As far as functions go in an organization, the service desk comes alive only when something goes wrong. A computer goes down or a software expires or during an important release or deployment or event, the server does something it shouldn’t do. The result is a frantic flurry of activity to get things back in working order.
This can be great fun if your system and hardware are all good, and all you are doing is watching a colleague having a hilariously bad day; this something to be filed away for use during after-work drinks. But it sure as hell isn’t anywhere near funny when you are at the receiving end. And when that (inevitably) happens, the first thing you’ll be frustrated at is the lack of processes that would have ensured that such lapses happen as rarely as possible. The second thing you’ll be frustrated at is the fact that there isn’t a set of steps to be followed in such situations; damage-control, in this case, being as important as ensuring that it never happens.
Mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Most of the organizations have some or all of these. From a business point of view, that’s fine and as it should be. But, what does it have to do with IT and its services?