Alexis Kestler
Hey there! If your IT team uses ServiceNow for service management but finds it lacking in certain areas, you‘re not alone. Plenty of organizations face challenges with ServiceNow‘s complexity, pricing, scalability, or other issues.
Luckily, some great alternatives exist that could be better suited to your needs. I‘ve done the research to compare the top options – let‘s explore them in-depth so you can find the right fit!
A Quick Refresher: What is IT Service Management?
Before jumping into the tools, let‘s level-set on what ITSM entails.
IT service management refers to all the processes, workflows, technologies and team roles required to design, deliver, support and improve technology services for an organization.
Unlike old-school IT management focused narrowly on infrastructure, ITSM takes a broad, end-to-end view – from ideation to operations and enhancement.
Some key ITSM processes include:
- Incident management – Resolving service disruptions and outages
- Problem management – Identifying root causes of incidents to prevent recurrence
- Change management – Assessing, approving and implementing changes safely
- Service catalog – Providing users a catalog of IT services to choose from
- Configuration management – Tracking IT components and their relationships
- Service desk – Managing user requests, issues, etc.
Optimizing these workflows and more allows IT to deliver seamless, reliable services aligned with business objectives.
The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework outlines best practices for ITSM. When well executed, ITSM enhances uptime, productivity, cost efficiency and customer experience.
Why Consider Alternatives to ServiceNow?
ServiceNow is undoubtedly an ITSM leader, powering services for many Fortune 500 companies. However, it‘s not necessarily the best fit for every organization.
Some common pain points reported by ServiceNow customers include:
- Cost – ServiceNow licensing, implementation services and ongoing maintenance can get quite pricey, especially for smaller companies
- Complexity – With a vast array of features and configuration options, ServiceNow has a steep learning curve
- Performance – Large, complex deployments often suffer slowdowns that frustrate users
- Scalability – Expanding to new regions or departments can increase complexity exponentially
- Inflexibility – Reliance on ServiceNow professional services hampers agility and customization
Additionally, companies embracing agile methodologies may desire an ITSM platform better aligned with DevOps workflows and tools.
If any of these issues sound familiar, exploring alternatives could be a smart strategic move.
Top 8 ServiceNow Alternatives for ITSM
Here are 8 leading options to consider as a ServiceNow replacement:
1. Freshservice
Freshservice is an intuitive, affordable ITSM solution with robust capabilities perfect for growing companies.
Standout features:
- Modern, user-friendly interface speeds adoption
- ITIL-aligned processes like incident and change management
- Contextual collaboration for faster ticket resolution
- Powerful workflow automation to reduce repetitive tasks
- Team efficiency tracking helps optimize technician performance
- APIs and 450+ third-party integrations provide flexibility
- Satisfaction surveys gather user feedback to improve IT services
- Packaged solutions for common use cases like HR and Facilities
Pricing starts at just $19 per agent per month, making it budget-friendly. Try Freshservice free for 21 days to kick the tires.
2. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
With over 100,000 customers worldwide, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is a proven ITSM tool.
Notable capabilities:
- ITIL process alignment out of the box
- Visual workflow designer to customize processes
- Chatbot and virtual agent support for automated user assistance
- Configurable dashboards with prebuilt and custom metrics
- Integrations with Slack, AWS, Office 365 and more
- Robust access controls and single sign-on integration
- Change management with risk assessment workflows
- Software license management for SAM
- Mobile apps for iPhone and Android
Free trials are available. Paid plans start at $795/year for the basic Professional edition or $1,245/year for the Standard edition with more advanced features. Volume discounts bring costs down further.
3. Jira Service Management
Trusted by agile development teams, Jira also offers robust ITSM capabilities.
Notable features:
- Deep integration between Jira Software and ITSM modules
- Intuitive Kanban boards and visual workflows
- Problem management with RCA and known error databases
- Agent collision handling and workload balancing
- Sophisticated search across tickets, CIs, users, etc.
- Automation via 500+ add-ons from Atlassian app marketplace
- Scales flexibly from small teams to large enterprises
- Finely tuned permissions for secure information access
- Activity audit logging for compliance
Pricing starts at $7 per agent/month for teams under 10. Volume discounts available.
