One provides a much more comprehensive IT solution.
Need IT support for your business and wondering which flavor to choose, help desk or service desk? You’ve come to the right place.
Both solutions handle communications with your customers while managing incidents and service requests. But the main difference between a help desk and service desk is the scope of service provided.
Help desks provide quick fixes to your IT issues, while service desks focus on comprehensive customer service and your overall business needs. Let’s look at both options in detail.
What is a Help Desk?
A help desk service operation assists with quick fixes to end-user IT issues. Forgot your password and need to reset it? That’s a job for the help desk.
Help desk representatives usually don’t get the chance to fully familiarize themselves with your business, limiting their ability to provide full business process support. Their primary goal is to get your customer’s specific problem resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Help desk support is ideal for simple break/fix services, such as:
- Incident tracking
- Problem management
- Self-service options for end users (your employees can call in for immediate assistance)
- Single point of contact (SPOC) for each product’s service lifecycle
Typically, help desks are a small but crucial part of your broader service options. If you need help managing your help desk, we’re here for you.
Now, before we dive into service desks, let’s compare help desks vs. other types of IT support.
Interested in learning more? Check out these blogs: |
Help Desk vs. Desktop Support
Desktop support is a more specific type of IT service. While a help desk can fix a broad range of IT issues, desktop support is dedicated to fixing only desktop or laptop issues. It can’t help with printers or networks, but it can help you install programs or get a broken computer running. Desktop support is typically included in the help desk function.
Help Desk vs. Technical Support
In the IT support hierarchy, the help desk is a simpler level of support for quick fixes. Technical support, however, dives a little deeper. It’s used for more complicated issues requiring deeper technical knowledge.
For example, if your printer isn’t printing, you’d call a help desk. If all your printers are failing due to network communication issues, that’s an issue for tech support. Both options focus on problem resolution without delving into overarching business process support.
Resolve IT issues quickly with reliable outsourced help and service desk operations from Buchanan.
Contact Buchanan Today.
What is a Service Desk?
Service desks go beyond basic IT fixes to offer a wider range of assistance compared to help desks. In fact, service desks act as the primary point of contact between the service provider and the client for any IT-related need, including:
- Account management
- Asset management
- Configuration management
- Incident management
- Informational assistance
- Service level agreement (SLA) organization
A service desk can help you resolve your printer issues, but it will also look at your current setup and make improvements to promote business efficiency. While help desks simply focus on the immediate problem, the goal of a service desk is to resolve big-picture issues and help improve overall IT functions.
The service desk is typically the first of level support needed, but it can have built-in escalation routing to provide assistance outside of technical support. For example, many colleges and universities are moving towards a “one-stop shop” approach, using service desks to help students with class enrollment and financial aid matters, as well as handling their general inquiries around technical application support.
Service Desk vs. Desktop Support and Technical Support
As we’ve noted, desktop support is dedicated to fixing only desktop or laptop issues, while technical support is used for more complicated issues requiring robust technical knowledge. Service desks encompass both capabilities, giving your business a holistic, well-rounded solution.
Types of Service Desks
While most managed IT service providers offer service desk support, how they handle that support varies. There are three types of service desks to be aware of:
Local Service Desk: Located in or near the area of the clients, these service desks offer agents who better understand the community, allowing for more customized support.
Centralized Service Desk: These desks serve an entire region. They’re generally more efficient and cost-effective, requiring less staff to handle the same call volume.
Virtual Service Desk: Using advanced software to enable their agents to work remotely from anywhere, virtual service desks retain a centralized service desk feel while maintaining the same high levels of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
A Final Thought
Help desks and service desks are hugely valuable resources. They both help resolve IT issues, but service desks provide a much more comprehensive solution. Whichever option you choose, the key is knowing where you need support and having the flexibility to grow with your business needs.
If you need IT support for your business, trust the experts at Buchanan. We’ve been providing world-class service to satisfied clients across North America for more than 35 years. Whether you’re looking for service desk support or fully managed IT services, we’re ready to help. Contact us today to get started!
