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Total Economic Impact
Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By HappyFox Help Desk
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY HappyFox, October 2025
Total Economic Impact
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY HappyFox, October 2025
In today’s fast-paced, customer-centric environment, organizations face mounting pressure to deliver timely, consistent, and high-quality support experiences. Yet many customer service teams are held back by fragmented systems, manual processes, and legacy tools that lack visibility and accountability. HappyFox Help Desk is purpose-built, all-in-one platform that simplifies customer support operations while enabling scale. Its intuitive interface and no-code configuration tools empower business users to manage workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and adapt quickly to changing needs. HappyFox not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances agent experience, accelerates onboarding, and enables organizations to respond more effectively to their customer needs, while keeping costs predictable and manageable.
Even as organizations face mounting pressure to deliver timely, consistent, and high-quality support experiences, many customer service teams are held back by fragmented systems, manual processes, and legacy tools that were never designed for modern customer service operations. Common challenges include lack of visibility into ticket status, inconsistent workflows, slow onboarding of new agents, and the high cost of configuring or maintaining traditional CRM platforms for support use cases. These inefficiencies not only impact customer satisfaction but also drive up operational costs and employee turnover.1
HappyFox Help Desk was designed to address these pain points with a purpose-built, all-in-one platform that simplifies support operations while enabling scale. Its intuitive interface and no-code configuration tools empower business users to manage workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and adapt quickly to changing needs – without relying on IT or developers. HappyFox also consolidates multiple functions—ticketing, knowledge base, chat, process automation, dashboard analytics, and SLA tracking—into a single platform, allowing organizations to retire legacy tools and reduce overhead. With flexible licensing models and robust API capabilities, HappyFox supports both centralized and distributed teams, making it a scalable solution for organizations of all sizes.
HappyFox commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying Help Desk.2 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of HappyFox Help Desk on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed five decision-makers with experience using Help Desk. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the experiences of the interviewees and combined the results into a single composite organization, which is a North American-based organization with global operations, employing approximately 5,000 people and generating $1 billion in annual revenue.
Prior to deploying HappyFox Help Desk, the interviewed organizations faced a range of operational challenges that hindered efficiency and scalability. Communication was fragmented across email, spreadsheets, chat platforms, and verbal exchanges, leading to missed messages, inconsistent handoffs, and delays. Legacy systems lacked centralized visibility and accountability, making it difficult to track task progress, enforce SLAs, or identify bottlenecks. Manual workflows, limited scalability, high operational costs, and poor experience—especially among support agents—contributed to burnout, customer dissatisfaction, and an inability to adapt to growing service demands.
HappyFox Help Desk directly addresses the composite organization’s prior challenges by centralizing communication, automating workflows, and enabling real-time visibility across support operations. The platform replaces fragmented tools with a unified system that streamlines ticket management, enforces accountability, and scales effortlessly with organizational growth. Its intuitive interface and no-code configuration empower business users to manage workflows independently, reducing reliance on IT and accelerating responsiveness. These capabilities collectively improve agent productivity, reduce operational costs, and enhance both agent and customer experience.
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
Automatic resolution of 10% of tickets. The composite organization handles over 1.1 million tickets annually, with 93,837 to 119,556 per year resolved automatically. HappyFox’s smart rules, ticket routing, and self-service integrations enable the automatic resolution of 10% of tickets by Year 3, requiring no intervention by customer service agents. Over three years, this benefit is worth $1.64 million to the composite organization.
Reduction in MTTR of 5% for ticket resolution. The composite routes over 1 million tickets to agents annually, saving 1.1 minutes per ticket by Year 3. HappyFox’s SLA tracking, real-time reporting, and customizable workflows streamline agent productivity by resolving agent-assisted tickets with a 5% reduction in mean time to resolution (MTTR) by Year 3. For the composite, this benefit is worth $1.5 million over three years.
Accelerated onboarding of new agents by 65% reduction in ramp time. The composite hires 81 agents annually with onboarding time reduced from 80 to 28 hours. HappyFox’s intuitive interface, agent scripting, and centralized knowledge base enables new agents to reduce their onboarding training time by 65% by Year 3. Additionally, the deployment of HappyFox improves agent retention by 20% by Year 3. Over three years, this benefit is worth a present value of $430,000 for the composite organization.
Avoided cost of CRM configuration and support of more than $180,000 annually. The composite eliminates the need for 1.5 software developers to configure and maintain CRM systems for help desk functionality. HappyFox’s out-of-the-box configurability and admin tools empower business users to manage workflows independently. Over three years, this benefit is worth $408,000.
Three-year cost savings from eliminating legacy tools of $183,000. The composite retires fragmented systems like Outlook, spreadsheets, and standalone CSAT tools. HappyFox consolidates ticketing, knowledge base, chat, process automation, and dashboard analytics into one platform. For the composite organization, this benefit is worth $183,000 over three years.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
Improved usability and adoption. HappyFox’s intuitive interface reduces training time and enables non-technical users to manage workflows, improving agent satisfaction and reducing burnout.
Responsive customer support. HappyFox’s support team is consistently praised for proactive engagement and hands-on assistance, enhancing deployment success and ongoing operations.
Empowerment of business users. Operational staff can configure workflows and make updates without IT involvement, accelerating change cycles and fostering ownership.
Scalability for growth. HappyFox’s unlimited agent plans and open API support organizational growth and non-traditional use cases across departments.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
HappyFox configuration licensing costs. The composite licenses 225 agents under the Enterprise Pro plan with modest workflow add-ons. Over three years, the HappyFox configuration cost is $648,000, based on a very modest 10% pricing discount.
Initial set-up and configuration costs. Five FTEs spend eight weeks at 50% capacity deploying HappyFox using no-code tools. Over three years, initial set-up costs total just more than $50,000 in present value.
