Top 16 Zendesk Alternatives & Competitors

Zendesk streamlines IT help desk processes but faces limitations that impede service management. Thus, this article explores the top 16 Zendesk alternatives and competitors in detail to help you choose the suitable one. 

Due to its popularity, many IT managers turn to Zendesk for their help desk needs. However, Zendesk may not always be the perfect fit for every organization. IT teams frequently face challenges such as limited customization options, high costs, or inadequate integrations, which can impact their ability to deliver seamless support.

These limitations can lead to inefficiencies in managing customer queries, resulting in longer response times and less personalized service. Fortunately, several robust alternatives to Zendesk address a wide range of business needs.

This article will explore various Zendesk alternatives, each offering unique features, pricing structures, and integration capabilities. Whether you seek enhanced customization, a more cost-effective solution, or specific functionalities, these alternatives can help you optimize your customer support and improve the experience for both your team and your customers.

Before diving into the list of alternatives, it's important to acknowledge some of the drawbacks of Zendesk itself. Here are a few key considerations:

Zendesk Help Desk Cons

Here are a few of the major drawbacks of the Zendesk help desk:

• For organizations using Zendesk as their primary customer database, maintaining data synchronization with other systems often requires extra effort. For instance, a single user may have multiple records for different phone numbers and email addresses, and form submissions asking for phone numbers don't automatically link this information to the user profile. 
• Moreover, agents cannot open attached files directly from the ticket page; clicking an attachment downloads it immediately, which can confuse and disrupt workflow for the team.
• Additionally, the abundance of unused features can be overwhelming when searching for specific configurations. This leads to a decrease in productivity of your team.

16 Best Zendesk Alternatives & Competitors In 2024

Below are the 16 top-rated Zendesk alternatives that provide your users with solutions and assistance to troubleshoot any problems.

1. Zluri

Zluri streamlines your IT workflows by offering a comprehensive app catalog and access request solution, helping IT teams save valuable time and resources. By eliminating the need for traditional ticketing systems, Zluri enables your team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive innovation and growth within your organization.

Now, let’s understand how Zluri does it.

• Effortless Access Requests via Slack

Zluri integrates smoothly with Slack, allowing your users to submit access requests directly within the platform. This integration removes the hassle of navigating multiple systems or filling out lengthy forms. Zluri’s ticketless process encourages widespread adoption, making it easier for your organization to manage access requests efficiently.

The below mentioned image shows Zluri’s capability to raise access requests via Slack.

• Instant Notifications for Approvers

Timely approval of access requests is crucial. Zluri automates this process by sending instant notifications to designated approvers via Slack. This automation ensures that requests are reviewed and approved quickly, reducing the risk of bottlenecks and delays.The below mentioned image shows that approvers get automatic notifications via Slack for Zoom’s access request.

Also, as per Kuppingercole's report, this speeds up the approval process and reduces the likelihood of bottlenecks or delays.

• Automate Approvals with Customizable Policy Engine

With Zluri's policy engine, you can create customized access policies tailored to your organization's needs. These policies define the triggers, conditions, and actions for managing access requests. For instance, you can require multi-level approval for critical systems accessed by remote employees.

This image shows that Zluri allows you to create automation rules for the approval process.

• Track and Prioritize Access Requests

Zluri provides a comprehensive dashboard that allows you to track access requests across multiple tools. This feature helps you stay on top of request statuses, prioritize effectively, and resolve issues efficiently. By offering valuable insights for data-driven decision-making, Zluri enhances your IT operations, leading to reduced resolution times and increased productivity.The below mentioned image shows that IT teams can track access requests through Zluri.

If you want to see how it works in real-time, make sure to book a demo now. 

Pros

• Zluri provides your IT admins with a centralized dashboard, presenting a comprehensive overview of all tickets in one place. This includes insights like unassigned, overdue, and resolved tickets. Further, this initiative dashboard helps in the identification of priority tasks that require prompt resolution and highlights tickets that are yet to be assigned to the IT support team
• Also, this all-in-one solution generates curated reports to keep track of support team performance and how long it takes to resolve queries and issues. This helps identify areas that need improvement so that the service management process can be streamlined.

