Difference between Help Desk and Service DeskNovember 08, 2017

What I the Difference between a Help desk and a Service desk?

The concept of an IT helpdesk has been around for decades. And was originally used to describe the physical space where the IT team would sit, and users would either call them or walk up and ask for assistance.

Today's process driven central points of support that are manned by IT experts are generally referred to as service desk.

Service desk applications often combine a ticketing system (which allows an IT user to ask for support) with processes that alert the IT team of system issues automatically, and with a knowledgebase system and a scheduling system to allow the IT experts to prioritize their time to best serve their customers.

Some people still refer to the place they get their IT Support as the Help desk, and some people still refer to making a phone call as "dialing" or the process of recording a TV show as taping. The last time you used a rotary dial telephone or recorded a soap opera on a VHS tape is probably the last time companies really had an IT helpdesk, but there is nothing wrong with using colloquial terms.