SCSM vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk comparison

Microsoft and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Help Desk Software category. Microsoft is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.6, while SolarWinds is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 1.8% mindshare in HDS, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 64% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

SCSM

Read 27 SCSM reviews

1,066 Views
938 Comparison Views

64% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Read 7 SolarWinds Web Help Desk reviews

662 Views
556 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

SCSM

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

SCSM and SolarWinds Web Help Desk compete in the IT service management sector. SCSM has the upper hand in integration capabilities and pricing satisfaction, while SolarWinds Web Help Desk excels in intuitive functionality and end-user satisfaction.

Features: SCSM offers strong integration with Microsoft ecosystems, powerful process automation, and significant customization abilities. SolarWinds Web Help Desk provides efficient asset management, effective ticketing, and ease of adoption without intense technical needs.

Room for Improvement: SCSM requires improvement in setup complexity, user interface simplicity, and cloud deployment options. SolarWinds Web Help Desk could enhance pricing flexibility, integration depth with non-native systems, and detailed reporting functionalities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Web Help Desk's cloud model allows faster setup with supportive documentation and helpful customer service. SCSM's on-premise model requires time and expertise for setup, but its support services cater to businesses needing extensive customization.

Pricing and ROI: SCSM's lower initial costs offer favorable ROI through seamless integration with Microsoft systems, reducing additional expenses. SolarWinds Web Help Desk has a higher initial cost but is justified by its feature-rich offering, providing long-term benefits in asset management and problem resolution.

To learn more, read our detailed SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

September 2025

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Helped 867,370 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

SCSM

Ranking in Help Desk Software

11th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Service Management (ITSM) (10th)

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Ranking in Help Desk Software

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of SCSM is 1.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Web Help Desk is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Help Desk Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SCSM	1.8%
SolarWinds Web Help Desk	1.5%
Other	96.7%

Help Desk Software

Featured Reviews

LuisSanchez3

Director Metropolitano de Gobierno Digital at a government with 10,001+ employees

Current setup enables smooth problem-solving but lacks comprehensive guidance and local support

More information about setup procedures and a more user-friendly front end would be beneficial. We need more information for setup processes. It is difficult to do the work independently, requiring us to hire external companies for maintenance hours to fix small issues that could be resolved faster in-house if we had better information. We have been looking for an upgrade version, but finding local service has been difficult. It has been challenging trying to get things done. Speaking with the Microsoft office, we found there are no local companies with substantial experience with SCSM. What we have now was installed five or six years ago. It has been difficult to change configurations and look for upgrades, even with all the manuals. Our office is considering moving away from SCSM and getting a service desk solution outside of Microsoft. For me, it has been a good tool to get help and solve internal problems in the office. It is a very good tool, but the difficulty in getting local service or more information is pushing us to look for another tool.

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Shadi Shaar

Healthcare Informatics Consultant at Dammam University

Supports case and incident reporting with responsive support

Some features in the product are supposed to run. However, if they don't, it may require some time to configure or fix them, such as asset management. We have been struggling with asset management in SolarWinds Web Help Desk. The software offers a range of features that we haven't fully utilized, such as inventory management and an approval system. While we are utilizing the asset management functionality, there have been some defects that need addressing. Some users prefer to have another big interface, but unfortunately, this option is not available in SolarWinds Web Help Desk.

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

"Many more features than other comparable products."

"The call logging is the solution's most valuable feature. It's very easy to use."

"We use SCSM to manage all of our IT operations, including incident and service requests and problem management."

"If it is correctly configured, you can access and give service quickly to all the end users."

"The remote access is one of the features I really enjoy. The pushing of email updates and things like that are very good."

"I've used SCSM a lot, and its features are valuable."

"It is a simple solution that is easy to configure."

"SCCM provides remote tool functionality, which is not in Intune."

More SCSM pros

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

"SolarWinds is scalable as far as adding devices and servers."

"Once installed, it runs like a charm and doesn't ever crash."

"It is easy to use."

"SolarWinds supports case and incident reporting. This includes logging incidents and tracking them efficiently. Additionally, it is compatible and approved by the ITIL foundation and standards, meeting world-class standards."

"It has a pretty good search function. If you do the advanced search, you can basically search for anything in any field. If I do a search on the request field and just put in some terms I'm searching for, I can usually find the ticket that I'm looking for."

