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BMC Helix ITSM vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

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 Helix ITSM
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (6th)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 8.1%, down from 13.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.4%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
BMC Helix ITSM8.1%
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.4%
Other89.5%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ameet Darole - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for user ticket management, incident management, and event management
We had a manual event management process and a separate monitoring tool called Dynatrace. The alerts generated did not flow to the ITSM tool. With BMC Helix ITSM, the alerts flow and auto-route to respective technical support. If the alerts are resolved, the ticket will be automatically closed. So, the workload and automation are much better now. BMC Helix ITSM is a fast platform, so it is quite manageable. I would recommend BMC Helix ITSM to other users because it is a good solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Evgeniy Kolotilov - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a range of tools for sales and configuration that can be used in banks and telecom companies
The deployment takes three months. In this process, customers need to allocate resources like networks, data storage, and images. They then need to decide which business functions they intend to use in production and perform some basic configurations. Custom documentation is prepared and provided for user renewals and administration. I would rate the experience of the initial setup a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have seen year over year customer satisfaction improvement for the last five years."
"Customer support is always fantastic and willing to help. No matter what time of day we have a problem."
"Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal."
"Helix is stable."
"Provides a clean front-end for our users to log requests and has rich ITSM functionality."
"The most valuable features are the simplicity and the in-duty features."
"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."
"The digital workplace is appealing."
"It offers a range of tools for sales and configuration. It's like a business process improvement platform, suitable for various lines of business operations."
"OpenText Service Management Automation X provides valuable features such as topic analytics for incident and problem management. It also includes natural language processing for analyzing technical descriptions. Additionally, it features a virtual chatbot capable of processing natural language to interact effectively with end users. This service enhances customer support and is not subject to the limitations often found in offerings from other vendors."
"The customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"The tool is very easy to use."
 

Cons

"The product's customization capabilities, price, and technical support are areas of concern where improvements are needed."
"It has created more layers of bureaucracy."
"When BMC Helix ITSM did some upgrades it caused some issues. They have fixed some of the problems but more improvement is needed."
"There are plugins to the solution that have come onto the market, so the solution should also be updated in terms of administration to increase efficiency."
"Helix needs to enhance some of its functionality with the latest technology. For example, Helix could improve its chatbot automation to automate more use cases."
"BMC Helix ITSM is difficult for us to customize, and most customizations require vendor support, which leads to extra costs."
"We found that there was numerous issues upgrading from 8.1 to 9.1 in that all our licenses were broken for almost a year and a half. We chased down a total of 14 hotfixes, patches, and service packs before things were finally resolved. During that time, said "fixes" also broke other things, so it was quite the sore spot with management for some time."
"If I'm working with a client who wants to expand and move into other areas - they want to expand their workflow and other parts of the organization, they want to do some work with project management, they want to do some work with HR - I'm not sure that BMC Remedy is doing that. And it's because of their platform. Any software has a lifecycle. To me, BMC is a dated architecture."
"The initial setup of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is complicated, but once it is set up the configuration is straightforward to adapt to the users' or customers' needs."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"The solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"BMC is a little bit cheaper than ServiceNow, but BMC doesn't have the same capabilities in its entry-level product at the moment. The basic version does not have the DWP features that most of our customers are requesting."
"It is costly, but it is well worth it."
"We did not compare the price of BMC Helix ITSM to other vendors. However, it has a mid-range price."
"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."
"While purchasing, try to negotiate on per user licensing costs, associated maintenance, and purchase 20% more then what you think you should have. Bulk is always cheaper."
"Just make sure you really sit down and look at what you will be using per user, therefore you will not be surprised with a big bill. You do not want every user having every license, it really is not needed."
"It is not very expensive and not very cheap. It is somewhere in-between. Some of the features are more expensive. There are also additional costs. If you want to use most of the features, you need to pay more."
"The price of BMC Helix ITSM is expensive."
"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."
"The cost of the license for SMAX varies depending on the configuration, including the number of seats for users and the customer's specific requirements. It's not a fixed cost and can vary."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise54
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Currently, we are not utilizing the AI functionality in BMC Helix ITSM as we are still in the roadmap and development phase at this point in time. There isn't anything that I would suggest for impr...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
We use BMC Helix ITSM for the complete end-to-end ITSM suite, mainly for ticketing and service management. BMC Helix ITSM supports our IT service management processes primarily for all incident, pr...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
We are using the application as a customer. We are utilizing OpenText Service Management (SMAX) mainly for ITSM processes and some BPM activities. It is mainly used for tracking performance and cre...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
I would rate OpenText Service Management (SMAX) an eight out of ten. Please hide my name and company name as I have not received approval from my corporate communications team to speak on behalf of...
 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy, BMC Helix IT Service Management
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.