What is an IT Service Desk?

The IT service desk is intended to be a primary point of engagement between users and an IT organization. According to ITIL, the service center is the single point of contact (SPOC) between the service provider (IT) and the users for daily activities. A typical service center handles incidents (service interruptions) and service requests (routine service tasks), as well as handles user communications for things like planned service interruptions and changes. A service center is generally broad in scope and designed to provide the user with a place to go for all of their IT needs. As a result, the service desk plays a central role in facilitating the integration of business processes with the technology ecosystem and a broader service management infrastructure.

Where Did IT Service Desks Come From?

The IT support function was born in the late 1980s as an assistive capacity for solving IT problems. It was a highly technical function focused on technology rather than end users. Early IT support services had no SLA concept or time objectives for problem solving. It wasn't until ITIL came on the scene in the 1990s, capturing best practices in IT service management, that the concept of a user-centric IT service center began to emerge. The service center was considered an essential part of "IT management as a service".

In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University revealed that the value came not only from a responsive response to user problems, but also from the unique position of the help desk to communicate with daily. with many customers or employees The information obtained on technical issues, user preferences and what satisfies users can be invaluable for planning and developing IT services.

With the release of ITIL v2 in 2001, the Service Desk role and its role in incident and request management became one of the main components of IT service operations in many organizations. Over the decade, globalization and increasing pressures to reduce IT operating costs have led many organizations to centralize IT Service Service functions with many attractive external support partners to staff them. Outsourcing of IT service center functions has led to greater standardization of processes and growth in the help desk ticket software market.

Modern technology trends, including cloud services, the widespread use of third-party components in the IT ecosystem, and advances in discovery and monitoring capabilities have led to the integration of independent ticket assistance systems into ITSM platforms more Complete that serve as an operations center not only for IT support, but for the entire IT function. As companies seek to modernize and pursue their digital transformation initiatives, Service Desk IT is evolving again to focus more on business, with greater awareness of business data and processes, in many cases becoming an integral part. of commercial operations.

The IT support function was born in the late 1980s as an assistive capacity for solving IT problems. It was a highly technical function focused on technology rather than end users. Early IT support services had no SLA concept or time objectives for problem solving. It wasn't until ITIL came on the scene in the 1990s, capturing best practices in IT service management, that the concept of a user-centric IT service center began to emerge. The service center was considered an essential part of "IT management as a service".

In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University revealed that the value came not only from a responsive response to user problems, but also from the unique position of the help desk to communicate with daily. with many customers or employees The information obtained on technical issues, user preferences and what satisfies users can be invaluable for planning and developing IT services.

With the release of ITIL v2 in 2001, the Service Desk role and its role in incident and request management became one of the main components of IT service operations in many organizations. Over the decade, globalization and increasing pressures to reduce IT operating costs have led many organizations to centralize IT Service Service functions with many attractive external support partners to staff them. Outsourcing of IT service center functions has led to greater standardization of processes and growth in the help desk ticket software market.

Modern technology trends, including cloud services, the widespread use of third-party components in the IT ecosystem, and advances in discovery and monitoring capabilities have led to the integration of independent ticket assistance systems into ITSM platforms more Complete that serve as an operations center not only for IT support, but for the entire IT function. As companies seek to modernize and pursue their digital transformation initiatives, Service Desk IT is evolving again to focus more on business, with greater awareness of business data and processes, in many cases becoming an integral part. of commercial operations.

What Does an IT Service Desk do?

The primary role of an IT service center is to serve as the primary point of contact for monitoring / owning incidents, responding to user requests/questions, and providing a communication channel between other service management functions and the community of services. users. In addition to these essential functions, the service the center often plays an active role in capturing change requests, managing third-party support contracts, managing software licenses, and help with problem management.

In some organizations, the service desk is integrated with other business processes, such as:

• Employee integration
• Integration acquisition
• Data access management
• Integration and disconnection of suppliers/partners.
• Reports and metric management
• Business continuity management
• Infrastructure/service monitoring

Benefits of an IT Service Desk

Savings and scalability

Cost savings and scalability are the two most common benefits companies look for when implementing an IT support service. A well-staffed, well-staffed service center can handle much of your routine IT work. The service center offers organizations a relatively inexpensive option to transfer the simple work of expensive engineering teams and subject matter experts, allowing them to focus on activities that add more value to the business. The service center can also provide the company with a means to provide ongoing support to global operations and distributed user communities.