Cons

"Resources for understanding compliance and relative compliance need to be made available."

"Our office is looking for maybe getting out of SCSM and getting a service desk solution outside of Microsoft."

"It would be good if Microsoft added custom attributes or tagging like in Jamf."

"Better integration with other services in Azure is needed because everything is moving from on-premises to the cloud, and as an integrator, we have to help our clients with the migration."

"My company had planned a few months ago to apply SCSM over the cloud in order to provide updates, like regular updates, but it had to be put through a few tools from Microsoft on the cloud, which was not easy."

"The major issues with SCSM include its severe slowness, especially on the client side, and the lack of comprehensive reporting tools."

"It's not too hard to compile stuff but it is hard to manage the solution. Even the design itself makes it difficult for management."

"They need more integration with open-source products."

More SCSM cons

"A little outdated compared to newer products that include protection and detection."

"It would be good if there were training and tutorial videos on the Web Help Desk."

"The interface feels clunky to me compared to some other systems that I've used. I used ManageEngine Service Desk prior to this at my previous job and that had stuff like categories that we use that I don't see in SolarWinds."

"This solution needs to have mobile application support added."

"We would like to see automation included in the next release. We would like to eliminate the L1, and L2 support, by at least 80%. To do this, we need automation with AI (Artificial Intelligence) in combination with ML (Machine Learning)."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for SCSM is cheap."

"The price should be lower."

"It is a lower price vs. other things on the market."

"I would rate the pricing as two out of five."

"It comes free with the enterprise agreement that we have, but the expense really is in having to buy another product to sit on top of it to make it work properly. You wind up having to buy additional support and additional product with their own support and maintenance costs on top of that."

"The price of the solution could be better. My organization has an enterprise annual license with Microsoft which provides us support."

"Licensing can be complex and confusing."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More SCSM pricing and cost advice

"They charge by the technician. It costs $117 per technician per year."

"When you compare with ManageEngine and ServiceNow, SolarWinds is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

26%

Computer Software Company

University

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

16%

Performing Arts

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SCSM?

The solution offers good productivity at a low price point.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCSM?

I am not sure about the pricing as I do not have experience with it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SCSM?

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

SolarWinds Web Help Desk is a case management system. Each user logs their concerns or problems into the portal, which are then assigned to one of our support engineers responsible for managing the...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

SolarWinds Web Help Desk could be beneficial for generating automated responses, such as ONIQ. Since we receive multiple cases from similar backgrounds, it would streamline the process if the syste...

See all answers

Comparisons

ServiceNow vs SCSM

Compared 51% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SCSM

Compared 26% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SCSM

Compared 15% of the time

IBM SmartCloud Control Desk vs SCSM

Compared 8% of the time

More SCSM Competitors

ServiceNow vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 17% of the time

Zendesk vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 17% of the time

Freshservice vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 16% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 14% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 14% of the time

More SolarWinds Web Help Desk Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SCSM

August 2025

Download SCSM product report

Buyer's Guide

Help Desk Software

September 2025

Download SolarWinds Web Help Desk product report

Also Known As

System Center Service Manager

No data available

Overview

System Center Service Manager is a software product by Microsoft to allow organizations to manage incidents and problems. Microsoft states that the product is compliant with industry best practices such as the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). SCSM has integrated ITIL compliant fulfillment of service requests. Service requests are submitted by the end user in order to obtain information, access to a new application or the most common of all, password reset.

Microsoft

SolarWinds Web Help Desk simplifies service management with unified ticketing, asset, knowledge, and change management. Key features include:

Maintain asset inventory by managing the use, availability, and health of IT assets, and tracking this over time.
Control change management, It regulates and manages change requests through automated approval workflows and panel voting options.
Employs robust reporting and monitoring using a built-in reports and dashboards to track ticket status, technician performance, and customer support needs.
Automate ticketing management that Automate service request management through ticket creation, assignment, routing, and escalation.
Centralize your knowledge management, Leverage a built-in help desk knowledge base to create and maintain KB articles and promote end-user self-service for common issues.
Meet your SLAs, it has "SLA breach approaching" notifications and date-specific SLA reminder alerts that help customize escalation and de-escalation workflows.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Fibabanka, UMC Health System

Instacart

Buyer's Guide

SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

September 2025

Free Report: SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Find out what your peers are saying about SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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