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JIRA Service Management vs OpenText Service Management (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 29, 2025

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
6.6
JIRA Service Management streamlines workflows, cuts costs, enhances productivity, and benefits virtual teams with its cloud-based platform.
Sentiment score
5.0
OpenText SMAX offers customizable IT automation value, challenging ROI assessment, with indirect cost impact in overall operations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Atlassian's customer service is efficient but faces challenges with time zones and technical support accessibility, relying on local partners.
Sentiment score
6.5
OpenText Service Management support shows mixed reviews, with positive technical support but room for efficiency improvements.
Support for OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is better.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
JIRA Service Management is scalable, flexible, and integrates well, supporting various organizations with excellent scalability ratings and licensing options.
Sentiment score
8.1
OpenText SMAX is scalable for medium to large enterprises, handling up to 1,000 users, but may be costly for small businesses.
It supports introducing new features or levels efficiently across our global locations, helping everyone stay informed.
R&D Engineering - Program Manager at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
JIRA Service Management is highly stable and reliable, frequently updated, with most users rating its stability between 8-9/10.
Sentiment score
6.9
Opinions on OpenText SMAX's stability vary, with users noting both reliability and challenges, especially with Kubernetes.
There should be more governance for permissions and more options for customized access without frequently involving the admin.
R&D Engineering - Program Manager at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has some stability challenges that are crashable and not stable at times.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
 

Room For Improvement

JIRA Service Management struggles with integration, customization, interface usability, and lacks key features like advanced dashboards and asset management.
OpenText SMAX faces integration, customization, and navigation challenges, needing improved documentation and enhanced reporting and workflow capabilities.
We need to consider which AI tool would be most suitable for our project.
Database Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
JIRA's user interface needs training to understand and utilize.
R&D Engineering - Program Manager at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
The cloud offering is easier because I don't have to manage the infrastructure.
Vice President Service Delivery at quixel
The custom reports that were already prepared work fine.
Information Security & IT Governance Manager at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Different scenarios require different workflow configurations.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
 

Setup Cost

JIRA Service Management's pricing is competitive but can be costly with more users and add-ons, varying by market.
OpenText Service Management offers flexible licensing options and competitive pricing, with discounts available, making it cost-effective for users.
We used Jira's free version for some time.
Sr Test Lead at Emerson
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is okay, not expensive and not the cheapest.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
 

Valuable Features

JIRA Service Management offers customizable dashboards, integration capabilities, and flexibility, enhancing project management and collaboration for varied needs.
OpenText SMAX offers multilingual AI support, intuitive configuration, and robust analytics for IT and HR service management.
JIRA itself is valuable for managing tickets, user stories, and pipeline.
GB, Development Practice - Technical Director at EJADA
For every task we are working on, the project manager can see the status once we update the stories mentioned.
Senior Software Engineer at Annalect
JIRA Service Management has a very detailed level of options and flexibility.
Vice President Service Delivery at quixel
Reporting tools and sophisticated customization options are available with different capabilities.
Information Security & IT Governance Manager at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Configuration is available for different scenarios including change request, incident management, and problem management.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
 

Categories and Ranking

JIRA Service Management
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (2nd)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of JIRA Service Management is 7.6%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
JIRA Service Management7.6%
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.3%
Other90.1%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Sohaib Ahmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President Service Delivery at quixel
Comprehensive workflows and data views have supported complex teams but still need cost improvements
JIRA Service Management is costly. The pricing structure needs improvement. When I add some plugins, I have to pay the cost for every user whether they are using it or not. For smaller companies, the detailed workflow editing and the kind of details that JIRA Service Management provides would be complex. For startups and smaller companies, JIRA Service Management would be complex. The cloud offering is easier because I don't have to manage the infrastructure. There are two templates of the project: company-managed and team-managed. Team-managed is a newer feature, which is good for startup-kind companies where they don't need control over data from multiple projects displaying in one dashboard. For startups, JIRA Service Management is somewhat complex with its schemes and everything. Capacity management should be improved in terms of additional features in the next release of JIRA Service Management.
HiteshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
Supports seamless ticket routing and team collaboration across departments
Maybe something in OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is not perfect. Some small changes could be done. There could be improvements in workflow changes. When a customer needs to change a workflow issue, we can change the workflow relationship accordingly. A customer might need a workflow where if I accept the permission, then close the ticket, and the escalated ticket is not directly assigned to anyone. Different scenarios require different workflow configurations.
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is what I refer to when I say SMAX, and it is from OpenText. I work with OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other tools. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) ca...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is effective for all sectors, such as IT and HR. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is good, and I do not see any negative side. It is possible to discuss some ot...
 

Also Known As

JIRA Service Desk, Atlassian Jira Service Management
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

mgm technology partners, Telestream, Build.com, Zend Technologies, OfficeDrop, PGS Software, American Diabetes Association, NEPTUNE Canada
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 JIRA Service Management vs. OpenText Service Management (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.