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BMC FootPrints Service Core 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

BMC FootPrints Service Core
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
29th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (29th)
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 BMC FootPrints Service Core is 1.3%, up from 0.6% 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%
BMC FootPrints Service Core1.3%
Other96.4%
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…
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

"Having a one stop shop for linked assets and tickets has improved end user adoption and led to a reduction in phone/email tickets."
"Implemented system-wide process for approving and tracking "employee move" requests for over 15,000 employees."
"This product solidly handles incident management, problem management, and change management."
"We can track issues easier and run reports on issues to see if there are patterns."
"We have found the reports and the lockdown on a ticket valuable, so only one person can update issues."
"I think the most important feature is the ability to receive valuable ticket status support in a timely manner with little to no downtime interruptions."
"I have used Tier II BMC support a few times. They were very responsive and recreated my environment in their lab to support me."
"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."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is effective for all sectors, such as IT and HR."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"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 tool is very easy to use."
"The customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."
"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."
 

Cons

"The pricing could be a little lower and the product should cover more iTel versions."
"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."
"The mobile version of this product does not support asset management."
"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."
"It is pretty clunky and not very intuitive. Even though I have used it for many years, I don't think it is a very good ITSM platform in general. In the telecom space, a lot of telco providers use this solution, but from my perspective, it is not very user friendly. It is a bit more laborious. There are still too many human touchpoints. There can be a little bit more automation. It would also be good to integrate it with other tools. Integration is quite difficult, especially in the telco space."
"We need more customizable reporting functionality. We could also use more collaboration of service desk tickets. This will allow for two departments to share the same information, track the progress of the total task scope no matter how complex the request is."
"It would be nice if they added the ability to go directly to a form via a deep link URL."
"The workflow should be made to be more user-friendly. It should also have more granular scalability."
"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has some stability challenges that are crashable and not stable at times."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"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."
"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our costs are well over $250,000."
"The licensing for FootPrints is a perpetual license with an annual support fee."
"This solution has good pricing."
"Cost was on par with other service desk products, and well below Remedy, while still being a BMC product."
"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."
"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."
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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
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cast & Crew
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 BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.