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Clarity SM vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 19, 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

Clarity SM
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
26th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (24th)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of Clarity SM is 1.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Türker Kara - PeerSpot reviewer
Quite good back-end architecture for end users but the API is very, very bad
Our company uses the solution for system, program, service request, change, and knowledge-based management.  We perform CMD authorizations and use a lot of integrations for our in-house or third-party applications. We also use Salesforce automations and Microsoft orchestrations.  We have about…
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

"Being able to specify event rules and SLAs that can help to automate some of the processes that people are doing manually is valuable."
"The most valuable fractures of Clarity SM are its ease of use and security. I have been highly satisfied. We've been able to integrate it with email and an SMS gateway for the purposes of notifications. That works very well."
"The UI is very user-friendly."
"It helps when you have an incident or performing a problem change management process."
"The most valuable features are the requests and incident tracking."
"It improves our service delivery process. We're more efficient. We're leveraging the ticketing system, which is always more efficient, so we can measure and improve."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Time sheets are a powerful tool."
"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."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"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."
 

Cons

"Needs custom dashboards, without them it takes too long to view some information (though xFlow is an improvement)."
"We talk a lot about the idea that Service Desk Manager should be more "service" oriented, not just ticket oriented."
"The API is very, very bad so we developed our own."
"Report solutions are a little short."
"We need a mobile solution. We are not using any mobile functionality for the product, but we think that this necessary."
"We went from 12.1 to 14, so there was a lot involved in it. The issues we had were migration issues, getting our information from one place to the next and making sure everything was as everyone needed."
"There are some issues regarding the knowledge base and the configuration manager."
"The methodology introduced for Level 1 analysts needs to be taken to Change Management Process. It would be useful to be able to look in Change Management and see the current status of the process."
"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 solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is simple, as it’s per concurrent analysts."
"I think pricing of this model is suitable for growing corporations."
"The pricing is based on a subscription model."
"I don't see anyone other than large companies being able to afford this system."
"It is a bit expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for. It is worth it!"
"The solution is quite reasonable compared to other solutions in the market."
"Clarity offers a perpetual license. Customers purchase the license once and then pay for maintenance. CA provides a subscription model as well. Both models are available for our customers."
"There is a subscripted needed to use Clarity SM. The price of the solution could be less expensive. ServiceNow is less expensive and BMC Helix is priced similar to Clarity SM."
"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
Performing Arts
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The solution is used for the end-user portal. It is used for incident management, requests, and other informational purposes.
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The tool is appropriate if we don't have a complicated use case. It is the right tool for simple use cases. It's a lot cheaper than ServiceNow. It is an appropriate tool for a smaller business or m...
 

Also Known As

CA Service Desk Manager, Clarity Service Management, CA Service Management, Unicenter Service Desk, CA SDM, CA Service Catalog, CA Business Service Insight
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco G&T Continental City of Perth, FEMSA, Fujitsu, Manpower, Muslim Commercial Bank - MCB, Punjab National Bank, Santa Clara County Social Services, Stefanini
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 Clarity SM vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.