ServiceNow vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk comparison

ServiceNow and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Help Desk Software category. ServiceNow is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while SolarWinds is ranked #31. Additionally, 92% of ServiceNow users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Service Now and SolarWinds Web Help Desk compete in the IT service management domain. ServiceNow has the upper hand with its robust platform suitable for large enterprises requiring extensive functionalities.

Features: ServiceNow provides advanced automation, customizable workflows, and a wide variety of integrations, supporting complex IT environments. SolarWinds Web Help Desk offers efficient ticket, asset, and change management, focusing on straightforward help desk features.

Room for Improvement: ServiceNow can be resource-intensive, with a steep learning curve for new users. Its costs can be prohibitive for small businesses. While customizable, setup might be overwhelming without technical expertise. SolarWinds would benefit from broader integration capabilities. Its reporting features could be enhanced for more insights. The user interface could be made more intuitive for better user adoption.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ServiceNow uses cloud-based deployment with high configurability, which can consume time and resources but includes dedicated support. SolarWinds Web Help Desk offers an easier, often on-premises setup, which is quick to implement, aligning with organizations favoring straightforward integration.

Pricing and ROI: ServiceNow involves higher initial costs but offers a scalable solution for large IT service management demands, potentially increasing long-term ROI for large firms. SolarWinds provides a budget-friendly pricing structure, ideal for smaller to medium-sized businesses, offering value for core help desk functionalities without heavy expenditure.

To learn more, read our detailed ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

August 2026

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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

Automation Anywhere

Featured Reviews

Venkat Sivaprakash

Management Consultant at Accenture

Has significantly improved document-driven workflows and reduced processing time across finance and HR functions

Automation Anywhere has evolved significantly and upgraded itself to provide agentic AI and AI-based automation solutions for document automation. The product has matured considerably over time. We can create workflows that can call an API. We can include prompts in particular workflows for ChatGPT-related functions, connecting to an LLM and RAG to perform tasks. For document automation, modern features are available to train documents, ensuring high accuracy and repeatability over time. The system is very easy to use. I recently completed a course in document automation, typically designed for people involved in coding and technical aspects. Though I understand coding comprehensively, I don't do actual coding. The course was very accessible. Currently, extensive coding isn't necessary due to the hybrid model incorporating GenAI aspects, low-code, no-code capabilities, APIs, and numerous pre-built objects in Automation Anywhere. The features include GenAI-driven prompting methods and workflow creation capabilities. In these workflows, we can create decision boxes and call APIs without coding. We simply pull objects, drop them, connect them, and add minimal coding when needed. The most crucial aspect isn't coding but rather sizing the automation and fleshing out the details. Automation Co-pilot takes notes and performs automated analysis. It can extract details from videos, summarize conversations, and provide detailed information. During calls, it identifies instructions and performs tasks such as preparing reports and reconciliation. Automation Anywhere can also connect with Microsoft Co-pilot. Through Co-pilot, real-time operations can be executed, allowing direct interaction between vendors and automation through this component.

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Hemanthreddy Vakiti

Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Structured workflows have improved SLA compliance and now support prioritized incident handling

I think the licensing and pricing of ServiceNow is quite expensive compared to other tools. For large organizations, it is acceptable, but specifically for small and medium organizations to track incidents or change requests, ServiceNow is quite expensive. Sometimes performance can be slow when workflows and integrations are configured for complex tasks. For advanced customizations or advanced features which we rarely use, the documentation is not up to standard. The documentation needs to be improved for advanced customization features. However, the platform is stable overall and the features are quite good. The user experience and performance concerns I mentioned are areas I want to be improved. When many workflows and interactions are configured, performance is slow. For the features it is providing, it is quite expensive. If these performance features are improved, we can easily pay that price and get the return on investment.

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GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

Has supported daily operational workflows and improved approval management across departments

We actually do the reselling. We created a self-service portal for the customers, and this particular function does impact reducing IT staff workload overall. From technical standpoints, comparing SolarWinds Web Help Desk with TeamViewer, we need ease of configuration and ease of allocating, creating new fields or creating new layouts for many specific use cases. An organization can have a number of use cases when it comes to a ticketing tool. It's not a security solution; it's more of a service solution where you will be configuring the needed categories and needed fields for each department. On a scale of 1-10, I rate SolarWinds Web Help Desk an 8.

