Comparing Help Desk vs. Desktop Support

Enterprises in countless industries are deriving vast and growing revenue from online traffic, with e-commerce sales projected to increase by $1.6 trillion in just three years (2024 to 2027). Along with this boost in revenue comes a need for professional IT, such as technical support services. Not surprisingly, experts expect the market for managed IT services to increase by nearly 25%. If you’re embracing digital operations, should you invest in help desk or desktop support services for your IT needs?

WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HELP DESK AND DESKTOP SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS?

If you’re looking for a few quick takeaways on help desk vs. desktop support, we have you covered. Here are the biggest differences between the two:

• Location: Help desk services can be on-site, but they’re usually online or remote. Desktop support techs often visit locations personally to help with hardware setup or maintenance.
• Scope: Help desk tasks involve a wide variety of basic troubleshooting and customer service needs. Desktop support offers specialized solutions.
• Goals: Help desk techs take care of short-term bugs and quick software fixes. Desktop support staff tackle long-term infrastructure goals, such as network connectivity, server health, SaaS platforms, and operating systems.

Even the software tools both types of IT use are different. Help desk platforms have ticketing systems and knowledge base resources for resolving common issues. Desktop support experts have secure tools for remote system access, hardware inventory management, and security patches.

IS DESKTOP SUPPORT THE SAME AS DESK SERVICES?

Some organizations use the terms help desk and desktop support interchangeably when talking about IT tasks, but that’s a mistake. While it’s true that both services rely on IT professionals, there are large differences. Choosing a career in desktop support requires different skills and training than help desk services.

WHAT ARE HELP DESK SERVICES?

A help desk is also known as an IT response center or technical support center. Help desk services provide a centralized location for your staff to get assistance with basic IT and customer service problems, such as:

• Password resets
• Issues using Office 365, Google Workspace, and similar apps
• Problems opening or viewing shared documents
• Issues sending email attachments
• Difficulty with videoconferencing settings in Google Meet or Microsoft Teams
• Trouble connecting to the internet
• Questions about using features of workplace apps

Help desk professionals have a skillset that is heavily oriented toward customer service. They have the training needed to remain patient even when the person calling isn’t 100% sure of the problem’s cause. The technician calmly asks questions to determine the underlying issue.

IT Front Lines

For simple problems, help desk staff guide employees to the solution, carefully explaining what to do, one step at a time. When the issue is more complex, the technician creates a ticket and forwards it to the appropriate department (usually desktop support). In other words, the help desk acts as a first line of support. This frees up specialized IT professionals for more urgent or difficult tasks.

Technology Solutions

Help desk software can increase your organization’s efficiency. These technology solutions make calls more productive, lowering the amount of time staff spend on troubleshooting. Metrics tracking shows resolution rates and workflow effectiveness. Video and live chat tools can reduce confusion on calls.

WHAT DOES DESKTOP SUPPORT INCLUDE?

Desktop support services handle a lot of the heavy lifting for troubleshooting, server maintenance, and technical problems. Common examples include:

• Software installation and security patch applications
• New device setup and configuration
• Hardware maintenance, fixes, and replacements
• Facility connectivity problems
• Performance optimizations
• Designing and implementing custom/automated workflows
• SaaS platform troubleshooting and integration issues

Whereas help desk professionals rarely interact with your employees in person, desktop support techs regularly handle tasks on-site. If someone’s laptop stops working or an employee spills coffee on an external hard drive, it’s a job for desktop support.

Remote Access

Desktop support professionals can connect remotely to your system to help with complex problems. For example, if an employee accidentally deletes critical emails, techs can use software tools to take control of the user’s machine and recover the files. Ultimately, it’s your decision whether techs resolve problems on-site or remotely.

System Monitoring

There is some overlap between desktop support and IT cybersecurity. While enterprises must have data security experts to manage network security controls, desktop support technicians with the right certification can perform important network tasks: monitoring traffic, flagging suspicious logins, reviewing access logs, and keeping an eye out for potential distributed denial-of-service attacks.

ARE HELP DESK OR DESKTOP SUPPORT SERVICES BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Every business with an online presence can benefit from help desk and desktop support. For small-to-medium organizations, the ideal solution may be outsourcing IT support to a third-party provider. That way, businesses only have to pay for the services they use instead of hiring full-time staff.

Enterprise businesses need to carefully consider their IT needs when deciding how many IT technicians — and desktop support vs. help desk roles — to bring on board. Consider factors such as network concerns, to impact of downtime on operations, total employees and devices, cybersecurity risks, and regulatory compliance needs. 

IMPORTANCE OF COMPARING SUPPORT VS. HELP DESK

Desktop support and help desk technicians fulfill different roles in an organization. They’re not interchangeable.

Think of it like having a flat tire on the highway. Your first action is to change out the flat tire with a spare. That spare tire works great for its intended purpose: to help you get to a repair station for a new tire.

Help desk professionals work quickly, resolving many issues without needing to call in the big guns. Of course, there are times when you need specialized solutions. Help desk software is no replacement for an experienced IT expert.

When you use the right tool for the problem, your organization benefits. Productivity goes up and downtime goes…well, down. Efficient solutions save you time and money and keep your staff focused on their jobs instead of waiting around for help.

FIND IT PROFESSIONALS YOU CAN TRUST FOR HELP DESK AND DESKTOP SUPPORT

At TSP, we’re experts in IT professionals. Whether you need managed IT services like help desk and desktop support, systems maintenance solutions, or full-time IT cybersecurity experts, we have the right people for the job. See the advantages of each option.