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Power Admin PA Server Monitor vs ServiceNow Discovery comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

Power Admin PA Server Monitor
Ranking in Server Monitoring
30th
Average Rating
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (74th)
ServiceNow Discovery
Ranking in Server Monitoring
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (9th), Cloud Resource Discovery Services (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Power Admin PA Server Monitor is 1.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Discovery is 2.8%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ServiceNow Discovery2.8%
Power Admin PA Server Monitor1.6%
Other95.6%
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

it_user225771 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Network Engineer at a engineering company with 51-200 employees
The setup is straightforward, but t​he satellite service installation file could be separated from the server one.
* The status overview page provides a state of computers monitored and provides quickly what users need to focus on * The satellite service installed on remote computers is an easy way to add clients, plus it's easy to deploy and to configure * The licence is perpetual and not linked to one computer, so it's possible to remove a licence from one computer and use it on another with no extra cost
Abhinay Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Now Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
Cloud discovery has improved asset visibility and reporting but still needs smarter automation
The impact of ServiceNow Discovery on my organization's strategic planning depends on various factors. Some customers have their own discovery tools which they do not want to switch from, even if we explain why ServiceNow might be better, because they have been using them for a long time. Some customers are dynamic, so we need to have some kind of proposition that comes with ServiceNow. Sometimes, we need to talk with ServiceNow people themselves to give them a bundle offer in which we can have Discovery and ITSM at a much more affordable price than the competitors, so that is our main goal. Currently, I would say there might be a possibility if we can use some AI discovery features that could be helpful for our organization. If we can get discovery jobs running based on AI schedules, that would be beneficial. I believe in the coming future that I want to see myself working more with ServiceNow in this capacity.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The satellite service installed on remote computers is an easy way to add clients, plus it's easy to deploy and to configure the licence is perpetual and not linked to one computer, so it's possible to remove a licence from one computer and use it on another with no extra cost"
"The possibility to develop your own VB scripts."
"ServiceNow Discovery comes in a bundle with everything, including CMDB, which makes it much easier to use."
"It has given us an understanding of each layer from a server application."
"ServiceNow Discovery works better than other products I've used."
"The service management and operations management modules are valuable."
"Service Now has a great drag and drop functionality, which makes it easier to use than, say, EMC, and it is dedicated to designing an easy-to-use tool for IT defense, giving users better leverage."
"It has been stable since deployment."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"ServiceNow Discovery is a platform that provides full IT infrastructure services, and it's very good for any organization, but that still depends on company requirements, so you need to evaluate those requirements first."
 

Cons

"Basic monitoring on Unix was working really well but it didn't really help under machines in Windows Domain Controller."
"The satellite service installation file could be separated from the server one. It would reduce the size of the file, and reduce the time to deploy on weak connections."
"On the Software Asset Management part of it, I expect additional reconciliation and Discovery features there."
"I feel that credential-less discovery could be improved."
"It is one of the most costly applications in terms of subscription costs."
"The service mapping component is less developed than it is in other solutions, and is in need of improvement."
"ServiceNow ITOM is particularly not very strong in terms of monitoring capabilities. They do not have any monitoring tool."
"What needs improvement in ServiceNow Discovery is the reporting UI because I didn't find it as friendly compared to other tools. Other tools have better reporting UI than what's currently in ServiceNow Discovery. What I'd like to see in the next release of ServiceNow Discovery is more user-friendly out-of-the-box reporting that would be helpful for non-technical users. Some users such as managers would want to just do a few clicks to access the reports and shouldn't be required to do search queries, but right now, reporting in the tool isn't very user-friendly."
"The continuous improvement in the quality and customization of the product features would be beneficial, particularly as more customers rely heavily on its capabilities."
"ServiceNow Discovery should be updated to provide its users with more out-of-the-box information and attributes to support the routers and switches from Cisco."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution is not inexpensive so pricing is rated a three out of ten."
"ServiceNow Discovery is expensive, but the company has a monopoly and we need to use the solution. We use it because we do not have a choice."
"If the product is not deployed properly, it can be very expensive."
"You need a subscription to ServiceNow Discovery, so you can use its features. You can also use specific plugins with the tool, and some of the plugins are free. I don't have information on how much my company pays for the subscription to ServiceNow Discovery."
"As per a general discussion I had with the stakeholders, I figured out that it is a costly tool. There is a need to make additional payments apart from the licensing fees for better support services from ServiceNow."
"It costs a lot. It is probably close to over a hundred thousand. It's an expensive platform, but you can't compare ServiceNow's Discovery functionality to other discovery tools. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison of ServiceNow to a configuration management tool to an asset management tool because it does those things, but it's not those things."
"It's on a yearly basis. We renew our contract for three years at a time."
"ROI (Return on Investment) is good. ServiceNow don't disclose the price publicly. They'll assess your organization's needs and then come up with a price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about ServiceNow Discovery?
The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Discovery?
Regarding pricing, I have not dealt much with it. I am more focused on the feature side of things, so I cannot comment on the latest pricing because it is dynamic as well. Sometimes it is cheaper f...
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Discovery?
The impact of ServiceNow Discovery on my organization's strategic planning depends on various factors. Some customers have their own discovery tools which they do not want to switch from, even if w...
 

Also Known As

PA Server Monitor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sauder Woodworking, Symantec, Microsoft, Skull Candy, NASA, Xerox, Chevron
York, National Grid, DXC Technology, experian, BEACHBODY
Find out what your peers are saying about Power Admin PA Server Monitor vs. ServiceNow Discovery and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.