In today's digital landscape, IT service providers face increasing pressure to streamline operations, track assets efficiently, and deliver exceptional customer service. For companies managing large portfolios of devices under maintenance contracts, selecting the right management system is critical for business success. This blog explores three leading open-source options—GLPI, ERPNext, and Zammad—to help IT service providers make informed decisions.

The Challenge: Managing IT Services at Scale

Consider a scenario similar to many growing IT service providers: managing 2000+ computers, 500+ printers, and 300+ CCTV cameras across 25+ institutional clients. With 15 technicians handling 150-200 monthly service requests, the limitations of manual tracking quickly become apparent:

Inefficient request handling via WhatsApp or phone calls
Paper-based service reports with limited analysis capability
Difficulty optimizing technician deployments
Challenges tracking true service delivery costs
Limited visibility into asset performance

The right system can transform these challenges into opportunities for optimization. Let's explore our three contenders.

GLPI: Purpose-Built for IT Asset Management

Key Strengths for IT Service Providers

GLPI (Gestionnaire Libre de Parc Informatique) specializes in IT asset management and help desk functionality, making it particularly well-suited for companies focused on managing technology infrastructure:

Comprehensive Asset Management
- Automated inventory discovery with FusionInventory plugin
- Detailed tracking of hardware specifications and software licenses
- Asset lifecycle management from acquisition to retirement
- QR code generation for physical asset tracking
Service Management Capabilities
- Ticket management with SLA tracking
- Service catalog and knowledge base
- Problem and change management
- User satisfaction surveys
IT-Specific Features
- Contract and warranty management
- License compliance tracking
- IT budget management
- Network topology mapping

Deployment Profile

GLPI can be self-hosted using Docker, making deployment relatively straightforward for IT teams already familiar with containerization. A basic Docker Compose setup includes:

version: '3'
services:
  glpi:
    image: diouxx/glpi
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - glpi_data:/var/www/html/glpi
      - glpi_config:/var/www/html/glpi/config
      - glpi_files:/var/www/html/glpi/files
    environment:
      - TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata
    restart: always

  mysql:
    image: mysql:5.7
    volumes:
      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=glpi
      - MYSQL_USER=glpi
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=glpi
    restart: always

volumes:
  glpi_data:
  glpi_config:
  glpi_files:
  mysql_data:

Perfect For

GLPI is ideal for IT service providers whose core business revolves around managing and servicing IT assets. It excels in environments with complex asset portfolios requiring detailed tracking and service management.

ERPNext: Integrated Business Management

Key Strengths for Service Businesses

ERPNext offers a comprehensive business management approach that extends beyond IT service management to include broader business operations:

End-to-End Business Management
- Accounting and financial management
- Human resources and payroll
- Procurement and inventory
- Sales and CRM functionality
Service Management Features
- Help desk and issue tracking
- Project management and time tracking
- Maintenance schedules
- Customer portal
Business Intelligence
- Financial analytics and reporting
- Profitability analysis by service/client
- Custom dashboards and KPIs
- Forecasting and planning tools

Deployment Profile

ERPNext's Docker deployment is more complex due to its comprehensive nature, requiring multiple services:

version: '3'

services:
  traefik:
    image: "traefik:v2.5"
    command:
      - "--api.insecure=true"
      - "--providers.docker=true"
      - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
      - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro

  mariadb:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    command: --character-set-server=utf8mb4 --collation-server=utf8mb4_unicode_ci
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=erpnext
      - MYSQL_USER=erpnext
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=erpnext
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=erpnext
    volumes:
      - erpnext-db-data:/var/lib/mysql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost", "-u", "root", "-p$$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5

  redis-cache:
    image: redis:6.2-alpine
    volumes:
      - erpnext-redis-cache-data:/data

  redis-queue:
    image: redis:6.2-alpine
    volumes:
      - erpnext-redis-queue-data:/data

  redis-socketio:
    image: redis:6.2-alpine
    volumes:
      - erpnext-redis-socketio-data:/data

  erpnext-worker:
    image: frappe/erpnext-worker:v14
    environment:
      - FRAPPE_PY=0.0.0.0
      - FRAPPE_APP_NAMES=frappe,erpnext
      - FRAPPE_DB_HOST=mariadb
      - FRAPPE_DB_PORT=3306
      - FRAPPE_DB_NAME=erpnext
      - FRAPPE_DB_PASSWORD=erpnext
      - FRAPPE_DB_USER=erpnext
      - REDIS_CACHE=redis-cache:6379
      - REDIS_QUEUE=redis-queue:6379
      - REDIS_SOCKETIO=redis-socketio:6379
    volumes:
      - erpnext-sites:/home/frappe/frappe-bench/sites
      - erpnext-logs:/home/frappe/frappe-bench/logs

  erpnext-nginx:
    image: frappe/erpnext-nginx:v14
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.erpnext.rule=Host(`erpnext.localhost`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.erpnext.entrypoints=web"
      - "traefik.http.services.erpnext.loadbalancer.server.port=80"
    volumes:
      - erpnext-sites:/var/www/html/sites
      - erpnext-logs:/var/www/html/logs

volumes:
  erpnext-db-data:
  erpnext-redis-cache-data:
  erpnext-redis-queue-data:
  erpnext-redis-socketio-data:
  erpnext-sites:
  erpnext-logs:

Perfect For

ERPNext is ideal for IT service providers looking to manage their entire business operation within a single integrated system. It's particularly valuable for companies planning to grow beyond pure service delivery into product sales, consulting, or other diversified offerings.