Third-party tools for integrations and analysis costs. The composite supplements HappyFox with external BI tools and connectors. Over three years, these costs total just under $55,000 in present value.
Ongoing maintenance and administration costs. 2.5 FTEs spend 10% of their time maintaining HappyFox workflows and permissions. Over three years, ongoing maintenance costs total just over $78,000 in present value.
The financial analysis that is based on the interviews found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $4.2 million over three years versus costs of $831,000, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $3.3 million and an ROI of 401%.
Volume of overall tickets resolved without agent intervention by Year 3
Return on investment (ROI)
Benefits PV
Net present value (NPV)
Payback
| Role | Industry | Region | Revenue | Employees | HappyFox Help Desk Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition manager | Recreational equipment |
• HQ: North America • ~200 retail locations in US |
~$6 billion | ~5,000 |
• Help Desk Scale Plus • ~120 agents |
| Customer service manager | Sporting goods |
• HQ: North America • Operations: global |
~$4 billion | ~25,000 |
• Help Desk Team • ~35 agents |
| Director of transformation | Digital media |
• HQ: North America • Operates ~10 regional stations |
~$100 million | ~1,000 |
• Help Desk Scale • ~800 agents |
| Director of customer advocacy | Communications equipment |
• HQ: North America • Operations: global |
~$85 million | ~400 |
• Help Desk Scale Plus • 75-150 agents |
| Director of IT | Home improvement |
• HQ: North America • Operations: regional locations |
~$20 million |
~100 |
• Help Desk Enterprise Pro • ~100 agents |
Forrester interviewed decision-makers five organizations who oversee help desk operations for their organizations. The interviewees were senior professionals responsible for customer service, IT operations, business transformation, or process optimization within their organizations directly involved in overseeing the HappyFox Help Desk deployment and usage.
Before implementing HappyFox’s Help Desk solution, interviewees consistently struggled with fragmented communication, lack of visibility, and inefficient workflows. Many relied on outdated or overly complex systems – such as shared email inboxes, spreadsheets, or cumbersome CRMs – that failed to provide centralized task tracking, accountability, or real-time performance insights. These limitations led to missed or delayed responses, duplicated efforts, and increased operational costs. Teams lacked the tools to manage service-level expectations, automate routine processes, or scale support effectively across departments or locations. As a result, agent burnout, customer dissatisfaction, and an inability to adapt quickly to growing demands were common across these organizations.
The interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
Fragmented communications. Interviewees noted that a fragmented communications structure was a consistent and costly challenge. Prior to adopting HappyFox, teams relied heavily on disparate tools such as Microsoft Outlook, direct messaging platforms, spreadsheets, verbal requests, and even physical documents to manage internal workflows and customer interactions. This lack of a centralized system led to missed messages, inconsistent handoffs, and significant delays in task execution. The customer service manager for a sporting goods supplier stated: “We couldn’t guarantee response nor response time. There was no tracking, no accountability, no SLAs. We were not at the level we needed to be in monitoring our email.”
Lack of visibility and accountability. Help desk teams across the organizations interviewed emphatically stated that there was a lack of visibility and accountability in their legacy systems. Without centralized tracking, teams struggled to monitor task progress, identify bottlenecks, or ensure timely follow-through. The absence of shared visibility created operational blind spots and made it difficult to assess performance or enforce standards. In fact, critical information was often siloed or lost, undermining coordination and responsiveness. The acquisition manager for a recreational equipment manufacturer noted: “You’d look out your window and see somebody walking across the parking lot to go tell somebody something. But really five people needed to know what they just said.”
Manual and inefficient workflows. A recurring pain point echoed by the interviewees was the reliance on manual and inefficient workflows before HappyFox. Prior environments often required staff to manually track progress, chase updates, and coordinate across departments using email, spreadsheets, verbal communication, and physical paperwork. These workflows lacked automation and structure, resulting in delays, duplicated efforts, and operational bottlenecks.
Limited scalability. Most interviewees cited limited scalability as a critical constraint for their legacy environments. As operational demands grew –whether through increased ticket volume, expanded teams, or more complex workflows –existing tools failed to keep pace. Many organizations relied on rigid licensing models or siloed systems that could not adapt to fluctuating workloads or organizational growth. Scaling required either disproportionate investment or workarounds that introduced inefficiencies and risk. In some cases, adding users or expanding functionality required extensive lead time – making it difficult for teams to respond quickly or evolve their operations. The acquisition manager for a recreational equipment manufacturer noted, “If I want to make a [legacy CRM vendor] change, it’s six to eight weeks. If I want to make a change to HappyFox, I can do it overnight.”
High operational costs. High operational costs were a recurring burden in the legacy systems according to the interviewees. Many organizations previously relied on enterprise platforms with rigid licensing models, expensive customization requirements, and ongoing administrative overhead. Costs were driven not only by the technology itself but by the need for specialized staff to maintain and adapt the systems, as well as inefficiencies in manual workflows that consumed disproportionate labor. Organizations struggled to justify the total cost of ownership, which extended far beyond licensing and encompassed a complex, resource-intensive ecosystem that strained budgets and limited agility.
Poor customer service agent experience. Poor agent experience was a significant issue in the legacy environments described by the interviewed organizations, particularly for customer service representatives. Without intuitive tools or centralized systems, agents were forced to navigate fragmented workflows and manually track requests, often relying on inconsistent communication channels. This led to frustration, inefficiency, and burnout – especially in high-volume or reactive support settings. The lack of visibility into task status and ownership compounded the problem, leaving agents without clarity or control over their work. In some cases, the strain contributed to attrition and morale issues. The director of IT for a home improvement retailer recalled: “Our service manager was past burnout. It really was a very difficult situation. HappyFox literally saved her life.”
