The best service desk in the Netherlands awards
InWork is on a mission to find the best service desk in the Netherlands — and entering is completely free for your whole team. It's time to give the people who keep everything running the recognition they deserve.
The people who show up when things go wrong
A black screen. A network that keeps dropping out. Someone who's forgotten their password for the third time this week. Who sorts it out? The service desk.
They're on the front line every single day — keeping downtime at zero, chaos at bay, and panic off the work floor. And yet somehow their name never comes up in the shareholder meeting. Not unless it's a conversation about cutting costs. No applause, no recognition, just quietly holding the whole place together.
In 2026, we're changing that.
What the awards are about
InWork is searching for the best service desk in the Netherlands, judged on criteria that actually matter: how well you look after your people, how smartly you work, and how satisfied users are when they hang up the phone.
There's no cost to enter, your whole team participates together, and the winners take the stage at the SITS Show in Utrecht — the leading event for IT service professionals in the Netherlands. There are prizes too. We're keeping the details under wraps for now, but let's just say the whole team will be talking about it long after the day itself.
Why InWork gets to decide
Fair question. The answer is simple: we've been doing this for over twenty years. InWork delivers IT services and the people who staff service desks across the Netherlands. We've seen the inside of hundreds of help desks, from lean two-person teams to large enterprise departments. If anyone understands what a truly great service desk looks like, it's us.
What's in it for you
Entering means your team finally gets the spotlight they've earned — recognised on a real stage, in front of a room full of people who understand exactly what the job involves. It's a shared goal to work towards together, and if you're nominated, we'll amplify your story across InWork's channels and at SITS. Handy if you're also looking to attract new talent.
How it works
It takes three steps. First, fill in the registration form below — it takes around five minutes. We'll then assess all entries against the judging criteria and announce the nominations. Finally, the winners are revealed live on stage at SITS Show on 22 September at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.
A note on the form: figures should cover the period 1 January to 30 June 2026. Please fill these in accurately — someone from the team may be in touch to verify.
Ready to put your team on the map?
The best service desk in the Netherlands is already out there. We just don't know yet if it's yours. There's only one way to find out.
Nominate your service desk here.
By InWork
CMDB & Discovery: Compliance burden or strategic weapon, you decide!
When most IT teams hear “CMDB” (Configuration Management Database) and Discovery, they think compliance and tracking. But modern CMDBs, powered by automated discovery, deliver far broader value. Solutions like OpenText UCMDB and Universal Discovery provide validated, real-time insights across the IT landscape, creating tangible impact across IT functions.
IT Operations / Infrastructure & Operations
A live CMDB improves visibility:
- Faster incident resolution - MTTR reduced by up to 40%.
- Better uptime - CI-linked monitoring reduces unplanned downtime.
- Root cause analysis - Dependencies reveal issues quickly.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
The CMDB is ITSM’s backbone:
- Accurate CI data supports impact analysis, cutting change-related incidents by up to 60%.
- Service mapping ties infrastructure to business services, improving SLAs.
- Process automation speeds approvals without losing control.
Cybersecurity / InfoSec
Security starts with knowing assets:
- Complete inventory reduces blind spots.
- Dependency awareness prioritizes vulnerabilities by impact, enhancing CAASM, ZTA, and SIEM.
- Risk reduction - up to 30% faster remediation.
IT Asset & Software Asset Management
Discovery transforms ITAM/SAM:
- License compliance reduces audit penalties.
- Cost optimization saves 10-20% on licenses.
- Lifecycle control lowers unplanned spend.
Cloud & Hybrid Cloud / FinOps
CMDB ensures cloud efficiency:
- Hybrid visibility prevents sprawl.
- Usage tracking cuts waste by up to 25%.
- Governance ensures consistent multi-cloud policy.
Enterprise Architecture & Governance
For architects:
- Rationalization highlights redundancies.
- Strategic alignment ensures IT investments match business goals.
- Decision support enables fact-based planning.
DevOps / SRE
Agility supported by CMDB:
- Environment consistency reduces failed deployments.
- IaC validation aligns code with production.
- Lower risk from misconfiguration.
Risk & Compliance / Audit
Assurance through visibility:
- Complete oversight of assets.
- Deviation detection alerts on policy breaches.
- Regulatory compliance easier to demonstrate (ISO 2700, NIS2, DORA).
NOC & SOC
Context for operations centers:
- Alert correlation links alarms to business impact.
- Faster response - MTTD/MTTR reduced by up to 35%.
- Improved detection with context-aware monitoring.
Change Advisory Board (CAB)
Accurate impact data enables:
- Smarter change assessments reducing failures.
