentation is available on the Zendesk Support website (https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us). This includes how to get started with the solution as well as detailed support for advanced users. Documentation for APIs and SDKs is available via the Zendesk Developer Portal (https://developer.zendesk.com).
Zendesk provides training in many different forms, based on the specific requirements of our customers and the specific project. For example:
(i) Self-service guided resources are available on the Zendesk Support website; (ii) free and paid instructor and self led recorded/live (in person, remote) trainings/webinars are available via Zendesk Training (training.zendesk.com); (iii) custom training (remote or in person) can be designed and scoped based on customer requirements, at additional cost.
Zendesk offers a variety of implementation approaches, designed to meet the needs of our customers. These include various degrees of initial training for the customer's project team to ensure they have a solid understanding of the Zendesk solution before the design workshops. This helps develop a common understanding and language at the very start of the project. - Service documentation
- Yes
- Documentation formats
- HTML
- End-of-contract data extraction
- Zendesk’s REST APIs and CSV/XML functionality allow customers (via their Account Administrator(s)) to export Service Data on demand, and Service Data will be available for export for 30 days after the contract ends. In the event a customer terminates their subscription, they can also request Zendesk to provide a full export of their Service Data, for which an additional charge may apply at Zendesk's professional services rates.
- End-of-contract process
- On termination or expiration of the contract, Service Data will continue to be available to the customer's Account Administrator(s) for an additional thirty days, during which the customer's Service Data may be exported by the Administrator(s). If customers require assistance with data export, a charge may apply which will be charged at Zendesk’s professional services rates.
Using the service
- Web browser interface
- Yes
- Supported browsers
-
- Microsoft Edge
- Firefox
- Chrome
- Safari
- Application to install
- No
- Designed for use on mobile devices
- Yes
- Differences between the mobile and desktop service
- Mobile is provided via native iOS and Android apps, whereas desktop is accessed via web browser. Mobile utilizes the Zendesk APIs to provide functionality for agents on-the-go. Mobile does not have all the features of the desktop service e.g. admin/account setup, security configuration, customer satisfaction ratings, WYSIWYG comment editing, adding inline images, ticket actions audit display and other non-mobile friendly features. Mobile focuses on features that enable agents to perform core ticketing workflows, and has configurable push notifications that desktop does not have. There are no admin functions within mobile. Security and permissions are the same for mobile as desktop.
- Service interface
- Yes
- User support accessibility
- WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
- Description of service interface
-
Please see https://www.zendesk.com/support/features/
https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203661806-Introduction-to-the-Support-agent-interface - Accessibility standards
- None or don’t know
- Description of accessibility
- https://www.zendesk.com/company/policies-procedures/accessibility/
- Accessibility testing
- https://www.zendesk.com/company/policies-procedures/accessibility/
- API
- Yes
- What users can and can't do using the API
-
Our REST API allows customers to interact with a variety of features and aspects of Zendesk products. The majority of the functionality available via our user interfaces can be interacted with using the API.
Customers/partners can use our Reseller API to create accounts. Or they can create an account on the web and then use the API. Users and agents can also be created via the API.
The API supports updates to tickets, users, and other key Zendesk data points. Customers can use various endpoints to make updates.
Full documentation, including the full list of supported endpoints, is available in our API documentation which can be found in the Zendesk Developer Portal on our website (https://developer.zendesk.com). - API documentation
- Yes
- API documentation formats
- HTML
- API sandbox or test environment
- Yes
- Customisation available
- Yes
- Description of customisation
-
Zendesk Support was created with three user groups in mind: Agents, Administrators and Managers. One of the core requirements of Zendesk is to enable suitably authorised members of these user groups to use, configure and enhance Zendesk without the need for development capabilities.
Areas of the Support solution that can be configured by authorised users to meet customers’ specific requirements include: (i) business processes and workflows, including Automations, Triggers, Macros; (ii) multi-channel capabilities, including self service, email, chat, phone, social media; (iii) analytics; (iv) consumer/customer facing Help Centre functionality and user interface; (v) knowledge content management; (vi) native mobile apps; and (vii) Community.