The interviewees searched for a solution that could:
Enable centralized communication and workflow management. Interviewees’ organizations sought a unified platform to eliminate reliance on email, spreadsheets, and verbal requests, enabling consistent task tracking and streamlined collaboration across departments. The ability to consolidate all task-related communication into one system was repeatedly cited as transformative.
Empower automation and leverage of smart rules. Interviewees prioritized built-in automation features like smart rules, canned actions, and ticket routing to reduce manual effort, improve consistency, and accelerate task completion. These features saved significant time and reduced errors in task execution.
Provide real-time visibility and accountability. Interviewees’ organizations cited the ability to monitor ticket status, ownership, and SLA compliance in real time as being essential for improving transparency, performance tracking, and operational control. This enabled managers to monitor compliance, identify bottlenecks, and track accountability.
Enhance productivity through an easy to use and intuitive interface. Interviewees noted their organizations wanted a simple, user-friendly interface was critical to ensure fast onboarding, reduce training time, and encourage adoption across technical and non-technical teams. This simplicity reduced the learning curve and improved adoption across teams.
Deliver scalability and flexibility for scaling with organizational growth. Interviewees emphasized the need for a solution that could scale with growing teams and evolving workflows, while allowing easy configuration without developer support. Interviewees specifically cited HappyFox’s scalable architecture, including unlimited agent plans and flexible configuration.
Yield cost efficiencies to drive lower total cost of ownership. Reducing total cost of ownership – including licensing, labor, and administrative overhead – was a major driver, especially when compared to expensive legacy platforms.
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the interviewees’ organizations, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
Description of composite. The composite is a North American-based organization with global operations, employing approximately 5,000 people and generating $1 billion in annual revenue. The company provides a mix of products and related services, supported by an externally facing customer service team. Its operations span centralized call centers, distributed field teams, and internal departments such as logistics, scheduling, and service management.
Prior state. Before deploying HappyFox, the composite relied on fragmented systems including Microsoft Outlook, spreadsheets, verbal communication, and legacy CRMs. These tools lacked centralized visibility, leading to missed messages, duplicated efforts, and inconsistent service levels. Manual workflows, limited scalability, and high operational costs created bottlenecks and made it difficult to track performance, enforce accountability, or scale efficiently.
Deployment characteristics. In the initial period, Year 0, the composite organization deployed HappyFox Help Desk for its customer services organization. HappyFox was selected for its ease of use, automation capabilities, real-time visibility, and cost-effective licensing model. Implementation was led by IT operations in conjunction with business operations and completed in under four weeks.
Key modeling assumptions. To quantify the economic and productivity benefits that the composite organization derives from deploying HappyFox, Forrester uses the following assumptions in the financial model:
5,000 employees
$1 billion in annual revenue
225 agents (~4.5% of employees) using HappyFox Help Desk
1,080,000 total annual tickets handled by the customer support team before HappyFox
80% utilization rate for agents
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Total employees (baseline) | Composite | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| R2 | Revenue (baseline) | Composite | $1,000,000,000 | $1,000,000,000 | $1,000,000,000 |
| R3 | Customer support agents without HappyFox | Composite | 244 | 247 | 249 |
| R4 | Customer support agents after HappyFox | Composite | 225 | 225 | 225 |
| R5 | Utilization rate for customer support agents | Composite | 80% | 80% | 80% |
| R6 | Tickets per agent before HappyFox | Composite | 4,800 | 4,800 | 4,800 |
| R7 | Total tickets before HappyFox | R4*R6 | 1,080,000 | 1,080,000 | 1,080,000 |
| R8 | Average time spent on ticket per agent before HappyFox (minutes) | Interviews | 21.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 |
| R9 | Average time spent on automation-friendly ticket per agent before HappyFox (minutes) | R8/2 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 |
| R10 | Total ticket volume capacity after HappyFox | Composite | 1,172,966 | 1,184,296 | 1,195,560 |
| R11 | Tickets per agent after HappyFox | R10/R4 | 5,213 | 5,264 | 5,314 |
| R12 | Percentage of tickets resolved without agent intervention | Interviews | 8.0% | 9.0% | 10.0% |
| R13 | Tickets automatically resolved after HappyFox | R10*R12 | 93,837 | 106,587 | 119,556 |
| R14 | Tickets routed to agents | Interviews | 1,079,129 | 1,077,709 | 1,076,004 |
| R15 | Adoption ramp for HappyFox Help Desk | Composite | 80% | 90% | 100% |
Quantified benefit data as applied to the composite
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Automatic resolution of tickets | $586,230 | $665,912 | $746,915 | $1,999,057 | $1,644,445 |
| Btr | Faster resolution of agent-assisted tickets | $539,356 | $577,126 | $704,254 | $1,820,736 | $1,496,403 |
| Ctr | Accelerated onboarding of new agents | $157,910 | $174,098 | $189,718 | $521,726 | $429,975 |
| Dtr | Avoided cost of CRM configuration and support | $164,025 | $164,025 | $164,025 | $492,075 | $407,906 |
| Etr | Cost savings from eliminating legacy tools | $43,200 | $75,600 | $108,000 | $226,800 | $182,894 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $1,490,720 | $1,656,761 | $1,912,913 | $5,060,393 | $4,161,623 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees stated that they realized a measurable improvement in customer service team productivity through the automation enabled by HappyFox. Prior to adopting HappyFox, many organizations struggled with inefficient, manual processes for handling support requests by relying on fragmented communication channels, and inconsistent workflows that lacked visibility, accountability, and scalability. HappyFox transformed this landscape by introducing intelligent automation features such as smart rules, ticket routing, and self-service integrations that enabled tickets to be resolved without agent involvement. Across interviews, customers consistently highlighted how HappyFox’s automation capabilities – whether through auto-resolving simple inquiries or directing users to relevant self-help resources – reduced ticket volumes, improved resolution speed, and freed up staff to focus on more complex tasks. This shift not only streamlined operations but also unlocked measurable time and cost savings, making automatic ticket resolution a critical benefit of the platform.
