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: August 2025).

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SCSM vs. SysAid

August 2025

Helped 865,384 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

10th

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

9th

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)

20th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 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 SysAid is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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

"The reporting is very good."

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

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

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

"It is quite scalable."

"The solution's setup process is relatively straightforward due to the familiar deployment steps similar to other Microsoft solutions."

"The solution offers good productivity at a low price point."

More SCSM pros

"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."

"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 solution can scale."

"It tracks everything that the technicians are doing. We can account for time and manage resources."

"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 service desk orchestration, overall, is good. It allows an organization to build that service desk concept into its organizational and support strategy. And it allows an organization to digest that and create a support model very quickly around the tools. The fact that the tools are integrated within the system itself gives the organization a really robust way to integrate everything and have a complete support model."

"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 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

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

"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."

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

"The user interface needs to be improved."

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

"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."

"It would be better if they had a portal for administrators. It would help me use it from anywhere and connect to any device from anywhere. I can administer the solution without a VPN."

"The configuration could be easier."

More SCSM cons

"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."

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

"We would like them to approve the security functionalities, e.g., management security features."

"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."

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

"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."

"The automation needs improvement. The workflow has some improvements to do. There's some stuff that they are working on like having cascaded fields. For example, we're categorizing tickets by location, by site and by building and then by data room within a data center. At the moment they're all separate fields."

More SysAid cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"Licensing can be complex and confusing."

"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 license for SCSM is cheap."

"The price should be lower."

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

"The platform is competitively priced."

More SCSM pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

25%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

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.

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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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 34% of the time

HaloITSM vs SysAid

Compared 24% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SysAid

Compared 20% of the time

Teamwork vs SysAid

Compared 12% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs SysAid

Compared 10% of the time

More SysAid Competitors

Product Reports

Download SCSM product report

SCSM

July 2025

Download SysAid product report

July 2025

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