BMC Remedy Reviews

We use the solution for internal IT service management, incident work orders, change requests, problem management, release management, etc. We have internal applications and customer-facing applications. Those are maintained and released through the ITSM process followed on this platform.

BMC is excellent for large and complex environments but can be more challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises. It requires significant manual configuration and customization to meet specific requirements. In contrast, some other solutions on the market come ready to use with predefined templates, policies, and procedures, which can be easier to implement. With BMC, you have full control over the platform, allowing you to tailor it precisely to your needs, but this also means a time-consuming configuration process across its three layers: front end, mid layer, and back end. Our next goal is to transition from on-premises to cloud solutions. It does require transfer.

BMC can be complex because everything is linked through different workflows, forms, and fields, making it less straightforward than other platforms with more intuitive workflow designers. In ITSM, Helix from BMC is similar to other platforms but somewhat easier to use. It operates on a different scale and size, which can impact the overall experience. It does require training. There are official channels for the training, and some on YouTube and the Internet.

GUI needs to be responsive for service portals. It is difficult to reload. The platform has a significantly different administrative navigation structure. Configuration is divided into various sections, such as foundation and other areas, each with its own separate UI. This requires remembering multiple URLs, as there isn’t a consolidated interface for navigating through the GUI. It can be challenging to manage all these different URLs effectively.

Another drawback is the complexity of licensing. Managing and balancing these various licenses can be challenging.

I have been using BMC Remedy for over three years. We are using V20 of the solution.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The platform is scalable, but its architecture can be technically challenging. If something goes wrong, you must restart services sequentially to restore functionality. For example, if the Apache web server goes down, it can disrupt many components. While the solution can handle many users, managing these issues requires careful attention.

I rate the solution’s scalability a seven out of ten.

We don't contact directly. We go through the vendor. We have a vendor who represents the Middle East and will finish it up.

I rate the initial setup a seven out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

The vendor did deployment.

The pricing is higher, though not as high as ServiceNow. While ServiceNow is a cloud offering and the platform was initially on-premises, it is now also available in the cloud. 

The cost of this solution is relatively high compared to some competitors. This is partly due to its unique licensing structure, which differs from other vendors' more straightforward licensing matrices. 

Significant updates have been made to the new cloud version. It now includes features like work order to incident conversions and HTML-rich text for ticket descriptions. In contrast, the previous version only supported plain text and attachments in the activity log. The new version also supports ad hoc approvals on the fly, which was impossible before, and offers a no-code GUI for workflow design. The reporting module, which was previously slow and cumbersome, has been enhanced. The design of the reports now allows for more efficient filtering and data extraction, addressing the issues of lag and inefficient report generation from the previous version.

Go for it if you have dedicated resources, or else if you want something out of work, Remedy, look for something very easy, like ManageEngine and FreshBooks.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.