4. Ivanti Neurons for ITSM
Ivanti Neurons delivers full-featured ITSM with intelligent automation.
Highlights:
- Chatbots handle common service desk requests
- Predictive analytics spot patterns to get ahead of issues
- Flexible deployment options: cloud, on-premises or hybrid
- Granular customization to match unique processes
- Machine learning for intelligent ticket routing
- Contextual self-service powered by conversational AI
- Agent guidance provides experts with real-time assistance
- Seamless experience across web, mobile and messaging
Schedule a free personalized demo to learn more.
5. BMC Helix ITSM
BMC Helix ITSM brings innovation like AI and predictive service management to enterprise ITSM.
Differentiators:
- Integrations with leading DevOps tools
- AI-powered insight into incidents, changes and knowledge
- Multi-cloud support and orchestration
- Containerized architecture optimized for cloud
- Predictive service assignment based on analytics
- Voice commands and virtual agent support
- Sophisticated reporting and dashboards
- Granular customization with low-code tools
- Microservices architecture for flexibility
- Built-in omni-channel contact center
Schedule a custom demo to learn more.
6. Cherwell
Cherwell provides powerful and scalable ITSM with flexible deployment options.
Key features:
- Automated incident management with AI/ML
- Visual workflow designer and robust scripting capabilities
- Integrated Cherwell CMDB for better visibility
- Cutting-edge UX with conversational ticketing
- Agent guidance based on signals like sentiment and typing
- Seamless experience across web, mobile and messaging
- Available on-premises, cloud-hosted, or hybrid
- Connectors to leading tools like ServiceNow and Salesforce
- Granular customization to extend platform capabilities
Cherwell offers flexible pricing and packaging. Request a free trial to experience it firsthand.
7. Micro Focus Operations Bridge
Micro Focus Operations Bridge provides end-to-end IT monitoring and service management.
Capabilities:
- Unifies monitoring data across infrastructure, apps and services
- AIops machine learning spots anomalies and predicts issues
- Powerful automation via runbooks and event handling
- Over 3,000 out-of-the box integrations with IT tools
- Interactive mapping illustrates CIs and relationships
- Context-aware alerting and noise reduction
- Advanced reporting across services, apps, servers and networks
- Multi-tenant structure with custom partitioning
- Available as SaaS, on-premises or managed service
Sign up for a free trial to kick the tires.
8. Samanage
Samanage provides modern service desk software with robust capabilities and stellar user experience.
Capabilities:
- Omnichannel support via email, chat, calls and social media
- Custom branding and tailored service catalog layouts
- Context-aware knowledge base helps agents resolve issues faster
- Automated approvals and SLAs to standardize processes
- Agent collision handling avoids duplicated efforts
- Reports and dashboards for strategic and granular visibility
- Change management to assess, track and report on changes
- CMDB integrations to fuel impact analysis and reporting
- Available as public or private cloud deployment
Schedule a customized product demo to learn more.
Key Factors When Comparing ServiceNow Alternatives
With so many options to evaluate, focus on capabilities that matter most to your unique use cases:
- Deployment model – SaaS, on-premises, hybrid?
- Pricing – Watch for hidden costs like professional services and training
- Ease of use – Critical for driving adoption across the organization
- Integration – APIs and pre-built connectors to your existing systems
- Customization – Tailor the platform to match your workflows
- Scalability – Ensure the platform can expand smoothly with your growth
- Vendor reputation – Mature providers offer stability and support
- ITSM depth – Assess capabilities for incident, problem, change etc.
- User experience – Modern, intuitive UX improves productivity
Aligning priorities to your team‘s pain points ensures you choose a solution positioned for long-term success.
Time to Find Your ServiceNow Alternative!
I hope this overview provides a helpful starting point to explore top ServiceNow competitors on your ITSM journey.
While ServiceNow leads the market, it clearly isn‘t the only viable option – solutions like Freshservice, Jira, Ivanti and Cherwell all have compelling strengths.
By selecting a platform tailored to your use cases, budget and pain points, you can maximize value and set your team up for better service delivery.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to chat more about IT operations.
