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Cherwell Service Management vs Clarity SM 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

Cherwell Service Management
Ranking in Help Desk Software
26th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
28th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Clarity SM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
24th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
26th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of Cherwell Service Management is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Clarity SM is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Türker Kara - PeerSpot reviewer
Quite good back-end architecture for end users but the API is very, very bad
Our company uses the solution for system, program, service request, change, and knowledge-based management.  We perform CMD authorizations and use a lot of integrations for our in-house or third-party applications. We also use Salesforce automations and Microsoft orchestrations.  We have about…

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 are problem management and change management."
"The dashboard is very useful to get a quick overview of current tasks."
"All our activities are carried out in the one place."
"The dashboard and the reporting functionality are the solution's most valuable features."
"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."
"Clear processes with transparent responsibilities led to more efficiencies within the teams."
"It gives us one central location to know, not only who is contacting us, but what they're contacting us for, what application they're contacting us for."
"We have decreased training and talk time, and all those good stats, just by reusing information, not reinventing it, every time we get a call."
"The solution's back-end architecture is very good for end users."
"the ticket system makes sure that everyone gets taken care of, and that makes for a better customer experience. Using the system verifies that no one gets left behind."
"This product has so many adjustment possibilities for many different clients."
"Modules of integrated ITIL managers."
"The new xFlow interface that was introduced for Level 1 analysts really helps the them to achieve the best and fastest result for their users/customers."
"Our users access it via the web. We have external and internal sources, and we're now introducing the mobile app portion so our computer engineers can respond to tickets remotely."
 

Cons

"Access is only available if we're on VPN."
"Application service mapping, GRC, SecOps, and things like that need improvement."
"The stability, specifically in the on-premises deployment model, could be improved."
"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."
"Clarity tech support has gotten worse since Broadcom acquired CA Technologies. We're not getting the support we've come to expect as a large enterprise. Clarity's support needs to improve, or it's going to lose market share."
"Improvements would include simplification in the user interface, being more expandable, better documentation. The user interface is fairly cluttered, and we can update it the way we need to, but it just seems dated."
"It doesn't yet have the ability to integrate with other products."
"We would like the CMDB to be populated automatically. At the moment, everything is manually created."
"The user interface is just boring. I'd like to see a more interactive UI, from the end-user perspective, and from the analyst's perspective. I would like a product that looks like it was developed maybe in 2015, or at least 2012."
"The cost of this solution is too high, which is why we're leaving."
"More user experience in the look and feel of the application. ​"
"They should enhance the service desk manager's service point function to be more customizable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For an ITIL user, the cost is probably about 50 bucks a month."
"I don't see anyone other than large companies being able to afford this system."
"The solution is quite reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
"The pricing is based on a subscription model."
"I think pricing of this model is suitable for growing corporations."
"It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. It is worth it!"
"Clarity offers a perpetual license. Customers purchase the license once and then pay for maintenance. CA provides a subscription model as well. Both models are available for our customers."
"There is a subscripted needed to use Clarity SM. The price of the solution could be less expensive. ServiceNow is less expensive and BMC Helix is priced similar to Clarity SM."
"Pricing is simple, as it’s per concurrent analysts."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Also Known As

No data available
CA Service Desk Manager, Clarity Service Management, CA Service Management, Unicenter Service Desk, CA SDM, CA Service Catalog, CA Business Service Insight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ausenco, Highlights for Children, B/E Aerospace
Banco G&T Continental City of Perth, FEMSA, Fujitsu, Manpower, Muslim Commercial Bank - MCB, Punjab National Bank, Santa Clara County Social Services, Stefanini
Find out what your peers are saying about Cherwell Service Management vs. Clarity SM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.