Why does the help desk vs. service desk debate keep resurfacing?
Before we jump right to the differences between the two, let us understand the argument about the help desk vs. service desk. One primary reason is the diverse nature of organizations. The processes and terminology ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) have been widely used and adopted by many since it has been around for a while. Back to the present, end-users’ expectations are continually changing and higher today which was witnessed, especially since the rise of mobile devices and social webs. The distinction between help desk and service desk today is interchangeable. Often, based on how organizations interpret these terms. There are no specific rules, only what works best for the organization. So, it is all about the size and level of IT complexity. The bottom line is it’s meeting the customer and business needs that matters.
Help Desk Vs. Service Desk
The IT Help Desk is more tactical with the aim to resolve IT users’ technical issues and incidents. The IT Help Desk can function as separate or part of a more extensive Service Desk operation to increase the overall organization’s Customer Services. The primary goal of the Help Desk is to resolve IT user issues as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Benefits of Help Desk are:
- Functions as a single point of contact for IT Support
- Tracks records of all incoming incidents
- Automates routing of email notifications and tracking tickets
- Performs Incident Management and Problem Management
- Supports limited integrations with other IT Service Management Processes
- Specialty groups may back a few areas of applications outside of the help desk
- Provides level one and two support
- Offers incident ownership if escalation is needed
- Follows a problem resolution and escalation procedures to support the smooth process
- Adheres to Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Service Desk
The IT Service Desk is a broader term which is more strategic and cross-organizational. The approach is to fulfill the business needs rather than focusing on resolving the in-house needs. According to ITIL, the Service Desk is the single point of contact between the service provider and the users.
A Service Desk is aimed at managing incidents and service requests and handles communication with the users. The Service Desk packs the help desk component and always strives to improve IT and business processes across the company.
Benefits of Service Desk are:
- Complete integration with other IT Service Management processes
- SPOC – Single Point of Contact for all IT areas/applications/business processes
- Adheres to Service Level Management agreements
- Self-Service/Service Catalog
- Easy to integrate with Asset Discovery, Asset Management, and CMDB
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