Creating a “phoenix” service desk: In a highly decentralized R1 university out of the ashes of a student help desk and a contract desktop support team

Abstract

This paper will detail how Oregon State University formed an ITIL-based Service Desk from the staff and resources of a centralized helpdesk, a contracted desktop support team, a walkup support service, and a campus labs support team. We will explain where we started, what our goals were, what we changed to reach our goals, what we learned along the way, and what we plan to do in the future. Readers will learn how to address structural and other barriers to implementing an ITIL-based Service Desk from existing support teams.