- Lower risk profile through visibility.
- Faster, data-driven approvals.
CMDB as a strategic asset
CMDB & Discovery are to be considered the central nervous system of IT, enabling resilience, cost control, security, and agility. Organizations using OpenText UCMDB and Universal Discovery report:
- 30–40% faster incident resolution
- Up to 60% fewer change-related outages
- 10–25% savings in software and cloud spend
- Reduced audit risk and faster compliance reporting
As IT grows in complexity, CMDB & Discovery shift organizations from firefighting to strategic enablement. It’s time to reframe CMDB; not as configuration tracking, but as a driver of resilience and competitiveness.
By OpenText
Meet the brand: USM – Unified Service Management
Introducing USM – Unified Service Management – the smart, standardized approach to Enterprise Service Management for all service domains, from IT to HR, government and health care. Visit their stand to see how USM helps you streamline processes, enhance agility, and deliver reliable, high-impact services every time, and how IT Management Group (NL), Begrip (BE), and Pepper Group (FR) deliver training and support.
What does the SURVUZ Foundation, Governor of the USM Method do?
The SURVUZ Foundation is a Dutch non-profit organization that governs the Unified Service Management (USM) method with dozens of its knowledge partners from all over the world.
Its core activities include:
- Offering free knowledge products: SURVUZ makes the USM method, including processes, workflows, and templates, available to user organizations as free knowledge products.
- Promoting knowledge sharing: SURVUZ supports a global community of professionals and invests in free learning opportunities for educational institutions worldwide.
- Certification and support: SURVUZ accredits parties and certifies professionals and products after audits against USM's service management architecture.
- Offering an exclusive USM Toolkit for professionals who have demonstrated thorough understanding of USM's new way of thinking.
This non-profit approach and the free availability of the core method fundamentally distinguish SURVUZ from commercial bodies such as PeopleCert and the OpenGroup, which generate their primary income from selling books, training courses, certificates, and memberships.
How did the SURVUZ Foundation get started?
The SURVUZ Foundation was established in 2015, in response to ongoing challenges in service management, such as complexity, lack of control, and limitations of the then-current practice-based frameworks such as ITIL.
After decades of attempts to solve these problems with commercial and fragmented approaches based on practices, the SURVUZ Foundation developed USM as a systematic and methodical solution aimed at making services fundamentally manageable - with a Systems Thinking approach.
SURVUZ distinguishes itself from commercial alternatives through its non-profit nature and focus on knowledge sharing. As economy is based on commerce, SURVUZ works with commercial partners that have demonstrated they understand the USM way of thinking, working with certified professionals. This enables these partners to improve their value for customers, delivering sustainable results, and keeping prices as low as possible - contributing to the SURVUZ Foundation's mission to improve the services economy by making new knowledge available.
What is the SURVUZ Foundation looking forward to most at SITS NL?
The SURVUZ Foundation is looking for organizations that are ready for the next step in the evolution of service management. Where traditional frameworks often lead to complexity and high costs, SURVUZ offers the Unified Service Management (USM) method: a simple, methodical, and sustainable approach.
Our goal is to share knowledge about how organizations can truly take control of their services without getting bogged down in silo thinking or unnecessary complexity. This can be applied to improve entire economies, like the Dutch public sector that adopted USM in their National Government Reference Architecture (the NORA).
We want to inspire professionals to unlearn old ways of practice-based thinking and apply the USM principles to enterprise service management.
We emphasize our non-profit mission and the free availability of USM knowledge products, in contrast to commercial alternatives that base their revenue models on complexity.
We are looking for partners to promote interoperability and control in their service ecosystems.
Why should visitors come to the USM stand?
At the USM stand, visitors can discover the new thinking of Unified Service Management (USM) – the smart, standardized approach to Enterprise Service Management for all service domains, from IT to HR, government and health care.
Visitors can discover how to get in control of their service delivery with the simplified approach of USM. They can learn how to simplify their operations with 5 standardized processes specifying 8 clear and integrated workflow templates for everything a service provider needs to do. They can learn to use the USM Workflow Generator - a simple USM tool to specify standardized routines - and how to (re)define all their services and their service agreements with a universal service model, using USM's Service Model Canvas.
USM enables you to benefit from all previous investments in ITIL and other frameworks - and much more! Enterprise Service Management will become much easier with USM, with your own tooling.
Visit our stand to see how USM helps you streamline processes, enhance agility, and deliver reliable, high-impact services every time, and how IT Management Group (NL), Begrip (BE), and Pepper Group (FR) deliver training and coaching.