The customer service manager for a sporting goods supplier described their experience: “We’ve doubled our lead handling capacity: from 300–400 to 600–800 per agent per month, thanks to HappyFox. The visibility into ticket status and the ability to automate next steps has made our agents far more efficient. We couldn’t manage this volume without it.”
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “We probably have 70 to 80 automated flows in our environment. That’s saving us at least 75+ hours per week just in documentation and other processes.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailer explained: “We’ve automated printing physical documents, moving them between departments, and eliminated verbal interactions. That’s saving 5–10 hours per departmental user per week.”
Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the value of the productivity improvement for the overall customer service team for tickets that are resolved through automation, without being routed to an agent. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The total number of tickets handled by the composite organization after HappyFox is based on a higher number of tickets per agent assumption.
The automation capabilities of the HappyFox platform result in 8% of the overall tickets being auto-resolved in Year 1, 9% in Year 2, and 10% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of the platform.
The average time spent resolving an “automation-friendly” ticket in the prior state was 11 minutes. This is assumed to be half of the average time spent resolving a “viable” ticket with an agent, in the prior state.
The fully burdened hourly rate for a customer service agent is $42 (rounded).
Forrester does not apply a productivity adjustment factor for help desk time savings as these professionals must comply with SLA commitments.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that automation driven ticket resolution will vary among organizations depending on the following factors.
The nature of the organization’s business, industry, and business model.
The volume and types of tickets encountered in the prior environment.
The average time to resolve an automation-friendly ticket will depend on the organization’s prior solution and its capabilities.
The organization’s customer service team’s expertise and degree of HappyFox adoption.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of over $1.6 million.
Volume of overall tickets resolved without agent intervention by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Total tickets after HappyFox | Composite | 1,172,966 | 1,184,296 | 1,195,560 | |
| A2 | Percentage of tickets resolved without agent intervention | Interviews | 8% | 9% | 10% | |
| A3 | Tickets automatically resolved | A1*A2 | 93,837 | 106,587 | 119,556 | |
| A4 | Time per automation-friendly ticket per agent before HappyFox (minutes) | Composite | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | |
| A5 | Total time saved (hours) | A3*(A4/60) | 16,421 | 18,653 | 20,922 | |
| A6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for customer support agent | Research data | $42 | $42 | $42 | |
| At | Automatic resolution of tickets | A5*A6 | $689,682 | $783,426 | $878,724 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Atr | Automatic resolution of tickets (risk-adjusted) | $586,230 | $665,912 | $746,915 | ||
| Three-year total: $1,999,057 | Three-year present value: $1,644,445 | |||||
Evidence and data. With the deployment of HappyFox, interviewed organizations noted a significant improvement in productivity for the resolution of tickets routed to agents. In their prior state, many organizations struggled with inefficient, fragmented systems that slowed down the resolution of agent-assisted tickets – the bulk of customer service interactions that require human intervention. Legacy tools lacked visibility, accountability, and streamlined workflows, often leading to delays, missed follow-ups, and inconsistent customer experiences. With HappyFox, interviewees reported significant improvements in resolution speed, driven by features such as intuitive ticket routing, SLA tracking, real-time reporting, and customizable workflows. These capabilities enabled agents to respond faster, reduce after-call work, and resolve issues more efficiently, even in high-volume or complex environments. As a result, teams were able to handle more tickets per agent, reduce bottlenecks, and deliver a more consistent and timely support experience.
The acquisition manager for a recreational equipment manufacturer explained: “Before HappyFox, we had no way to track resolution times. Now we average between 4 to 12 hours per ticket depending on seasonality. We’re able to monitor SLA breaches in real time, and currently only about 6% of tickets miss our 24-hour SLA – even during peak season.”
The customer service manager for a sporting goods supplier described their experience: “We’re able to do this [focused customer service function] with a team of six now, for what would have taken a team of about 15 to do outside of having HappyFox. So, we’re seeing about a 50% reduction in labor through automation.”
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “We’ve reduced after-call work by about 30 seconds per call, which adds up quickly across hundreds of daily calls. That’s due to simplified documentation, pre-populated fields, and canned responses in HappyFox. It’s helped us lower cost per contact and increase agent throughput without adding headcount.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailer explained: “HappyFox has made our workflows more efficient and reduced the time agents spend resolving tickets. Across five departments and 100 users, we’re saving about 200 hours monthly. That translates to $6,000–$10,000 per month in labor cost savings.”
Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the value of the productivity improvement for the resolution of agent-assisted tickets, based on the advanced capabilities of the HappyFox platform. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Row B1 deducts the number of automatically resolved tickets (benefit A) from the overall volume of tickets.
The average time spent by an agent to resolve a viable ticket in the prior state is 21 minutes.
The total number of tickets handled by the composite organization after HappyFox is based on a higher number of tickets per agent assumption.
The streamlined capabilities of the HappyFox platform enable agents to reduce the MTTR by 4% in Year 1, 4.5% in Year 2, and 5% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp. Pragmatically, this means that an agent saves 1.1 minutes per ticket by Year 3 by fully utilizing the capabilities of the HappyFox platform.
The fully burdened hourly rate for a customer service agent is $42 (rounded).
Forrester does not apply a productivity adjustment factor for help desk time savings as these professionals must comply with SLA commitments.
