What is the Difference between a Service Request and an Incident?

Service Requests are defined as a formal request from a user for something to be provided – for example, a request for information or advice. In other words, a service request is raised when you want to procure something that you don’t have in the first place. Be it access to the printer, updating a website or upgrading to a higher version of a software.

An Incident as an unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service, or "something is broken that was working before". When everything works exactly the way it’s meant to, the service in question operates without a hitch. But when something doesn’t, it causes ‘unplanned interruptions’ to the service and creates an incident.

Still have questions? Email or chat us to help you decide if your need is a service request or an incident.