Meet the USM – Unified Service Management team at SITS – Service Desk and IT Support Show Netherlands on stand A5, at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht on 16 September.
Speaker Q&A: Mark Smalley
Mark Smalley helps IT people understand service. He also helps writers write better books. His main area of interest is the management of IT systems and services. Mark is a contributor to bodies of knowledge such as ASL, BiSL, BRM, COBIT, DevOps, IT4IT, ITIL, VeriSM and XLA.
Learn more about Mark before he takes to the stage at SITS Netherlands.
How did you get into the world of ITSM?
In 1977, when ITSM as such hadn't yet been invented, my company's CFO suggested that this new-fangled electronic data processing might be right up my street. Which it was.
What has been your career highlight?
Realizing, twenty years later, that I went to school with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, and that my brilliance must have rubbed off on him.
What advice would you give someone starting out their career in this industry?
Keep or make the tech human.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar session 'Making “product” more productive'?
That de-confusing "product" will make your life easier but that in the end, it's not about logic but money, politics, religion, and virtue.
What are you looking forward to most at the SITS NL?
Hanging out with our lovely community!
Speaker Q&A: Dave van Herpen
Introducing Dave Van Herpen, Independent Agile, Lean & DevOps change consultant, coach, advisor, improver, speaker, facilitator and trainer.
Learn a bit more about Dave before he takes to the stage at SITS Netherlands to deliver the session 'SIAM, a letter from the future'.
How did you get into the profession?
I first got in touch with IT at the end of the 90s, where I started in software development in e-commerce environments. Then moving to service operations and support work, doing business process analysis, I started doing product and service management assignments and moved into improvement and change initiatives along the way.
Now, since 2008, I have been mostly doing organizational change, working with teams and leadership, helping them to achieve higher performing ecosystems.
In all these change assignments, I tend to apply my broad business and IT experience, using end-to-end perspectives on the full product and service lifecycles and value streams, from customers to suppliers, from strategy to execution, from people to process to technology.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
It's the diversity, really. In my 25 years of consultancy work, I have had the privilege to deal with fascinating team dynamics, complex ecosystems, and organizational change initiatives where context is always king.
Never a dull moment. Whether it is a management team struggling with strategic coherence or effective collaboration, or it's a set of teams striving for (aligned) autonomy, the real solutions to their problems are always different.
This provides me with a continuous learning journey, as well as my clients. I have learned that, in any complex environment, one size never fits all.
What’s your most memorable work moment?
One of the most interesting moments I had in my work, was when a utility company asked me to help them get rid of their release weekends. They were tired of the "cake on Monday for yet another successful release weekend", neglecting all the hours of (weekend) work put in by IT professionals during those weekends, time they could not spend with their families and friends.
Even people from IT have a life, they came to realize. Instead of rewarding the old behaviors and sustaining risk theatre, this company wanted to know which steps would make it possible for them to actually do the releases during the week.
Of course, this took quite some architecture, cloud and platform work, test automation, and not the least, expectation management in the business.
But the huge value this gave to the IT professionals, attending to their personal well-being, was something to remember forever.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar session at this year’s SITS NL?
I will be uncovering the future of Service Integration and Management (SIAM), where agility, lean thinking, and DevOps principles reshape how organizations manage complex vendor ecosystems.
I will show how modern ways of working enable flow, collaboration, and continuous value delivery across internal and external teams.
I’ll share examples of modern SIAM through collaborative ecosystems and behaviors. And practical insights for evolving beyond traditional control-based models.
As key takeaways, the attendees will learn how SIAM enables agility and how agility enables SIAM, with innovative strategies and practical instruments.
Next to this session, I will also be facilitating the keynote panel session on AI as well. I have the opportunity to ask some of the brightest minds from the ITSM and AI industries about their visions and practical guidance on AI, particularly on the skills we should develop to fully utilize AI's current and future potential.
What are you looking forward most at SITS NL?
During my 15+ years of co-organizing the (back in the days) itSMF-NL annual conferences, Service Manager Dag and srvision events, I have heard so many great things about the SITS events in the UK.
I am looking forward to seeing this event now coming to Utrecht, with hopefully the same level of interaction, networking and practical content.
And to seeing old friends and meeting new ones, while being triggered by practical use cases and inspiring visions.
Speaker Q&A: Claudine Koers
Introducing Claudine Koers, Change Enabler at Op Koers. Claudine is a passionate advocate and practitioner of Serious Gaming, and takes pride in facilitating games to help organizations learn, grow, and improve.
How did you get into the world of ITSM?
