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Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs ServiceNow Orchestration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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

Microsoft System Center Orc...
Ranking in Process Automation
19th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow Orchestration
Ranking in Process Automation
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center Orchestrator is 0.8%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Orchestration is 4.1%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Dan Campeanu - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates tasks and manages multiple servers from a central location
The initial setup was quite complex. It required careful preparation of installation steps, as many tasks were not automated as expected. Special attention was needed to prepare groups, users, and permissions at each step to ensure a smooth setup process. Please do so accurately to avoid having to start over. Challenges encountered during deployment included issues with installation and configuration and difficulties detecting machines and executing tasks as expected. Some solutions were found through trial and error during installation, while others were discovered through recommendations from other users. Despite these challenges, the deployment and rollout of Orchestrator took approximately one and a half months to ensure proper functionality.
ShaheenKapery - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to integrate, stable solution and incredibly good customer service
It is a long setup. It was customized to our company's requirements. Bearing in mind that there is not just an IT team. You've got an IT team consisting of end-users, consulting, and user support sides. Install support, ServiceNow support, application support, and so on. What ServiceNow does is it's really good at getting the tickets to the right person. That's the power of it. There's no issue with it. But you need to set that up in advance. You need to know the structure and who is responsible for each task. The initial setup does take a long time, and the organization might face some issues. But once you've got that resolved, it's amazing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automation is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location."
"The data visualization is good."
"Orchestration is commonly utilized by major corporations. The process of linking methods in ServiceNow, known as the RTS chain to parent methods, is executed seamlessly and efficiently. It's quite impressive and significant in its impact."
"The interface of the solution is very user friendly and it is easily accessible via a simple URL. This makes it easier to complete the UI based tasks but using other features require expertise in languages like Java. But along with that, there are limitation in terms of network connectivity testing and administrator faces regular challenges in conducting connectivity tests due to these limitations."
"The solution effectively automates business processes."
"It's scalable."
"Great with IT processes and business processes."
"There are a lot of ready to use orchestration custom packs."
"Provisioning of new systems is among the most impactful features for automating complex workflows with ServiceNow Orchestration."
 

Cons

"I find the Orchestrator UI to be problematic."
"The product's management aspect needs enhancement."
"The deployment requires awareness among the project staff."
"The automatic remediation needs enhancement, particularly integrating ServiceNow with tools like SolarWinds and Logic Monitor. It is functional, but it needs improvement."
"We cannot perform GUI automation using the tool."
"Efficiency of some features could be improved."
"From my space, the only thing that I can say is the spinning up with Google Cloud Services."
"The flow rate for releases and updates is very, very slow and does not meet customers' objectives for scalability."
"There should be connectors to cover at least the top industry applications, and they should be easier to configure in a plug-and-play fashion."
"I would like a user experience module to be added."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I give the cost of the solution a five out of ten."
"We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost."
"Pricing is custom to every customer."
"It is not very expensive."
"This is an expensive product, but it is the best in the market considering the features and lack of competitors."
"In terms of price, this solution is at the higher end of what you'll find."
"The solution is costly and orchestrations are very expensive."
"It is quite expensive because we've had some customers come back and say it's quite pricey because in order for them to go ahead with Orchestration, they must have already been paying for Discovery, service mapping, and a few other things."
"The cost of the solution is based on the number of plugins, conductors and integrations used and is charged annually. The licensing cause has been increasing gradually which makes it difficult to access. Initially offer free features but over the time the charges rise which make it an expensive solution with limited features. Along with that, the integration issues persist and require additional middle where and internet connectivity for effective usage."
"ServiceNow doesn't give a clear cost indication. They have different contracts with different organizations and it's all about negotiation, so you don't know how they are doing at the cost level."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
The platform was almost free of cost for us. We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost.
What needs improvement with Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
The product's management aspect needs enhancement. It affects the visibility of powerful scripts that were previously accessible. Furthermore, the focus is shifting towards cloud-based features, sp...
What do you like most about ServiceNow Orchestration?
The interface of the solution is very user friendly and it is easily accessible via a simple URL. This makes it easier to complete the UI based tasks but using other features require expertise in l...
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Orchestration?
I remember last time I said there is no need for improvement. It's fine. Due to the limited scope, I cannot comment further. However, it should be integrated with AI and messaging or chatting featu...
 

Also Known As

MS System Center Orchestrator
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
experian, BEACHBODY, HealthPartners, Banosoft
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs. ServiceNow Orchestration and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.