Benefit A and B, when combined, represent the fundamental productivity impact of the HappyFox platform. Adding up the total hours saved (rows A5 and B5) implies that the composite organization saves hiring ~19 FTEs in Year 1, ~21-22 FTEs in Year 2, and ~24 FTEs in Year 3. This reflects the underlying difference in rows R3 and R4 in the composite assumptions.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that faster resolution of agent-assisted tickets will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:
The nature of the organization’s business, industry, and business model.
The complexity and volume of tickets routed to agents.
The composite’s fully burdened hourly rate for an agent.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just under $1.5 million.
Reduction in MTTR for agent-assisted tickets by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Tickets routed to agents | A1-A3 | 1,079,129 | 1,077,709 | 1,076,004 | |
| B2 | Average time spent on ticket per agent before HappyFox (minutes) | Composite | 21 | 21 | 21 | |
| B3 | Percentage improvement in MTTR | Interviews | 4.0% | 4.5% | 5.0% | |
| B4 | Time saved per ticket (minutes) | B2*B3 | 0.84 | 0.90 | 1.10 | |
| B5 | Total time saved (hours) | B1*(B4/60) | 15,108 | 16,166 | 19,727 | |
| B6 | Fully burdened hourly rate for customer support agent | Research data | $42 | $42 | $42 | |
| Bt | Faster resolution of agent-assisted tickets | B5*B6 | $634,536 | $678,972 | $828,534 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Btr | Faster resolution of agent-assisted tickets (risk-adjusted) | $539,356 | $577,126 | $704,254 | ||
| Three-year total: $1,820,736 | Three-year present value: $1,496,403 | |||||
Evidence and data. In fast-paced support environments, onboarding new agents quickly and effectively is critical. However, many interviewed organizations previously relied on complex, unintuitive platforms that required extensive training and slowed time-to-productivity. Before adopting HappyFox, interviewees described steep learning curves, fragmented documentation, and limited visibility into workflows, which often led to longer ramp-up times and higher turnover. HappyFox’s intuitive interface, built-in agent scripting, and centralized knowledge base dramatically simplified onboarding, enabling new hires to become productive in days rather than weeks. Several interviewees emphasized how the platform’s ease of use and real-time visibility not only accelerated training but also improved agent satisfaction – reducing burnout and turnover, and creating a more scalable, resilient customer service operation.
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “We trained 150 agents in under a week, and they were fully productive within days. The simplicity of HappyFox’s interface and the ability to customize workflows made it easy for agents to learn without needing extensive documentation.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailer stated: “Each department took about three months to fully implement HappyFox, but once deployed, managers reported they would never go back. The system reduced confusion, improved accountability, and made it easier for new staff to understand their responsibilities.” With respect to the impact on retention, they added: “One manager put it this way: ‘HappyFox saved my life'; which is a reflection of how it helped reduce burnout and improve retention for their team.”
Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the value of the faster onboarding of (fewer) new agents – fewer because of improved agent retention based on the usability of the HappyFox platform. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Row C1 reflects the number of agents that would be needed without the deployment of HappyFox.
The attrition rate for the composite prior to using HappyFox is 45%.4
In the prior state it took two weeks to onboard an agent, or 80 hours.
With the usage of HappyFox, the attrition rate for the composite improves (or is reduced) by 20% by Year 3 (row C7 shows the improvement by year based on the effectiveness ramp of HappyFox).
By Year 3, the attrition rate for the composite organization drops to 36% vs. 45% in the prior state.
With HappyFox’s intuitive and easy-to-use platform, the onboarding time is reduced by 52% in Year 1, by 58.5% in Year 2, and by 65% in Year 3 (again based on the effectiveness ramp).
The streamlined capabilities of the HappyFox platform enable agents to reduce the MTTR by 4% in Year 1, 4.5% in Year 2, and 5% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp.
Consequently, the onboarding time for a new agent is 28 hours with HappyFox, compared with 80 hours in the prior state, by Year 3.
Forrester applied a productivity adjustment factor for the composite organization that represents the percentage of productivity savings realized. For example, 1 hour of time savings does not necessarily translate to 1 hour of productive work. For these productivity-based cost savings, the composite organization’s new agents utilize 75% of their time savings during onboarding.
The fully burdened hourly rate for a customer service agent is $42 (rounded).
Risks. The impact of this benefit will vary among organizations based on the following factors:
Attrition rates for customer service agents will vary by geography and industry.
Onboarding time in the prior state will depend on the nature of the prior state solution.
Improvement in onboarding time will be dependent on the uptake of the HappyFox platform.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just under $430,000.
