Comparative Analysis: Help Desk, Service Desk, and ITIL Framework

This essay explores the differences and similarities between help desks and service desks, emphasizing their roles in IT support and customer service. It discusses the functions of each, including incident management, service requests, and their integration with ITIL frameworks. The essay also ex...Read More

Help Desk/Service Desk 1
HELP DESK/SERVICE DESK
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Help Desk/Service Desk 2
Abstract
The concern of this work is to look into details what service desk and help desk are all
about. It sought to explain the support tools that are available to both help desk and service desk
and how they work to satisfy customer’s needs. Similarly, it briefly gives a comprehensive
explanation and the difference between service desk and help desk in terms traits and
functionalities.
Introduction
Currently, IT plays an essential role in creating new opportunity and delivering
competitive advantage to the organizations. However, as smoothly running infrastructure can
allow business users to succeed, flaws in the IT or training as well as incorporating other aspects
can obstruct or make the business succeed. To support business users in the application of IT to
perform various functions, most of the organizations have established some support measures to
help the operation of the business with the aim of providing adequate and satisfactory service to
the customers, among these initiatives are help desk and service desk (Iden & Eikebrokk, 2014,
p.35)
Difference between Service Desk and Help Desk
The difference between help desk and service is only an issue of semantics and
expressions. These two things are different and distinctive sectors that affect an institution’s IT
approach and strategy ('Minimising the risk of change' 2004, p. 24). In most cases, various
people always have different answers when it comes to describing these two disciplines.

Help Desk/Service Desk 3
Service Desk
Service desk and help desk are two different things that serve different purposes. A
service is a communiqué center that offers a single point of contact (SPOC) between an
organization and the customers that transact with the same company, staffs, and even business
partners. The role of a service desk is to make sure that users get suitable help promptly. They
are planned to handle incidents and services application equally. In this circumstance, an incident
is an occasion that results in an interruption in service accessibility quality. A service
request/application gets assistance with a custom assignment, such as helping a user amend a
password or obtaining a fresh user set up in work scheme (Wu He, Kshirsagar, Nwala &
Yaohang Li2, 2014, p. 207). Additionally, service desk performs functions such as change or
adjust management, configuration, and release management-related roles.
The service desk is one of the three major options for client support. The remaining two
SPOC bodies help desk and call centers. For a long time, various people have been confusing
help desk and service desk; however, these two things are very different regarding functionality
and much more. The Information Technology Library describes the service desk as an important
information technology service management tool (ITSM) (Gerdewal & Seçim, 2014, p. 24).
Information Technology Library (ITL) is a recognized worldwide collection of best practices for
IT service administration.
Characteristics of the Service Desk
a) Complete incorporation of additional IT Service Management procedures
b) Works as Single Point of Contact for all IT sections/requests /business development

Help Desk/Service Desk 4
c) Combine with, offer input to and distribute information from Change management,
configuration administration, release management, and problem control just like help desk
performs.
d) Maintains the institution complaint with Service Level Management agreements
Help Desk
A multi-dimensional source, selected to assist in minimizing downtime in IT services and
tasks as well as making them accessible for unlimited time clearly explain all about a help desk.
It is specifically paying attention on end-user functionality, and, as a result, is accountable for
speedy resolution of urgent requirements, events and technological matters of an end user. Any
basic operating help desk requires having the capability to offer technical assistance to bring an
end user back into operational mode. As far as best practice is concerned, help desk often uses
specific software to track record and control issues that have been raised.
Features of an effective help desk
a) Maintains database of all recorded and reported incidents and actions taken
b) Tracking ability for all received incidents
c) Operates as Single Point of Contact for IT support
d) Ability to generate bulletin/monthly, half-yearly and yearly reports on the number of issues,
reaction time, duration taken to solve the issue and incorporation of such restrictions into a
Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Help Desk/Service Desk 5
e) Provides fundamental problem management, contains issue acceleration actions and is
supported by outside area of expertise groups for higher level occurrences
f) Emphasize the incidents and issues of end users
g) Mutual and simple to use
Both help desk and service desk are essential to organizations; these two disciplines are
combined to realize success in the operation of the institution. They function or work to offer
effective services to customer’s department. Therefore, proper organization of the customer
department is important to the business, and it is done through customer service organization.
Types of Customer Service Organizations
Applying the cluster evaluation procedure; customer service organizations are clustered
based on comparable operational and management characteristics. When the analysis is done,
some types are found to be capable of serving as an option to a more apparent industry
benchmarking. There are several types of customer service organizations; however, in this
situation, only four shall be given consideration.
i. Relationship builders- Theses are small teams that do well in relationship management and
offer a customer experience that satisfy the needs of customers. The customs in this type could
not be viewed as a conservatory of their marketing.
ii. Late Bloomers- The approach to support management is an unbalanced even though these
organizations have not yet apprehended their total potential. They might be too focused on their
sales or marketing departments which is always a typical problem with start-ups instead of
giving support to their users or customers for that matter.

