BMC Helix ITSM vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 18, 2022
 

Categories and Ranking

BMC Helix ITSM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
3rd
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow
Ranking in Help Desk Software
1st
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
212
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (4th), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 15.2%, up from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 27.1%, down from 27.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
Unique Categories:
Help Desk Software
13.8%
IT Asset Management
22.9%
 

Q&A Highlights

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 02, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

TB
Jan 25, 2023
Stable and scalable with good capabilities for analytics
I use the solution as an end user to log calls and get updates from my resolver groups.  My company is in mining and has 4,000 employees, but not all employees use the solution.  The solution has not improved functions within our organization. We are not sure if it's the tool itself or the…
JV
Dec 27, 2021
Gives freedom to change processes and offers advanced automated solutions for a change advisory board
This solution needs to be improved for global use. Currently, it's very oriented to the processes and needs of the US customer base, like their compliance solution or GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance), and not so much for customers from other parts of the world. Some users may like the things that ServiceNow is improving, but those are very oriented to users based in the United States and Europe. In Latin America which is the geographical region we work in, it's not very useful. Some of the customers are more interested in other solutions. Sometimes they put aside ServiceNow because it is focused on the needs of the customer base in Europe and the US. This is one of the disadvantages I see. Another disadvantage is the level of maturity that the customer has to have to get value from a solution like ServiceNow. The customer needs to have a great level of maturity. A company that is starting its journey with ITSM wouldn't find ServiceNow very useful, because sometimes there's a considerable amount of code you need to know to be able to implement ServiceNow. This will depend on the complex needs that a customer may have, for the customer to find ServiceNow as a useful solution. Depending on the level of maturity they have, they would need that amount of customization. I don't see the need for coding as a problem. The problem I see is that the level of maturity that the customer needs to have is high. There's quite a lot of features in ServiceNow. Currently, we haven't had any sort of need that ServiceNow and the features that they already have, don't resolve. There's no feature that I can think of right now that I'd like to be added in the next release. There are some guidelines that ServiceNow has that automate the implementation, but they're available only for ITSM and ITOM. It would be good if those automated guidelines are also made available for other ServiceNow solutions like customer service management, configuration management, and asset management. Another area for improvement is the lack of clarity in terms of how this solution is licensed. It is usually very complicated for customers to know how they are being charged for the licenses that they consume. In most of the ServiceNow solutions, this problem is persistent.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The digital workplace is appealing."
"We have seen year over year customer satisfaction improvement for the last five years."
"We reduced many paper processes to electronic driven forms. It helps us a lot in tracking and managing."
"We find the incident management module the best. The reporting part is also useful. We use a feature called smart reporting, and it is very beneficial for us."
"The Helix chatbot is helpful, and we can use its workflow features to automate some of the use cases for our clients."
"We use the solution's Discovery tool to discover our assets, and we've used the ticketing tool for years."
"It has centralized all work orders and help desk ticket tracking."
"The most valuable features of BMC Helix ITSM are the ease to use and integration."
"It's actually easy to understand."
"ServiceNow is easy to use and has a user-friendly interface."
"Easy to implement and consolidate different platforms and users with useful functionalities."
"The flow designer feature of ServiceNow has had the biggest impact on our productivity because it has helped me reduce manual efforts by creating automation and robotics."
"It is easily configurable and has a good developer society online, available for any issues from the backend."
"It has an excellent capability to integrate different access points."
"It is a very promising product. They have a new release every six months. They're investing quite a lot, and you can do many creative things with the product. If you know how it works, you can have stricter rules in the product."
"There are a lot of features within ServiceNow. There are plenty of add-ons that go beyond the typical core helpdesk operations, such as HR facilities, BRM functionality, and various compliance and governance capabilities."
 