Cons

• Sometimes, setting up and integrating with other tools can be a bit complex and require attention to detail to make sure they work properly
• Zluri may not be the most suitable choice for small-sized businesses, as its features are predominantly designed to cater to the specific requirements of mid-size (medium) businesses and larger enterprises

Customer Rating 

• G2: 4.8/5
• Capterra: 4.9/5

2. Jira Service Desk

Jira Service Desk, a notable alternative to Zendesk, is designed to enable your IT teams to manage internal IT and service operations efficiently. This comprehensive tool lets you present your services online, providing customers and employees with a seamless means to reach out to you promptly.

This customer support tool also offers the flexibility to customize request forms to cater to the distinct needs of customers and employees. Also, the Jira Service Desk utilizes diverse customer communication channels such as chats, emails, and other online channels to respond to employee and client queries.  

Apart from that, the Jira Service Desk conducts customer satisfaction surveys. In this survey, users (clients and employees) provide feedback and ratings on whether the articles were helpful or not on knowledge-based articles. This helps in sorting the articles that have solved more problems, queries, and requests, improving the quality and relevance of the knowledge base content.

Pros

• Jira Service Desk enables your IT team to monitor and prioritize service requests and incidents; this helps ensure that crucial issues are taken care of immediately
• Additionally, Jira Service Desk knowledge base capabilities allow you to create AI-powered self-service portals for both employees and customers. This powerful search engine lets users quickly find relevant articles by searching for keywords or phrases

Cons

• Jira lacks a notification feature that informs IT teams about newly submitted tickets. This deficiency requires teams to manually open the project to identify new requests, posing a risk of overlooking incoming tickets. This may result in ticket mismanagement and delayed responses
• The search function in Jira is not highly flexible. Locating specific tickets becomes challenging if words are not spaced correctly or lack appropriate symbols. As a consequence, your team may expend considerable time refining search keywords to obtain the desired results, impacting overall efficiency

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.2/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

3. Help Scout

Help Scout is a centralized solution for your IT team to seamlessly manage customer and employee interactions through emails, chats, and calls. Also, this noteworthy Zendesk alternative provides you with automation capabilities. It helps automate routine tasks, including app approval requests, generating canned responses, and assigning conversations to IT support members.

Furthermore, Help Scout features a knowledge base and self-service customer portal where customers and employees can access answers to common queries. The customer support platform also offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling your team to monitor performance and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

Pros

• Help Scout provides your team with a time-saving feature known as saved replies, enabling them to respond more quickly using predefined templates for common customer queries
• The tool also empowers your team to filter conversations based on their receipt time, facilitating efficient prioritization
• Additionally, Help Scout uses a tag system that allows your team to categorize tickets, simplifying the search process and enhancing overall organization

Cons

• A notable drawback of Help Scout is it's difficult to search for old closed tickets, as the tickets lose their tags once the case gets closed. This creates a challenge for the IT team to revisit those tickets for future reference to resolve similar queries/issues
• Another downside is, sometimes, the website goes down without any warning, which interrupts the entire flow of work

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5

4. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a well-recognized and one of the notable Zendesk alternatives, featuring diverse connections for seamless integration with various technologies. Also, this solution excels in service management by offering a wide range of features like a shared inbox, device integration, and chat functionality to enhance service efficiency.

Furthermore, Zoho Desk extends multi-channel support for effective client interaction, covering phone, email, and social media. Additionally, Zoho Desk enables employees to address common queries through service capabilities, utilizing knowledge-based articles that appear when relevant keywords are entered into the portal.

Pros

• Zoho Desk assists your IT team in attaching tags to each ticket, simplifying the grouping of tickets into specific categories for troubleshooting and analysis. This further helps accelerate the resolution process and enhance the overall experience of users
• With Zoho Desk, your team gets the flexibility to adjust the ticket view as per their preferences. For example; they can tailor the view to display resolved tickets, eliminating the need for time-consuming searches for specific tickets

Cons

• A major drawback of Zoho Desk is it lacks filtering features, leaving your team unable to filter tickets based on dates. This limitation makes it more challenging to prioritize which tickets need to be resolved immediately

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

5. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is an advanced IT help desk platform that allows your IT teams to prioritize, categorize, and assign tickets effectively so they don't lose track of them. Also, this Zendesk alternative increases their productivity by automating repetitive helpdesk tasks, including automatically assigning tickets to agents or groups based on requesters, keywords, or properties.

