BMC FootPrints Service Core vs ServiceNow comparison

BMC Helix and ServiceNow are both solutions in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category. BMC Helix is ranked #26, while ServiceNow is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5. Additionally, 90% of BMC Helix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

ServiceNow and BMC FootPrints Service Core are competing products in the IT service management solutions space, with ServiceNow having the upper hand in pricing and support, while BMC FootPrints Service Core stands out for its comprehensive feature set, appealing to those seeking feature-rich solutions.

Features: ServiceNow offers a scalable cloud-based platform with strong workflow automation and robust customization capabilities, making it suitable for enterprises needing extensive process integration. BMC FootPrints Service Core features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, customizable dashboards, and extensive reporting tools, which make it attractive for businesses focusing on adaptability and user-driven customization.

Room for Improvement: ServiceNow could improve by reducing its high initial setup costs, expanding flexible deployment options, and enhancing manual integration processes for businesses not prioritizing automation. BMC FootPrints Service Core may need to boost its cloud capabilities, streamline automation functionalities, and provide more comprehensive support options to compete effectively with its counterpart's automation and integration offerings.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ServiceNow offers a cloud deployment model known for swift implementation and consistent support, reducing infrastructure burdens. BMC FootPrints Service Core provides both on-premises and cloud options, offering flexibility in deployment and satisfactory customer service. ServiceNow facilitates a smoother setup process with significant support, whereas BMC’s versatile deployment options offer adaptability for varied infrastructure scenarios.

Pricing and ROI: ServiceNow typically involves higher initial setup costs but focuses on automation and integration that can lead to substantial ROI over time through reduced operational inefficiencies. BMC FootPrints Service Core presents more affordable upfront costs with ROI driven by its customizable features and adaptability. The primary pricing distinction lies in ServiceNow's long-term efficiency gains versus BMC's cost-effectiveness and feature-driven ROI outlook.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. ServiceNow Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. ServiceNow

June 2026

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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

Automation Anywhere

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

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reviewer1765752

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…

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Hemanthreddy Vakiti

Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Structured workflows have improved SLA compliance and now support prioritized incident handling

I think the licensing and pricing of ServiceNow is quite expensive compared to other tools. For large organizations, it is acceptable, but specifically for small and medium organizations to track incidents or change requests, ServiceNow is quite expensive. Sometimes performance can be slow when workflows and integrations are configured for complex tasks. For advanced customizations or advanced features which we rarely use, the documentation is not up to standard. The documentation needs to be improved for advanced customization features. However, the platform is stable overall and the features are quite good. The user experience and performance concerns I mentioned are areas I want to be improved. When many workflows and interactions are configured, performance is slow. For the features it is providing, it is quite expensive. If these performance features are improved, we can easily pay that price and get the return on investment.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automation Anywhere consistently ranks at the top, matching our vision and strategy for implementing transformative solutions."

"I like all of the features, especially the MetaBot, REST API, and SAP DLL."

"Automation Anywhere has significantly helped us achieve our automation goals, mainly by reducing costs, which alleviates organizational burdens."

"With Automation Anywhere bots, we are able to cut down the manual efforts by 80% in generating Excel and Power BI reports, extracting and uploading files to various sites, and many other web-based administrative tasks."

"If you are looking for a fast solution using minimal resources not requiring an advanced programming skill set this is your product."

"The Automation Anywhere University is a good tool. It goes topic-by-topic with real-time examples."

"Automation Anywhere has lots of features, some of them are accuracy increases, time consumption reduced, scalability. Automation Anywhere does not require a strong knowledge of programming languages. The dashboard is user-friendly."

"Learning Automation Anywhere prepares our students for a better future because the future belongs to RPA Automation."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"The discovery feature is very flexible."

"Technical support is good."

"I have used Tier II BMC support a few times. They were very responsive and recreated my environment in their lab to support me."

"We can track issues easier and run reports on issues to see if there are patterns."

"It is stable and its technical support is good and quick."

"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."

"This is certainly a solution that I recommend for big enterprise."

"We have found the reports and the lockdown on a ticket valuable, so only one person can update issues."

More BMC FootPrints Service Core pros

"It has the ability to consolidate different areas of the service desk into one solution."

"ServiceNow is a very good platform, but do not build up things too fast."

"Go ahead and get it. You'll have a cleaner insight into your organization, and how it's really working."

