SCSM vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk comparison

Microsoft and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Help Desk Software category. Microsoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.4, while SolarWinds is ranked #18 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 1.6% mindshare in HDS, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

SCSM

Read 26 SCSM reviews

917 Views
509 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Read 7 SolarWinds Web Help Desk reviews

632 Views
294 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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SCSM vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

April 2025

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Helped 850,028 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

12th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Service Management (ITSM) (11th)

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Ranking in Help Desk Software

18th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of SCSM is 1.6%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Web Help Desk is 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Help Desk Software

Featured Reviews

PraveenSharma3

UX Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Enhanced remote functionality complements intricate admin management

We are using it as co-management, working from SCCM and some from Intune. However, there are dissimilarities between SCCM and Intune, so we use SCCM for specific tasks or policies Currently, with the system, we have some remote tool functionality which is not available with Intune. We are also…

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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.

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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

"I like the reporting service. SCSM has a good reporting service and analysis service for analysis requests."

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

"The solution is quite easy to integrate with other Microsoft products."

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

"The reporting is very good."

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

"The support from Microsoft is good and we also have local support on the ground in Nigeria."

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

More SCSM pros

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

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

"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."

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

"It is easy to use."

Cons

"The solution could be more simple. For example, it takes a lot of work to create reports. It runs on Microsoft SQL queries. Creating custom reports on ManageEngine takes less work from the administrator."

"The user interface needs to be improved."

"The configuration could be easier."

"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."

"The patch management aspect of the solution should be improved. It's quite complicated and not user-friendly. If your systems are not patched properly, you are unable to pull reports."

"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."

"We have had some issues with the SCSM on-premise deployment version in the imaging aspects."

"The product needs to improve its integration with other tools. It also needs to have a better UI and a simple dashboard."

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."

"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)."

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The price should be lower."

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

"It is an expensive solution."

"The license for SCSM is cheap."

"The platform is competitively priced."

"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."

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

27%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

71%

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

We acquired SCSM for free with our Microsoft Endpoint Manager purchase, and we only paid for the integration process.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SCSM?

From an admin point of view, Intune has more features and is easier to manage compared to SCCM. SCCM is a little complex for the admin point of view. Although some engineers at Microsoft are good, ...

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 56% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SCSM

Compared 17% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SCSM

Compared 17% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs SCSM

Compared 11% of the time

More SCSM Competitors

Zendesk vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 26% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 21% of the time

ServiceNow vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 20% of the time

N-able MSP Manager vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 18% 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

April 2025

Download SCSM product report

Buyer's Guide

Help Desk Software

April 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

April 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: April 2025.

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