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OpenText Service Management (SMAX) vs ServiceNow 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

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
ServiceNow
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
223
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 October 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of OpenText Service Management (SMAX) is 2.4%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 21.0%, down from 26.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow21.0%
OpenText Service Management (SMAX)2.4%
Other76.6%
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Nikhil Gohil - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables effective incident management and seamless workflow automation with valuable mobile accessibility
I haven't thought deeply about improvements for ServiceNow or what might be missing right now. There are so many modules and features in ServiceNow that I haven't explored them all, so it's hard to say what might be missing or should be improved. I suggest making the cost more affordable for smaller companies.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The customization features are quite good, and we have a very good local vendor helping us in this regard."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"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."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
"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."
"ServiceNow has been implemented to streamline team workflows across different departments in our company. Users, including traveling leaders, were able to approve requests and authorize additional rights through the mobile platform."
"We used ServiceNow for change management, release management, and event management."
"Easy to integrate with third-party applications."
"SPM and ITSM features are the most helpful."
"One feature of ServiceNow that is important is the workflow engine. From my perspective [as a consultant] the power to be able to structure processes, represent workforce management for organizations, and the visibility provided by the reporting are additional top features."
"It has more extensive features as compared to the other competitors."
"I really like ServiceNow and all of the features. The way incident management is built is very helpful. You have a lot of options to optimize it, customize it, and automate it. You also have a lot of options for reporting. There are plenty of possibilities to do preference management within your customer CMDB file. These are very useful features, which I missed in BMC Remedy ITSM. ServiceNow is the best ticketing tool I have used so far."
"If you stick to the out-of-the-box solution, it's an easy setup."
 

Cons

"The reporting functionality is not the best as it is not easy to use."
"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 tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"Currently, we are finding it a bit difficult to monitor the subscriptions that are being used. The reporting feature related to this can be improved. Its ITOM functionality can be improved. BMC does a better job than ServiceNow in terms of capturing utilization and other such things."
"Before implementing this solution, you should have the ITSM model in place for chain management requests. That is a prerequisite because you cannot perform tasks without it."
"Compared to other products that I have been using, it is not as user-friendly."
"Direct support from ServiceNow is not very good. Most of the support comes from partners, and customers heavily rely on them."
"I find the way you need to attach things like screenshots and stuff is a bit gimmicky. I'm a casual user. I'll use it once every two months and only when I have an incident that I need to report. You don't get a lot of experience with it when you're just using it once in a while like that. Therefore, it needs to be more intuitive so that you don't have to re-learn how to do simple tasks as the way to do certain things just isn't obvious."
"I would like the reporting aspect to be better, including the graphs. It could have some way for us to easily to export to a csv or spreadsheet so that if a graph cannot be provided by ServiceNow itself, we would be able to use other applications to create them. Also, if there was a feature that enabled us to interact with end users directly from ServiceNow, like an instant-messaging type of feature, that would be great."
"We would like to have an Asset Management and/or Project Management feature enabled in this version and in the IT Service Management edition."
"I find ServiceNow to be a little bit clunky. If I need to report an issue they have a number of different options. I can report an issue, I can ask a question, I can make a request and it has varying levels of importance or levels of attention required. I find that what's required to submit is not always clear."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I know that it's not too bad because people continue to use it and they are happy to renew up their contract."
"For the modules we use, we found it competitive. I can't think of any costs in addition to the licensing fees."
"It is an expensive platform."
"The setup cost is high compared to others, especially when the scope is not fixed."
"The platform offers a free trial, by providing a free developer instance once you sign up."
"We are happy with the pricing."
"The CapEx version is great."
"ServiceNow tends to be a little bit more expensive as compared to BMC Helix ITSM."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise163
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.