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Clarity SM vs TOPdesk 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

Clarity SM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
26th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TOPdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
14th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of Clarity SM is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TOPdesk is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

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…
Martina Peneva - PeerSpot reviewer
Implement service management changes while addressing UI improvements
Topdesk's user interface makes it easy to handle requests and escalate them to other groups or reassign them when working on a single ticket. Additionally, the service management tool in HR allows for a change in delivering services, replacing email communication with ticket raising. The knowledge library enables the local HR to store and share relevant information and frequently asked cases, enhancing collaboration. The ticket system also facilitates escalating cases to other involved departments. IT, HR, and some other teams primarily use this system.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"XFlow (Temperature) and Service Point together provided an extremely user-friendly and collaborative experience to the point of making it easy for all users of the product, whether end-users or analysts."
"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."
"Logging every action in Service Desk Manager (SDM)."
"This product has so many adjustment possibilities for many different clients."
"It's fairly easy to use, from a UI standpoint."
"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."
"The most valuable features are the requests and incident tracking."
"The fact that it aligns very well with ITIL. I think that's probably one of my favorite things about it, because it's following up a general best practice for service management."
"The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is the reports."
"It is an easy-to-use solution."
"Its ITSM approach is quite useful."
"When it comes to implementing new features, they listen to what their customers want via a suggestion forum that they have."
"TOPdesk is overall very stable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ticketing feature."
"The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is its ease of use if you have implemented it in the right way. If you're not implementing it in the right way, then it's very difficult."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the incident management module."
 

Cons

"Ease of support and upgrades need much improvement."
"The API is very, very bad so we developed our own."
"The SDM administration and customisation needS deep information about architecture and vendor support continuously."
"I am not able to see tickets on a bigger scale. I can't see the overall bigger picture."
"I would also like to see a simpler reporting tool. They went from one fairly robust, very complex, reporting tool - it was great - and then they went to another one that was also fairly complex and robust. That's a great tool for people who are report writers, but for the average person who just wants to get a quick little report, it's like handing somebody a chainsaw because they have to break some toothpicks in half."
"​We would like to see them revamp, or rework, a lot of their configuration management database structures. We hear that is on the horizon."
"They should enhance the service desk manager's service point function to be more customizable."
"The interface for the users is a bit old-fashioned and not user-friendly."
"An operator is also a user but requires creating two different records."
"It is time-consuming to add new users."
"From a UI perspective, there is room for improvement. It sometimes takes many steps to do something simple, like creating or moving a knowledge item."
"This solution is modular so you only buy what you need, but I prefer what some companies are doing where they include everything in the package."
"All companies have processes that need to be adjusted. When you have a change, you need to name it, and many companies have a set of changes you can use. It would be helpful if there were more space in TOPdesk to name the change or use metadata to record the kinds of changes."
"If I open a ticket on the infrastructure team, I can't move it to the financial team for them to manage the ticket."
"The solution should be made more user-friendly."
"One of the disadvantages of TOPdesk is the reporting tool. It is very poor and not in real-time. You do not always receive the correct information."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is based on a subscription model."
"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."
"It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. It is worth it!"
"The solution is quite reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
"I don't see anyone other than large companies being able to afford this system."
"Pricing is simple, as it’s per concurrent analysts."
"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."
"I think pricing of this model is suitable for growing corporations."
"The solution is inexpensive compared to competitors."
"Compared to other products in this segment, I think that they are priced well and not too expensive."
"There are three fee options to choose from for a company and these options compared to market prices are very high. For example, if I use one of the first options for 10 assets, then it costs 20,000 Euros. If you went to competitors, then you pay less."
"The cost of the solution on a yearly basis is $20,000. Technical support is not extra. It's included in the yearly cost. Updates are also included. The solution is good at keeping its product up to date."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable and not expensive."
"TOPdesk's pricing is cheaper than Jira's."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
48%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Retailer
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about TOPdesk?
The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is the reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TOPdesk?
The solution's pricing is reasonable and not expensive.
What needs improvement with TOPdesk?
From a UI perspective, there is room for improvement, as some tasks like creating or moving a knowledge item within the library require many steps instead of simple actions like drag and drop. This...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco G&T Continental City of Perth, FEMSA, Fujitsu, Manpower, Muslim Commercial Bank - MCB, Punjab National Bank, Santa Clara County Social Services, Stefanini
City of Amsterdam, University of Edinbroughm, IKEA, KLM Catering Services, FloraHolland, BOVAG, PostNL, Total, Hilton, Oce, Canon, Agip, Compass Group, Serco, Danone, BMW, Eneco, And many more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Clarity SM vs. TOPdesk and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.