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BMC Helix ITSM vs Zoho Desk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
BMC Helix ITSM offers technical reliability, financial benefits, and user satisfaction, though ROI clarity and cost savings proof vary.
Sentiment score
7.8
Zoho Desk offers ROI through cost-control and analytics, but requires expertise for optimal configuration and effective use.
The Zoho platform is powerful when used correctly, but without a specialist, it is not simple to configure and make full use of the tools.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
BMC Helix ITSM's customer service is skilled but inconsistent, needing improved communication, responsiveness, and accent comprehension.
Sentiment score
4.3
Zoho Desk support is praised for its quick response and reliability, despite occasional technical comprehension issues.
There are issues with misrouting and a preference for email rather than direct communication via phone calls.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
the experience was satisfactory
Executive Director at Claim Genius
I find the response time in emails to be very good, and the solutions provided are simple.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
BMC Helix ITSM is scalable for enterprises, despite challenges, offering flexibility and positive feedback on handling large user bases.
Sentiment score
8.0
Zoho Desk is scalable, efficient for any company size, with high reviews despite minor ticket handling issues.
The product's scalability is adequate for us, yet its complex customization sometimes restricts extensive adaptability.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
BMC Helix ITSM is praised for stability, performs well with proper implementation, and has minor application-specific concerns.
Sentiment score
8.2
Zoho Desk is praised for stability and reliability, with most users rating it 7-9, despite minor server issues.
I find BMC Helix ITSM stable, and that is why we have been with the product for the past 15 years.
Associate Director at a media company with 10,001+ employees
Over the past five years, we have experienced no major issues or downtime during upgrades.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
 

Room For Improvement

BMC Helix ITSM needs usability, performance, integration improvements, and better support to enhance user experience and affordability.
Zoho Desk users desire better integration, enhanced features, improved support, and customizable modules while finding pricing high.
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.
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
We lack access to a sandbox for in-house development, which was very helpful for hands-on work with new features.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
BMC Helix ITSM is difficult for us to customize, and most customizations require vendor support, which leads to extra costs.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
Zoho Desk could be improved by making it multi-tenant, as it is currently not suitable for service providers with multiple customers.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The main concern is the pricing of Zoho Desk, as I consider it to be on the expensive side.
Executive Director at Claim Genius
 

Setup Cost

BMC Helix ITSM is costly but offers reliability and features that large enterprises find justifiable, with careful license management.
Zoho Desk offers flexible subscription pricing, starting from $10 per user monthly, with variations based on package and region.
The pricing of BMC Helix ITSM and its implementation costs are quite high, including subscription and maintenance costs per year.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
The pricing for each user is around $350, with penalties if not all users in a company are licensed.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The price point is a concern.
Executive Director at Claim Genius
 

Valuable Features

BMC Helix ITSM enhances service delivery and efficiency with flexible workflows, customizable dashboards, and strong integration support.
Zoho Desk offers a user-friendly interface, customization, integration, automation, and mobile access for seamless multi-channel customer service.
Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
These features are crucial as we complete the implementation and maintain data accuracy in the CMDB.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
Being able to configure this without heavy custom code allows me to model real-world processes accurately and validate multiple variations efficiently.
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
Maintenance is easy, and one person is sufficient for handling it, aided by a thorough handoff of key pointers facilitating easier initial setup.
Executive Director at Claim Genius
The AI tool, Tele Zia, translates calls into bullet points, providing insights such as when to send emails or contact the customer based on previous conversations.
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

BMC Helix ITSM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th)
Zoho Desk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (7th)
 

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 Zoho Desk is 1.9%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC Helix ITSM4.9%
Zoho Desk1.9%
Other93.2%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Senior Quality Automation Engineer at BMC Software, Inc.
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.
JJ
Advisor at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Efficient integration enhances customer insights and communication
The integration between Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, and Zoho Projects is very good. One of the key features of Zoho CRM is the ability to record telephone calls using AI. The AI tool, Tele Zia, translates calls into bullet points, providing insights such as when to send emails or contact the customer based on previous conversations.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Government
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 Business19
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

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?
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...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
My main use case for BMC Helix ITSM is validating and automating core ITSM workflows, such as incident, change, and service request management. I focus on ensuring that these workflows function cor...
What do you like most about Zoho Desk?
The most valuable features of Zoho Desk are archiving queries and analytics.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Desk?
The pricing in Brazil is complicated due to the high exchange rate, with one dollar equaling six reais. Altasnet has a favorable pricing from Zoho as an early account in Brazil, but current website...
What needs improvement with Zoho Desk?
Zoho Desk could be improved by making it multi-tenant, as it is currently not suitable for service providers with multiple customers. Additionally, Zoho Desk's potential would be fully realized wit...
 

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
Intel, Sears, Daimler, Essilor, Aon Hewitt, Shop Your Way, CoffeeRocket
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. Zoho Desk and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.