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SCSM vs Zendesk 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
SCSM offers high ROI by saving time via remote operations, despite reporting issues and limited feature enhancements.
Sentiment score
7.2
Zendesk offers cost efficiency and improved productivity, with ROI influenced by alignment with operational needs and process integration.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft's SCSM support is responsive and professional, but users cite inconsistent resolution times and reliance on partners.
Sentiment score
6.5
Zendesk receives praise for responsiveness and ease of use, but some users desire better chat features and human interaction.
When we get up to Microsoft, I would rate it an eight or nine.
Response times are slow, and engineers often lack the necessary product knowledge.
The technical support provided by Zendesk has been very satisfactory.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
SCSM is scalable, adaptable, integrates well, but may have issues with slowness and complexity in larger implementations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Zendesk is praised for scalability and customization, although some face initial setup challenges and structural integration issues.
From an admin point of view, Intune has more features and is easier to manage.
Zendesk can scale from very small companies to very large ones.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
SCSM is highly reliable, with improved stability in recent versions and performance rated between eight and ten.
Sentiment score
7.9
Zendesk is stable with minimal downtimes, reliable performance, occasional minor issues, and high reliability ratings, especially for smaller businesses.
The SCSM is stable.
The stability has been quite reliable.
 

Room For Improvement

SCSM's Self-Service portal is criticized for lack of usability, integration, mobile support, and user-friendly features.
Zendesk faces challenges with data management, flexibility, integration, user-friendliness, and customer communication, while users are dissatisfied with support and pricing.
We have to always try to hire some maintenance hours from external companies to fix small things that maybe would be faster if we could get it in-house, but because of the lack of information, we lose a lot of time solving some small problems.
From an admin point of view, Intune has more features and is easier to manage compared to SCCM.
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find SCSM pricing competitive but complex, influenced by licensing models, integration requirements, and additional support costs.
Enterprise buyers find Zendesk's pricing high but valuable, with costs varying by agent count and business needs for tailored solutions.
It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.
 

Valuable Features

SCSM is a scalable, user-friendly IT service management platform with integration, reporting, and security features ideal for ITIL processes.
Zendesk offers user-friendly ticket management, seamless integrations, multi-channel support, and robust security for efficient and productive customer service.
SCCM provides remote tool functionality, which is not in Intune.
If it is correctly configured, you can access and give service quickly to all the end users.
It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
 

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
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zendesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
9th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (7th), CRM (21st), Sales Force Automation (9th), Reporting (16th), Knowledge Management Software (4th), Community Platforms (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 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 Zendesk is 4.6%, up from 4.2% 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.
JohanSkibdahl - PeerSpot reviewer
Automating customer support with advanced AI capabilities and seamless communication
Zendesk has been invaluable in automating communications such as email and phone calls. It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. This intelligent tool can manage complex queries before users even realize they are interacting with a non-human. Additionally, we have integrated Zendesk with Datto and Klaviyo ( /products/klaviyo-reviews ), enhancing our workflows.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing 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?
We acquired SCSM for free with our Microsoft Endpoint Manager purchase, and we only paid for the integration process.
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, ...
What do you like most about Zendesk Support?
I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?
Zendesk's pricing is reasonable. It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.
What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier ( /products/zapier-reviews ). However, easier integration could enhance the usability. Multilingual ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

System Center Service Manager
Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Fibabanka, UMC Health System
Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber
Find out what your peers are saying about SCSM vs. Zendesk and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
859,687 professionals have used our research since 2012.