Service Support is the practice of those disciplines that enable IT Services to be provided effectively. The 6 Service Support disciplines are:

• Service/Help Desk - unlike the other disciplines, Service Desk is a function essential to Service Management. Service Desk is the first point of contact for users of IT services and primarily focuses on Incident Control and Communication. As a result of this focus, the Service Desk provides an interface for other activities such as Change, Problem, Configuration, Release, Service Level, and Continuity Management.
  


• Incident Management - the resolution and prevention of incidents that affect the normal running of an organization's IT services.
  


• Problem Management - undertaken in coordination with Incident Management, Problem Management focuses on addressing the root cause, rather than the symptom, of Incidents.
  


• Configuration Management - managing the maintenance, movement, and problems experiences with assets used in the provision and management of IT services.
  


• Change Management - the practice of ensuring that all changes to Configuration items are carried out in a specific, planned manner.
  


• Release Management - management of all software configuration items within the organization. It is responsible for the management of software development, installation and support of an organization's software products. Release management is not just software, but a disciplined approach for implementing changes within the organization. Such an approach ensures sufficient testing, viable back out plans, and other measures which can minimize disruptions caused by deployment.