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BMC FootPrints Service Core vs BMC Helix ITSM 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

BMC FootPrints Service Core
Ranking in Help Desk Software
29th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
28th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
BMC Helix ITSM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
8th
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of BMC FootPrints Service Core is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 5.7%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
BMC Helix ITSM5.7%
BMC FootPrints Service Core1.5%
Other92.8%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1765752 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
A flexible, comprehensive, integrated IT service and asset management platform with good technical support
We use BMC FootPrints Service Core to manage network issues, infrastructure issues, software issues, and ERP. We also use it to manage our facility. So, we do some work orders and also use it as an extra ticketing system Technical support is good. It would be better if it were more…
KN
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
Self-service portal significantly reduces resolution time and transforms service process with advanced features
We initially had a lot of tickets generated via the service desk through calls and emails. Now, we have almost moved out of email creations by introducing the DWP features on the Studio pages, with about 90% of the tickets coming in via our self-service portal. Recent upgrades offer different types of views for particular business lines, which was missing earlier. The new landing pages have allowed us to add banners, images, and internal videos, encouraging most customers to use these DWP self-service features. Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal. Additionally, the availability of knowledge articles, chatbots, and the new Helix GPT feature has improved service processes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is stable and its technical support is good and quick."
"I like the fact that FootPrints is a relational database, so every item in the database can be linked to another. This helps create history and audit trails for each CI."
"Technical support is good."
"I think the most important feature is the ability to receive valuable ticket status support in a timely manner with little to no downtime interruptions."
"Having a one stop shop for linked assets and tickets has improved end user adoption and led to a reduction in phone/email tickets."
"Now all IT related issues, problems, changes and even projects are more controlled using Footprints."
"​Ability to auto-generate email messages, process email messages, and approvals."
"We have found the reports and the lockdown on a ticket valuable, so only one person can update issues."
"It is suitable for the present circumstances, providing reliability and adhering to the necessary procedures. Having ITSM and proper knowledge is essential for our work to be acknowledged and effectively contribute to the team's efforts. Utilizing ITSM ensures that our work, especially in chat windows and events from application support, is duly acknowledged. This is crucial for handling high-level events (HLEs) and maintaining accurate records. The system facilitates easy tracking, enabling managers and higher-ups to gather data for appraisals and other purposes efficientl"
"The most valuable features are the simplicity and the in-duty features."
"It has the power to automatize several different tasks in the ITSM world."
"The valuable feature for me is that it's a tool that allows me to track processes right from the initial user request."
"BMC Smart IT is somewhat rigid, but they have a powerful backend that supports our complex need for extension versus customization."
"The main valuable feature is the flexibility of the product -- the ability of being able to make it do almost anything we need it to do to adjust to our business needs and to do it very quickly."
"The way you can customize this product to adapt to the process the customer is already using is what sets this apart from other ITSM products out there. This helps customers to adapt to the tool pretty quickly."
"In BMC, you can do absolutely anything; you can customize, you can configure, and you can customize and develop pretty much anything."
 

Cons

"It would be nice if they added the ability to go directly to a form via a deep link URL."
"Hyphens are not allowed in the quick search bar. This has created a problem in our environment where we use hyphens in our asset names."
"The mobile version of this product does not support asset management."
"There are still a few odd issues in FootPrints 12.x, which are frustrating."
"Sometimes it is difficult to make the application do exactly what you need."
"The workflow should be made to be more user-friendly. It should also have more granular scalability."
"To improve the product for our usage, the pricing maybe could be a bit lower."
"The workflow should be made to be more user-friendly. It should also have more granular scalability."
"The interface is one major complaint about this product."
"Regarding reporting, when sharing information with leadership, we utilize BI support and data or more analytical tools. These tools provide accurate and comprehensive reports, covering various aspects. Reports are either sent directly through email or automated using scripts. It would be beneficial to integrate similar capabilities into BMC for future use. Many applications we work with already have a centralized virtual automation tool, such as Control M, but manual effort is still required. Improvements in automation for accurate and efficient reporting in BMC would be valuable."
"There is a text editor that we use to enter our incident description or service request description, and it should be richer in terms of features."
"The interface isn't that great."
"I have customers that always would like to adapt and personalize BMC Helix ITSM more."
"Customer service: 3/10 - customer service is very painful. It takes a lot of time to pass the issue to the technical support and until that happens, the issue jumps between the people in support, that ask us always the some things."
"The Approval Central system needs to be refreshed."
"In the next release, I would like to see AI used for classification or categorization."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing for FootPrints is a perpetual license with an annual support fee."
"Cost was on par with other service desk products, and well below Remedy, while still being a BMC product."
"Our costs are well over $250,000."
"This solution has good pricing."
"I am not sure the exact price we pay for the solution but I know it is in the high seven-figure amount annually."
"The price of BMC Helix ITSM is expensive."
"The cost is relatively high, especially for the BMC Controller application. However, the expense is justified by the standard and reliable features it offers. This product's reputation in the market is strong, providing assurance in terms of data and other considerations."
"If you are looking for some kind of professional services form the OEM then you would have to purchase that."
"We did not compare the price of BMC Helix ITSM to other vendors. However, it has a mid-range price."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. The solution is expensive."
"The solution's pricing should come down."
"It is too expensive for a small business."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise55
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about BMC Helix ITSM?
If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth operations, any arising issues, be it security concerns or issues within depart...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
Although BMC Helix ITSM is a strong enterprise platform, there are areas where it could be improved. One key area is usability and simplification of configuration, especially for new administrators...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
My main use case for BMC Helix ITSM is validating and automating core ITSM workflows, such as incident, change, and service request management. I focus on ensuring that these workflows function cor...
 

Also Known As

FootPrints Service Core
Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy, BMC Helix IT Service Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cast & Crew
Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC FootPrints Service Core vs. BMC Helix ITSM and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.