Let's be clear: the ITIL Help Desk does NOT exist! This is a common term which evolved basically because of the commonality of help desks and help desk solutions. The ITIL discipline that this actually refers to is the ITIL Service Desk.

The ITIL Service Desk acts as the central point of contact between service providers and customers (or users). Additionally, it is often a focal point for the reporting Incidents and for service requests.

The objectives of the Service Desk are:
- Providing a single point of contact for users
- Facilitating the restoration of normal operational service with minimal impact on the customer within the agreed SLA

The ITIL Service Desk discipline is documented within the Service Support set.