Further, Freshdesk accelerates the resolution process by implementing actions on specific tickets when triggered events occur. Also, it notifies employees automatically whenever changes are made to their ticket request.

Additionally, the customer service platform provides multi-channel support, elevating employee and customer experiences through email, phone, chat, social media channels, website, and even WhatsApp.

Pros

• Freshdesk provides AI-powered chatbots that swiftly and accurately respond to employee and client queries by delivering instant information from knowledge-based articles. This ensures faster resolution with minimal reliance on IT teams
• Additionally, this single platform generates curated reports to assess agent performance, analyze ticket resolution times (response time), evaluate user experiences, and more. These reports assist in identifying areas for improvement, contributing to the streamlining of the service management process

Cons

• One of the drawbacks of Freshdesk is its user interface becomes challenging to navigate while managing multiple incoming tickets, requiring frequent page refreshes to access updated information. This delays the resolution process
• Also, the platform has a slow ticket search tool, causing frustration when looking for older tickets. This hinders the flow of work and slows down the issue-resolving process

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

6. Hiver

Hiver is one of the prominent Zendesk alternatives that work seamlessly with Gmail. It transforms your inbox into a help desk, allowing your team to manage customer support and internal queries directly from their email.

Hiver offers a user-friendly and efficient way to handle support tickets without needing to switch between multiple platforms. This simplicity can save time and reduce the complexity of managing various tools.

Hiver enhances team collaboration by allowing internal notes on emails, which are visible only to your team. This feature is particularly useful for IT managers who need to coordinate with multiple departments or team members on complex issues. It ensures clear communication without the risk of accidentally sharing internal discussions with customers.

Pros

• Hiver offers an intuitive UI that streamlines task assignment into a quick two-step process, saving valuable time for IT teams.
• With Hiver's built-in tag system, IT teams can effortlessly ensure that the right personnel are informed and involved, facilitating smooth communication and collaboration.
• Hiver excels at distributing work across various functions and staff members, ensuring that workloads are balanced and tasks are completed efficiently.

Cons

• When multiple emails are assigned or tagged, the notification system can become overwhelming and difficult to manage. This can lead to distractions and reduce productivity for IT team members.
• The backend of Hiver can occasionally be unreliable, which may cause delays or interruptions in workflow, impacting the efficiency of IT operations.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.6/5
• Capterra: 4.7/5

7. HappyFox

HappyFox help desk management software provides your IT team with a robust ticketing system, SLA management, and intelligent ticket assignment features. These key features help ensure efficient handling of customer requests.

Furthermore, this alternative to Zendesk offers a range of integrations. It seamlessly integrates with various third-party apps, including CRM systems, eCommerce platforms, and collaboration tools. This integration enhances its functionality and compatibility with existing tools.

Apart from that, HappyFox's knowledge base feature helps your IT team create an extensive repository of insightful articles and FAQs to resolve common issues, providing self-service options to customers and employees.

Pros

• The HappyFox help desk provides an intuitive interface that promotes smooth collaboration among agents, effective ticket assignment, and seamless communication with customers
• Also, this customer service solution offers pre-built reports and customizable dashboards, allowing your IT team to track key metrics and make well-informed, data-driven decisions

Cons

• There are instances where IT teams receive ticket notifications after one or two days. This causes disruptions in the resolution process and affects the experience for employees and clients
• Another limitation is observed in HappyFox's basic \"smart rules,\" which have restricted triggers and actions. For instance, the team cannot change the ticket status and assign it to an agent in a single step; each task must be performed separately. This sequential process consumes additional time

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

8. SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Service Desk is one of the notable Zendesk alternatives designed to streamline and automate service requests, decrease the support workload, and deliver an outstanding service experience to your employees. It incorporates intelligent technology into the service desk, enabling your IT teams to focus on core IT tasks rather than spending time on mundane and time-consuming IT activities.

