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BMC FootPrints Service Core vs Clarity SM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

BMC FootPrints Service Core
Ranking in Help Desk Software
30th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
26th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Clarity SM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
18th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
20th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of BMC FootPrints Service Core is 1.6%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Clarity SM is 2.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Clarity SM2.3%
BMC FootPrints Service Core1.6%
Other96.1%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1765752 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
A flexible, comprehensive, integrated IT service and asset management platform with good technical support
We use BMC FootPrints Service Core to manage network issues, infrastructure issues, software issues, and ERP. We also use it to manage our facility. So, we do some work orders and also use it as an extra ticketing system Technical support is good. It would be better if it were more…
Türker Kara - PeerSpot reviewer
Application & Software Architect at Turkiye Finans Participation Bank
Quite good back-end architecture for end users but the API is very, very bad
Our company uses the solution for system, program, service request, change, and knowledge-based management.  We perform CMD authorizations and use a lot of integrations for our in-house or third-party applications. We also use Salesforce automations and Microsoft orchestrations.  We have about…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have used Tier II BMC support a few times. They were very responsive and recreated my environment in their lab to support me."
"It has helped the help desk team. We get our tickets in and are able to support our customers, the end-users, with this solution."
"We can track issues easier and run reports on issues to see if there are patterns."
"We use BMC FootPrints Service Core to manage network issues, infrastructure issues, software issues, ERP, and our facility, using it for work orders and as an extra ticketing system."
"We can track issues easier and run reports on issues to see if there are patterns."
"I like the fact that FootPrints is a relational database, so every item in the database can be linked to another. This helps create history and audit trails for each CI."
"​Ability to auto-generate email messages, process email messages, and approvals."
"I feel confident in saying that BMC FootPrints Service Core is definitely one of the best products in the market."
"The use, from administrative stance, is pretty simple; and even from an analyst and employee's stances. It's an easy to use system, as far as ticketing systems go, because some of them can be really inundating and complex."
"What I like about it are the features that allow me to integrate with Service Desk Manager and Process Automation, and to build creative solutions based on the integration with other CA products."
"Before Service Desk, we were kind of flying a bit blind internally, but with it, we're still in the honeymoon phase and it has provided us many, if not all, of the tools that we're looking to use and implement in our system."
"This solution has helped align our overall IT and organization strategy because it got rid of shadow systems."
"The process automation component is incredibly valuable, as it cuts down on the workload of teams, organizational and clerical work, and allows employees to be more efficient."
"The value for the clients is that you can save information in the application and get reports with that information."
"Perfect, one of the most stable solutions ever."
"The fact that it aligns very well with ITIL. I think that's probably one of my favorite things about it, because it's following up a general best practice for service management."
 

Cons

"Reporting could be improved along with the option to create more fine tuned reports and to create specific fields for each type of ticket."
"There are still a few odd issues in FootPrints 12.x, which are frustrating."
"The mobile version of this product does not support asset management."
"The mobile version of this product does not support asset management."
"Hyphens are not allowed in the quick search bar. This has created a problem in our environment where we use hyphens in our asset names."
"It would be better if it were more user-friendly. The reporting part in the version we have is a little complicated."
"It would be better if it were more user-friendly. The reporting part in the version we have is a little complicated. It takes too long to build and report. It would also be better if there were another way to manage notifications."
"Sometimes it is difficult to make the application do exactly what you need."
"Doesn't scale well."
"Just little technical tweaks here and there. Like more options. For example "Organization." We wanted that to be available inside the change order, as well as the ticket and the request. And that's not available."
"We talk a lot about the idea that Service Desk Manager should be more service oriented, not just ticket oriented."
"Report solutions are a little short."
"The interface is pretty straightforward, but I think for some end-users a little more simplified user interface would help, perhaps."
"I would like more flexibility on KPI and SLA definition."
"The UI is old and passé."
"Right now, you have to create the Scoreboards individually for roles or users. If they could separate that functionality, and create the scoreboards separately, and then just link scoreboards to roles and users - that way you could reuse the same ones - that would be a huge benefit."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing for FootPrints is a perpetual license with an annual support fee."
"This solution has good pricing."
"Our costs are well over $250,000."
"Cost was on par with other service desk products, and well below Remedy, while still being a BMC product."
"I think pricing of this model is suitable for growing corporations."
"The solution is quite reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
"Pricing is simple, as it’s per concurrent analysts."
"Clarity offers a perpetual license. Customers purchase the license once and then pay for maintenance. CA provides a subscription model as well. Both models are available for our customers."
"I don't see anyone other than large companies being able to afford this system."
"It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. It is worth it!"
"There is a subscripted needed to use Clarity SM. The price of the solution could be less expensive. ServiceNow is less expensive and BMC Helix is priced similar to Clarity SM."
"The pricing is based on a subscription model."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise66
 

Also Known As

FootPrints Service Core
CA Service Desk Manager, Clarity Service Management, CA Service Management, Unicenter Service Desk, CA SDM, CA Service Catalog, CA Business Service Insight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cast & Crew
Banco G&T Continental City of Perth, FEMSA, Fujitsu, Manpower, Muslim Commercial Bank - MCB, Punjab National Bank, Santa Clara County Social Services, Stefanini
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. Clarity SM and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.