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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

"Automation Anywhere was the simplest solution, and it offered us immediate support."

"We have seen increased productivity, because what used to take about two days to finish with laymen doing computer work, a bot can finish within a seven to eight hour time frame, meaning we are removing a lot of man-hours."

"What I appreciate the most about Automation Anywhere is how easy it is to use."

"Automation Anywhere has provided the capability to automate repetitive tasks for the organization, which in turn has lead to a lot of cost-savings."

"I think that one of the coolest features that what Automation Anywhere has come up with is AI Sense. I see an immense potential there. Using AI Sense, we can automate outside Citrix. That's going to remove the client dependency or overall automation journey, and that can give lot of optimization, cost saving, and the time to market."

"The IQ Bot is very impressive to us, as we have tried several tools in the industry and we have not been able to automate to the same level as provided by this solution."

"We've saved a lot of time. How much time we save depends on the process. It's likely at least 50%. Sometimes, it's up to 70%."

"From the customer's perspective, the biggest benefits are automation of the security and monitoring systems."

More Automation Anywhere pros

"As far as I'm aware, it scales beautifully, you just throw another stack or two or 20 at it and off you go."

"Discovery has reduced, on average, the time to build/deploy devices within our environment by one hour. This may not seem like much but it adds up over time. It also reaps additional time savings with its ability to capture changes through subsequent discoveries over the life of the device."

"I like the ease of use."

"ServiceNow has impacted our organization very positively, and we are improving day by day."

"We are very happy with the product."

"What I like the most is the functionality, it's features are rich, and there is a high degree of compliance with IT standards."

"The look and feel is a valuable benefit for adoption."

"It has more extensive features as compared to the other competitors."

More ServiceNow pros

"SolarWinds is a very good application that provides you with a detailed monitoring capability of your network and assets."

"It is easy to use."

"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."

"A person who is not in IT, but has some good ITSM knowledge will be able to configure it directly on SolarWinds, and Manage Engine."

"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."

"The biggest advantage for SolarWinds Web Help Desk is the user interface; we were able to configure a different UI for administrators, employees, and HODs based on their hierarchy level."

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

More SolarWinds Web Help Desk pros

Cons

"The stability could be enhanced."

"Certain areas of the user interface require improvement."

"From an IT perspective, we had too many issues and headaches."

"Regarding my experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Automation Anywhere, I have some concerns about the product licensing model."

"The EXE license is such that I can create executable files from the developer machine and deploy it; however, the file that you created can only be deployed to one system, so if you wanted to deploy this test file to, say, 10 test systems you would need 10 licenses."

"The main things I've found that could be better are small things that can be annoying when you're using them a lot. I would recommend they add a feature where, if you mark the start of an "If" sentence it will highlight the end of the "If" sentence. That would make it easier to get a better overview."

"Automation Anywhere can improve by implementing a Citrix environment and increasing the stability of tools, such as IQ bot."

"Copilot is an area with a lot of scope for improvement. It's the number one thing to improve."

More Automation Anywhere cons

"I would say there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to technical support."

"That package is very expensive. It's more expensive than if I were to have someone in-house who was dedicated to doing those tasks."

"All the screens are similar. It's the same platform for everything and you need to familiarize yourself with it. In the past, you used to have one screen per application. Now, you have everything integrated into one. Everybody will manage the same screen and they need to navigate into the same screen as the Internet Explorer with a toolbar with the categories and look for the things you want to see or the models you want to use."

"I would like to see more functionality in terms of custom workflows, not impacting the overall platform health."

"It should have more artificial intelligence for business and work capabilities. The community is not so active. There must be initiatives to make the community talk more and share more information."

"I would say database or data visibility. In fact, I think for me, I'm going for the physical side, most of the people like to access data without any constraints."

"We have implemented some various complex ACLs and they've impacted our performance significantly, and we've had several incidents open to help with performance, and it's been kind of a struggle to get the ServiceNow support group to say "Yup, I see it's a problem, let's do this.""

"I think the biggest thing that I've seen is when we've moved to the knowledge-based version three, which happened relatively recently, there were a lot of new improvements that came with that, but there were a lot of things that actually seemed like a little bit of a step back."

More ServiceNow cons

"The program seems buggy to me. Not infrequently, when I click to add a Note, the Notes section disappears instead of opening a box to add a Note."

