OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL] comparison

Why PeerSpot?

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and OpenText Service Manager [EOL] are both solutions in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category. Additionally, 88% of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 79% of OpenText Service Manager [EOL] users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

OpenText Service Manager [EOL] and OpenText Service Management SMAX compete in IT service management. SMAX appears more favored for its advanced automation and AI capabilities, providing better long-term value.

Features: OpenText Service Manager EOL offers comprehensive IT service request management, robust integration capabilities, and customization options. SMAX boasts advanced automation, AI-driven insights, and a modern architecture, which are often preferred for their enhanced functionality.

Room for Improvement: OpenText Service Manager EOL could enhance its cloud capabilities, reduce deployment resource requirements, and simplify its integration process. SMAX might improve by refining its reporting tools, enhancing dashboard customization, and expanding customer support to meet complex demands.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: OpenText Service Manager EOL involves a traditional deployment model that can be resource-intensive, but it offers strong customer support. SMAX provides a more flexible deployment through cloud-based technologies, allowing for quicker implementation and improved satisfaction from its responsive service.

Pricing and ROI: OpenText Service Manager EOL typically has a lower initial setup cost, appealing for budget concerns. SMAX requires a higher initial investment but offers a better return on investment over time due to its scalable, flexible features that enhance efficiency, justifying the total cost of ownership.

To learn more, read our detailed IT Service Management (ITSM) Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IT Service Management (ITSM)

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 914,322 peers since 2012

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

Automation Anywhere

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

Read full review

HugoAlmeida

Head Of Delivery at Timestamp ITM

Centralized service processes have improved cross‑department visibility but reporting still needs work

The machine learning capabilities in OpenText Service Management (SMAX) are somewhat not published the way they should be. They work pretty well, but they are not used as much in the current experience of our customers. They have them; the solution has them, but they usually go a little bit below the radar in terms of visibility. I believe there is room for improvement when it comes to machine learning capabilities. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has room to improve mainly on reporting components. The reporting components include dashboards, and while OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has a reporting module, it's somewhat limited, so I believe it has room to improve there, with more inclusion of artificial intelligence in the models and more in project management and portfolio management capabilities. We want to see better use and more functionalities enabled with the already existing capabilities such as AI and reporting in the next OpenText Service Management (SMAX) release, but one important thing we think should be included is a module for metrics, similar to Google Analytics, that focuses on the metrics of the tool usage. The module shouldn't just report on the components of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) but also track how the tool is used by end users, for example, what functionalities users utilize more frequently, the performance of those functionalities, and how long it takes them to open a ticket or log in, focusing on applicational monitoring metrics and performance management metrics.

Read full review

MEKKAB Raouf

Information Technology Service Manager & Technology Integration DevOps at Djezzy

Excellent pricing with great change management and service management capabilities

We started with version 9.3, and now we're on 9.6 with the full solution, including the CMS. They have lots of options. They propose a full solution for technology and IT service management. We are a telecom company. We are a leader in the market, and therefore, we need to have all details about our own environment and assets. So far, Micro Focus answers all our needs. I'd advise new users to go directly to the SMAX solution, the last, last version of Service Manager. If they are a technical company or information technology company with engineers and developers, they can use it on-premise. If they don't have such competence in the company, they can ask for the solution on the cloud. It is easily available on Microsoft, Amazon, or Google clouds. I'd rate the product nine out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automation Anywhere helps improve our organization by allowing us to automate processes that should not be manual."

"Easy to access: Without the need to download and install software on a local machine, we can access the RPA application from virtually anywhere."

"There are multiple levels of cloning. In case screen cloning doesn't work, you can do object-based cloning or keystroke-level cloning, depending upon what parameters are available to you and what is the level of information that you capture. You can traverse between object cloning, which is the lowest form of cloning to a stroke-based cloning, which is like taking care of each keystroke-level which is made by the agent."

"My experience with the deployment of Automation Anywhere was good. I have no complaints there. It was very straightforward."

"One of the strengths of Automation Anywhere is its user-friendly interface, which makes it accessible even to those without a development background."

"Automation Anywhere is stable, scalable, and easy to use."