Additionally, Zendesk’s extensive SDK and API support allows more technical users to extend the power of the solution through the development of specific apps and integrations. For example: (i) Mobile SDK allows for support of Android and iOS capability within your own mobile apps; and (ii) the Zendesk APIs allow customers to extend the solution’s capabilities through integration with external systems, as well as enriching Zendesk data with data from third party sources to provide an enhanced consumer/customer experience.
Scaling
- Independence of resources
- Zendesk is fully on the cloud, as a SaaS-based, multi-tenant solution. Zendesk uses a fully redundant, distributed, and automated environment consisting of geographically separate Availability Zones running multiple, self-sustaining instances of the Zendesk application. As a precaution, our cloud provider has additional space and power to add capacity to the Availability Zones should one of the data centers become unrecoverable in a disaster.
Analytics
- Service usage metrics
- Yes
- Metrics types
-
Zendesk provides prebuilt real-time operational dashboards supporting monitoring of KPIs for the following interrelated areas: (i) customer satisfaction; (ii) support operations; (iii) agent/team performance; (iv) knowledge base usage; (v) community usage; (vi) search effectiveness/ticket deflection.
Each area has a set of 4-6 KPIs, displayed in dashboard headlines and graphs. Prebuilt dashboards can be filtered to time intervals ranging from the last 24 hours up to the last 90 days.
Applicable KPIs, e.g. solved tickets, first reply time, customer satisfaction and agent touches, can be monitored in aggregated headline reports and graphs (also available in pre-built leaderboards by agent or team). - Reporting types
-
- API access
- Real-time dashboards
- Regular reports
Resellers
- Supplier type
- Not a reseller
Staff security
- Staff security clearance
- Other security clearance
- Government security clearance
- Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)
Asset protection
- Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
- Yes
- Data storage and processing locations
-
- United Kingdom
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- Other locations
- User control over data storage and processing locations
- Yes
- Datacentre security standards
- Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
- Penetration testing frequency
- At least once a year
- Penetration testing approach
- ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
- Protecting data at rest
-
- Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
- Physical access control, complying with another standard
- Data sanitisation process
- Yes
- Data sanitisation type
- Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
- Equipment disposal approach
- A third-party destruction service
Data importing and exporting
- Data export approach
- Service Data can be exported using the Zendesk API (as further described on the Zendesk Developer Portal - https://developer.zendesk.com). Administrators on Professional and Enterprise Support service plans may also export Service Data via the user interface once they have enabled data export on their account. Account owners can enable data export functionality by emailing support@zendesk.com.
- Data export formats
-
- CSV
- Other
- Other data export formats
- XML
- Data import formats
-
- CSV
- Other
- Other data import formats
- XML
Data-in-transit protection
- Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
- TLS (version 1.2 or above)
- Data protection within supplier network
- Other
- Other protection within supplier network
- Our network is protected by redundant layer 7 firewalls, best-in-class router technology, secure HTTPS transport over public networks, regular audits, and network intrusion detection/prevention technologies (IDS/IPS) that monitor and block malicious traffic and network attacks. Major application data flow ingress and egress points are monitored with Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) or Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). In addition to our own capabilities and tools, we contract with on-demand DDoS scrubbing providers to mitigate Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Network security scanning gives us deep insight for quick identification of out-of-compliance or potentially vulnerable systems.
Availability and resilience
- Guaranteed availability
- We use commercially reasonable efforts to make our service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except during planned downtime and in the event of a force majeure. We guarantee 99.9% availability of Zendesk Support and Zendesk Chat to purchasers of our Priority Customer Support Add-On, in accordance with the terms applicable to that Add-On.
