OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs TOPdesk comparison

Why PeerSpot?

OpenText and TOPdesk are both solutions in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category. OpenText is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.7, while TOPdesk is ranked #19 with an average rating of 6.0. Additionally, 88% of OpenText users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of TOPdesk users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

TOPdesk and OpenText Service Management (SMAX) are competing products in IT service management. TOPdesk has an advantage in pricing and customer support, while OpenText SMAX stands out for its feature depth and overall value.

Features: TOPdesk offers valuable features such as self-service portals, incident management, and change management. OpenText SMAX provides advanced automation, machine learning, and topic analytics for incident and problem management.

Room for Improvement: TOPdesk could benefit from feature expansion, more advanced automation, and better AI integration. OpenText SMAX could improve ease of deployment, user interface design, and training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: TOPdesk provides a straightforward deployment model with strong customer support. OpenText SMAX, while more complex to implement, offers optional modules and scalable solutions, aligning well with intricate IT environments.

Pricing and ROI: TOPdesk has lower setup costs and offers attractive ROI. OpenText SMAX, despite requiring a higher initial investment, provides compelling long-term ROI through its extensive functionality and automation tools.

To learn more, read our detailed OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. TOPdesk Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. TOPdesk

November 2026

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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

Nadeem K.

Rpa Developer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Automation has freed teams from repetitive finance and supply tasks and supports global operations

In the current organization, we had trouble initially because I think the documentation and support could be better than what it is now. This is one difference between Automation Anywhere and other RPA tools such as UiPath. In UiPath, if you have an issue, you go to the UiPath website and search for it, and you get lots of help materials. In Automation Anywhere, you do not get exactly what you are looking for. You get a very large number of results when you search for something, and from this large result set, you have to filter out what you need, or only partial information will be available. User handbooks are available for each product. In that regard, I would say Automation Anywhere is lagging compared to other RPA tools. It is difficult to get hold of their customer support team. I want to clarify that it is not a matter of us building logic on Automation Anywhere and it failing. When it is a product-related issue, they have to give us support because we only know how to develop within Automation Anywhere. We do not know how to fix Automation Anywhere itself. Whenever we have an issue, trying to get in touch with them always takes three to four business days.

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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.

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Martina Peneva

People Technology Lead at Scandinavian Tobacco Group

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Document automation has notably reduced manual effort."

"The cognitive automation gives us an edge towards intelligence using IQ Bot, and this allows us to integrate and give a combined solution to a customer."

"The best feature is the drag-and-drop command. Users with less coding knowledge can also automate their end-to-end processes very easily."

"What I appreciate most about Automation Anywhere is its user interface, which is very friendly and simple when compared to UiPath and Power Automate, featuring drag-and-drop capabilities, control rooms for both cloud and on-premises, and the ability for business users to run bots with just half an hour of training."

"Even a non-IT or business user can just look at the bot language and understand what the bot is doing, and that's the easy part."

"It is easy to use. It helps to reduce your man-hours and manual effort."

"AA brings a lot of benefits for our organization in a number of different ways."

"The Automation Anywhere University is a good tool. It goes topic-by-topic with real-time examples."

More Automation Anywhere pros

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

"OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is evolving in addressing the needs across different sectors like IT or HR."

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

"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 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."

"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."

More OpenText Service Management (SMAX) pros

"Its ITSM approach is quite useful."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the incident management module."

"The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is the reports."

"This solution has provided me with a well-defined process and interaction, compared to my previous tool, GLPI."

"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."

"It is an easy-to-use solution."

"As we have moved to an off-premises deployment, we get regular updates."

More TOPdesk pros

Cons

"With Automation Anywhere, it took us a bit of time to stand it up initially. We tried to do it in a virtual environment, which caused us a bit of headache. It could have been smoother in this aspect."

"Automation Anywhere's current requirement for upfront annual payments limits flexibility for customers."

"There is still a way to go for Automation Anywhere where we can see improvement."

"As far as stability is concerned, there have been some challenges. Sometimes, we experience our computers freezing up for no apparent reason or the network being inaccessible."

"There are some business areas for which this tool is not capable of doing, such as in the areas of graphically-based input."

"There's potential for Automation Anywhere to integrate conversational types of tools and AI into their tool set, which would be really valuable."

"Because I am using an older version, I am rating the scalability as a seven out of 10. I feel a lack of convenience when I try to scale it."

"IQ Bot does have some limitations."

More Automation Anywhere cons

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

"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."

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

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

"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."

"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."

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

More OpenText Service Management (SMAX) cons

"Change management implementation, facility management, and making reservations on assets can be improved."

"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."

"If I open a ticket on the infrastructure team, I can't move it to the financial team for them to manage the ticket."

"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."

"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."

"It is time-consuming to add new users."

"In some fields, it's just not good enough."

"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."

More TOPdesk cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We purchase on a bot basis. Our costs are approximately $5,000."

"We only deal in annual licenses. There are no pay-as-you-go licenses."