In 2001 I started working at Quint Wellington Redwood. We worked on multiple projects in IT Service Management. Training, consultancy and interim positions.
I started as a Service Desk coordinator, difficult, but THE best position to start understanding ITSM processes and challenges.
This experience was crucial for my ITSM journey. I loved working with our clients improving their services, performance and collaboration.
I was challenged to go out of my comfort zone to teach in different countries and languages and I love it.
What's been your career highlight?
Working in the ITSM-area gave me the chance to do what I like most.
I work with enthusiastic and dedicated people, participate in interesting and complex projects, facilitate training and above all, use Serious Gaming as a means to make people feel and understand complex situations.
This makes everyday fun, and I thrive helping people get the best out of their learning experiences.
What advice would you give someone starting out their career in this industry?
Be curious, be inquisitive and dare to challenge.
Try to understand why situations are as they are, why people act and collaborate as they do.
Be pragmatic and take small steps to improve, and above all - never stop learning.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar session 'Push boundaries, embrace bold experimentation, and uncover true capabilities: Serious Gaming'?
The session will reveal experiences and tips about continuous learning and improving using Serious Gaming in different situations, cultures, projects and training.
I'll also share the do's and don'ts. As well as that no situation is similar, no groups are alike, all are unique but there are some guidelines you can use to help teams grow.
What are you looking forward to most at SITS NL?
I'm looking forward to getting inspired and learning. And meeting up with old friends and making new friends with the same passion and interests.
Meet the brand: ISL Online
What does ISL Online do?
ISL Online is a professional remote desktop solution for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.
It provides end-to-end encryption, SSO, unattended access, and extensive customization options.
Select either cloud or on-premises deployment with no limits on the number of users or devices support.
Ideal for all customers, that prioritize security and flexibility.
Established in 2001, ISL Online is headquartered in the heart of Europe, with offices in Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Trusted by a diverse global clientele including banks, insurance companies, hospitals, universities, and large enterprises such as Konica Minolta, Canon, Mitsubishi Chemicals, and Swiss Post.
What are you looking forward to most at SITS Netherlands?
We're looking forward to discussing the future of remote desktop and gaining industry insights, meeting both existing and potential customers, and being part of the very first SITS event outside the UK, where we have proudly exhibited for many years.
Why should visitors come to your stands?
Come and meet our team - we’d love to learn about your workflows and use cases, understand how you’re currently addressing them, and explore how ISL Online can help improve and optimize your processes.
Meet the ISL Online team at SITS – Service Desk and IT Support Show Netherlands on stand E6, at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht on 16 September.
Speaker Q&A: Suzanne Galletly
Introducing Suzanne Galletly, Digital Skills Director at EXIN. Calling on nearly 20 years of experience in the digital skills domain, she helps ensure that EXIN is at the forefront of industry developments and contributes to several industry boards.
Suzanne is a part of two seminars at the MSP Show Netherlands. Learn more about her before she takes to the stage.
What's your biggest career highlight?
Gosh, that’s a difficult one!
One of the highlights was when I was approached to join the board of itSMF International just a couple of months ago.
But I find it difficult to pinpoint one moment, as I feel like my career so far has been a journey of valuable and educational moments.
I love helping EXIN get the message out there on the importance of digital skills; this feels like a highlight in itself.
How did you get into the world of AI?
I first started seriously digging into AI a few years ago, before the pandemic, and it grew from there.
On the one hand, the innovation possibilities offered by AI are amazing, especially when used for the good of society, for example how it is used in healthcare to detect diseases.
On the other hand, it has ethical implications in terms of the impact on the labour market and on fundamental human rights.
I find this contrast fascinating. Over the last few years, I have met many amazing people in the world of AI which has allowed me to continually learn and adjust my thinking.
What advice would you give someone starting out their career?
I would say: try things out!
You don’t have to know exactly what you want to do from the beginning, but your career will evolve if you are willing to try things out and learn along the way.
Consider what you are passionate about – not only what will earn you the most money – and set realistic goals towards what you want to achieve.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar sessions?
One is a panel discussion on the impact of AI on the labour market. Together with a great panel line-up, I’ll be exploring which roles are likely to grow and disappear, which skills are needed, and how we can close the digital skills gap.
In another joint session, Misha Macinksi and I will be looking at Industry 5.0, workforce trends – and taking a reality check on the challenges that organizations are facing with the adoption of AI.
What are you looking forward to most at SITS NL?
Connecting with peers and meeting new people!
I will certainly attend some sessions, as I want to gain new insights and knowledge – but a lot of the value is in the conversations that take place during the coffee break. I can’t wait!