Improvement in attrition rate for agents by Year 3
Reduction in onboarding time for new agents by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Agents needed before HappyFox | Composite | 244 | 247 | 249 | |
| C2 | Attrition rate before HappyFox | Composite | 45.0% | 45.0% | 45.0% | |
| C3 | Agent hires anticipated before HappyFox | C1*C2 | 110 | 111 | 112 | |
| C4 | Onboarding time required before HappyFox per agent (hours) | Interviews | 80 | 80 | 80 | |
| C5 | Subtotal: Total onboarding time before HappyFox (hours) | C3*C4 | 8,800 | 8,880 | 8,960 | |
| C6 | Agents needed after HappyFox | Composite | 225 | 225 | 225 | |
| C7 | Improvement in attrition rate after HappyFox | Interviews | 16.0% | 18.0% | 20.0% | |
| C8 | Net attrition rate after HappyFox | C2*(1-C7) | 37.8% | 36.9% | 36.0% | |
| C9 | Agent hires after HappyFox | C6*C8 | 85 | 83 | 81 | |
| C10 | Onboarding time required after HappyFox per agent (hours) | Interviews | 38 | 33 | 28 | |
| C11 | Subtotal: Total onboarding time after HappyFox (hours) | C9*C10 | 3,230 | 2,739 | 2,268 | |
| C12 | Avoided onboarding time (hours) | C5-C11 | 5,570 | 6,141 | 6,692 | |
| C13 | Productivity adjustment factor | TEI methodology | 75% | 75% | 75% | |
| C14 | Fully burdened hourly rate for customer support agent | Research data | $42 | $42 | $42 | |
| Ct | Accelerated onboarding of new agents | C12*C13*C14 | $175,455 | $193,442 | $210,798 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Ctr | Accelerated onboarding of new agents (risk-adjusted) | $157,910 | $174,098 | $189,718 | ||
| Three-year total: $521,726 | Three-year present value: $429,975 | |||||
Evidence and data. Several interviewed customers highlighted the significant cost and complexity of adapting traditional CRM platforms for help desk functionality. These systems often required extensive customization, third-party development, and ongoing IT support to meet even basic ticketing needs, resulting in high implementation costs and long lead times for changes. In contrast, these interviewees noted HappyFox’s out-of-the-box configurability, intuitive admin tools, and ease of use, which allowed business users – not developers – to manage workflows, make updates, and scale support operations relatively independently. This shift not only eliminated the need for costly CRM configuration and support contracts but also empowered teams to respond faster to operational needs, reducing overhead and improving agility.
The customer service manager for a sporting goods supplier described their experience: “Our [large CRM platform] couldn’t be adapted fast enough for our needs. It took six to eight weeks to make a change. With HappyFox, I can make updates overnight without needing a developer. That flexibility has saved us significant time and cost, and made it possible to scale our operations without relying on expensive CRM customization.”
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “We moved from [large CRM platform], which cost us nearly $1 million annually when you factored in licensing, developers, and support. Just our [CRM platform] developer alone was $200K per year, and we still needed offshore support to maintain it. With HappyFox, we eliminated all of that. Now our business users manage the platform directly, saving us 90% in total cost.”
Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the avoided costs of configuring a complex CRM system for help desk functionality by instead deploying HappyFox. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
To configure and maintain the CRM system as a help desk platform, separately from any baseline support needed for the CRM platform itself, the composite required 1.5 software FTEs per year.
The fully burdened annual salary for a software developer is $182,250.
It is assumed that the CRM platform is utilized as intended – as a CRM – therefore there is no cost savings associated with the CRM’s annual software expenses.
Risks. The impact of this benefit will vary among organizations based on the following factors:
The complexity and nature of the CRM platform, and its adaptability for help desk functionality.
The expertise of the software developers assigned to the CRM for help desk configuration and maintenance.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just over $400,000.
Annual cost savings from avoiding to configure CRM system for help desk functionality
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Software developers needed for CRM configuration and support | Composite | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |
| D2 | Fully burdened annual salary for a software developer | Research data | $121,500 | $121,500 | $121,500 | |
| Dt | Avoided cost of CRM configuration and support | D1*D2 | $182,250 | $182,250 | $182,250 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Dtr | Avoided cost of CRM configuration and support (risk-adjusted) | $164,025 | $164,025 | $164,025 | ||
| Three-year total: $492,075 | Three-year present value: $407,906 | |||||
Evidence and data. Before implementing HappyFox, several interviewed organizations relied on a patchwork of legacy tools – ranging from Microsoft Outlook and spreadsheets to standalone knowledge bases, chat platforms, and CRM extensions – to manage support operations. These fragmented systems created inefficiencies, increased administrative overhead, and incurred unnecessary licensing and maintenance costs. Customers shared that these tools were often not purpose-built for help desk workflows, requiring manual workarounds and lacking visibility, automation, and scalability. By consolidating multiple functions – from ticketing to knowledge base, to chat, and through workflow automation – into a single, intuitive platform, HappyFox enabled interviewees to retire redundant systems and realize meaningful cost savings, while also improving operational efficiency and agent experience.
The director of transformation for a digital media company explained: “Before HappyFox, we had no centralized system - just email inboxes and spreadsheets to manage community engagement. With HappyFox, we’ve eliminated the need for those fragmented tools and brought everything under one roof. It’s helped us respond to more people, more consistently, without adding new systems or overhead.”
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “Before HappyFox, we used a mix of [CRM tool], standalone CSAT tools, and separate website authoring platforms. By consolidating those functions into HappyFox - ticketing, knowledge base, and CSAT - we eliminated about $50,000 to $60,000 in annual costs. The native functionality replaced multiple tools and simplified our tech stack significantly.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailer explained: “We were relying on Outlook, Teams chat, text messages, and even walking paperwork between departments to manage internal requests. HappyFox replaced all of that with a centralized, auditable workflow system. The shift to digital task management saved us an estimated $6,000 to\$10,000 per month in labor costs across five departments.”
Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the cost savings from the elimination of legacy tools that were hobbled together to function as help desk productivity solutions in the prior state. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Based on the size of the composite the annual costs of legacy tools combined to function as help desk software is $120,000.
To be clear, legacy tools that have multiple purposes (or provide secondary functionality for the help desk in the prior state) were not assumed to be eliminated (e.g., email, spreadsheets)
The composite realized 40% of these cost savings in Year 1, 70% in Year 2, and the full 100% by Year 3.