"However, it's a little outdated compared to newer products that include protection and detection."

"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."

"This solution needs to have mobile application support added."

"Dashboards need some amount of work to be done. Ease of customization is desired."

"The technical team is not competent, or available, and they do not know the product."

"This is a good solution, but the GUI is really old-fashion and needs to be updated."

"It would be good if there were training and tutorial videos on the Web Help Desk."

More SolarWinds Web Help Desk cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In the Indian market, I feel that for mid-size companies, such as ourselves, that having multiple bots costs a lot. If Automation Anywhere wants to expand in the Indian market, they will need to look at their pricing."

"It is affordable for us."

"The cost for scalability is much cheaper than developing a new system."

"Automation Anywhere University is pretty good. They make it available free for everyone."

"The cost can be reduced a little for users."

"The pricing strategy for us is one license for development. It is more complicated than that depending on the options you choose."

"We brought onshore a lot of what we were doing offshore, saving our company close to $20 million."

"Pricing is a bit high when compared to other available tools; however, the tool is worth the cost."

More Automation Anywhere pricing and cost advice

"ServiceNow tends to be a little bit more expensive as compared to BMC Helix ITSM."

"It is very expensive because it is a big organization. You have to pay for additional things."

"The platform offers a free trial, by providing a free developer instance once you sign up."

"The setup cost is high compared to others, especially when the scope is not fixed."

"Some time ago it was expensive, but large companies have special contracts. It's enterprise prices, and we're talking about millions per year."

"The solution is expensive."

"The price of this solution is expensive."

"The CapEx version is great."

More ServiceNow 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

Financial Services Firm

15%

Construction Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	157
Midsize Enterprise	81
Large Enterprise	558

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	57
Midsize Enterprise	35
Large Enterprise	179

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It depends on your use case. Is it simply to automate a couple of processes? Is it to augment a human team? AA is ver...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

From my experience using AA tool, it depends on the applications that you want to automate, because there some applic...

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How good is Automation Anywhere for RPA processes?

It is a highly preferred RPA tool. You can check my Automation Anywhere Review to know more.

See all answers

Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?

The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into t...

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Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?

Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow?

ServiceNow operates on a subscription-based pricing model with custom pricing based on modules, users, and business r...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

Areas of improvement can be enhanced regarding configuration. We had the deployment metrics and usability, ease of us...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

For Zoho, we did OP Manager, Audit Security, AD Security and Asset Management, Patch Management. These things we are ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

We actually do the reselling. We created a self-service portal for the customers, and this particular function does i...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Power Automate vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 9% of the time

Blue Prism vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 6% of the time

AutomationEdge vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

WorkFusion vs Automation Anywhere

Compared 2% of the time

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IBM Maximo Application Suite vs ServiceNow

Compared 6% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

Zendesk vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs ServiceNow

Compared 4% of the time

Freshservice vs ServiceNow

Compared 3% of the time

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ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 14% of the time

Zendesk vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 7% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 7% of the time

Freshservice vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 7% of the time

N-able MSP Manager vs SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Compared 6% of the time

More SolarWinds Web Help Desk Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Automation Anywhere

August 2026

Download Automation Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow

July 2026

Download ServiceNow product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

July 2026

Download SolarWinds Web Help Desk product report

Also Known As

Automation Anywhere, Testing Anywhere, Automation Anywhere Enterprise, Agentic Process Automation System (Now Certified for WorkSpaces)

No data available

Interactive Demo

Automation Anywhere

Demo not available

ServiceNow

Demo not available

SolarWinds

Overview

Automation Anywhere offers ease of use, robust system connectivity, and GenAI-driven document automation through a cloud-native platform, significantly enhancing productivity across multiple industries with advanced AI features.

Delivering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for easy integration and rapid deployment, Automation Anywhere drives efficiency by reducing costs and automating repetitive tasks. Its cloud-native platform supports broad industry adoption, including advanced AI features like process automation and Co-Pilot, streamlining complex workflows with minimal technical skills required. Users benefit from robust integration capabilities, which facilitate seamless interaction with multiple systems. However, there is room for improvement in areas such as user-friendliness for beginners, stability, flexible licensing, and enhanced OCR functionality. Organizations in sectors such as banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare gain from the improved operational efficiency and ROI Automation Anywhere offers.

What are the important features of Automation Anywhere?