"My advice to anyone looking into implementing ServiceNow is "Go for it", especially because the platform does everything."

"The solution has good stability."

"For me and for what our business uses, I highly recommend it, but that you should look at their business case and see if you need a product as fully featured as ServiceNow is because it comes at a cost."

"By automating processes it has increased efficiency and productivity."

"There are a ton of features and capabilities that can be used to automate processes within your organization and have a single source of data and this is an exceptional tool for that."

More ServiceNow pros

Cons

"We tried Citrix six months ago, but the solution that they gave us did not work in our environment."

"One thing I learned with Co-Pilot is that it is very static. For instance, when dealing with tables and their headers, I must program them in a form. If my build changes, I have to return to my form and update the table titles. Features like looping are missing from Co-Pilot."

"Because I am using an older version, I am rating the scalability as a seven out of 10. I feel a lack of convenience when I try to scale it."

"I would like the ability to extract the code. You can go line by line, then open up each line of code and dig into the details, but it would be nice to extract all of the lines of code and all of the details into a document so we could read through everything. Right now, there is no way to really consume all of the code at once, except line by line, which can be fairly time consuming if we don't really know what we are looking for."

"One thing I dislike about Automation Anywhere is that our process is time-consuming. Since the bot is utilized by that machine and if a long-running task is happening, then another bot may not run and the machine is locked."

"It's somewhat pricier than some of the other tools that we've used, and the breakout between the different applications is also somewhat costly."

"The areas for room for improvement are always going to be around experience, making it even easier to get engaged, and get started. Because lowering that threshold to get started is what enables an additional set of problems to be solved."

"I really appreciate the user interface of Automation Anywhere, but I would like to see some improvement on some of the automation around screen processing. This includes adding some artificial intelligence on the way that bots actually can read the screen and know when things change and be able to adapt to those changes."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"Sometimes it is difficult to make the application do exactly what you need."

"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."

"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 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."

"There are still a few odd issues in FootPrints 12.x, which are frustrating."

"The pricing could be a little lower and the product should cover more iTel versions."

"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."

More BMC FootPrints Service Core cons

"The asset management application could be improved. They have a lot of the infrastructure built, but it does not come with already made compatibility with some of the most popular vendors, such as Cisco and Microsoft. You have to fix it yourself."

"We did some custom branding and it was a nightmare."

"Complexities in the organization made the initial deployment complex."

"We still have some issues with some of our ITIL users, like some things aren't as intuitive as they could be."

"Most people are discussing UIs, but I'm a developer. I would say 80-90% of the people would appreciate that, that's easy for them, but from a developer perspective, it's hard for me, because for me it's clunky"

"I suggest making the cost more affordable for smaller companies."

"The RPA needs improvement. That's a new area for them that they're just entering into now."

"Upgrades can be kind of painful."

More ServiceNow cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I find the license pricing to be competitive and reflective of the pricing models throughout the RPA space, and I believe there is a lot of value in continuing to maintain the free community edition platform."

"Licensing for Automation Anywhere (AA) is paid on a yearly basis. Out of all the RPA tools, it has the most value for money, e.g. what you pay is what you get."

"I've seen the price vary by whether the client is going to scale and adopt a tool."

"Its price is competitive with all other products in the market."

"We were required to purchase licenses and bot runners, which determined the permissible run times for the bots."

"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I rate the price of Automation Anywhere an eight out of ten."

"The pricing strategy for us is one license for development. It is more complicated than that depending on the options you choose."

"It's fine. However, I'm concerned with the credits in terms of the pricing for the AI models. It is understandable that the new ones are more expensive, but the base models, after doing the pricing conversion, cost about four to ten times as much as paying directly."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"Cost was on par with other service desk products, and well below Remedy, while still being a BMC product."

"This solution has good pricing."

"The licensing for FootPrints is a perpetual license with an annual support fee."

"Our costs are well over $250,000."

"The price of the solution is comparable to industry standards. For the features that we received, it is reasonable."

"The product cost is higher than that of other vendors."

"Some time ago it was expensive, but large companies have special contracts. It's enterprise prices, and we're talking about millions per year."

"ServiceNow is a leader and its pricing is quite good, quite competitive... Sometimes some plugins are not priced reasonably but, generally, the platform itself, its modules, are priced reasonably."

"$230 per user."

"The solution is expensive."