"With automation, you can reduce that effort to half an hour or an hour, so it will improve your efficiency and save you a lot of time, so you can improve your time in other work."

"Automation Anywhere has presented us with a platform that is easily accessible from a web interface, enabling us to write code for RPA scripts without having to download a dedicated software application."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."

"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."

"It offers a range of tools for sales and configuration. It's like a business process improvement platform, suitable for various lines of business operations."

"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."

"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is effective for all sectors, such as IT and HR."

"The customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."

"I've used this kind of application for more than 20 years and from my perspective, SMAX is one of the best products on the market."

"The tool is very easy to use."

More OpenText Service Management (SMAX) pros

"Micro Focus Service Manager is fine."

"This is our “go-to” application for all ITIL processes globally."

"Stability, lower operation costs, and straight process implementation."

"Service Manager gives us a single system where everything is centralized in one base."

"The solution will streamline productivity and also improve automation, bringing efficiency as well as the ability to handle a big number of enterprise-wide service needs, with productivity and collaborative capabilities being some of the key benefits."

"While the tool works, what makes it work better is I can make it do whatever they need; it's a completely customizable solution to fit with the specific needs of our organization and it does it really easily and really dependably."

"The workflow engine that standardizes and globalizes the process steps. It drives people through the process by standardization and automation."

"This is now completely organized and standardized in one workflow, and people work on one ticket, so there's full transparency, no confusion anymore, time to market is much faster, and the email traffic is less."

More OpenText Service Manager [EOL] pros

Cons

"They need to make the AA stable across all browsers and I hope to see it fixed in the next version."

"I would like a better code migration solution, because this is something that we do a lot."

"If the option were available to use the old generic-style variable type, it would be helpful."

"My biggest suggestion would be to allow us to set up test and development licenses or environments that don't use unattended licenses needed for production."

"I would like it to have AI and ML capabilities."

"Automation Anywhere could improve by better integrating with DevOps. Currently, it cannot be integrated 100% with DevOps methodology, which many companies are requiring."

"They need to improve the REST Api documentation because it is not well detailed or clear enough for beginners, and they need to provide some out-of-the-box AI and ML functions such as image classification and object identification."

"I would suggest adding more fields while calling in API. There is no option to generate Authentication token within the Bot."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"The initial setup of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is complicated, but once it is set up the configuration is straightforward to adapt to the users' or customers' needs."

"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."

"SMAX lacks in integrations as well as written documentation."

"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has room to improve mainly on reporting components. The reporting components include dashboards, and while OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has a reporting module, it's somewhat limited, so I believe it has room to improve there, with more inclusion of artificial intelligence in the models and more in project management and portfolio management capabilities."

"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has some stability challenges that are crashable and not stable at times."

"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."

"The contract management feature can be improved."

"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."

More OpenText Service Management (SMAX) cons

"There could be some slight fixes to managing the catalog, because you can customise the items so much you can't really change the items in dropdown lists easily."

"I don't see anything lacking."

"Part of our reason for moving away from Service Manager is that HP was not on the leading edge of the technology and was consequently being surpassed by SaaS offerings."

"I think the best recommendation to Micro Focus would be to increase awareness and the marketing for this product."

"We struggle with and the simplicity of getting reporting data at a high level, and output is not where it needs to be for us."

"It's not so easy to move to the next version. It's not quick to upgrade."

"The support and functionality of the portal could be improved. There was an old portal and they stopped it in the last version."

"Pure cloud-based native functionality is lacking."

More OpenText Service Manager [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Talk to your manager and try to procure an automation license for training. This will allow you to train people, so you can move to automation."

"Cost-wise, it is fine. A lot of medium businesses prefer Automation Anywhere. The development cost is also lower."

"Yearly, our licensing costs are about $90,000 to $100,000. There will be additional licensing costs when we add more Bot Runners to our infrastructure."

"We have saved customers 400% in terms of time saved by implementing this product."

"The cost can be reduced a little for users."

"If I compare it with Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere is cheaper. Blue Prism is very costly. Automation Anywhere's pricing follows the market, not less and not more."

