Company Overview
Deskpro is a powerful customer service help desk and ticketing system platform. Originally founded in 2002 as a web design agency by Dale Borchiver and Richard Miller, the Deskpro product was officially launched in 2008. The company is headquartered in London, UK and New York, USA. Deskpro is well-known for its self-hosted (on-premise) deployment option, while also offering a cloud version, making it one of the few help desk solutions supporting both SaaS and on-premise models.
Deskpro provides full-featured customer service tools including ticket management, live chat, knowledge base, and self-service portal, along with a rich API. The platform emphasizes data security and control, making it popular among finance, government, healthcare, and other industries with strict compliance requirements.
Core Products
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| Deskpro Help Desk | Core ticketing system with multi-channel intake, auto-assignment, and SLA management |
| Deskpro Live Chat | Website and mobile live chat tool with proactive conversation invitations |
| Deskpro Knowledge Base | Self-service knowledge base with article management, search, and user feedback |
| Deskpro Self-Hosted | Deployable on customer's own servers for complete data control |
| Deskpro Cloud | SaaS hosted solution with maintenance and updates managed by Deskpro |
| Deskpro API | Open REST API and Webhooks for deep enterprise system integration |
Core Strengths
- Self-Hosted Capability: Supports on-premise deployment for data compliance and control
- Omnichannel Coverage: Unified management of email, chat, phone, social media, and API channels
- Highly Customizable: Custom ticket fields, layouts, and workflows flexible for any business process
- Enterprise Security: GDPR compliant, SSO, role-based access control for high-security environments
- Flexible Deployment: Both cloud and self-hosted options available for businesses of all sizes
Competitor Comparison
| Competitor | Key Differences |
|---|---|
| Zendesk | SaaS-only with no self-hosted option, weaker data privacy control |
| Freshdesk | Feature-rich but no on-premise deployment, costs scale with user count |
| HappyFox | Purely SaaS, cannot self-host, less suitable for data-sensitive scenarios |
| Kayako | Slow product iteration since 2019, fewer feature updates than Deskpro |
| TeamSupport | Focused on B2B support, less versatile than Deskpro |
| osTicket | Free and open-source but basic, enterprise capabilities far behind Deskpro |
Key Milestones
- 2002: Founded as a web design agency by Dale Borchiver and Richard Miller
- 2008: Deskpro help desk product officially launched, entering SaaS customer support market
- 2012: Released self-hosted version, becoming one of few platforms supporting both SaaS and on-premise
- 2015: Launched live chat and knowledge base features, completing the product matrix
- 2018: Released new UI and API, significantly improving user experience and extensibility
- 2020: User growth accelerated by remote work trend
- 2023: Added AI-assisted features and automated workflows
- 2026: Continuously optimizing self-hosted and cloud versions for global enterprise customers