Furthermore, its automated ticket routing, smart suggestions powered by artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning functionalities all contribute to the IT service desk's ability to efficiently provide services throughout the organization.

Pros

• SolarWinds service desk provides employees with easy access to necessary resources, including live chats for direct customer communication to resolve issues and self-service solutions that offer automated suggestions to address common issues
• This platform seamlessly integrates with apps such as Slack and Gmail, ensuring that employees receive notifications regarding the status of their tickets and requests

Cons

• SolarWinds service desk provides limited layout options for incidents or changes; currently, it offers only one list format. This limitation can make it challenging for your team to effectively organize and prioritize tickets
• Updates or changes made to a ticket by any member of your IT team may not be immediately reflected, potentially confusing within the team regarding the status of the request

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.3/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

9. SysAid

SysAid, a notable Zendesk alternative, is a help desk software that provides a wide range of functionalities, including change, problem, request management, and more. These advanced features empower your IT team to streamline the service management process effectively.

It also offers up to 200 custom columns per entity and unlimited templates and forms, making it easier for your IT team to customize SysAid as needed. Additionally, SysAid enables users to identify service requirements and monitor reports on service level agreements (SLAs) aligned with service management objectives.

Pros

• The SysAid help desk provides your IT admins with a quick summary of the open tickets in a single dashboard. This helps in identifying and understanding what kind of issue or query they will be dealing with, whether it requires the involvement of other team members or not, and how much time it will take to resolve
• Also, it sends email notifications to keep you informed about any modifications made to the tickets. This ensures constant updates at each step, maintaining proper transparency

Cons

• One major drawback of the SysAid help desk is, at times, the platform goes off and displays error 504, and this affects customer-initiated requests and delays the response time
• Another downside of this platform is that it doesn't have an editing feature. Due to this limitation, IT teams cannot edit the tickets and add text to descriptions or the title after submitting the ticket. Further, they have to again connect with the employee or client and explain all the details, which consumes more time

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

10. Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud, one of the prominent Zendesk alternatives, is a leading help desk software that offers a robust platform for managing customer service and support. Designed to meet your IT service needs, Service Cloud provides a range of tools to handle customer inquiries, streamline support processes, and improve overall service quality.

By integrating with Salesforce's comprehensive CRM, Service Cloud allows your team to have a 360 degree view of customer interactions, ensuring a seamless and efficient support experience.

Moreover, Service Cloud offers omni-channel support, enabling you to handle customer interactions across various channels, including email, phone, chat, and social media. This  ensures that customers can reach out for support through their preferred method, while your team manages all interactions from a single interface.

Pros 

• Salesforce Service Cloud provides seamless integration with Salesforce CRM. This means that the service features are naturally embedded within the CRM system, making them easily accessible to users.
• The platform offers a comprehensive range of features that cater to all your service needs, ensuring a versatile and robust solution.
• Salesforce Service Cloud is highly configurable, enabling your team to tailor the system to specific business requirements.

Cons

• One drawback of Salesforce Service Cloud is the cost and user restrictions associated with certain editions, which can be challenging for organizations with limited resources.
• Each service agent requires a separate license, leading to potentially high expenses, especially since Salesforce does not offer more affordable, 'lower-level' licenses. This can strain your IT budget and limit the team's ability to scale the platform as needed.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.3/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

11. DevRev

DevRev, one of the affordable alternatives to Zendesk, is a cutting-edge help desk software designed to streamline customer support and internal communication for IT teams. Unlike traditional help desk tools, DevRev combines customer support, development, and operations in one platform, making it a unique solution. This creates a more efficient workflow and better alignment between support and engineering teams.

The platform provides a space for IT teams to collaborate seamlessly, sharing insights and updates in real time. This reduces the need for lengthy meetings and emails, allowing teams to focus on resolving issues faster.