"I don't agree with the IQ Bot licensing costs, which depends on the consumption of the document rather than per bot or user. This is confusing for me, because most of the cases for us in a possible future scenario, there would be a lot of invalid data to be scanned to get to real data. E.g., we would have to supply approximately 100 pages of scanned data to extract two pages of original data. In these type of cases, the IQ Bot might be a costly venture."

"I believe it is $10,000 for Bot Creator."

"Automation Anywhere might have a higher upfront cost than some competitors, but its extensive features and seamless integration with other tools can save organizations money in the long run."

"The ROI is really good. We have saved time and money."

"It is cost-efficient in terms of licensing. I found their support good when I was working for the airline client. However, I hear from my managers here that the support price for Tier 3 or premium is a little higher. That is why we are not going for Automation Anywhere. Its price was okay for our client, but for us, it seems expensive."

"I've seen the price vary by whether the client is going to scale and adopt a tool."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."

"Compared to other products in this segment, I think that they are priced well and not too expensive."

"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."

"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."

"TOPdesk's pricing is cheaper than Jira's."

"The solution is inexpensive compared to competitors."

"The solution's pricing is reasonable and not expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Government

Outsourcing Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	162
Midsize Enterprise	86
Large Enterprise	566

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

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...

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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...

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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

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 t...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for TOPdesk?

I use Topdesk to change the way we deliver our services in HR to the business. Instead of writing an email to a parti...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering TOPdesk?

The overall solution rating I would give Topdesk is a six. Whether I would recommend the product would depend on the ...

See all answers

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

November 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Service Management (SMAX)

October 2026

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) report

Download OpenText Service Management (SMAX) product report

Buyer's Guide

Help Desk Software

October 2026

Download TOPdesk 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)

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

OpenText

Demo not available

TOPdesk

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 (SMAX) is a user-friendly platform tailored for ITSM and BPM activities with AI-driven chatbots, analytics, and low-code adaptability for efficient incident and problem management.

OpenText SMAX is designed to enhance business processes across departments, offering integration support through AI-enhanced features like chatbots and comprehensive analytics tools. Its robust orchestration and natural language processing capabilities make it a good fit for complex issue management and business improvement. While workflow customization can be challenging and integration documentation needs enhancement, its focus on visibility, low-code configuration, and adaptability serves diverse operational needs. SMAX supports both IT and non-IT implementations, facilitating ease of installation and integration with various tools such as UCMDB.

What key features does OpenText SMAX offer?

Easy Configuration: Low-code setup ensures swift deployment and changes.
AI-Enhanced Chatbots: Facilitates user interaction with better natural language processing.
Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights through comprehensive dashboards and reports.
Orchestration Capabilities: Enhances process automation and visibility for business improvement.
Integration Support: Supports cross-departmental integration with tools like UCMDB.

What benefits should reviewers consider?

Adaptability: Easily configured to meet specific business demands.
User-Friendliness: Designed for intuitive use with enhanced chatbot interactions.
Comprehensive Analytics: Offers strong reporting tools for performance tracking.
Flexibility: Supports both IT and non-IT use cases with powerful orchestration.
Incident Management: Effective in handling complex problem management tasks.

OpenText SMAX is applied across sectors like banking and telecom, primarily for ITSM and BPM. It facilitates incident management through an end-user portal and integrates with UCMDB, supporting alert handling and management in regions such as Saudi Arabia.

OpenText

TOPdesk enhances ITSM with valuable features like change management and incident management. Its modules support service level and asset management. Users find its interface effective for ticket handling and request escalation.

TOPdesk primarily supports IT service management across organizations, facilitating the complete ITSM lifecycle. It offers modules for change, incident, and configuration management, along with features for ticketing and asset management. The service management capabilities extend to HR, helping employees raise tickets efficiently. Some organizations utilize it for onboarding, offboarding, and maintaining a knowledge library. It addresses needs in project management and financial approvals.

What Are The Key Features of TOPdesk?

Change Management: Streamlines processes necessary for IT changes.
Incident Management: Ensures issues are tracked and resolved promptly.
Reporting Modules: Offers metrics on service performance.
Call Module: Manages customer interactions effectively.
Service Level Management: Monitors and maintains service quality.
Asset Management: Tracks and manages organizational assets.
Reservation Management: Simplifies resource reservations.
Ticketing Feature: Enhances departmental collaboration.
Knowledge Library: Facilitates information sharing across teams.

What Benefits Should Users Look For?

Improved Collaboration: Enhances communication across IT and HR.
Comprehensive ITSM Support: Covers incident, change, and configuration.
Streamlined Onboarding: Supports seamless integration for new employees.
Enhanced Project Management: Assists in managing extensive projects.
Efficient Request Handling: Simplifies ticket management processes.
Informed Decision-Making: Provides insightful reporting data.

TOPdesk is widely used in diverse sectors for ITSM. Organizations employ it for lifecycle management of IT services, leveraging its change and configuration modules. It aids HR departments in managing service requests and employee transitions, providing valuable support in IT and project management.

TOPdesk

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).

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.

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. TOPdesk

November 2026

Free Report: OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. TOPdesk

Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. TOPdesk and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.

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