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BMC Helix Discovery vs ServiceNow Discovery comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 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
8.2
BMC Helix Discovery saves time, boosts ROI by 314%, enhances efficiency, and reduces costs through automation and optimization.
Sentiment score
6.9
ServiceNow Discovery's ROI is inconsistent, with full benefits seen when combined with other services for operational efficiency.
BMC Helix Discovery has delivered a very good return, and we cannot stop using it at this moment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
BMC Helix Discovery's customer service receives mixed reviews, with praise for expertise but criticism on response times and resolutions.
Sentiment score
6.2
ServiceNow Discovery's support varies, with mixed experiences on responsiveness and effectiveness, improving with advanced support tiers and partnerships.
The response has been satisfactory, though improvements could be made in response time and overall competence.
This rating is because there are features on the tool that never worked and despite calling our support, there were no results.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
BMC Helix Discovery offers adaptability for cloud and on-premise deployments, with mixed reviews on scalability and usability.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow Discovery is highly scalable, suited for large infrastructures, compatible with AWS and Azure, but requires careful cost management.
I would rate it as a nine on a scale of one to ten, indicating it is highly scalable.
It receives this rating because it can be difficult to troubleshoot when the discovery is failing.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
BMC Helix Discovery is highly stable and reliable, praised for security, enterprise management, despite minor upgrade issues.
Sentiment score
8.3
ServiceNow Discovery is highly stable and reliable, with minor configuration issues not affecting its strong overall performance ratings.
I would rate the stability of ServiceNow Discovery as nine, as we never had downtime.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek BMC Helix Discovery enhancements in integrations, scalability, user-friendliness, customization, cloud capabilities, and technical support.
ServiceNow Discovery struggles with service mapping and integration, necessitating enhancements for usability, cloud capabilities, and easier licensing.
I would like to see a lower price and better technical support.
Improvements could include implementing chatbots to simplify ticket creation.
The areas of ServiceNow Discovery that have room for improvement are getting custom reports on the relationship between CIs that are not on the same table.
 

Setup Cost

BMC Helix Discovery offers competitive pricing but has complex licensing, requiring careful alignment of use cases with budgets.
ServiceNow Discovery is pricey but valued for advanced features, with potential discounts though standalone costs are high.
The price is about twelve per license per year, and the support is included.
I think the price of ServiceNow Discovery is cheaper than BMC.
ServiceNow is considered more expensive compared to other products.
 

Valuable Features

BMC Helix Discovery provides fast, agentless deployment, intuitive interface, superior application modeling, integration, and AI-driven insights for asset management.
ServiceNow Discovery integrates seamlessly with ServiceNow suite, enhancing IT operations through automated mapping, security, and cloud discovery.
This is very useful for compliance as it helps in audits by providing a comprehensive view of all assets and software.
Cost optimization and contract notifications are also useful as they provide insights into user time spent on tickets.
The most beneficial features of ServiceNow Discovery for maintaining my IT infrastructure are the CMDB top and discovery of network switches.
 

Categories and Ranking

BMC Helix Discovery
Ranking in IT Asset Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow Discovery
Ranking in IT Asset Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (2nd), Cloud Resource Discovery Services (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the IT Asset Management category, the mindshare of BMC Helix Discovery is 8.5%, up from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Discovery is 5.8%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Asset Management
 

Q&A Highlights

MOHSIN SHAWL - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 06, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Shirish Kamalapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Very stable, fast, and powerful with valuable inventory management features
Our company uses the solution as an inventory tool for customers. The solution discovers your infrastructure and lets you know what servers and network devices are on it. It gives you details about applications, hardware, and software such as how they are connected and the dependencies between…
Kaustubh Partha - PeerSpot reviewer
Scans servers and network devices through SNMP and reduces manual maintenance for our infrastructure team
I like how ServiceNow Discovery scans servers and network devices through SNMP. Most fields on our forms are auto-filled, reducing manual maintenance for our infrastructure team. Post Discovery implementation there is hardly any maintenance. There are three to four fields that are customized. Otherwise, 90% of the data is auto-filled. Discovery can also run in bulk, which is helpful for organizations that cannot run it during weekdays. With identification rules, if a configuration item (CI) isn't in the CMDB, you can simply add the IP address, and it will be automatically added based on criteria like name or serial number, making CMDB maintenance easier.
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Answers from the Community

MOHSIN SHAWL - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 6, 2023
Jan 6, 2023
Hello Mohsin, Unfortunately, I don't have experience with ServiceNow Discovery. But I have been using BMC Helix Discovery for more than five years. It is a really fast and user-friendly system. There is no need for an agent when installing the solution. I recommend this solution.
2 out of 3 answers
CG
Dec 23, 2022
I have implemented both, and BMC Helix Discovery including its earlier versions is a far easier solution to implement than the ServiceNow Discovery offering. The BMC discovery solution integrates with Remedy and ServiceNow CMDBs and is also a technically superior product if you also want application service mapping. Contact me directly if you need a more detailed explanation.
Madhurima  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 26, 2022
Hi Mohsin, Not only BMC Helix or ServiceNow Discovery, but a few other Discovery tools are also available in the market and every discovery tool has a unique feature, hence as per me, choosing a discovery tool for your organization should be based on the organization's needs and infrastructure. I suggest you go for proper requirement assessment sessions, i.e. infrastructure architecture, existing implemented tools, their features, use, possibilities & integrations, kind of devices in scope to discover, focused data center discovery,  focused client-side discovery, or both. What I mean to say is do not choose any tool for its features but choose the one best suitable for your organization that can provide the best output with less investment after a proper assessment of the organization's requirements and expectations from a tool. I know my reply to your query is not the exact answer you looked for but yes, this is what I would suggest to you on the basis of my experience. As far as tool comparison is concerned, you can find it in many places with the help of search engines but I think once you know what you want then reading tool features on the tool's official website will help you more to choose the best suitable Discovery tool for your organization. Thanks, Madhurima
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix Discovery?
I like the artificial intelligence and machine learning that it uses in the solution. Because once the solution discovers all the assets, all the infrastructure, and all the dependencies between se...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Helix Discovery?
The price of BMC Helix Discovery is licensed by asset. It is challenging to maintain licenses, as every piece of equipment is considered a license. We pay attention to the growth of assets. The pri...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix Discovery?
I would like to see a lower price and better technical support.
What do you like most about ServiceNow Discovery?
The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Discovery?
ServiceNow is considered more expensive compared to other products. If I were to rate the pricing on a scale from one to ten in terms of expense, I would rate it quite high.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Discovery?
Improvements could include implementing chatbots to simplify ticket creation. Currently, each new product must be manually created if it is not already available in ServiceNow, which can be cumbers...
 

Also Known As

Discovery, ADDM, Atrium Discovery & Dependency Mapping
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Windstream Communications, News UK, Mercator Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR)
York, National Grid, DXC Technology, experian, BEACHBODY
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.