Zammad: Specialized Help Desk Solution

Key Strengths for Service Management

Zammad focuses exclusively on customer service and help desk functionality, offering a streamlined approach to service management:

Advanced Ticket Management
- Sophisticated ticket views and organization
- Multi-channel communication (email, web, social, chat)
- Automation rules and ticket workflows
- Time tracking and SLA management
Customer Experience Features
- Knowledge base with contextual suggestions
- Customer portal with ticket tracking
- Satisfaction surveys
- Live chat capabilities
Team Collaboration
- Agent collision detection
- Internal notes and mentions
- Ticket sharing and escalation
- Performance metrics and reports

Deployment Profile

Zammad's Docker deployment is more focused on help desk functionality:

version: '3'

services:
  zammad-postgresql:
    image: postgres:14
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: zammad
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: zammad
      POSTGRES_DB: zammad
    volumes:
      - zammad-postgresql:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - zammad-network

  zammad-elasticsearch:
    image: zammad/zammad-elasticsearch:latest
    restart: always
    environment:
      ES_JAVA_OPTS: "-Xms512m -Xmx512m"
    volumes:
      - zammad-elasticsearch:/usr/share/elasticsearch/data
    networks:
      - zammad-network

  zammad-memcached:
    image: memcached:1.6
    restart: always
    command: memcached -m 256M
    networks:
      - zammad-network

  zammad-nginx:
    image: zammad/zammad-docker-compose:zammad-latest
    depends_on:
      - zammad-railsserver
    expose:
      - "8080"
    ports:
      - "80:8080"
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - zammad-data:/opt/zammad
    networks:
      - zammad-network

  zammad-railsserver:
    image: zammad/zammad-docker-compose:zammad-latest
    depends_on:
      - zammad-postgresql
      - zammad-elasticsearch
      - zammad-memcached
    command: ["zammad-railsserver"]
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - zammad-data:/opt/zammad
    networks:
      - zammad-network

networks:
  zammad-network:

volumes:
  zammad-data:
  zammad-postgresql:
  zammad-elasticsearch:

Perfect For

Zammad is ideal for IT service providers primarily focused on improving customer service interactions and ticket management. It's particularly well-suited for businesses that have existing systems for asset management but need to improve their service request handling.

Data Portability: Planning for the Future

A critical consideration when selecting any system is data portability—the ability to export your data if you need to migrate to a different solution in the future.

GLPI Export Capabilities

CSV/Excel export for most entities (assets, tickets, users)
Mass-export options for inventory items
Direct database access for comprehensive data extraction
Various export plugins available

ERPNext Export Options

CSV export for virtually all DocTypes
Report builder with Excel export functionality
Complete system backups with all data included
Comprehensive API for programmatic data access

Zammad Export Features

Ticket data exports to CSV
Customer/organization exports
Knowledge base content export
API access for custom extraction scripts

All three systems use standard relational databases (MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL), ensuring that direct database exports are always possible as a last resort. However, ERPNext offers the most comprehensive built-in export functionality, making it slightly more future-proof from a data migration perspective.

Making the Right Choice: Decision Framework

When selecting between these solutions, consider these key decision factors:

Business Focus:
- GLPI: IT asset management is the primary focus
- ERPNext: Overall business management with service components
- Zammad: Customer service and ticket management excellence
Implementation Resources:
- GLPI: Moderate complexity, IT-oriented
- ERPNext: Higher complexity, requires broader business process alignment
- Zammad: Lower complexity, focused scope
Growth Trajectory:
- If expanding services beyond IT maintenance → ERPNext
- If deepening IT asset management capabilities → GLPI
- If primarily improving customer service experience → Zammad
Integration Requirements:
- Need to integrate with accounting/ERP → ERPNext (built-in)
- Need to integrate with inventory systems → GLPI + ERPNext
- Need to integrate with customer communication channels → Zammad

Recommendation for IT Service Providers

For a typical IT service provider managing thousands of devices under maintenance contracts, a phased approach often works best:

Start with GLPI to establish solid asset management and basic service tracking—addressing the most immediate operational needs
Evaluate business evolution after 6-12 months:
- If financial management and broader business operations become priority → Consider adding ERPNext
- If enhanced customer service becomes priority → Consider adding Zammad integrations
Plan for data portability from the beginning by maintaining consistent asset numbering, customer references, and service categorization

This approach allows for immediate operational improvements while maintaining flexibility for future growth.

Conclusion: One System or Multiple?

While integrating multiple systems (like synchronizing GLPI with ERPNext) is technically possible, it introduces significant complexity that most organizations should avoid. Custom integrations require development resources to build and maintain, create potential failure points, and often result in data consistency challenges.

For most IT service providers, selecting one primary system that best addresses their core business needs—then thoroughly implementing and adopting it—will yield better results than attempting to implement multiple systems simultaneously or creating complex integrations.

Remember that successful implementation is not just about the technology—it requires clear process definition, thorough training, and consistent usage patterns. Focus your energy on excellent implementation of one solution rather than mediocre implementation of multiple systems.

What's your experience with these systems? Have you implemented any of them in your IT service business? Share your thoughts in the comments below!