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SCSM vs TOPdesk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 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

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
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TOPdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
17th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
10
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 TOPdesk is 2.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

LuisSanchez3 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Martina Peneva - PeerSpot reviewer
Implement service management changes while addressing UI improvements
Topdesk's user interface makes it easy to handle requests and escalate them to other groups or reassign them when working on a single ticket. Additionally, the service management tool in HR allows for a change in delivering services, replacing email communication with ticket raising. The knowledge library enables the local HR to store and share relevant information and frequently asked cases, enhancing collaboration. The ticket system also facilitates escalating cases to other involved departments. IT, HR, and some other teams primarily use this system.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If it is correctly configured, you can access and give service quickly to all the end users."
"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."
"Many more features than other comparable products."
"SCSM helps us keep organized by tracking all user demands and change requests. However, the reporting is not sufficient to provide a clear view of ongoing projects. It helps with daily operations and change request management."
"This product has helped our organization by allowing people to connect with each other."
"This solution is easy to use."
"The remote access is one of the features I really enjoy. The pushing of email updates and things like that are very good."
"Its ITSM approach is quite useful."
"Change management is the most critical feature."
"It is an easy-to-use solution."
"When it comes to implementing new features, they listen to what their customers want via a suggestion forum that they have."
"The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is its ease of use if you have implemented it in the right way. If you're not implementing it in the right way, then it's very difficult."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the incident management module."
"The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is the reports."
"This solution has provided me with a well-defined process and interaction, compared to my previous tool, GLPI."
 

Cons

"The logs and reporting-related features of the product have certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The major issues with SCSM include its severe slowness, especially on the client side, and the lack of comprehensive reporting tools."
"Once we had an issue with a desktop download that would not open."
"It crashes our client's computers. Sometimes they get blue screens. It would be useful if SCSM could check the upgrades or patches before we implemented them to see if they are going to crash a client's system. Or, if it does install, and the client's system crashes, it would be good if the solution could revert back somehow."
"Our office is looking for maybe getting out of SCSM and getting a service desk solution outside of Microsoft."
"Mobile application integration would be an improvement."
"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."
"There is no development with this product, and we had to go and buy additional ITSM solutions to sit on top of it. We had to buy products from companies like Cireson and Cased Dimensions in order to get the functionality that we need out of it. So, we're using Service Manager as an engine, rather than as a full-blown product. It is the engine, but we have other products sitting on top of it to make it work properly."
"The solution should be made more user-friendly."
"One of the disadvantages of TOPdesk is the reporting tool. It is very poor and not in real-time. You do not always receive the correct information."
"If I open a ticket on the infrastructure team, I can't move it to the financial team for them to manage the ticket."
"An operator is also a user but requires creating two different records."
"This solution is modular so you only buy what you need, but I prefer what some companies are doing where they include everything in the package."
"From a UI perspective, there is room for improvement. It sometimes takes many steps to do something simple, like creating or moving a knowledge item."
"It is time-consuming to add new users."
"The solution's change management could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price should be lower."
"The platform is competitively priced."
"Licensing can be complex and confusing."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The price of the solution could be better. My organization has an enterprise annual license with Microsoft which provides us support."
"It is a lower price vs. other things on the market."
"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 cost of the solution on a yearly basis is $20,000. Technical support is not extra. It's included in the yearly cost. Updates are also included. The solution is good at keeping its product up to date."
"The solution is inexpensive compared to competitors."
"There are three fee options to choose from for a company and these options compared to market prices are very high. For example, if I use one of the first options for 10 assets, then it costs 20,000 Euros. If you went to competitors, then you pay less."
"Compared to other products in this segment, I think that they are priced well and not too expensive."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable and not expensive."
"TOPdesk's pricing is cheaper than Jira's."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
25%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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?
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...
What do you like most about TOPdesk?
The most valuable feature of TOPdesk is the reports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TOPdesk?
The solution's pricing is reasonable and not expensive.
What needs improvement with TOPdesk?
From a UI perspective, there is room for improvement, as some tasks like creating or moving a knowledge item within the library require many steps instead of simple actions like drag and drop. This...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

System Center Service Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Fibabanka, UMC Health System
City of Amsterdam, University of Edinbroughm, IKEA, KLM Catering Services, FloraHolland, BOVAG, PostNL, Total, Hilton, Oce, Canon, Agip, Compass Group, Serco, Danone, BMW, Eneco, And many more.
Find out what your peers are saying about SCSM vs. TOPdesk and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.