[Blog] Understanding the differences between Help Desk and Service Desk
IT is full of jargons and overwhelmed with abbreviations. Many people have heard of Help Desk (or "IT Help Desk") and Service Desk (or "IT Service Desk") or something else altogether, but how do they differ and which one is the best for their business?
So, most users often bombard us with one question: "What’s the difference between an IT Help Desk and Service Desk?".
In this blog, let’s discuss the differences between a Help Desk and a Service Desk in more detail.
Up until the release of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 in 2007, these two terms were used interchangeably. There were never really any difference between the two. This changed with ITIL v3 which looks at the IT process from beginning to end and maps how IT should be integrated into the overall business process.
What is the core difference between a Help Desk and Service Desk?
Help Desk:
One of the distinguishing features of a Help Desk is it’s tactical and reactive. If something goes down - let's go fix it. They are designed to resolve IT-related issues for end users, such as configuring a new laptop or resetting a password.
The core Help Desk principles are:
- Acting as a single point of contact (SPOC) for all "IT Support issues"
- Incident tracking and following them through to resolution
- Providing automation for issue tracking, notifications, and incident escalation to external organizational units outside the helpdesk if needed
- Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Service Desk:
Help Desk is a subset of a "Service Desk" which is generally proactive, more encompassing and strategic approach to IT. The service desk evolved from the help desk as a part of ITSM best practices, with the goal of treating IT as a service.
Service Desk focuses on overall business needs and desired goals rather than being focused on dealing with end-user problems. The ITIL 3 definition the Service Desk describes it as "the Single Point of Contact between the Service Provider and the Service Consumer".
Key features of a Service Desk include:
- Providing a single point of contact for all IT-related areas and business processes
- Integrating fully with ITSM processes in service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement
- Change management
- Release management
- Asset management
- Service request
- Knowledge management
The Bottom Line:
The evolution in both terminology and practice from Help Desk to Service Desk illustrates the growing focus on service and strategy in IT.
To make that shift to IT as a service, evaluate the maturity of your IT team and consider where you want it to be in the future. Then you can adopt the IT service management strategies and a system that will be the most valuable to your organization.
Download and try our ServiceDesk Plus to fulfill your ITSM needs.