"Initially, the licensing model ServiceNow came up with was very good. But now, from a licensing perspective, they are changing their model day by day. It is becoming a bit expensive for customers."

"I'm not aware of any additional costs. I'm pretty sure that the current client is paying just the licensing fee per user. I do know that they've got some support agreement with ServiceNow, but I don't think that is broken out or specific to Project Management. It is just inclusive."

More ServiceNow pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Construction Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	154
Midsize Enterprise	82
Large Enterprise	536

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	57
Midsize Enterprise	35
Large Enterprise	179

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

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Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?

The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...

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Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?

Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ...

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ServiceNow operates on a subscription-based pricing model with custom pricing based on modules, users, and business r...

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Comparisons

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs BMC FootPrints Service Core

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Compared 6% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs ServiceNow

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

June 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

IT Service Management (ITSM)

June 2026

Download BMC FootPrints Service Core product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow

May 2026

Download ServiceNow product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

FootPrints Service Core

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

BMC Helix

Demo not available

ServiceNow

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

BMC FootPrints Service Core is a comprehensive tool that aids in incident, problem, and change management while offering customizable views and integration options.

Valued for its customizable home views and flexible database relations, BMC FootPrints Service Core excels in stability and responsive technical support. With capabilities for email automation, survey integration, and report creation, it enhances IT service management and business process efficiency. The solution supports ticket status updates with minimal downtime and accommodates multiple administrators across workspaces. Pink Elephant certification and smart IT features broaden its appeal for IT departments.

What are the key features of BMC FootPrints Service Core?

Incident Management: Tracks and resolves service desk tickets efficiently.
Problem Management: Identifies and mitigates underlying issues to prevent recurrence.
Change Management: Helps assess and handle changes seamlessly in the environment.
Customizable Views: Offers tailored dashboards for user-specific information.
Email Automation: Facilitates swift communication and response handling.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in reviews?

Stable Performance: Ensures reliable operation for consistent IT services.
Responsive Support: Provides timely technical assistance to resolve issues.
Administrative Flexibility: Allows versatile control across different workspaces.

In industries like IT services and HR, BMC FootPrints Service Core supports managing service desk tickets, tracking assets, and resolving issues in network, infrastructure, and software areas. Its functionalities also extend to HR issue tracking, service requests, and contract management, facilitating both on-premises deployments and ITIL process implementations such as Service Request and Service Catalog Management.

BMC Helix

ServiceNow offers customizability and cloud-based integration that sustains operational efficiency. Enabling change and incident management, it accelerates workflow automation and project management without downtime issues, serving deployment needs for IT service and productivity enhancements.

ServiceNow stands out with its adaptable workflows and cloud-native infrastructure, boosting IT service, project, and asset management. Known for its robust incident and change management, the platform addresses business needs through its user-centric design and extensive integration options. By facilitating seamless IT operations and automation, ServiceNow empowers businesses to enhance productivity and efficiency. Regular updates ensure users benefit from the latest features without service interruptions, although pricing and licensing complexities demand attention. Users seek improved reporting tools and a more intuitive design while expressing interest in refined mobile functionality and better documentation.

What are the key features of ServiceNow?

Customizability: Enables tailored workflows to align with business processes.
Cloud-Based Integration: Allows seamless updates and operational sustainability.
Incident and Change Management: Supports efficient handling of IT-related issues.
Automation Capabilities: Automates repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity.
User-Friendly Design: Simplifies navigation and improves user interaction.
Comprehensive Reporting: Provides detailed insights for better decision-making.

What benefits and ROI should users anticipate from ServiceNow?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts.
Enhanced Productivity: Automates tasks, enabling focus on strategic initiatives.
Seamless Operations: Integrates across departments for unified management.
Effective IT Management: Smooth incident, change, and problem resolution.
Cost and Time Savings: Reduces operational costs through efficient workflow management.

ServiceNow finds implementation across industries like IT, HR, asset management, and help desks, addressing ticketing and configuration needs. Businesses use its dashboard for tracking performance metrics, enhancing decision-making in departments like HR service delivery. Its adaptability also makes it suitable for industries requiring robust operational management and process automation, driving efficiency and growth.

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

Cast & Crew

AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow

Buyer's Guide

BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. ServiceNow

June 2026

Free Report: BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. ServiceNow

Find out what your peers are saying about BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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