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BMC Helix ITSM vs Cherwell Service Management vs Salesforce Service Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 7.1%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cherwell Service Management is 1.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Service Cloud is 2.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Salesforce Service Cloud2.3%
BMC Helix ITSM7.1%
Cherwell Service Management1.4%
Other89.2%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ameet Darole - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for user ticket management, incident management, and event management
We had a manual event management process and a separate monitoring tool called Dynatrace. The alerts generated did not flow to the ITSM tool. With BMC Helix ITSM, the alerts flow and auto-route to respective technical support. If the alerts are resolved, the ticket will be automatically closed. So, the workload and automation are much better now. BMC Helix ITSM is a fast platform, so it is quite manageable. I would recommend BMC Helix ITSM to other users because it is a good solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Thobile Moeketsi - PeerSpot reviewer
Having everything in one location has significantly improved our efficiency and reporting
We need to be on VPN in order to set up and access the solution, and that has created some challenges. Even though it uses our Windows login, we still have to be on VPN. The product should be able to log tickets directly from system to system. We haven't got there yet and I'm not sure it's possible but it would determine the product's capability to integrate with other systems.
MARIA PILAR CANDA - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved customer service and post-sales support saves time
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized companies. Additionally, finding technical talent for improving the solution is challenging. Configuring Flows in Salesforce Service Cloud is very difficult. There are very few technical people in the market capable of implementing all the flows that clients need at this moment. It's primarily a matter of talent limitation, and flow is the technical mechanism of Salesforce Service Cloud for process automation. In general, while they have the knowledge and help solve problems, finding the right person to address specific issues is very challenging.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In BMC, you can do absolutely anything. You can customize, you can configure, and you can customize and develop pretty much anything."
"What I have found to be the most valuable is that it offers the radius deployment package not only to the BMC cloud but also to the public cloud such as Azure."
"Reports have helped us to improve our IT processes. The main benefit is providing the right information to our decision makers."
"We use the solution's Discovery tool to discover our assets, and we've used the ticketing tool for years."
"The most valuable features of BMC Helix ITSM are the service level management, configuration, and reporting tool."
"We use this tool for managing tickets, other employee related services, and reporting purposes."
"Helix is more lightweight than these tools. It's a traditional tool that was developed more than 10 years ago. Ease of use is the operative word."
"This product has helped us to maintain our OLAs (Organisation level Agreements) and SLAs (Service Level Agreements) by tracking incidents, requests, problem records, and change requests, all in the form of tickets."
"The dashboard is very useful to get a quick overview of current tasks."
"The dashboard and the reporting functionality are the solution's most valuable features."
"Clear processes with transparent responsibilities led to more efficiencies within the teams."
"All our activities are carried out in the one place."
"Its integration features, orchestration features, and discovery tools are the most valuable. It is also pretty stable, and it can be as scalable as you want."
"The most valuable features are problem management and change management."
"The interface is quite user-friendly."
"We are very happy with the support team from Salesforce."
"Salesforce Service Cloud is a user-friendly and flexible CRM tool that provides good accessibility and security."
"It is a stable product."
"The complexity of the solution is very less."
"The instant input of feedback into the CRM systems by case management is one of the impactful features"
"Nobody can compete with Salesforce Service Cloud's scalability."
"I don't have the specific details, but I'm aware that Salesforce is used for campaigns, decision-making processes, and order submissions. I'm currently in the learning phase and not familiar with all the details."
 

Cons

"The interface should be more user-friendly, and the customization should be easier."
"The Approval Central system needs to be refreshed."
"It needs a more organic workflow, so every field you create is labeled throughout the stack. BMC has a few products that they try to bundle together. Generally, that solution works. BMC should take a step back and think about the overall solution—not only ITSM but also CTI Integration along with chat. They have all that, but it's not an end-to-end holistic solution with the added reporting analytics."
"SmartIT could include PR. This would help us greatly in bridging the gap between Remedy's views and SmartIT."
"Adding additional fields does not work very well."
"It would also be beneficial if there was a text-based editor for the workflow rules instead of using the developer studio, which adds a lot of time when developing quick solutions to problems."
"Our middleman provider limits the available functionality so we cannot even do our own analytics."
"They could be more responsive to feedback from their community board."
"Access is only available if we're on VPN."
"Areas for improvement would be the service catalog and customer catalog, which is not very user-friendly. The shopping cart experience is also terrible - you submit and go straight to the cart, you can't continue shopping or see your overall cost."
"Application service mapping, GRC, SecOps, and things like that need improvement."
"The stability, specifically in the on-premises deployment model, could be improved."
"One minor drawback is that its implementation requires some preparation. It's not something you can implement instantly; it takes time. The only issue I've encountered is that you need to ensure the implementation is done properly, which can be time-consuming. So, it requires some time and attention."
"The pricing for what Salesforce Service Cloud offers is not great."
"I'm not deeply engaged with this team, so I don't have extensive experience with it. As you mentioned, I haven't used it much yet, so my experience is limited."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Since customization can increase the cost from an implementation standpoint, we focus on showcasing Service Cloud's built-in features and possibilities."
"The pricing of the solution can be made cheaper."
"The product should be capable of delivering complex reports as per company requirements without the need for a Tableau license."
"The integrations with other solutions can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are licenses to use this solution."
"I am not sure the exact price we pay for the solution but I know it is in the high seven-figure amount annually."
"The solution's pricing should come down."
"If Customer and IT agents are happy, that is one of the greatest ROI. However, one of the major factors is Leadership, because at the end they have to justify the cost."
"It is costly, but it is well worth it."
"BMC Helix ITSM is a very cost-effective solution."
"The price of BMC Helix ITSM is expensive."
"Just make sure you really sit down and look at what you will be using per user, therefore you will not be surprised with a big bill. You do not want every user having every license, it really is not needed."
"For an ITIL user, the cost is probably about 50 bucks a month."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for Salesforce Service Cloud, which is expensive."
"Salesforce is very cost-effective."
"The price is too expensive."
"The price of the solution depends on how many users need access to it"
"Salesforce is not a cheap product. It can be expensive."
"The licensing is flexible. Companies pay for what they use. However, a company with very small needs might find it difficult to justify the cost. Overall, it's in the medium price range."
"Salesforce Service Cloud is expensive. I worked with ExactTarget over five years ago, and it was quite pricey then. Not everyone could afford it. Salesforce has different tiers for different kinds of users. It's expensive considering their features and services, but they offer best-in-class solutions."
"The tool is pretty expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Energy/Utilities Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Legal Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise54
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix ITSM?
If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
Currently, we are not utilizing the AI functionality in BMC Helix ITSM as we are still in the roadmap and development...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
We use BMC Helix ITSM for the complete end-to-end ITSM suite, mainly for ticketing and service management. BMC Helix ...
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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Service Cloud?
The approximate licensing costs for Salesforce Service Cloud are around three hundred dollars a year per user.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Service Cloud?
The solution could be more affordable as it's quite expensive for some organizations, particularly middle-sized compa...
What is your primary use case for Salesforce Service Cloud?
We have many clients with Salesforce Service Cloud and numerous use cases. The main use is in the sales area rather t...
 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy, BMC Helix IT Service Management
No data available
Service Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Ausenco, Highlights for Children, B/E Aerospace
Stanley Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Activision, Wells Fargo, Spotify, Aldo, Philips, The Red Cross, Blue Shield of California, Sprouts Farmers Market, Direct Energy Solar, Inspirato, Kiva
Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, ManageEngine and others in Help Desk Software. Updated: September 2025.
867,836 professionals have used our research since 2012.