- Approach to resilience
- We have developed a risk framework and strategy that accounts for the evaluation of our facilities, technology, applications, data, processes and overall organization to ensure our risk mitigation strategy operates at multiple levels with broad coverage. Zendesk uses a fully redundant, distributed, and automated environment consisting of geographically separate data centers running multiple, self-sustaining instances of the Zendesk application. As a precaution, we have additional space and power to add capacity to our data centers should one data center become unrecoverable in a disaster. We use multiple Internet service providers, connected through diverse paths entering the facilities at physically secure, separate locations. This redundant mesh-edge network design delivers robust networking through a number of paths. Our database data is stored on efficient flash memory devices with multiple servers per database cluster. Any hardware component failures are handled quickly and easily with automated builds and deploys. Our strict backup regime helps protect customer data should we experience a major incident. Key source data for standard Zendesk accounts is backed up daily, which includes both local and off-site storage.
- Outage reporting
- Service impacts are coordinated through our cross-functional Incident Response process. As a key part of this process, impacts to service are communicated through our System Status page, Twitter, and our Zendesk Help Center (available on the Zendesk Support website, https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us). The process includes appropriate update frequency, post-event follow up, and ability to escalate for additional information.
Identity and authentication
- User authentication needed
- Yes
- User authentication
-
- 2-factor authentication
- Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
- Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
- Dedicated link (for example VPN)
- Username or password
- Other
- Other user authentication
- Additional authentication methods are available for Zendesk Support, depending on the service plan to which a customer is subscribed, including the following: SSO, SAML, Active Directory SSO, configurable password requirements, and IP restrictions.
- Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
- Zendesk leverages the following management access methods: (i) dedicated devices on a segregated network; (ii) dedicated services for community service management; and (iii) service management via bastion hosts.
- Access restriction testing frequency
- At least every 6 months
- Management access authentication
-
- 2-factor authentication
- Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
- Dedicated link (for example VPN)
- Username or password
Audit information for users
- Access to user activity audit information
- Users have access to real-time audit information
- How long user audit data is stored for
- At least 12 months
- Access to supplier activity audit information
- No audit information available
- How long system logs are stored for
- At least 12 months
Standards and certifications
- ISO/IEC 27001 certification
- Yes
- Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
- BSI
- ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
- 18/3/2015
- What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
- N/a, all controls in scope.
- ISO 28000:2007 certification
- No
- CSA STAR certification
- Yes
- CSA STAR accreditation date
- 26/3/2014
- CSA STAR certification level
- Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
- What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover
- All parts of Zendesk service covered by CSA STAR certification.
- PCI certification
- Yes
- Who accredited the PCI DSS certification
- The Cadence Group
- PCI DSS accreditation date
- April 2015
- What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover
- The PCI audit covers a single configurable field available for Zendesk customers on the Support Enterprise service plan. It does not however cover processing of credit card transactions via the Support product.
- Cyber essentials
- No
- Cyber essentials plus
- No
- Other security certifications
- Yes
- Any other security certifications
-
- TRUSTe
- SOC 2 Type II
- Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield
- ISO 27001:2013
- ISO 27018:2014
- HIPAA (dependent on service plan)
- Binding Corporate Rules (where Zendesk acts as Data Processor)
- FedRAMP
Security governance
- Named board-level person responsible for service security
- Yes
- Security governance certified
- Yes
- Security governance standards
-
- ISO/IEC 27001
- Other
- Other security governance standards
- ISO 27018:2014 and SOC 2 Type II
- Information security policies and processes
-
Zendesk has a full suite of security policies, including: (i) Information Security Policy; (ii) Security Incident Response Policy; (iii) Production Network Security Monitoring Policy; (iv) Production Network Change Management Policy; (v) Production Network Access Control Policy; and (vi) Information Management Standard.
All policies are reviewed at least annually, or in real time if necessary.
Assurances are obtained by independent third party auditing of our security controls.
In terms of reporting structure, the various security teams (Incident Response, Security Compliance, Network Security, Threat Intelligence, Secure Development, Application Security, and R&D) report to the SVP Chief Information Security Officer, who in turn reports to the Chief of Staff, who reports to the CEO.
