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Alemba Service Manager vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alemba Service Manager
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
30th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of Alemba Service Manager is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.3%
Alemba Service Manager1.0%
Other96.7%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1099623 - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Analyst at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Fulfills all IT management needs, simple setup, but could be more user-friendly
Unfortunately, we were not able to implement the mobility feature so I won't be able to provide feedback on it (and it was something that has been requested since we have field workers and given the WFH case due to the pandemic). This is due to results of security tests and which we were not yet able to address in our environment. We've been also trying to integrate our current system with discovery solutions but it was not easy. I am not sure if it is due to the fact that we still have an older version of the AlembavFire product. Also, users are also requesting that the current system's UI can still be improved. For those of our users who had experienced ServiceNow, they cited that they can do RFC chats via the tool. In our group, we are using AlembavFire for recording the ticket and do other discussions/alignments via Teams chat.
HiteshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
Supports seamless ticket routing and team collaboration across departments
Maybe something in OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is not perfect. Some small changes could be done. There could be improvements in workflow changes. When a customer needs to change a workflow issue, we can change the workflow relationship accordingly. A customer might need a workflow where if I accept the permission, then close the ticket, and the escalated ticket is not directly assigned to anyone. Different scenarios require different workflow configurations.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"When we met with the Alemba vFire from Australia, it was a good discussion and they have a good feature roadmap."
"Incident Management is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The workflow is very good, as well as customizable."
"It offers a range of tools for sales and configuration. It's like a business process improvement platform, suitable for various lines of business operations."
"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is effective for all sectors, such as IT and HR."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"The customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."
"OpenText Service Management Automation X provides valuable features such as topic analytics for incident and problem management. It also includes natural language processing for analyzing technical descriptions. Additionally, it features a virtual chatbot capable of processing natural language to interact effectively with end users. This service enhances customer support and is not subject to the limitations often found in offerings from other vendors."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
 

Cons

"The reporting needs to be improved."
"We had issues with the user interface, the way it was structured wasn't that user-friendly. The chat features could improve. For example, in change management, all the chat discussions can be done via ServiceNow. We are using two separate solutions, such as Teams, to chat, and the Alemba vFire tool to process."
"The product should improve its ability to integrate with third-party tools."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The initial setup of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is complicated, but once it is set up the configuration is straightforward to adapt to the users' or customers' needs."
"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has some stability challenges that are crashable and not stable at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is much cheaper than ServiceNow."
"Alemba vFire is more affordable than the other solutions on the market. The solution changes for the number of customers not per user or module. The price was reasonable overall. We paid for support and it was a fair price."
"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."
"The cost of the license for SMAX varies depending on the configuration, including the number of seats for users and the customer's specific requirements. It's not a fixed cost and can vary."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is what I refer to when I say SMAX, and it is from OpenText. I work with OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other tools. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) ca...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is effective for all sectors, such as IT and HR. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is good, and I do not see any negative side. It is possible to discuss some ot...
 

Also Known As

vFire
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Hiscox Liverpool City Council Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) PPG Barnardo's Victoria University of Wellington
Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
Find out what your peers are saying about Alemba Service Manager vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.