SITS and the MSP Show Netherlands is taking place at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht on 16 September. Book your FREE ticket here.
Speaker Q&A: Ruben van der Graaf
Introducing Ruben van der Graaf, Founder of ServiceChanger BV. Ruben is a hands-on automation expert, and helps organisations transform service desk operations with practical solutions that boost efficiency and user experience. His focus on intelligent automation enables support teams to scale, and reclaim time for real, human-like support.
Ruben is taking to the stage to deliver the seminar 'Vision 2030: Hyperautomation'. Attendees will explore how AI, low-code platforms, and end-to-end automation are transforming service desks, delivering unprecedented speed, resilience, and user experience.
What inspired you to start Servicechanger.com?
I’ve been passionate about automation for over a decade, ever since I became an IT Manager at 25 (now, ugh, 35). Today I lead multiple teams across Europe, working at the crossroads of ITSM and ESM. Along the way I noticed a troubling pattern: many companies “optimize” their business units by pushing more work onto end users through self-service portals. It can look efficient on paper, but it often results in frustrated employees and hidden inefficiencies. I remember one person telling me, “This new portal just means I have to do IT’s job myself” and that really stuck with me. That’s why I founded Servicechanger.com, to cut service desk admin work without simply passing the burden to the people we are meant to help. It’s about smarter automation, not shifting the problem.
What has been your career highlight?
One that stands out is leading a multi-country ITSM transformation that saved hundreds of service desk hours every year without offloading the work onto end users. It brought together automation, process redesign, and a team effort. Seeing those teams go from firefighting to providing more human-like support was hugely rewarding. It proved that automation, done right, can give people better jobs, not take them away.
What advice would you give someone starting out their career in this industry?
Learn the tech, but also learn the business. The best ITSM and automation professionals are not just tool experts, they understand how the organization works and where technology can make a real impact. Be curious, ask why processes exist, and don’t be afraid to challenge “we’ve always done it this way”. And remember, automation is powerful, but empathy is irreplaceable. The human side of service is what separates great IT from “good enough” IT.
What are the key points you’ll be covering in your seminar session, Vision 2030: Hyperautomation?
A hands-on look at how AI, low-code tools, and automation are already reshaping service desks, and where it is heading by 2030. Real examples, practical tips, and how humans and digital agents can work side by side to make service faster, smarter, and easier.
What are you looking forward to most at the SITS NL?
Fresh ideas and real conversations, and those hallway chats where someone shares a clever fix or a hard-learned lesson you would never find in a slide deck.
SITS – Service Desk and IT Support Show Netherlands, is taking place on 16 September 2025 at Beatrix Theatre, Jaarbeurs.
Meet the brand: Freshworks
Introducing Freshworks, long time exhibitors at SITS London, and now exhibitors at the first ever SITS Netherlands. Learn more about them before meeting their team on stand C3.
What do Freshworks do?
Freshworks Inc. (NASDAQ: FRSH) builds uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, easy to use, and quick to implement – helping over 73,000 companies (including Bridgestone, New Balance, Sony Music and S&P Global) increase efficiency and satisfaction.
Our AI-powered platforms include:
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Freshservice – our IT and employee experience solution for managing incidents, assets, and service requests
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Freshdesk – our customer support platform that streamlines multichannel communication and support operations
What sets us apart is Freddy AI, our native AI engine that helps agents and employees work faster and smarter:
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Freddy Copilot: Gives live suggestions, summaries, and content
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Freddy Agent: An intelligent assistant that resolves issues automatically
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Freddy Insights: Analyzes performance and customer sentiment in real time
What are you looking forward to most at SITS Netherlands?
We’re excited to connect with the IT community in the Netherlands, hear about the challenges service teams are facing today, and show how Freshworks is helping other organizations respond faster and deliver better service – without the complexity.
We recently announced a multi-year partnership with McLaren Racing, joining as an Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team. McLaren has integrated Freshworks' ITSM solution, Freshservice, to boost productivity through more efficient and improved IT services within the team. We're looking forward to talking to visitors about how we're not only making McLaren go faster, but our customers too.
Why should visitors come to your stand?
We’re making IT uncomplicated – and we’d love to show you how. Visitors can expect hands-on demos of our Freshservice and Freddy AI solutions, plus the chance to connect with other customers and enter our LEGO raffle. Stop by Stand C3 and let’s chat about how to streamline IT and employee support!
SITS – Service Desk and IT Support Show Netherlands, is taking place on 16 September 2025 at Beatrix Theatre, Jaarbeurs.