Ease of Use: Simplifies automation tasks with a user-centric interface.
Robust Connectivity: Provides seamless integration with multiple systems.
GenAI-Driven Document Automation: Leverages AI to automate document management.
Process Automation & Co-Pilot: Enhances workflow automation with advanced AI.
Cloud-Native Platform: Enables rapid deployment and integration.

What benefits should be evaluated in reviews?

Time Savings: Automation drastically reduces manual processing time.
Cost Efficiency: Decreases overall operational costs by automating tasks.
Productivity Enhancement: Streamlines workflows with AI-driven tools.
Improved Integration: Enhances ability to work with multiple systems.
Scalability: Supports growth with a flexible cloud-native architecture.

In the insurance industry, Automation Anywhere is utilized for automating processes such as enrollment management and compliance checks. Its applications extend to supply chain management, financial transactions, and business performance monitoring across sectors like banking, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare, helping organizations to automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

Automation Anywhere

ServiceNow offers customizability and cloud-based integration that sustains operational efficiency. Enabling change and incident management, it accelerates workflow automation and project management without downtime issues, serving deployment needs for IT service and productivity enhancements.

ServiceNow stands out with its adaptable workflows and cloud-native infrastructure, boosting IT service, project, and asset management. Known for its robust incident and change management, the platform addresses business needs through its user-centric design and extensive integration options. By facilitating seamless IT operations and automation, ServiceNow empowers businesses to enhance productivity and efficiency. Regular updates ensure users benefit from the latest features without service interruptions, although pricing and licensing complexities demand attention. Users seek improved reporting tools and a more intuitive design while expressing interest in refined mobile functionality and better documentation.

What are the key features of ServiceNow?

Customizability: Enables tailored workflows to align with business processes.
Cloud-Based Integration: Allows seamless updates and operational sustainability.
Incident and Change Management: Supports efficient handling of IT-related issues.
Automation Capabilities: Automates repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity.
User-Friendly Design: Simplifies navigation and improves user interaction.
Comprehensive Reporting: Provides detailed insights for better decision-making.

What benefits and ROI should users anticipate from ServiceNow?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts.
Enhanced Productivity: Automates tasks, enabling focus on strategic initiatives.
Seamless Operations: Integrates across departments for unified management.
Effective IT Management: Smooth incident, change, and problem resolution.
Cost and Time Savings: Reduces operational costs through efficient workflow management.

ServiceNow finds implementation across industries like IT, HR, asset management, and help desks, addressing ticketing and configuration needs. Businesses use its dashboard for tracking performance metrics, enhancing decision-making in departments like HR service delivery. Its adaptability also makes it suitable for industries requiring robust operational management and process automation, driving efficiency and growth.

ServiceNow

SolarWinds Web Help Desk offers a streamlined approach to technical ticketing and asset management, enhancing departmental operations with efficient asset-user linking and automated scheduling.

Offering an intuitive interface for multiple roles, SolarWinds Web Help Desk enhances ticket management through automated scheduling. Integrating ticketing with remote support provides smooth transitions, while LDAP integration streamlines user permissions. It supports diverse departments, including non-IT sectors, providing detailed case management, reporting, and approval workflows.

What are the standout features of SolarWinds Web Help Desk?

Intuitive User Levels: Customizable interfaces for different roles enhance user experience.
Efficient Ticket Management: Automated scheduling aids in managing tickets effectively.
Comprehensive Asset Management: Links assets to users, improving resource tracking.
Advanced Search: Facilitates easy ticket retrieval and management.
Scheduled Report Generation: Uses Power BI for regular, detailed reports.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Streamlined Operations: Automates routine tasks, saving time and resources.
Enhanced Reporting: Detailed reports support data-driven decision-making.
Remote Support Integration: Smooth integration improves support team efficiency.
User and Asset Linkage: Increases asset usage visibility and accountability.

In industries like HR, cybersecurity, and maintenance, SolarWinds Web Help Desk is deployed on-premises, serving as a robust case management tool that supports both IT and non-IT departments' specific needs. It helps maintain departmental efficiency by managing technical tickets and supporting patch management workflows.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Google, Linkedin, Cisco, Juniper Networks, DellEMC, Comcast, Mastercard, Quest Diagnostics

AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow

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Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

August 2026

Free Report: ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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