Security policies are part of mandatory training and such training is backed up by internal tests including routine attempts to socially engineer our staff.
Operational security
- Configuration and change management standard
- Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
- Configuration and change management approach
-
Zendesk follows change control procedures for all system/software configuration changes, including: (i) documenting change impact (operational impact; security impact on major projects); (ii) peer review for technical scope; (iii) management review for timing and impact scope (segregation of change-management duties); (iv) testing of operational functionality (pre- and post-testing); (v) back-out procedures; (vi) change documentation (logs, etc); (vii) tracking of code changes and infrastructure components via code versioning tool or Ops related tickets. Changes are recorded and kept for auditing purposes.
Approvals are required for all changes. For network devices, approvals are required before ports can be opened to that device. - Vulnerability management type
- Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
- Vulnerability management approach
-
We assess and obtain information regarding potential threats in the following ways: (i) continuous dynamic scanning for vulnerabilities on live applications; (ii) static code analysis upon each commit to our Support and BIME code bases; (iii) third-party penetration tests; (iv) dedicated Security Personnel; (v) public "bug bounty”; (vi) third party infrastructure scanning.
Zendesk maintains documented SLAs for bug fixes which are in line with industry standards. - Protective monitoring type
- Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
- Protective monitoring approach
-
We digest many sources of potential vulnerabilities for product and infrastructure, including: (i) code scans; (ii) network scans; (iii) penetration tests; (iv) bug bounty; (v) threat intel; and (vi) QA testing.
All of these sources feed into ticketing processes for validation, risk-ranking, assignment, and tracking.
We investigate and respond as necessary to any incidents or potential compromises immediately. - Incident management type
- Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
- Incident management approach
-
We have a documented Security Incident Response Policy. This Policy contains run-books for common event types.
Subscribers may report incidents via customer ticket, email to security@zendesk.com, or internally by Zendesk personnel via communication channels directly to Security Operations.
Incident reports are provided to affected customers based on their contractual notification terms for such incidents; otherwise, an email to the account owner is used.
Secure development
- Approach to secure software development best practice
- Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)
Public sector networks
- Connection to public sector networks
- No
Social Value
- Social Value
-
Social Value
- Fighting climate change
- Tackling economic inequality
- Equal opportunity
- Wellbeing
Fighting climate change
Zendesk, a customer service software company, contributes to fighting climate change through various initiatives.
Carbon Neutrality: Zendesk is committed to operating its business in an environmentally responsible manner by measuring and offsetting its carbon footprint. This includes reducing emissions from its operations and investing in projects that remove or prevent carbon from the atmosphere.
Renewable Energy: Zendesk powers its offices and data centers with renewable energy whenever possible, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and decreasing its carbon emissions.
Sustainable Practices: The company encourages sustainable practices among its employees, such as minimizing waste and energy consumption in the workplace. This includes initiatives like recycling programs and energy-efficient office designs.
Community Engagement: Zendesk engages with its community to raise awareness about climate change and promote environmental stewardship. This may involve partnerships with environmental organizations, participation in community clean-up events, or providing resources for employees to get involved in environmental activism.
Product Innovation: Zendesk may integrate sustainability features into its products to help its customers reduce their own environmental impact. This could include tools for measuring and managing carbon emissions or promoting sustainable business practices.
Through these efforts, Zendesk demonstrates its commitment to addressing climate change and minimizing its environmental footprint, both within its own operations and across its broader community and customer base.Tackling economic inequality
Zendesk addresses economic inequality through several key initiatives:
Diverse Hiring Practices: Zendesk fosters diversity and inclusion within its workforce by implementing equitable hiring practices and promoting diversity in its leadership positions. By providing opportunities to individuals from various backgrounds, Zendesk helps reduce economic disparities and promotes social mobility.
