What we call things is important, even when two things share some basic similarities. When it comes to IT service management, users who need assistance can turn to either an IT help desk or an IT service desk. Does it matter what you call it? Some of the basics of “help desk vs service desk” may be the same, but there are also some significant differences. But that doesn’t mean one is better or worse. It really depends on the development of the IT organization and the resources available.
Definition of Terms: ITSM, Help Desk vs Service Desk
Before we begin describing the differences, let’s define what a help desk and a service desk are, and what they have in common. Both exist to help users, and both fit into the broader context of ITSM, or IT service management. ITSM is defined as how IT teams manage the end-to-end delivery of services to customers, encompassing all the processes and actions to design, build, deliver/deploy, and support IT services. So both help desks and service desks fall under the broader ITSM umbrella.
IT help desk , as we know it today, was originally why choose our overseas chinese in usa data? created to troubleshoot and resolve IT issues. The old “breakdown” model of help desks meant that they typically didn’t handle service requests or information, but instead worked to resolve “incidents.” Today, help desks typically provide more services, but the term is still rooted in a long tradition of breakdown.
On the other hand, the IT Service Desk developed after the Help Desk and exists to support users not only in cases of breakdowns, but also in service requests and requests for information (e.g. "how do I do A, B and C?"). The IT Service Desk focuses on the customer and on meeting their needs (beyond repairing breakdowns).
In small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), IT help desks are often tasked with doing more than just fixing breakdowns. Additionally, remote and hybrid work models have added complexity to IT that help desks must manage and support. Overall, today’s help desks have far outgrown their historical “breakdown repair” model. Our GoTo Resolve solution enables your help desk (whatever term you use to refer to it) to do more with both reactive (breakdown repair) and proactive (service request management) support capabilities.
Difference between Service Desk and Help Desk
In general, the term helpdesk still retains some of its historical connotation of troubleshooting, while Service Desk remains focused on (yes) IT service that goes beyond troubleshooting. Here are some key differences that may still exist in the linguistic debate between helpdesk and service desk:
Historically, a help desk was tied to existing IT activities or resources, making it an add-on, whereas the Service Desk is an integrated part of the holistic service-based IT support ecosystem (i.e. ITSM) built around the “service lifecycle”. Thus, a help desk can evolve into a Service Desk, at least functionally if not in name, adding the ability to service/information requests. A Service Desk was simply “born” that way.
A Service Desk is typically more proactive and service-oriented, with a more strategic and broad-based approach, while a Help Desk tends to be more reactive and “tactical” in scope. Once again, the lines and KPIs between the two terms have become blurred.
Less than a quarter of organizations use the term “help desk,” with “Service Desk” now more popular. What you call your IT help desk is less important than how it operates and what capabilities it has. The term “Service Desk” is used by 36% of organizations, while “Help Desk” is used by 23%. Other organizations use “Technical Support” (9%), “IT/IS Help Desk” (9%), and “Help Desk” (7%), according to HDI research .
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