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OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

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

OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
223
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.4%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 21.0%, down from 26.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow21.0%
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.4%
Other76.6%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Evgeniy Kolotilov - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a range of tools for sales and configuration that can be used in banks and telecom companies
The deployment takes three months. In this process, customers need to allocate resources like networks, data storage, and images. They then need to decide which business functions they intend to use in production and perform some basic configurations. Custom documentation is prepared and provided for user renewals and administration. I would rate the experience of the initial setup a nine out of ten.
Nikhil Gohil - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables effective incident management and seamless workflow automation with valuable mobile accessibility
I haven't thought deeply about improvements for ServiceNow or what might be missing right now. There are so many modules and features in ServiceNow that I haven't explored them all, so it's hard to say what might be missing or should be improved. I suggest making the cost more affordable for smaller companies.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"OpenText Service Management Automation X provides valuable features such as topic analytics for incident and problem management. It also includes natural language processing for analyzing technical descriptions. Additionally, it features a virtual chatbot capable of processing natural language to interact effectively with end users. This service enhances customer support and is not subject to the limitations often found in offerings from other vendors."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"Identifies better ways to license software or eliminate unused software to save money."
"Data in reports and dashboards are easily accessible."
"The product's integration functionality in the change management module has significantly improved efficiency in our organization."
"The solution has a user-friendly interface."
"The most impactful feature in our day-to-day operations is the ticket status, which provides crucial visibility into the progress of each resource or incident."
"ServiceNow is an industry leader in multiple areas and provides an excellent ROI."
"Some of the valuable features I have found the solution to have are it can serve many different types of businesses, it has strong platform capabilities, provides application development, built-in predictive intelligence, and performance analytics reports."
"The analytics - we like to keep track of how much work everyone is doing."
 

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 product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."
"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"It should include information on navigating various user interfaces for creating diverse requests directed to different teams."
"Its stability and pricing need improvement."
"It is annoying that ServiceNow keeps on changing back to Quebec every six months."
"The solution's user experience could be improved concerning its UI and portals."
"It became kind of complex to set it up without a general lack of knowledge of the particular feature-function capabilities. Features and capabilities could have been explained better to the end-users."
"This solution needs to be improved for global use. Currently, it's very oriented to the processes and needs of the US customer base, like their compliance solution or GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance), and not so much for customers from other parts of the world. Some users may like the things that ServiceNow is improving, but those are very oriented to users based in the United States and Europe."
"The installation and deployment of ServiceNow can be a bit challenging. One major issue I've encountered is that ServiceNow doesn't provide the same mobile responsiveness or features that we used to enjoy with other tools. For example, with Splunk, our response times were about five minutes, and we could manage alerts and incidents directly from our mobile devices."
"The ability to embed help information onto the screens."
 

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 know that it's not too bad because people continue to use it and they are happy to renew up their contract."
"Initially, the licensing model ServiceNow came up with was very good. But now, from a licensing perspective, they are changing their model day by day. It is becoming a bit expensive for customers."
"I would say it is moderately expensive, ranging from six to seven on a scale of ten."
"It has a higher cost compared to local/regional solutions."
"ServiceNow's pricing is comparatively higher than Helix's."
"The licenses are expensive."
"The platform offers a free trial, by providing a free developer instance once you sign up."
"The price could be a little lower for the solution. Many of my customers have issues with the licensing process, they have to make it easier and straightforward."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise163
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
We are using the application as a customer. We are utilizing OpenText Service Management (SMAX) mainly for ITSM processes and some BPM activities. It is mainly used for tracking performance and cre...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
I would rate OpenText Service Management (SMAX) an eight out of ten. Please hide my name and company name as I have not received approval from my corporate communications team to speak on behalf of...
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.