Pros

• DevRev offers advanced service tools than Zendesk, enabling your support agents to deliver exceptional service.
• The platform supports seamless integration for managing both internal and external communications, facilitating efficient collaboration across teams.
• Additionally, it allows for the creation of remedies, inclusion of updates, and visibility for other teams while maintaining the necessary confidentiality. These features empower our IT team to streamline workflows and improve the quality of support provided.

Cons

• One area where DevRev could improve is the lack of customizable filters that users can quickly adjust to meet specific needs.
• The platform currently lacks the capability to send mass communications and execute proactive campaigns. These limitations can hinder your team's ability to efficiently manage and tailor communications, potentially impacting the overall effectiveness of customer engagement strategies.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.5/5
• Capterra: 5/5

12. HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot Service Hub, one of the best alternatives to Zendesk, is a comprehensive help desk and free ticketing software designed to streamline customer support and enhance the overall service experience. It offers a powerful solution to manage and resolve customer inquiries efficiently.

The software integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM, making it easier to track and manage customer interactions from a single platform. With features like ticketing, automation, and reporting, HubSpot Service Hub helps IT teams provide timely and effective support, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Pros

• HubSpot Service Hub offers an integrated suite of features, such as the Knowledge Hub, Quotes/Proposals, and CRM, that seamlessly work together. This all-in-one platform allows you to manage various aspects of client relationships from a single interface, simplifying your workflow automations.
• The platform provides visibility into all team activities, eliminating the need to constantly check in with colleagues about the status of deals or contacts. This transparency allows the IT team to proactively follow up and stay on top of all ongoing activities.

Cons

• One of the drawbacks of HubSpot Service Hub is its limited customizability. For instance, the Survey tool does not offer the flexibility to brand it with our unique style, unlike the more customizable Knowledge Hub or Proposal area.
• The reporting features in the basic version are quite rudimentary, providing only basic information that may not be sufficiently relevant for deeper analysis. These limitations can hinder your team's ability to fully tailor the platform to our brand's needs and to gain detailed insights necessary for strategic decision-making.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.4/5

13. Kayako

Kayako, one of the notable alternatives to Zendesk, offers a comprehensive solution to streamline your support processes and improve customer satisfaction. Kayako provides a unified platform that integrates multiple communication channels, including email, live chat, and social media, into a single, easy-to-use interface.

Kayako supports seamless collaboration among team members. With features like internal notes and ticket collaboration, your agents can share information and work together to resolve complex issues. This collaborative approach not only speeds up problem resolution but also fosters a more cohesive support team.

Pros

• The platform's intuitive interface ensures that updates and follow-up notes can be quickly added to tickets, saving IT teams valuable time by eliminating the need for vocal or message-based updates.
• Kayako offers a lightweight and smooth ticketing experience, with a user-friendly interface that loads quickly. This leads to improved productivity and a more satisfying experience for both the team and end-users.

Cons 

• One significant drawback of Kayako is the absence of an auto-refresh feature. This limitation can be frustrating for IT teams, as they must rely on browser plugins to keep the interface updated. 
• Kayako occasionally experiences bugs that interfere with assigning ticket priorities. These issues can hinder your team from effectively managing and prioritizing tasks, leading to potential delays in addressing critical incidents. 

Customer Rating

• G2: 4/5
• Capterra: 4/5

14. Helpshift

Helpshift, one of the best Zendesk alternatives, offers a modern approach to customer support by leveraging automation, AI, and mobile-first capabilities. It stands out with its focus on mobile-first support, recognizing the growing trend of customers seeking help through mobile apps. This software integrates seamlessly with your mobile app, allowing customers to reach out for support without leaving the app.

Helpshift also offers a robust analytics and reporting suite, providing you with valuable insights into their support operations. You can monitor key metrics such as customer satisfaction scores, average response times, and ticket resolution rates. With Helpshift's analytics, you can stay on top of your team's efficiency and continuously improve your service delivery.

Pros

• HelpShift offers effortless integration with Unity and makes configuring notifications and app settings a breeze. This user-friendly setup process enables IT teams to quickly tailor the platform to their specific needs, streamlining workflows and reducing setup time.
• The platform's robust features allow IT teams to efficiently manage customer interactions, ensuring prompt support and enhancing customer satisfaction. Additionally, the ability to collect and analyze data provides insights that can inform future strategies and improve overall service quality.