A finger on the pulse of user sentiment

The service center is the starting point for many key IT processes and services, and as such is often the primary interface between users, business processes, and the IT departments that activate them. Monitoring this interaction provides valuable insight into user satisfaction, service sentiment, and unmet features and needs that IT departments may address in the future.

Early warning of possible problems.

Due to the volume of problems and requests handled by the service center, with the appropriate data and tools to assess patterns and trends, the organization can use the service center as a monitoring tool to identify and resolve preventive service problems. " early warning system "provided by the service center can enable proactive problem management, preventive maintenance, and service modifications to reduce the impact of interruptions and service degradation on users.

IT Service Desk Best Practices

Businesses have operated IT service centers for many years and some of the best practices have emerged from these operations.

Customer commitment

• Examine the customer's behavior and expectations to make sure they understand your needs.
• Provide a 24-hour self-help portal for the end-user (even when their service center is closed)
• Use SLAs and priority / severity rankings to differentiate requests so you can answer the most critical questions first
• Try to resolve issues at the first, point of engagement and avoid transfers, escalations and the need for reminders
• Conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys to understand what your customers think about the services they receive

Service Desk Management and Reports

• Use real-time support reports, dashboards and analytics to monitor operations and initiate corrective action before problems become problems.
• Make sure the escalation and transfer processes are clear and well understood to avoid lost SLAs
• Take advantage of the analytical capabilities of your ITSM system to reduce the time and effort required to generate reports
• Make sure management is experienced in your service center operations to better understand what service center staff are doing and the challenges they face
• Treat service center staff as professional communicators and problem solvers, giving them the tools they need to succeed

Use of technology to support the computer support service

• Implement service request workflow capabilities in your support software to help orchestrate escalations and transfers
• Provide automation capabilities for common user requests (login, password reset, etc.)
• Use your service center software to facilitate and record communications between agents and requesters.
• Integrate your Service Desk systems into your larger ITSM to provide agents better access to information about the IT environment

Knowledge management

• Implement a knowledge management system to capture knowledge in a location accessible to multiple people.
• Provide answers to frequently asked questions directly to end-users, eliminating the need to contact an agent
• Keep your knowledge records up-to-date and accurate by reviewing and purging knowledge records frequently

What is an IT Service Desk?

Helpdesk IT services are intended as a primary point of engagement between users and an IT organization. According to ITIL, the service center is the only point of contact (SPOC) between the service provider (IT) and users for daily activities. A typical service center handles incidents (service outages) and service requests (ordinary service activities) and manages user communications for things like scheduled outages and service changes. A service center is generally wide-ranging and is designed to provide the user with a place to go for all their IT needs. Consequently, the service center plays a central role in facilitating the integration of business processes with the technological ecosystem and a wider service management infrastructure.

Where do IT services come from?

The IT support function was born in the late 1980s as an ability to help solve IT problems. It was a highly technical feature focused on technology rather than end-users. Early IThelp Desk didn't have the concept of SLA or time-based goals for solving problems. It was only when ITIL entered the scene in the 1990s, capturing best IT service management practices, that the concept of user-centered IT service center began to emerge. The service center was considered an essential part of "IT management as a service".

In the mid-1990s, research by Robert Gordon University's Iain Middleton revealed that the value came not only from a responsive response to user problems but also from the help desk's unique position to communicate daily. with many customers or employees. Information obtained on technical issues, user preferences and what satisfies users can be invaluable for planning and developing IT services.

With the release of ITIL v2 in 2001, the Service Desk function and its role in incident and request management has become one of the essential components of IT service operations in many organizations. Over the decade, globalization and increasing pressures to reduce IT operating costs have led many organizations to centralize the functions of IT support services with much attractive third-party support partners to assist them. The outsourcing of IT service center functions has led to further standardization of processes and growth in the help desk ticketing software market.

Modern technological trends, including cloud services, the widespread use of third-party components in the IT ecosystem and advances in discovery and monitoring capabilities have led to the integration of autonomous ticketing assistance systems into more complete ITSM platforms that act as an operating hub not only for IT support, but for the entire IT function. As companies seek to modernize and pursue their digital transformation initiatives, the IT Service Desk is evolving again to become more focused on business, with greater awareness of business processes and data - in many cases, becoming an integral part of operations Corporate Help Desk companies.