Help Desk Vs Service Desk

As defined by merriam webster a help desk is a group of people who provide help and information usually for electronic or computer problems given this definition it may seem at first glance like there is little difference between help desks and service desks but the key word that s missing here is customer.

Help desk vs service desk.

To put it simple service desk is a more strategic term than help desk. Those who are fluent in itil will say that a help desk is tactical whereas a service desk is strategic. The help desk provides help and solutions whereas a service desk provides service. Compare solarwinds web help desk and service desk to find the right fit for you.

A help desk is a subset of a service desk with a focus on solving easing tasks for it teams. The help desk is an it dependency while service desk is much focused on it service centricity. According to itil v3 help desk is a tactical move by the corporate to facilitate quick resolution to incidents whereas service desk is a part of organization s strategic move. From on premises it ticketing support to saas based itil ready service management solarwinds has an itsm product to meet almost anyone s needs.

The it service desk is a generally broader function that is more strategic and cross organizational. The history of help desk vs service desk in it throughout the history of it especially in the early 2000s the terms help desk and service desk were often used interchangeably. A service desk was born out of the need to provide an it service to end users as pointed out by itsm glossary. Can a company use help desk and not service desk or vice versa.

Essentially the service desk is considered the evolution of the help desk where instead of providing help for just end users the term service relates to both providing the tools for it staff to provide help for end users it is fully integrated with it service management processes. Help desk is a subset of a service desk. A service desk looks at the wider business needs and context rather than being solely focused on resolving the user s needs as a help desk does.