BMC Helix ITSM vs. Microsoft System Center Service Manager

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BMC Helix ITSM
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
BMC Helix ITSM replaces Remedy. It is a broad suite of ITSM, tools with strong integrations to other BMC tools and in-built ITAM. The product is used mainly by global brands and is offered in on-premise and SaaS configurations.N/A
Microsoft System Center Service Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft System Center Service Manager is an integrated platform that is designed for automating and adapting IT Service Management best practices to an organization’s requirements. The platform includes built-in processes for incident and problem resolution, change control and asset lifecycle management.N/A
Pricing
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Editions & Modules
BMC Helix ITSM
Contact Sales
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Features
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
BMC Helix ITSM
8.5
Ratings
5% above category average
Microsoft System Center Service Manager
7.8
Ratings
4% below category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets9.10 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Expert directory8.60 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Service restoration8.70 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Self-service tools8.70 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications8.10 Ratings7.00 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation8.20 Ratings9.70 Ratings
ITSM reports and dashboards8.30 Ratings7.10 Ratings
ITSM asset management
Comparison of ITSM asset management features of Product A and Product B
BMC Helix ITSM
8.3
Ratings
1% above category average
Microsoft System Center Service Manager
8.2
Ratings
0% below category average
Configuration mangement8.70 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Asset management dashboard8.40 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Policy and contract enforcement7.90 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Change management
Comparison of Change management features of Product A and Product B
BMC Helix ITSM
8.5
Ratings
1% above category average
Microsoft System Center Service Manager
6.7
Ratings
22% below category average
Change requests repository8.80 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Change calendar8.30 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Service-level management8.40 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Small Businesses
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Score 9.2 out of 10
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Online Training
6.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BMC Helix ITSMMicrosoft System Center Service Manager
Likelihood to Recommend
BMC is the obvious choice for medium—to large companies. With all the functionality included, most of it will be used by more prominent companies. The cost vs. use makes sense for them. For smaller companies, the high cost of license implementation and running costs usually make BMC too expensive. Having a light version for them could increase BMC's market share.
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I think any organization that runs windows on their computers that is size over 50 workstations and looking for a complete package to manage their windows machines must have Microsoft System Center Service Manager, especially if they have Windows servers and VMs. The capability of managing multiple devices at ones can save a lot of time for the IT jobs.
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Pros
  • Remedy is great for housing much of the ITIL process in one System: if you want a complete package with every bell and every whistle, Remedy is for you
  • Remedy breaks down the functions of ITIL into "consoles": separate areas of the System, that allow one to focus on Changes, Incidents, Assets, etc
  • The interface is VERY compatible with legacy web browser tech: The last surviving member of the browser wars is still the favorite for remedy users: IE 11
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  • Imaging - Can hold all of your images and allow them to be deployed from one central place
  • Patching - Able to manage patches from a central database and have reporting on machines out of compliance
  • Reporting - ability to utilize several reports to check compliance and other items you may want to review
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Cons
  • Expandability is limited and once you make certain customizations the upgrade process can become difficult or impossible
  • Relationships between Configuration Items and Changes is clunky and difficult to setup/maintain
  • Service Desk functionality is not as robust as other tools and does not allow for easy configurations/customizations
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  • Reporting in System Center could be more user-friendly. While the data is there, sometimes several reports have to be run to get what you want
  • SCCM would be better making updates to SCCM easier. We see risk in updates, so it causes delays, which creates more risk
  • Improving the application deployment log files , making them easier to read
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Likelihood to Renew
It provides the tool we need and is able to be customised to meet new requirements. Cost to change in training and integrations would be considerable.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
At least Remedy is all contained in a single platform, so the interface is consistent. Also, the most heavily performed functions are generally usable. However, to use some of the more advanced modules can be a bit more cumbersome (such as Change Management and CMDB (Not Including ADDM)). So, overall BMC Remedy ITSM is better than some applications like CA SDM or HP SM, but not quite on par with ServiceNow.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
for now we are satisfied. first two months 😉
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Performance
could be faster. db is slower from introducing postgresql
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Their tech support is top notch. They respond and get back to us, even on lower level incidents and issues, very quickly. It is rare that we deal with a support technician who does not know what they are doing.
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The customer support service is excellent. They help from start/deployment through to any time later on. They responded quickly and resolved our issues professionally and in no time.
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Online Training
the trainers dont have so much practical experiences. its mostly follow up and reading existing documentation withou own input. of course experiences people are on shore or have no free time. sad truth
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I was not a part of the initial implementation
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
As I mentioned, as an MSP we are exposed to most ITSM products on the marketplace. On completeness of offering, we find BMC ahead of the rest. The only other comparable product is ServiceNow, and functionality is neck and neck with BMC ahead in ITOM, and with ServiceNow pricing is premium for the branding and marketing
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It has its similarities between the two from a ticketing standpoint but as a primarily Microsoft shop it is nice to have a product that was created to play along with other tools that we are using such as SCCM. We like Jira for the project management tools and Cherwell for their customization but the latter took lots of effort to get that piece working.
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Scalability
the product is,probably, really scalable. however as it is in cloud,this theme isn't of our interest anymore
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • With the KPIs exported and reviewed semi-annually or quarterly the management can spot and attend to root causes affecting operations.
  • No more missed or forgotten tickets for work orders by the team - increased efficiency and performance.
  • Approvals hierarchy enforces controlled change management and responsible actions.
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  • "Quick" patch management -- once the process is nailed down.
  • The ability to include remote control in a central place.
  • Reporting is great.
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ScreenShots

BMC Helix ITSM Screenshots

Screenshot of BMC Helix Multi-Cloud Broker. This is where users can deliver a secure service experience across multi-cloud environments.Screenshot of Knowledge Management, available with intelligent recommendations to help bring the right information to end-users and agents to quickly and accurately resolve issues.Screenshot of the incident and problem management interface, used to create and resolve incidents faster with intelligent, context-aware, and proactive incident matching.