A lot of people assume that an IT service desk and an IT helpdesk are the same thing. In fact, they are actually very different and they cover a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities. Certain, specific disciplines influence the IT strategy of a company, and you have to ensure that you understand the difference between the two in order to decide which will meet the needs of your organisation. There are, of course, a lot of similarities, which is why they are so easily confused with each other, but the differences, and not the similarities, must be kept in mind when deciding on which type of IT desk to use for your organisation.

What Is an IT Helpdesk?

The IT helpdesk is typically used as a tactical way of providing rapid solutions to end-user problems. Employees who cannot use their computers due to a technical error are unproductive and seek immediate help when things go wrong. This can include anything from user ignorance to viruses and network problems. An IT helpdesk could form part of the IT service desk to provide a more holistic solution to problems, but the IT helpdesk is meant to immediately tend to the IT needs and requests of users.

Some of the responsibilities of the IT helpdesk include the following:

• Being the first point of contact for users who need IT support.
• Tracking incidents, response rates, and solutions (including automated routing and email responses).
• Very limited integration with other IT systems within the company.
• Management of the knowledge base.
• Ensuring that service level agreements are in place and that they are adhered to.
• The provision of self-service solutions for end users.

A variety of IT helpdesk software is available to help users log calls and check the status of their calls – or tickets, as they are also called. Usually, when problems are experienced, the solution is logged on the system, and if the same issue repeats itself, the user can use the self-service facility to solve the problem by themselves, without the help of the IT helpdesk or service desk personnel.

IT Service Desk

The IT service desk is more holistic and usually cross-organisational. It is strategically integrated with the business needs and is not only focused on solving the problems of end users; it is used in a much wider business context. This IT service provides a point of contact between the service provider (which is usually outsourced) and the employees using the technology. Typical responsibilities of the IT service desk include:

• Management of incidents and service requests and communicating with the users.
• Has a strategic objective of improving IT services across the organisation and to streamline business and IT processes throughout the organisation.
• Fully integrated with other IT service management processes.
• Integrate information, provide input, and distribute information to the relevant users.

If you would like to learn more about the differences between an IT service desk and an IT helpdesk, or you would like to find out which one will benefit your organisation the most, give our team at Sequoia a call or contact us today.