Fair Labor Practices: Zendesk ensures fair compensation and benefits for its employees worldwide, including competitive wages, healthcare, and other essential benefits. By prioritizing fair labor practices, Zendesk contributes to reducing income inequality and improving the economic well-being of its workers.
Community Support: Zendesk invests in the communities where it operates through philanthropic initiatives and corporate social responsibility programs. These efforts may include supporting local businesses, providing job training and educational opportunities, and contributing to economic development projects that benefit marginalized communities.
Affordable Access: Zendesk offers its products and services at various price points, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes, including startups and small enterprises. By providing affordable access to essential business tools, Zendesk levels the playing field and helps small businesses compete more effectively in the marketplace.
Partnerships and Advocacy: Zendesk collaborates with nonprofits, government agencies, and other organizations to advocate for policies and initiatives that address economic inequality. This may involve supporting initiatives related to living wages, affordable housing, and workforce development programs.
Through these efforts, Zendesk demonstrates its commitment to tackling economic inequality by promoting diversity, supporting fair labor practices, empowering communities, providing affordable access to essential services, and advocating for policies that create a more equitable society.Equal opportunity
Zendesk prioritizes equal opportunities through several key policies and practices:
Diversity and Inclusion: Zendesk is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are treated with respect and have equal opportunities for advancement. This includes implementing recruitment and promotion processes that are free from bias and discrimination.
Fair Hiring Practices: Zendesk follows fair hiring practices to ensure that candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications, skills, and experience rather than factors such as race, gender, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics. The company strives to create a level playing field for all applicants.
Equitable Compensation: Zendesk offers competitive and equitable compensation packages to its employees, regardless of their background or identity. This includes fair wages, benefits, and opportunities for advancement based on merit and performance.
Training and Development: Zendesk provides training and development opportunities to support the growth and success of all employees. This includes access to learning resources, mentorship programs, and career development initiatives designed to help employees reach their full potential.
Non-Discrimination Policy: Zendesk maintains a strict non-discrimination policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation of any kind. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, compensation, and termination.
By upholding these policies and practices, Zendesk creates an inclusive and supportive work environment where employees can thrive regardless of their background, identity, or personal characteristics.Wellbeing
Zendesk's wellbeing policy prioritizes the physical, mental, and emotional health of its employees through comprehensive support programs and resources.
Mental Health Support: Zendesk offers access to counseling services, mental health resources, and employee assistance programs to support employees' mental wellbeing. This includes confidential counseling services, online mental health resources, and workshops on stress management and resilience.
Work-Life Balance: Zendesk promotes work-life balance through flexible work arrangements, remote work options, and generous paid time off policies. Employees are encouraged to take time off to recharge and prioritize their personal lives alongside their professional responsibilities.
Physical Wellness: Zendesk provides wellness initiatives and benefits to support employees' physical health, such as gym memberships, fitness classes, and wellness reimbursements. Additionally, ergonomic workspaces and health screenings may be provided to promote physical comfort and wellbeing.
Community and Connection: Zendesk fosters a supportive and inclusive community where employees can connect with one another, build relationships, and find social support. This may include employee resource groups, social events, and team-building activities.
Leadership Support: Zendesk's leadership team promotes a culture of wellbeing by leading by example, prioritizing self-care, and actively supporting employees' wellbeing initiatives. They are accessible and approachable, providing guidance and support to employees facing challenges.
By investing in the wellbeing of its employees, Zendesk creates a positive and healthy work environment where employees can thrive both personally and professionally. This commitment to wellbeing enhances employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, ultimately contributing to the company's success.
Pricing
- Price
- £39 a user a month
- Discount for educational organisations
- Yes
- Free trial available
- Yes
- Description of free trial
- Users can register for a trial on various Support, Talk or Chat service plans. There are no limitations to the functionality available during the trial. Trials can be converted to a Production environment, without the loss of any configuration or data, if required at the successful completion of the trial.
- Link to free trial
- https://www.zendesk.com/product/pricing/