Risks. The impact of this benefit will vary among organizations based the organization size, and the specific set of tools utilized in the prior state.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just under $183,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Cost savings from eliminating legacy tools | Composite | $48,000 | $84,000 | $120,000 | |
| Et | Cost savings from eliminating legacy tools | E1 | $48,000 | $84,000 | $120,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Etr | Cost savings from eliminating legacy tools (risk-adjusted) | $43,200 | $75,600 | $108,000 | ||
| Three-year total: $226,800 | Three-year present value: $182,894 | |||||
Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:
Intuitive interface and usability. While not quantified, nearly every interviewee emphasized how easy HappyFox was to learn and use – both for agents and administrators. The platform’s intuitive design reduced training time, lowered the barrier to adoption, and enabled non-technical users to manage workflows and configurations without IT support. This simplicity was often contrasted with the complexity of legacy CRMs or ticketing systems. The director of advocacy for a communications equipment provider said: “It truly is an easy, intuitive system to use. There’s very little training on how to use HappyFox, as opposed to the training it takes to know the answers to the questions the consumers are asking.”
Responsive customer support. Interviewees consistently praised HappyFox’s support team for being highly responsive, knowledgeable, and invested in customer success. Several interviewees noted that HappyFox’s support was more proactive and accessible compared with what they experienced with larger help desk and ITSM vendors. The director of IT for a home improvement retailer said: “There wasn’t a time where [our rep] wasn’t in a meeting, joining Teams, helping us figure things out. That service is why I’m doing this interview—it’s been fantastic.”
Empowerment of business users. Interviewees noted that HappyFox enabled business users - not just IT or developers - to configure workflows, update rules, and manage the platform. This self-service capability reduced dependency on technical teams, speeded up change cycles, and fostered ownership among operational staff. The director of advocacy for a communications equipment provider said: “The people who know the process are the ones who can go in and make the changes. We don’t have to wait on IT or be in a work queue anymore.”
Scalable for organizational growth. Interviewees appreciated HappyFox’s ability to scale with their business - whether that meant supporting more users, expanding to new departments, or adapting to evolving workflows. The platform’s flexible licensing model (e.g., unlimited agents) and open API were also cited as enablers of growth.
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement HappyFox Help Desk and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
Flexible business model and licensing. Interviewees noted HappyFox’s pricing model—particularly its unlimited agent plans—as a major enabler of flexibility. Unlike traditional help desk or CRM platforms that charge per agent or rooftop, HappyFox allows organizations to scale usage without incurring unpredictable costs. The acquisition manager for a recreational equipment manufacturer said: “HappyFox is not rooftop-driven and not even user-driven on the Scale Plus plan. For a large company, the cost is so nominal, it’s ridiculous.”
Adaptable to non-traditional use cases. Several interviewees deployed HappyFox beyond standard help desk scenarios, using it for internal workflows, operational task management, and even community engagement. The platform’s configurability enabled it to serve diverse needs without requiring custom development. The director of IT for a home improvement retailer said: “We deployed HappyFox in internal operational departments—not just for customer service. It’s now used to manage complex workflows with 20–30 statuses across multiple teams.”
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ftr | HappyFox configuration licensing fees | $0 | $260,400 | $260,400 | $260,400 | $781,200 | $647,576 |
| Gtr | Initial set-up and configuration | $50,600 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $50,600 | $50,600 |
| Htr | Third-party tools for integrations and analysis | $0 | $22,000 | $22,000 | $22,000 | $66,000 | $54,711 |
| Itr | Ongoing maintenance and administration | $0 | $31,460 | $31,460 | $31,460 | $94,380 | $78,236 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $50,600 | $313,860 | $313,860 | $313,860 | $992,180 | $831,123 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that their organizations’ HappyFox licensing costs had a multi-tiered pricing structure based on the number of licensed seats, with a great deal of flexibility.
Organizations using HappyFox are subject to a tiered pricing structure based on the number of users. The interviews table in the Customer Journey section depicts interviewees’ licensed products which range from Team to Enterprise Pro, and Scale to Scale Plus.
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider noted: “Our [legacy tool vendor] locked us into contracts based on peak agent volume, even when our actual usage dropped. HappyFox’s unlimited agent model removed that constraint and gave us predictable costs. That alone saved us tens of thousands annually in over-provisioned licenses.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite licenses Enterprise Pro.
The composite falls into the 200 to 300 licensed seats tier.
The pricing in row F2 reflects a very modest discount of 10% compared to what is considered standard for an organization of the composite’s size.
The model assumes subscription licensing. Pricing will vary. Contact HappyFox for additional details.
Risks. The risks that can potentially impact configuration costs include potential add-ons and larger configurations that could increase the solution cost.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of nearly $650,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Number of agents deployed | Composite | 225 | 225 | 225 | |
| F2 | Annual cost per agent | Composite | $1,080 | $1,080 | $1,080 | |
| F3 | Workflow add-ons | Composite | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | |
| Ft | HappyFox configuration licensing fees | (F1*F2)+F3 | $0 | $248,000 | $248,000 | $248,000 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | |||||
| Ftr | HappyFox configuration licensing fees (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $260,400 | $260,400 | $260,400 | |
| Three-year total: $781,200 | Three-year present value: $647,576 | |||||
Evidence and data. While deployment and initial setup of any help desk platform can represent a meaningful upfront investment, interviewed customers consistently described HappyFox’s implementation process as smooth, efficient, and far less resource-intensive than alternatives. Several interviewees noted that HappyFox’s intuitive configuration tools, no-code workflow setup, and responsive support team enabled business users—not developers—to lead the rollout. Most organizations were able to go live within weeks or a few months, often without requiring professional services or extensive IT involvement. This ease of deployment not only reduced initial costs but also accelerated time-to-value, allowing teams to begin realizing benefits quickly and scale usage across departments with minimal friction.
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “We spent about $25,000 on deployment, including travel and some data tools to migrate from [a legacy CRM platform]. We didn’t need professional services—our operations team built the system from scratch without IT.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailer explained: “For each department, deployment took about three months and cost between $3,000 and $10,000 in labor time. We didn’t incur any upfront technology or professional services costs—just internal effort to build workflows and train users.”