Help Desk/Service Desk 6
iii. Masters of Complexity- Motivated by comprehensive support applications, these
organizations have vibrant management formations and stylish customer service operations.
iv. Captains of Scale- Customer service management is given considerations and highly valued
by these teams same as sales and marketing. They have also set a high standard of customer
service operations.
Types of Customer Service
Organizations frequently interact with customers and sometimes handling a customer
may be daunting. In that situation, it is better to try to apply other types of customer service. In
many industries, the management has adopted the use of live chat, as some use email, while
others prefer making calls. Customer service can contribute to the success or the failure of any
business if not practiced in the best way possible. Customer service can break the reputation of
the organization. The better the service, the better referrals the business gains thus improving the
sales of services or products. There are four major types of customer service: live chat, live
answering, email, and interactive voice response representative. An organization may choose any
of the types that they feel is perfect or sometimes may decide to use them all at once to provide
consistent customer service.
Good customer service is offered through a service desk whose mission is to offer the
admission and accessibility to IT support services effectively. This is done to the satisfaction of
all the customers by offering an instructive and encouraging first point of contact, and to support
all customers in making the best exercise of technology in their business functions. Both help
service and help desk are important sections of the customer service. These are the experts that
correct the problems for the customers who are probably extremely frustrated. Deciding the

Help Desk/Service Desk 7
customer’s issues to a great extent improves customer’s contentment, which in the end, utterly
affects future sales. This is determined by the multi-level support model used. Therefore the
good use of help desk service will undoubtedly positively impact the business. Some of the
methods that help desk support applies at the moment include the web to assist customer through
chat tools and social networks. In normal circumstances, the upcoming companies always use a
single tier customer support: a single point of contact to manage queries or solve issues.
However, as the organization expands, they tend to require more than just a single tier model.
This is an indication they shifting to a multi-tiered support system.
In ensuring that all systems of both help desk and service functions accurately, there is
always Network and System Administration discipline. Network administration department is
broad or at times can narrow depending on the complexity of the network and the size of the
organization. However, the general function is ensuring the installation of network and computer
systems. Similarly, Network administration is charged with hardware system configuration and
installation of hardware, establishing and management of user accounts. It also performs backup
and recovery tasks.
Conclusion
Support tools to service desk and help desk are accessible to customers. Both
help desk and service desk provide a variety of online tools or services as resources for the
customers to resolve their IT related issues. These two tools assist in any aspect of IT issues
between the organization and the customers and ensure that users receive suitable help promptly.
Many businesses today have changed from the traditional method of doing business and have
resorted to applying technology to provide better services to the customers.

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References
'Minimising the risk of change' 2004, Computer Weekly, p. 24, Business Source Premier,
EBSCOhost, viewed 23 April 2018.
Iden, J, & Eikebrokk, T 2014, 'Using the ITIL Process Reference Model for Realizing IT
Governance: An Empirical Investigation', Information Systems Management, 31, 1, pp. 37-58,
Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 April 2018
Wu He1, w, Kshirsagar, A, Nwala, A, & Yaohang Li2, y 2014, 'Teaching Information Security
with Workflow Technology -- A Case Study Approach', Journal Of Information Systems
Education, 25, 3, pp. 201-210, Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost, viewed 23
April 2018.
Gerdewal, M, & Seçim, H 2014, 'A Business Communication Design for Information
Technology (IT) Organizations based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)',
Business Management Dynamics, 4, 5, pp. 12-35, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed
23 April 2018.