What does a service desk analyst do?
Service Desk Analysts are information technology (IT) employees who usually oversee the helpdesk hotline of the IT department. They address the technical concerns of other employees or even clients of the company. They also help in installing, repairing, and maintaining the different IT systems in the company. Service Desk Analysts resolve issues related to software, hardware, and other related systems. They also manage information related to these concerns and analyze these concerns. They identify trends or patterns and anticipate concerns that might come in the future. Service Desk Analysts may recommend steps to ensure that these concerns will not come up again.
Service desk analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real service desk analyst resumes:
- Used SharePoint to manage and enter in help desk ticket information for health information exchange and electronic health record vendor issues.
- Design and manage company wide imaging infrastructure.
- Best-Inform administrator managing application from UNIX server.
- Manage OS re-imaging and data recovery for rent equipment.
- Manage security, reliability, and configurations for data backup and recovery for client workstations.
- Diagnose, investigate and report operational systems errors using Citrix and ITSM.
- Support CITRIX by troubleshooting connections and reset passwords.
- Utilize ITSM software to assist in documenting and tracking incidents.
- Retrain existing agents to improve work efficiency and raise KPIs.
- Compile statistics for metric and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Resolve network connectivity issues including off site LAN and wireless access to office network.
- Plan infrastructure of technology facilities for new office / expansions / move construction projects.
- Used ITSM ticketing systems to ensure tickets are written thoroughly, with all critical information.
- Provide support in network troubleshooting, including connectivity, wireless LAN access, and VPN/broadband issues.
- Deploy icon and registry fixes with SCCM that are generating a number of calls / tickets.
Service desk analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Service Desk Analysts are proficient in Service Desk, Customer Service, and Troubleshoot. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Integrity, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Service Desk Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Service Desk, 15%
Utilized PeopleSoft CRM Service Desk Management counsel to created performance reporting for management which identified agent improvement opportunities & workload balancing.
- Customer Service, 15%
Investigated and resolved issues maintaining high standards of customer service and implementing continuous improvement strategies via key performance indicators and metrics.
- Troubleshoot, 6%
Utilized multiple sources of documentation to troubleshoot and support a variety of business applications.
- Technical Support, 6%
Provided basic to highly complex technical support to resolve wireless carrier activation/setup, configuration, and usability questions for end users.
- Phone Calls, 3%
Functioned as a central repository of information for phone calls and emails from staff regarding IT issues and queries.
- ITIL, 3%
Created and maintained active directory information and maintained individual access through group membership and complied with security policies and ITIL standards.
"service desk," "customer service," and "troubleshoot" are among the most common skills that service desk analysts use at work. You can find even more service desk analyst responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a service desk analyst to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Additionally, a service desk analyst resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "provide service desk support to customers and users on secured (sipr) and non-secured (nipr) communication networks. "
Integrity. Another essential skill to perform service desk analyst duties is integrity. Service desk analysts responsibilities require that "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." Service desk analysts also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "supported the installation, configuration, administration, security, operational integrity and support stand-alone and networked computer systems. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for service desk analysts to perform their duties. For an example of how service desk analyst responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a service desk analyst: "used interpersonal and phone skills to gather data from customer to provide quality customer service. ".
Organizational skills. For certain service desk analyst responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a service desk analyst rely on this skill, as "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what service desk analysts do: "provided excellent customer service skills, phone etiquette, and organizational skills that allow for multi-tasking. "
The three companies that hire the most service desk analysts are:
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Service desk analyst vs. Information technology technician
An information technology technician, also known as an IT technician, is responsible for ensuring that all computer systems in a company or organization are running smoothly and efficiently. Their duties primarily revolve around installing and maintaining systems, including software and hardware, and resolving any issues. They also provide technical support such as troubleshooting, navigation, and even system upgrades. Furthermore, an information technology technician can choose whether to work for a company or independently.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a service desk analyst are more likely to require skills like "service desk," "phone calls," "itil," and "incident management." On the other hand, a job as an information technology technician requires skills like "switches," "sql," "linux," and "java." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Information technology technicians tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $66,881. In contrast, service desk analysts make the biggest average salary, $54,828, in the technology industry.On average, information technology technicians reach similar levels of education than service desk analysts. Information technology technicians are 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Service desk analyst vs. Information systems technician
An information systems technician is responsible for maintaining the efficiency of various network systems' performance. Information systems technicians provide network troubleshooting, upgrading systems for optimization, maintaining the security of databases, managing the interaction of networks, and inspecting and troubleshooting system inconsistencies. Additional duties include creating network designs based on clients' specifications, configuring software and hardware applications, and creating reports on system issues and resolutions. An information systems technician must have excellent knowledge of information systems procedures, programming languages, detecting malfunctions, and making resolutions promptly.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, service desk analyst responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "service desk," "itil," "incident management," and "remedy." Meanwhile, an information systems technician has duties that require skills in areas such as "user support," "help desk," "tcp/ip," and "sql." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, information systems technicians earn a higher salary than service desk analysts. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, information systems technicians earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $63,116. Whereas service desk analysts have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $54,828.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Information systems technicians tend to reach similar levels of education than service desk analysts. In fact, they're 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for service desk analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.
Dean, Professor, New York Institute of Technology
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
Service desk analyst vs. Information technology/support technician
An information technology (IT) support technician is an individual who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members. IT support technicians are involved in inspecting and resolving minor local area network and wireless network issues, which include TCP/IP, DHCP, and VPN. They are also required to obtain an associate's degree in computer science or related field.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a service desk analyst is likely to be skilled in "service desk," "technical support," "itil," and "incident management," while a typical information technology/support technician is skilled in "user support," "database," "switches," and "linux."
Information technology/support technicians earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $53,210. Service desk analysts earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $54,828.When it comes to education, information technology/support technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to service desk analysts. In fact, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Service desk analyst vs. Systems support
A systems support agent is responsible for resolving system applications and network issues, performing technical configuration, and upgrading systems infrastructure. A systems support representative conducts regular maintenance and diagnostic tests on the computer applications to ensure its optimal performance and efficiency to support business operations and avoid delays in deliverables. They also assist the technology team in designing backup systems and improve existing networks according to business requirements and specifications. They write resolution reports for reference to prevent the reoccurrence of system malfunction and inconsistencies.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between service desk analysts and systems supports, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a service desk analyst might have more use for skills like "service desk," "phone calls," "itil," and "incident management." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of systems supports require skills like "pc," "provides technical support," "desktop support," and "end user support. "
The professional industry tends to pay the highest salaries for systems supports, with average annual pay of $72,760. Comparatively, the highest service desk analyst annual salary comes from the technology industry.The average resume of systems supports showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to service desk analysts. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of service desk analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
