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OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 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
5.0
OpenText SMAX offers customizable IT automation value, challenging ROI assessment, with indirect cost impact in overall operations.
Sentiment score
6.5
ServiceNow enhances efficiency and ROI through automation, with payback periods ranging from three months to five years.
They have removed the costs associated with on-prem infrastructure, including data center costs, power costs, and physical server costs.
General Manager at sPerception IT
The return on investment is good when implementing for ourselves and for other clients.
ServiceNow Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
Manually, there are huge numbers that come up because these integrated tools help organizations make the right decisions with all the information in one place, while manual methods lack visibility.
Associate Vice President at Wissen infotech
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
OpenText Service Management support shows mixed reviews, with positive technical support but room for efficiency improvements.
Sentiment score
7.0
ServiceNow's customer service is responsive but can lack in-depth support, with experience varying by issue complexity and account size.
Support for OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is better.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
The support is exemplary and deserves a perfect rating.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Obtaining support for maintenance is the current challenge because they don't have a presence in the local market.
General Manager at sPerception IT
Whenever we have had issues, they have provided good support, and those issues have never recurred.
Vice President Delivery & Operations at Rezilyens
 

Scalability Issues

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.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow offers excellent scalability, though custom setups may pose challenges; effective support ensures smooth integration and expansion.
There are no limitations or performance issues with ServiceNow; it is cloud-based, so it is highly scalable and performs well.
General Manager at sPerception IT
It is capable of vertical scaling with no issues.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I rate the scalability of ServiceNow as an eight on a scale of one to ten.
IT infra Admin at synu
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Opinions on OpenText SMAX's stability vary, with users noting both reliability and challenges, especially with Kubernetes.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow users enjoy excellent stability and high performance, with minimal downtime and minor issues tied to customizations.
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) has some stability challenges that are crashable and not stable at times.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
It is cloud-based, so it is highly scalable and performs well.
General Manager at sPerception IT
I haven't faced any issues with stability; I've rarely seen any downtime.
Solution Engineer - Digital Platform | Mobile at British American Tobacco
ServiceNow is stable enough.
ServiceNow Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
 

Room For Improvement

OpenText SMAX faces integration, customization, and navigation challenges, needing improved documentation and enhanced reporting and workflow capabilities.
ServiceNow's customization flexibility leads to challenges with usability, cost, integration, and a need for improved interfaces and support.
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
It makes no sense in my opinion, and they should offer the team at the front to help customize the product to fit each company's needs, as every company has different demands and forms of submitting a request that need adjustment over time.
Manager of Security Engineering & Architecture at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
My priority points for improvement are the UI glitches and modern AI technology integrations for faster incident management.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

OpenText Service Management offers flexible licensing options and competitive pricing, with discounts available, making it cost-effective for users.
ServiceNow's premium pricing offers broad functionality for enterprises, with negotiable fees and high costs for setup and customization.
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is okay, not expensive and not the cheapest.
Technical Lead at Bharti AXA Life Insurance
ServiceNow's pricing can be justified if more functionality is required.
ServiceNow Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
ServiceNow does come with a price.
Associate Vice President at Wissen infotech
ServiceNow is expensive for all regions.
Security Architect at وزارة الثقافة Ministry of Culture
 

Valuable Features

OpenText SMAX offers multilingual AI support, intuitive configuration, and robust analytics for IT and HR service management.
ServiceNow provides customizable, scalable IT management with automation and analytics, enhancing decision-making and adaptability across diverse business needs.
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
ServiceNow provides a wide range of functionality, covering all the necessary modules, unlike Jira which is primarily for IT.
ServiceNow Developer at Bangmetric services pvt ltd
Automation capabilities are impressive, bolstered by a vast repository of out-of-the-box connectors and plugins that facilitate integration with various applications worldwide.
Security Architect at وزارة الثقافة Ministry of Culture
The features of ServiceNow that I find most valuable include its ability to easily access ticket details if you know the ticket number, monitor the timeline of when the ticket was created, and see the current status.
IT infra Admin at synu
 

Categories and Ranking

OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
224
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (1st), IT Asset Management (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 15.9%, down from 24.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow15.9%
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.2%
Other81.9%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
MT
Manager of Security Engineering & Architecture at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Seamless data integration and advanced automation improve service delivery efficiency
I think that nothing needs to be improved with the product; you just need the user to commit and spend appropriate time to overcome that learning curve. Once that is done, the product itself is pretty wonderful. I've seen a very nicely built interface with ServiceNow, and I've also seen the ugliest version that feels outdated. ServiceNow does allow that team to exist. They should modernize their fonts and their layout, the UI friendliness. They did introduce AI, chatbots, and AI on the back end, so that's wonderful and extremely useful if you train it. If you don't train it, it's pretty useless. Assessing the impact of ServiceNow's automation on service delivery times is complicated. The engineers who operate on ServiceNow find it isn't straightforward because the data set is accessible by everybody. The problem is that understanding how to manage that data set requires an enormous amount of engineering skill set to run the product. I would not hand the key to the customer; I would highly recommend that ServiceNow take control of that. Instead of offering support for the software, they should offer administrative support for the software. They should provide professional service or some kind of support system that allows us to use their product at a faster pace. I'm sure they offer something, but it's often outrageously expensive, or they rely on another company to resell their product and offer professional service. It makes no sense in my opinion, and they should offer the team at the front to help customize the product to fit each company's needs, as every company has different demands and forms of submitting a request that need adjustment over time.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise166
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is okay, not expensive and not the cheapest. It is overall good.
Which solution is better for developing non-ITSM applications: OutSystems or Service Now?
The short answer is that OutSystems is far better for 2 main reasons. Firstly, with Service Now you are locked into that platform for good. The business model is to lock in and then keep pumping th...
Would you choose ServiceNow over Microsoft PowerApps?
Hi Netanya, I will choose ServiceNow because ServiceNow is a very good tool compared to Microsoft PowerApp. Because ServiceNow has a very strong module (Performance Analysis) reporting which will ...
What do you like most about ServiceNow?
The solution has a user-friendly interface.
 

Also Known As

OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
AAA, AstraZeneca, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Broadcom, Christus Health, Epicor, Equinix, GE Capital, Intuit, KPMG, Loyola Marymount University, OshKosh, Quantas, RedHat, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss Re, U.S. Department of Energy, Safeway, Yale University, and Zillow    
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.