"It's an ideal pricing model to customize the components based on everyone's needs."

"There are a lot of savings in terms of effort and time as well as costs. Automation Anywhere automates a lot of processes. It allows an organization to save the efforts of a lot people. It saves a lot of time because people can't work a whole day (24/7), but Automation Anywhere bots can."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."

"The cost of the license for SMAX varies depending on the configuration, including the number of seats for users and the customer's specific requirements. It's not a fixed cost and can vary."

"I pay for Service Manager on a yearly basis, and the price is reasonable - I would rate it five out of ten."

"HP Service Manager has moderate pricing."

"Micro Focus Service Manager is a little cheaper than other options. You have to pay a monthly subscription fee."

"The license is not cheap."

"I would say that identify your requirements and pay for the support to implement and test those requirements, and then hope that you did a good job because the cost of their service is fairly expensive."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

914,322 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

14%

Outsourcing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	161
Midsize Enterprise	82
Large Enterprise	560

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	38

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

See all answers

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?

We mostly deal with OpenText Service Management (SMAX), Service Management, and UCMDB, the UD Discovery, Unified Disc...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?

We are still working with OpenText and Splunk. I remember that Splunk is now with what Cisco AppDynamics bought. We a...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is okay, not expensive and not the cheapest. It is overall good.

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

UiPath Platform vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 11% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 5% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

Appian vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

More Automation Anywhere Competitors

ServiceNow vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

Compared 16% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

Compared 11% of the time

Ivanti Voice vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

Compared 11% of the time

TOPdesk vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

Compared 5% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

Compared 4% of the time

More OpenText Service Management (SMAX) Competitors

ServiceNow vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

Compared 19% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

Clarity SM vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

Compared 5% of the time

More OpenText Service Manager [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

September 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

September 2026

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) report

Download OpenText Service Management (SMAX) product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Service Manager [EOL]

September 2026

Download OpenText Service Manager [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)

Micro Focus Service Manager, HPE ITSM, HPE Service Manager

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

OpenText

Demo not available

OpenText

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

OpenText Service Management Automation X delivers efficient service management automation with user-friendly configurability across IT, IoT, HR, and finance sectors. It enhances business processes through integrated incident management and natural language processing with virtual chatbots.

OpenText SMAX blends user-friendly design with broad language support and robust storage. It enables organizations to deploy in both on-premise and cloud environments using Kubernetes. SMAX excels in business process improvement, incident management, and uses intelligent agents for autonomous alerts and issue resolution. However, it requires enhancements in integration capabilities and documentation, third-party product connectivity, and contract management. Users face challenges with process automation and search functionality, demanding greater customization and flexibility.

What are the key features of OpenText SMAX?

User-Friendliness: Simplifies service management across departments.
Configurability: Allows customization to meet specific needs.
Adaptability: Effective across IT, IoT, HR, and finance.
Language Support: Broad language capabilities for diverse users.
Storage Capabilities: Efficient and reliable data management.
Process Improvement: Tools for streamlining business operations.
Incident Management: Effective handling and resolution of issues.
Natural Language Processing: Chatbots that enhance customer support.
Automation: Facilitates seamless logistics and service catalog management.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Enhanced Efficiency: Streamlines service management processes.
Improved Customer Support: Virtual chatbots provide superior assistance.
Scalability: Adaptable to growing business needs.
Cost Reduction: Optimizes resource usage and reduces operational costs.
Employee Onboarding: Simplifies and accelerates onboarding processes.

Banks and telecom companies primarily employ OpenText SMAX for service management automation, leveraging its ESM and ITSM capabilities. Deployed on-premise and via cloud, organizations in regions such as Saudi Arabia focus on integrations and upgrades, using SMAX as an end-user portal for incident management.

OpenText

Service Manager on SaaS provides you with a cloud-based, industry leading IT Service Management solution.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).

resultspositive, Globicon

Buyer's Guide

IT Service Management (ITSM)

September 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, ManageEngine and others in IT Service Management (ITSM). Updated: September 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

914,322 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best IT Service Management (ITSM) vendors.

We monitor all IT Service Management (ITSM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.