SCSM vs SysAid comparison

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SCSM

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Microsoft System Center Service Manager and SysAid both cater to the IT service management category. SysAid appears to have an edge due to its simplicity, user-friendly features, and cost-effectiveness, which may appeal to a broader range of businesses.

Features: SCSM integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem, utilizing automated orchestration and offering a robust incident management system. Its integration with other Microsoft products and services provides enterprises with a cohesive experience. SysAid is known for its intuitive self-service portal, integrated asset management, and efficient ticketing and asset tracking capabilities. It offers valuable reporting and remote access features, facilitating clear visibility and resource management.

Room for Improvement: SCSM has a limited self-service portal out-of-the-box, requires third-party enhancements, and faces challenges with customization, mobile integration, and patch management, which can be costly and complex. SysAid's back-end configurations can be difficult, and the lack of a mobile application is often highlighted by users. There is a call for more advanced features and seamless integration with additional IT systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SCSM mainly offers on-premises deployment with some hybrid cloud capabilities and provides thorough technical support, which can be slow with complex issues. SysAid supports both public and private cloud deployments, offering more flexibility and is praised for its responsive technical support, providing timely assistance in diverse IT environments.

Pricing and ROI: SCSM's pricing is considered expensive due to the Microsoft licensing model, potentially deterring smaller businesses despite the potential high ROI when fully utilized. SysAid's competitive pricing and straightforward licensing offer attractive initial packages and affordable expansions, presenting a favorable ROI for budget-conscious organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed SCSM vs. SysAid Report (Updated: September 2025).

SCSM vs. SysAid

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Helped 871,358 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

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

10th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SysAid

Ranking in Help Desk Software

21st

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

19th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of SCSM is 1.8%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SysAid is 1.1%, up from 0.7% 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%
SysAid	1.1%
Other	97.1%

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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Todd Blake

Senior IT Specialist at COMMUNITY HEALTH CONNECTIONS INC

A solution that streamlines ticket creation for the staff members of a business and enables efficient issue resolution by the IT team

SysAid is similar to Nintex AssureSign. Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help. Also, there are almost too many features that we are not taking advantage of in our company since we don't even know about them. A little bit of a streamlining or simplification of the main features would be a good improvement. I would like to see SysAid present its solution more easily. There is a lot in the solution, and it is more than what we need in our company.

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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 most valuable feature is the reporting of incidents."

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

"This product has helped our organization by allowing people to connect with each other."

"Many more features than other comparable products."

"A very convenient package like an all-in-one tool but it is actually five or six products acting well together."

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

"It is quite scalable."

More SCSM pros

"The solution can scale."

"All our service management is integrated into one system. Our response time is much faster because we have a visual into what is going on."

"I would say the overall flexibility of the product is its most valuable feature."

"SysAid is more user-friendly, and its configuration is easier than other tools."

"It's really customizable. It's very user-friendly to change very quickly. We've developed lots of custom forms and things, without any need for thousands of accounting consultants which was one of our main aims of it."

"The solution provides us with multi-layered service management along with all our support pieces integrated in one system. Our entire system is run on SysAid, from Tier 1 to Tier 3. All the other IT department functionality is captured in SysAid, like development, warehousing, and application. So, it has vertical and horizontal coverage."

"The service desk automation and orchestration are very good. We are implementing it at the moment. We implemented it for two of our applications already for our CRM. Whenever there's a change in the CRM, it will automate them into SysAid as well. We have two workflows from our CRM into SysAid, which is very helpful. Overall, we're very happy with the workflow."

"The SysAid team provided excellent service to implement the solution for us. From the very first day, we received a comp manager, and a project manager, to implement the product. They continued to inquire about our business needs and then finalized the best path for us."

More SysAid pros

Cons

"It has not helped reduce the burden on IT resources."

"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 configuration could be easier."

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

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

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

"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."

More SCSM cons

"There is a learning curve for the users."

"Monitoring needs improvement. At the moment we are looking for some advanced monitoring tools, which are using AI and machine learning as well. This product currently does not offer that."

"The administrative side of the user interface could be a little more user-friendly. It is easier for me to export our reports into Excel, then do a server retrieval and get the information. Whereas, to do a report, you have to go through a configuration type of process, which is kind of difficult and complicated. I have been using this solution for two years now and I still haven't gotten the hang of the reports."

"Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help."

"SysAid has fewer AI features compared to other tools."

"Currently, SysAid does not have a mobile application."

"One of the features that I'm hoping comes at some point is that currently you can only have one Knowledge Base instance within it. For me, it would be beneficial to have multiple instances for different purposes. I'd like to have a completely separate one for customers and the only way I can achieve that right now, where I can tag articles to only be viewed by customers, would be if I use its portal function."

"So far, we're very happy with the new integration. The only thing that I would like to see is for them to improve asset management so that it's more usable. We looked at it once and we didn't find it quite usable for us. That's why we didn't use it. We haven't looked into the new one yet but the asset management is something that can be improved even more and patch management is not as good as it could be."

More SysAid cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for SCSM is cheap."

"The price should be lower."

"The pricing is reasonable."

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

"The platform is competitively priced."

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

"Licensing can be complex and confusing."

"It is an expensive solution."

More SCSM pricing and cost advice

"Overall, the price is good. It's all about what you get for the base amount. From my perspective, you want to look at what you're getting out-of-the-box. SysAid does a good job of putting key stuff in the box for you."

"SysAid is a good solution, especially from a pricing perspective."

"We saw our investment back at the end of year one."

"Though I am not really sure about SysAid's prices, I know that it is competitive compared to some of the other products that our company looked at, like ConnectWise and ServiceNow."

"Once you're interested, talk with SysAid. You can have them come in and look at your company and advise you on the best solution. They will tell you what comes with each separate package and also advise you what application to activate. If you want something that they don't have, they have a department that can design something based on your unique requests."

"The pricing of SysAid is less than its competitors."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

26%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

University

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Performing Arts

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	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SCSM?

The solution offers good productivity at a low price point.

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.

What needs improvement with SCSM?

What do you like most about SysAid?

SysAid is more user-friendly, and its configuration is easier than other tools.

What needs improvement with SysAid?

With SysAid, most of the customers are requesting a native mobile application. SysAid has fewer AI features compared to other tools.

What advice do you have for others considering SysAid?

Our customers use the enterprise edition and the standard edition of SysAid. We provide local support, but there are some things we have to escalate to SysAid. When we need support, we use their su...

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Product Reports

SCSM

Download SCSM product report

Download SysAid 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

Offered in both cloud and on-premise versions, SysAid is a globally-adopted IT Service Management (ITSM) solution that combines all the essential capabilities in one, feature-rich tool. From traditional ticket management to asset management, SysAid allows administrators to monitor and manage tasks in one platform, so they can deliver fast and comprehensive support from a single view. Available in 42 languages, SysAid serves over 10,000 customers across 140 countries, spanning all industries and sizes.

Sample Customers

Fibabanka, UMC Health System

Disney, Sears Holdings Corporation, LAN Airlines, Schneider Electric, On Semiconductors, Toyota, Sky, KPMG, Georgetown University Law Center, Motorola, North York General Hospital, Volksbank, Xerox, Bacardi, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Manpower, Nucor, Ecobank

SCSM vs. SysAid