Cons

"The notifications that the solution is providing are very helpful, they should keep improving them for the future."
"There are plugins to the solution that have come onto the market, so the solution should also be updated in terms of administration to increase efficiency."
"Integration could be better. If something doesn't work well with some tools and operations, then management becomes difficult, so you have to integrate other tools."
"Working with numerous processes can be complex, and the processes are not always transparent in the solution."
"We found that there was numerous issues upgrading from 8.1 to 9.1 in that all our licenses were broken for almost a year and a half. We chased down a total of 14 hotfixes, patches, and service packs before things were finally resolved. During that time, said "fixes" also broke other things, so it was quite the sore spot with management for some time."
"Provide documentation on the content of the REST API interfaces. Right now, it is pretty much non-existent."
"The Approval Central system needs to be refreshed."
"Helix needs to enhance some of its functionality with the latest technology. For example, Helix could improve its chatbot automation to automate more use cases."
"The discovery of assets could be improved; right now they only allow for one domain."
"It's not very secure, it's web-based, and I prefer Remedy. Both the security and the web interface could be improved."
"The customization that we are doing for the needs of our organization are difficult to do and could be improved."
"Creating service catalog forms could be made easier."
"There should be fewer clicks and faster integrations between solutions."
"They need to be providing vendors and implementation partners with materials and guidance on implementation."
"We are struggling with the scheduling part, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it is a ServiceNow issue. It could be the way we have configured it. We don't have it configured in a way where you can schedule a support call with our end users. We are looking for more automation in the box and the chat feature."
"This solution needs to be improved for global use. Currently, it's very oriented to the processes and needs of the US customer base, like their compliance solution or GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance), and not so much for customers from other parts of the world. Some users may like the things that ServiceNow is improving, but those are very oriented to users based in the United States and Europe."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are licenses to use this solution."
"The cost is relatively high, especially for the BMC Controller application. However, the expense is justified by the standard and reliable features it offers. This product's reputation in the market is strong, providing assurance in terms of data and other considerations."
"BMC is a little bit cheaper than ServiceNow, but BMC doesn't have the same capabilities in its entry-level product at the moment. The basic version does not have the DWP features that most of our customers are requesting."
"The price of BMC Helix ITSM could improve their price."
"Please always get the latest quote from a BMC partner or from BMC. Check for the latest offerings."
"I am not sure the exact price we pay for the solution but I know it is in the high seven-figure amount annually."
"It is costly, but it is well worth it."
"It is too expensive for a small business."
"The licensing cost is based on your partnership with ServiceNow and what you have selected for implementation. There is an annual license cost which is calculated based on your number of devices."
"For the modules we use, we found it competitive. I can't think of any costs in addition to the licensing fees."
"ServiceNow's pricing is comparatively higher than Helix's."
"Some time ago it was expensive, but large companies have special contracts. It's enterprise prices, and we're talking about millions per year."
"It is an expensive platform."
"It's sold as a less expensive solution, but it has to be highly modified. That's where you get into the cost."
"It is fairly expensive."
"The cost is quite high."
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Answers from the Community

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 2, 2020
Jul 2, 2020
I agree with above analysis, But both tools fit the profile of a big Lego box, a toolbox where you can do almost everything with it but seldom need it. You need for both a lot of technical background to use it properly and the cost are for both on the top of market. you should ask yourself do I need this Best-of-suit approach from both vendors or do I look for better tools for part of the suit...
2 out of 8 answers
it_user917112 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 12, 2019
Team, Please find the attached comparison sheet. Rgds, Pavan Kumar iValue InfoSolutions Pvt. Ltd. m: +91 9008097032 e: pavan.kumar@ivalue.co.in w: www.ivalue.co.in Leaders in optimizing, protecting and transforming “DIGITAL ASSETS" of organizations with leading edge & proven offerings, in collaboration with trusted Partners
JS
Feb 12, 2019
BMC Helix (Remedy) is not a new product release from BMC. This is a relaunched SaaS offering from BMC under a new Package called as Helix previously known as RemedyOnDemand. Having said that, the Helix seems much more than RemedyOnDemand used to offer. With Helix, the customer has the option to choose a cloud - BMC Cloud, AWS and MS Azure. The core products are Remedy ITSM, Digital workplace (MyIT/SmartIT) mobile apps, BMC Discovery, BMC Business workflows (case management solution for LOB). The supported products are Remedy Single-Sign-On, BMC Client Management, and BMC Client Gateway. These are all available today On-Premise as well. The deployment technology is no longer the old method of installations and configurations on a VM. The new technology that BMC Helix brings is Containerisation. The Docker and Kubernetes container technologies help in provisioning the Helix Products within a day and thus you are ready to configure/customized to suit your business needs from day two itself. Further, Helix offers cognitive capabilities for your ITSM with solutions completely built on cloud - Chatbot and AI automation powered by IBM Watson. Innovation suite platform - a microservices based architecture and integrations through REST APIs. The innovation suite offers an integration studio with few in-built connectors as well like Jira, Service Cloud, etc. You can further build your own connectors using the integration controller within the innovation suite platform. So to summarise my view - Helix offers a lot to the customer within one single package and must be given a shot as it brings a choice of cloud, container technology and cognitive capabilities for the products which are already known and popular in the ITSM world.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
23%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 operations, any arising issues, be it security concerns or issues within depart...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
The tool needs greater customization flexibility, particularly concerning notifications and the progressive view web page. This is significant because it encompasses various aspects like incident m...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
We used to support VMware applications, focusing on distributed applications such as data from ETW, Snowflake, and SAP. Our role involved processing critical data systems through internal mechanics...
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 that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
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 ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
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    
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: July 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.