Difference Between Help Desk and Network Operations Center

Take a look at the end-users of your business technology – they could be customers, vendors or employees – and consider how the efficiency of your technology affects your business. Then ask if you are monitoring and managing it in the most cost-effective way. Even if you have internal IT staff, it might be time to think about how choosing a managed IT services company can help you achieve a greater ROI on your technology while giving you the capabilities like a Network Operations Center (NOC) and Help Desk.

What’s the Difference Between NOC and Help Desk?

It is not uncommon to see NOC and Help Desk used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Although there is a difference between help desk and network operations, they work together, along with in-house tech staff, to provide cohesive solutions to end-users. Here is the easiest way to distinguish between the two:

NOC: Focused on Network and Systems
They act as a sort of mission control center to monitor and manage a network, including system security, performance, and backup processes.

Help Desk: Focused on End Users
The Help Desk directly responds to the end-user, or someone representing them, and resolves technical problems as they arise. Communication can often be initiated by clicking a support icon, sending an email, or calling by phone.

Lack of NOC or Help Desk Can Leave You Short Staffed

Small yet growing companies and organizations aren’t just short on tech support. All employees may wear many hats and manage large workloads. When issues arise with technology, the go-to person may have inadequate technical expertise and work gets slowed or stopped which can cost revenue or even lose customers. Even your internal IT staff, though educated and credentialed in a specialized area, may not have the expertise to effectively manage all aspects of your network and end-user support.

Managed IT Services for Efficiency

With the evolution of managed IT services, it is possible to strengthen your company’s IT support and infrastructure while reducing costs at the same time. By working with your internal tech staff, or acting as your complete virtual IT department, outsourced IT services can provide you with a cost-efficient approach to managing your technology. All of your end-users rely on the efficiency of your network, servers, applications and data to do business on a day-to-day basis. Can you afford to let it fail?

Tired of Resourcing IT Yourself?

The time and resources that you spend figuring out how to resource IT could be better spent focusing on leading your business. Maybe it's time to evaluate managed IT service providers and explore how that can you meet your business goals.  

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