What’s The Difference Between a Help Desk And a Service Desk?

Check out this guide to learn about the most important differences between IT service desks and help desks.

Businesses today make extensive use of technology. Tech solutions are used for everything from designing products and promoting services to advertising and connecting with new customers and demographic groups.

There is a huge variety of different tech solutions on the market today, each of which can offer unique benefits. An IT service desk can be a fantastic addition to your business, how do they differ from help desks? Let’s find out.

What is a Service Desk?

Modern IT systems can be incredibly complex. As more and more business operations are shifted into the digital space, these systems must scale and expand to handle additional tasks.

One of the hardest things to get right is to align your IT system with the unique needs and requirements of your organization. This is where an IT service desk comes in; these solutions take a comprehensive approach to IT management. They can handle multiple tasks and can be used for things including asset management, compliance procedures, cataloging and customer service procedures.

What is a Help Desk?

IT service desks and help desks are often considered interchangeable, but there are key differences that set the two apart. If you’re looking to overhaul and optimize the technological side of your business, understanding what these differences are is absolutely critical.

While an IT service desk is a comprehensive IT management solution, a help desk acts as a service that can respond to user questions and queries. If someone within your organization is having technical problems with some aspect of your system, they can turn to a staffed help desk to receive instruction and advice to rectify the problem.

If help desk staff cannot resolve an issue, they can seek specialist support to find a solution in the fastest possible way.

Which do You Need For Your Business?

As we have outlined above, there are important differences between IT service desks and help desks. When it comes to your business, which is the right choice?

Help desks can be very useful, particularly if you are integrating a new system or onboarding new staff. It acts as a resource that employees can turn to when issues arise and can help solve problems quickly.

However, help desks must be staffed, which means they can be expensive to establish and operate. What’s more, there is always the risk of human error, which can have serious consequences for your business.

One of the biggest benefits of an IT service desk is that, when implemented properly, it can negate the need for a help desk. An IT service desk will optimize and streamline your business systems, allowing them to operate more effectively and efficiently and significantly reducing errors and malfunctions.

Conclusion

Don’t assume that IT service desks and help desks are one and the same. It’s vital that you are aware of the differences between them and that you understand the benefits each can offer your business. An IT service desk can help you completely transform your IT systems and leave them better placed to drive your business forward.