Service ticketing vs general ticketing: why they are not the same thing
General ticketing tools are well-suited for IT support or digital customer service, for example. They handle incoming requests, SLAs, and escalations. However, when your field service involves field technicians, remote diagnostics, and work order reports, these ticketing systems reach their limits. Here is why specialized field service ticketing software makes a difference.
| Criterion | General ticketing | Field service software (Kolus) |
|---|---|---|
| Video assistance | ❌ Not included | ✅ Included in ticketing:video, annotations, photos, AI report |
| Support type | ✅ IT support, digital customer service, helpdesk | ✅ Industrial field service with field service |
| Equipment management | ❌ No concept of equipment or machinery | ✅ Each ticket is linked to equipment with a complete history |
| Field technician application | ❌ No dedicated field app | ✅ Mobile app with work orders and offline mode |
| Ticket to field service continuity | ❌ The ticket stops when support is closed | ✅ The ticket follows the request all the way to the field report |
| Field service scheduling | ❌ Not included, so another tool is required | ✅ Collaborative schedule with map view |
| Knowledge Management | ✅ Customer article database (help center) | ✅ Technical database automatically enriched by resolutions |
| Industrial ERP integration | ⚠️ Possible via marketplace, but often complex | ✅ Native ERP, CRM, and CMMS connectors + open API |
| Multilingual | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes, and also real-time AI translation (35+ languages) |
| Pricing | ⚠️ Per agent, so often high for mixed teams | ✅ Modular, making it suitable for both office and field teams |
Which tool matches your business activity?
General ticketing
Digital support only
Your support is 100% digital (chat, email, phone) with no physical service calls
You have no field technicians
Your tickets do not involve identified physical equipment
Service ticketing
Support and field service calls
Your tickets sometimes (or often) lead to field service calls
You need to identify and track specific equipment and machines
You want to resolve issues remotely before sending a technician
Your technicians need a field app tailored to their trade
Why Kolus goes further
A generalist ticketing system treats a ticket as an isolated unit:opening, exchanges, closure. In contrast, an field service ticketing tool considers the ticket as the starting point of a complete workflow. As soon as the request is received, the office technician can launch included video assistance to diagnose the problem remotely. Then, if a physical intervention is necessary, the same ticket feeds the field technician application with all the context, photos, and equipment history. No disruption, no re-entry of data, no lost information between tools.
Frequently asked questions
A ticketing tool manages incoming requests and SLAs. Field service software also adds the field layer: remote diagnosis, scheduling, digital service orders, automated reports, and equipment tracking.
Technically yes, but you will need to add complementary tools for the field (technician app, scheduling, video). In contrast, a service ticketing software like Kolus also covers field operations, preventing information gaps between tools.
Yes. Kolus can work alongside an existing ticketing system (via API) or replace it for the field service part. Many clients choose Kolus for their entire field service operations to avoid duplicates.
The cost per user is comparable. The difference: with service ticketing, you do not need to stack 3 to 4 additional tools to cover the field. The total cost is therefore often lower.
