Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

BMC Helix ITSM vs SysAid 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 Helix ITSM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
8th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SysAid
Ranking in Help Desk Software
26th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
25th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 4.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SysAid is 1.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC Helix ITSM4.9%
SysAid1.7%
Other93.4%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Senior Specialist at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Workflow automation has improved incident handling and now reduces manual effort significantly
Although BMC Helix ITSM is a strong enterprise platform, there are areas where it could be improved. One key area is usability and simplification of configuration, especially for new administrators, because the platform is highly flexible and the learning curve can be steep during initial setup. Improving UI responsiveness and simplifying certain configuration screens would enhance the overall user experience. Additionally, more guided templates or best practice configuration recommendations could help organizations implement processes faster and reduce onboarding time. These improvements would make the platform more intuitive while still maintaining its powerful customizable capabilities. Beyond the usability improvements mentioned earlier, another area that can be enhanced is performance optimization in highly customized environments. While the platform is stable, complex configurations with zero downtime requirements and large data volumes may require tuning. More built-in optimization guidance or diagnostics would be helpful. It would also be beneficial to have more out-of-the-box integration templates and clearer API examples, which could speed up onboarding for customers integrating with monitoring or DevOps tools.
Todd Blake - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Specialist at COMMUNITY HEALTH CONNECTIONS INC
A solution that streamlines ticket creation for the staff members of a business and enables efficient issue resolution by the IT team
SysAid is similar to Nintex AssureSign. Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help. Also, there are almost too many features that we are not taking advantage of in our company since we don't even know about them. A little bit of a streamlining or simplification of the main features would be a good improvement. I would like to see SysAid present its solution more easily. There is a lot in the solution, and it is more than what we need in our company.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of BMC Helix ITSM are the service level management, configuration, and reporting tool."
"The digital workplace is appealing."
"The way you can customize this product to adapt to the process the customer is already using is what sets this apart from other ITSM products out there. This helps customers to adapt to the tool pretty quickly."
"BMC offers excellent customer solutions, and they're quick to address bugs or shortcomings in their product."
"The most valuable features are the simplicity and the in-duty features."
"Improved our organization with better customer experience and reporting abilities."
"The solution can perform well for large-sized companies."
"Smart IT and the phone app are easily the most valuable features in reporting and tracking ongoing issues."
"All our service management is integrated into one system. Our response time is much faster because we have a visual into what is going on."
"It tracks everything that the technicians are doing. We can account for time and manage resources."
"The service desk automation and orchestration are very good. We are implementing it at the moment. We implemented it for two of our applications already for our CRM. Whenever there's a change in the CRM, it will automate them into SysAid as well. We have two workflows from our CRM into SysAid, which is very helpful. Overall, we're very happy with the workflow."
"The solution can scale."
"The simplicity of the solution is excellent."
"The service desk orchestration, overall, is good. It allows an organization to build that service desk concept into its organizational and support strategy. And it allows an organization to digest that and create a support model very quickly around the tools. The fact that the tools are integrated within the system itself gives the organization a really robust way to integrate everything and have a complete support model."
"It's really customizable. It's very user-friendly to change very quickly. We've developed lots of custom forms and things, without any need for thousands of accounting consultants which was one of our main aims of it."
"SysAid is more user-friendly, and its configuration is easier than other tools."
 

Cons

"Needs to make customizable/configurable article templates in the Knowledge Management."
"The documentation could improve in BMC Helix ITSM."
"The reports need improvement, it is not a good functioning tool."
"It has created more layers of bureaucracy."
"Maybe it could be more simplified and easier to change the reporting point of view, like from a different vendor to another."
"Smart Reporting was added, then was purchased from another vendor. We have little ability to customize and correct issues due to this."
"The notifications that the solution is providing are very helpful, they should keep improving them for the future."
"When BMC Helix ITSM did some upgrades it caused some issues. They have fixed some of the problems but more improvement is needed."
"Currently, SysAid does not have a mobile application."
"One of the features that I'm hoping comes at some point is that currently you can only have one Knowledge Base instance within it. For me, it would be beneficial to have multiple instances for different purposes. I'd like to have a completely separate one for customers and the only way I can achieve that right now, where I can tag articles to only be viewed by customers, would be if I use its portal function."
"There is a learning curve for the users."
"The administrative side of the user interface could be a little more user-friendly. It is easier for me to export our reports into Excel, then do a server retrieval and get the information. Whereas, to do a report, you have to go through a configuration type of process, which is kind of difficult and complicated. I have been using this solution for two years now and I still haven't gotten the hang of the reports."
"We would like them to approve the security functionalities, e.g., management security features."
"Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help."
"The automation needs improvement. The workflow has some improvements to do. There's some stuff that they are working on like having cascaded fields. For example, we're categorizing tickets by location, by site and by building and then by data room within a data center. At the moment they're all separate fields."
"Monitoring needs improvement. At the moment we are looking for some advanced monitoring tools, which are using AI and machine learning as well. This product currently does not offer that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While purchasing, try to negotiate on per user licensing costs, associated maintenance, and purchase 20% more then what you think you should have. Bulk is always cheaper."
"BMC Helix ITSM is a very cost-effective 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."
"It is costly, but it is well worth it."
"If you are looking for some kind of professional services form the OEM then you would have to purchase that."
"It's a yearly subscription but there are a couple of customers who go for the monthly subscription."
"The price of BMC Helix ITSM is expensive."
"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."
"SysAid is a good solution, especially from a pricing perspective."
"Though I am not really sure about SysAid's prices, I know that it is competitive compared to some of the other products that our company looked at, like ConnectWise and ServiceNow."
"Once you're interested, talk with SysAid. You can have them come in and look at your company and advise you on the best solution. They will tell you what comes with each separate package and also advise you what application to activate. If you want something that they don't have, they have a department that can design something based on your unique requests."
"We saw our investment back at the end of year one."
"The pricing of SysAid is less than its competitors."
"Overall, the price is good. It's all about what you get for the base amount. From my perspective, you want to look at what you're getting out-of-the-box. SysAid does a good job of putting key stuff in the box for you."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Help Desk Software solutions are best for your needs.
883,896 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise55
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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?
Currently, we are not utilizing the AI functionality in BMC Helix ITSM as we are still in the roadmap and development phase at this point in time. There isn't anything that I would suggest for impr...
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 ITSM supports our IT service management processes primarily for all incident, pr...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Disney, Sears Holdings Corporation, LAN Airlines, Schneider Electric, On Semiconductors, Toyota, Sky, KPMG, Georgetown University Law Center, Motorola, North York General Hospital, Volksbank, Xerox, Bacardi, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Manpower, Nucor, Ecobank
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. SysAid and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
883,896 professionals have used our research since 2012.