Most managed IT services companies give you two choices for your company support: Help Desk and IT Support. Even though they seem to be similar, there is a difference between the two. Most people have heard of service help desks and IT support, but few can identify how they vary and which help desk assistance option is most advantageous.
These two approaches are often regarded as the same. However, there are some noteworthy differences between them, and understanding these differences will enable you to choose the IT support and help desk solution that is most appropriate for your needs. Both help desk and IT support services have quite distinct advantages and disadvantages for corporate operations.
Let’s examine the distinctions between help desk and IT support services so that we may better assist you in deciding which function is appropriate for your company.
What is the Help Desk?
A help desk serves as a company’s primary point of contact for clients who have problems with its goods or services. A help desk is dedicated to providing consumers or end users with support in the form of advice, direction, or information that can aid them in resolving their issues.
It is intended to address and manage core queries and problems by providing workable and affordable answers. Most issues that need help desk assistance may be resolved over the phone or through wireless access to your computer.
What is IT Support?
IT support concentrates on helping clients with technological issues and concerns. Operating the help desk requires little to no technical expertise compared to tech support. Tech support is the backbone of the office support staff and often has a more varied work, dealing with various daily challenges based on the demands expressed inside the office.
What Distinguishes Help Desk Support From IT Support?
Let’s examine what distinguishes IT support services from help desk services fundamentally:
Different Goals
The help desk adopts a more customer-centric approach because it is frequently clients’ initial point of contact. Here, meeting client demands is the principal objective to raise the company’s customer satisfaction rate. As a result, help desk managers often handle customer assistance and communication more proactively.
On the other hand, the team providing IT support primary goal is to provide technical client help. They must assist customers in fixing technological issues or flaws in frozen goods and services. It’s possible that the product or service they are having trouble with has real or perceived shortcomings.
Different Strategies for Listening to Customers
Customers should be the first focus of help desks, and they should exhibit compassion. Customers should be confident that their issue is being handled and that they are essential to your business. The Help Desk often offers suggestions for a possible resolution for the current issue rather than listening to “fix” a problem.
However, IT consulting firms concentrate on tackling the issue head-on. They are the ones who pay attention to consumers who are seeking a “cure” for their issues. Their objective is to immediately fix any technical problems their customer may be having. Then, customers are guided by tech assistance by receiving comprehensive instructions on addressing their concerns.
Required Skills
Typically, the Help Desk is the first point of contact for consumers seeking Tier 1 help. The consumer may have contacted you through various means, including a contact form, phone call, email, or social media post. In addition, a Help Desk support team will have some ticketing or issue-tracking software.
On the other hand, IT support services deal with hardware and software-related problems. For example, computer and portable device problems might involve motherboards, hard drives, memory, screens, and other hardware, as well as network hardware such routers, switches, network servers, and other components.
Comprehensive vs Targeted Problem Solving
A help desk approaches client issues holistically and generally. Although technical expertise is not required, the help desk should be well-versed in the company’s product or service offerings.
In contrast, IT support makes use of target-specific issue resolution. They categorize issues into software, hardware, network, and system. This enables them to provide unique solutions to technological problems.
Importance of Help Desk
Check out the following help desk’s significance.
- An effective help desk system enhances client satisfaction and lessens inconsistent performance.
- Customers may contact the support desk through any method, including calls, texts, emails, feedback forms, and social media.
- Help desk representatives address general issues, and tech support representatives take care of the other group.
- Its distribution mechanism effectively divides client tickets into general and technical categories.
- It specifically addresses problems that don’t call for technical support. However, we might see it as the client’s initial point of contact.
Importance of IT Support
This platform is used for anything that needs technical oversight or software maintenance. Examine its importance in the following.
- Dealing with technological problems requires a different caliber of knowledge and focus from the technical support staff. As a result, it distinguishes itself from a standard support desk.
- It gives you a competitive edge by enabling you to carry out essential business operations swiftly and effectively.
- It is based on the concept of fusing technology with human interaction, where the working agents combine their technical know-how with the independence of the support culture.
- When we deal with anything involving computers and IT peripherals, proven solutions to technical challenges are required.
Features of the Help Desk
Businesses confident in their present IT infrastructure, security measures, and backup procedures should avoid using help desks. These businesses want to maintain their adequate productivity levels. Support is offered on demand via the help desk. You can contact a help desk technician, who will attempt to fix the problem you are getting about.
The responsibility of keeping an eye on security or network performance will fall to help desks. They are also responsible for regular maintenance to keep your network operating effectively. The help desk is also responsible for automating email notifications, issue routing, and tracking. Additionally, they will be accountable for important event and service request handling.
Features of the IT Support
Your IT support service provider will become a critical team member and participate actively in all company planning and decision-making. By providing security planning and catastrophe avoidance solutions that minimize your long-term expenditures, their primary role is to stabilize your IT costs. In addition, by optimizing processes and taking advantage of possibilities, IT support helps you achieve your company goals while potentially increasing your cost-effectiveness.
IT support and services may aid in increasing productivity by assuring the dependability and efficient operation of your IT solutions. Tech support will continuously scan for vulnerabilities, keep an eye out for risk factors, or look for methods to make your security measures stronger. Consequently, you and your provider establish a long-lasting, mutually beneficial alliance.
Conclusion
While the specifics of each role may differ from workplace to workplace, the fundamental concept underlying each is the same. For example, the help desk assists with simple issues, whereas IT support services require more in-depth training and understanding. It’s time to put your help desk and tech support in place now that you know how the two vary.
If your business is small, you generally cannot afford to have a network security professional on staff. This is where the security service Corpus Christi offered by Layer One Networks assists you in safeguarding your IT infrastructure. In addition, we value collaborations in those instances where our IT consulting services may be able to help you save time and money.