The acquisition manager for a recreational equipment manufacturer described their experience: “It took about a year and a half for us to fully commit to HappyFox, but we didn’t need developers or outside consultants. The admin tools were flexible enough that we could configure everything ourselves.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Five FTEs – a combination of IT ops professionals and professional services business users – spend eight weeks at 50% of their time deploying the HappyFox platform.
The fully burdened hourly rate for an IT ops professional is $55. For simplicity, this is the rate used for all the professionals involved with the initial set-up of HappyFox.
Risks. The following risks can potentially impact the cost of deploying HappyFox:
The size of the organization and its specific configuration of HappyFox, including add-on options.
The relative expertise of the organization’s business users.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just over $50,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Total FTE hours spent on HappyFox deployment | Composite | 800 | |||
| G2 | Fully burdened hourly salary for an IT ops / IT admin professional | Research data | $55 | |||
| Gt | Initial set-up and configuration | G1*G2 | $44,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑15% | |||||
| Gtr | Initial set-up and configuration (risk-adjusted) | $50,600 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Three-year total: $50,600 | Three-year present value: $50,600 | |||||
Evidence and data. For organizations with more complex reporting needs or integration requirements, some additional costs may be incurred through third-party tools and services. While HappyFox offers built-in reporting and native integrations with platforms like Salesforce and Microsoft Teams, interviewees with advanced analytics or cross-platform data workflows occasionally supplement with external BI tools, middleware, or API connectors. Interviewees noted that HappyFox’s open API, webhook support, and flexible data export capabilities made these integrations relatively straightforward - often eliminating the need for custom development or vendor lock-in. As a result, even when third-party tools were used, the process remained manageable and cost-effective compared to more rigid enterprise platforms.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Risks. The impact of this benefit will vary among organizations based the organization size, and the specific set of tools needed.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just under $55,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | Third-party tools for integrations and analysis | Composite | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| Ht | Third-party tools for integrations and analysis | H1 | $0 | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Htr | Third-party tools for integrations and analysis (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $22,000 | $22,000 | $22,000 | |
| Three-year total: $66,000 | Three-year present value: $54,711 | |||||
Evidence and data. Ongoing platform administration is a necessary cost for any help desk solution. However, interviewees consistently described HappyFox as requiring minimal effort to maintain once deployed. Thanks to its intuitive interface, no-code configuration, and role-based access controls, most organizations were able to manage updates, workflows, and user permissions without dedicated IT support. Several interviewees noted that HappyFox “just runs,” with only occasional tweaks or reporting tasks handled by operations staff or managers. This low-maintenance profile not only reduced administrative overhead but also enabled teams to focus on service delivery and process improvement rather than system upkeep.
The director of customer advocacy for a communications equipment provider observed: “Now that we’re fully deployed, I spend about an hour a week on HappyFox—just checking in with the team and giving direction. My operations managers together spend around four hours a week maintaining workflows and making small updates.”
The director of IT for a home improvement retailed explained: “Ongoing maintenance is light—just one to four hours per month for IT support and management. Once a department is live, we rarely need to touch the system unless there’s a change in workflow.”
The director of transformation for a digital media company stated: “We don’t have a dedicated support person for HappyFox, but we do manage it in-house. It takes some effort to maintain workflows and update portals, but it’s much more manageable than [our legacy customer support solution].”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
2.5 IT ops and/or admin FTEs spend 10% of their time on ongoing maintenance.
The fully burdened hourly rate for an IT ops professional is $55.
Risks. The risks that can potentially impact ongoing maintenance and administration costs are the support levels needed by end users, including additional features and macros.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of over $78,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I1 | Average hours per week spent on HappyFox maintenance and administration | Composite | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| I2 | Fully burdened hourly salary for an IT ops / IT admin professional | G2 | $55 | $55 | $55 | |
| It | Ongoing maintenance and administration | I1*I2*52 | $0 | $28,600 | $28,600 | $28,600 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Itr | Ongoing maintenance and administration (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $31,460 | $31,460 | $31,460 | |
| Three-year total: $94,380 | Three-year present value: $78,236 | |||||
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($50,600) | ($313,860) | ($313,860) | ($313,860) | ($992,180) | ($831,123) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $1,490,720 | $1,656,761 | $1,912,913 | $5,060,393 | $4,161,623 |
| Net benefits | ($50,600) | $1,176,860 | $1,342,901 | $1,599,053 | $4,068,213 | $3,330,500 |
| ROI | 401% | |||||
| Payback period (months) | <6 months |
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in Help Desk.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that Help Desk can have on an organization.
Interviewed HappyFox stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to Help Desk.
Interviewed five decision-makers at organizations using Help Desk to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PV of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
1 Source: The Customer Service Solutions Landscape, Q3 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., September 29, 2025; The Forrester Tech Tide™: Contact Centers For Customer Service, Q4 2024, Forrester Research, Inc., October 30, 2024
2 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
3 Source: How many tickets per day, per agent? Spiceworks, May 2022
4 Source: Corry Cummings, 11 New Call Center Statistics, Including Turnover Rates of 30-45%, TechRepublic, August 8 2024
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by HappyFox and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in Help Desk. For any interactive functionality, the intent is for the questions to solicit inputs specific to a prospect's business. Forrester believes that this analysis is representative of what companies may achieve with Help Desk based on the inputs provided and any assumptions made. Forrester does not endorse HappyFox or its offerings. Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this model, HappyFox and Forrester Research are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein. The interactive tool is provided ‘AS IS,’ and Forrester and HappyFox make no warranties of any kind.
HappyFox reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
HappyFox provided the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.
Erach Desai
October 2025
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© Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, Technographics®, Forrester Wave, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
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