Cons

• HelpShift's interface could be better, as the tabs can sometimes feel cluttered and not optimally placed. This can lead to a less intuitive user experience, potentially slowing down your team as they navigate the platform.
• Additionally, the pricing is on the higher side, which might be a consideration for budget-conscious teams.
• The platform can be time-consuming and complex to set up, requiring more effort from your team during the initial configuration phase. This setup complexity may detract from the platform's overall efficiency and usability.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.3/5
• Capterra: 3.9/5

15. Kustomer

Kustomer, one of the best Zendesk competitors, is a leading customer service software designed to streamline customer service operations. It’s built to help you and support teams provide quick and effective responses to customer inquiries. 

With Kustomer, you can handle all your customer service tasks in one place, making it easier to keep track of issues and resolve them efficiently. It offers a unified customer view, allowing your team to see all customer interactions in one place. 

Pros

• Kustomer offers an intuitive interface that makes navigation seamless, allowing your team to manage conversation tickets effortlessly. 
• The ability to use pre-made email macros for quick responses enhances efficiency, enabling your team to provide faster support to customers, ultimately improving productivity and customer satisfaction.

Cons

• Kustomer's conversation merging feature can sometimes lead to discrepancies in productivity data, with the actual number of completed conversations not aligning with reported metrics. 
• Some surveys fail to update in real-time, and in the worst cases, they may disappear altogether. These issues can hinder your IT team's ability to accurately track performance and gather essential customer feedback, potentially impacting decision-making and overall service quality.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.4/5
• Capterra: 4.6/5

16. Front

Front, one of the notable Zendesk alternatives, offers a versatile help desk software designed to streamline customer support and improve team collaboration. It is tailored to meet your IT needs by providing a centralized platform to manage all customer interactions. Front combines the power of email with the efficiency of a help desk, making it a valuable tool for support teams.

Pros

• Front streamlines team communication with its intuitive tagging system, making collaboration effortless. 
• The platform allows your team to easily monitor SLAs, tag colleagues in and out of conversations, and upload templates with minimal effort. This simplifies daily tasks and enhances efficiency for IT teams. 
• The platform's user-friendly design ensures smooth operations, reducing the need for support intervention.

Cons

• A drawback of Front is its time tracking for responses, particularly when returning from a weekend to a large volume of emails. This limitation could lead to inaccurate reporting and increased pressure on your team to meet response time targets, potentially impacting overall productivity and service quality.

Customer Rating

• G2: 4.7/5
• Capterra: 4.5/5

Choose the Suitable Zendesk Alternative For Your Team

We've explored the top 14 Zendesk alternatives and competitors. Choosing the right help desk platform is crucial and should be based on a thorough evaluation to match your organization's specific needs and objectives.

Consider factors such as ticketing capabilities, automation features, scalability, integration options, ease of use, and the quality of customer support when making your decision. These elements will help you select a platform that enhances your team's ability to deliver efficient and effective support.

Stay informed about emerging technologies and industry trends to ensure your choice remains relevant and future-proof. By selecting a help desk solution that not only addresses your current challenges but also adapts to your evolving requirements, you'll position your organization for long-term success in managing customer support.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What features should you prioritize when evaluating Zendesk competitors?

The features you prioritize will vary based on your business requirements, but typical factors to consider include multi-channel support, AI-driven ticketing systems, self-service capabilities, user-friendliness, and the quality of customer support.

What is a customer support solution?

Customer support solutions are tools or services designed to help businesses better understand their customers' needs and expectations. These customer service solutions enhance and streamline customer interactions, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction.

Is the help desk the same as CRM?

Help Desk and CRM share some similarities but are not identical. A help desk tool provides online technical support for customers. On the other hand, customer relationship management (CRM) systems store customer information and enable agents to enhance customer service by leveraging this data.

What is the meaning of collision detection?

Collision detection is the computational process used to determine if and when two or more objects intersect, as well as identifying the specific areas of the objects involved in the intersection.

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