Guide To The 21 Best ITSM Tools Of 2024
Best ITSM Tools Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 21 tools reviewed.
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
Businesses that have customer-facing functions would do well to put some effort into beefing up those parts of the operations for retention. With this in mind, I’ve come up with this list of the best ITSM tools for exactly that, with all the information you need to make a decision.
What Are ITSM Tools?
ITSM tools handle a wide variety of processes related to service delivery for a company’s customers and other stakeholders. ITSM software helps teams organize and manage their IT services, to better support business objectives. They can cover many different activities in a company’s service channels, frequently including incident management, digital portfolio management, and IT configuration and benchmarking. They may also assist in IT strategies for planning, design, and execution.
Best ITSM Tools Summary
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Freshservice | From $19/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| monday Service | From $26/seat/month (3 seat minimum) | Website |
| Syncro | From $129/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| SysAid | Pricing upon request | Website |
| SolarWinds Service Desk | From $19/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| 4me | Pricing upon request | Website |
| SolarWinds Web Help Desk | From $700 one-time (for the software, based on the technician count) | Website |
| Freshdesk | From $18/user/month | Website |
| BMC Helix ITSM | Pricing upon request. | Website |
| ServiceNow ITSM | Pricing upon request | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareBest ITSM Tools Reviews
To help you more easily find the tool that best fits your needs, I’ve written up my favorite ITSM tools, along with their strengths, unique features, and integrations:
Freshservice is an ITSM solution from Freshworks with a focus on availability. It also provides strong functions in other areas, such as workflow automation and asset management.
Why I Picked Freshservice: I liked Freshservice’s knowledge management features, which allow you to grow your knowledge base over time. For a small business that’s still figuring things out, this feature is important for standardizing processes and building a dependable self-service system.
Freshservice Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that I believe small business owners will like in Freshdesk include the workload management functions. They tell you your team’s current and future capacity so you can plan more effectively, something useful for small teams that can easily get stretched thin.
The contract management feature is also something a small business could benefit from because it makes it easier to keep track of and enforce agreements with vendors and other stakeholders.
Integrations are pre-built for TeamViewer, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Jira, PagerDuty, Google Calendar, Google Hangouts, Office 365 Calendar, and Google Analytics.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Robust automation features
- User-friendly interface
- Large plugin library
Cons:
- Complex licensing structure
- Limited customization for unique workflows
Monday Service is an intuitive, fully customizable service platform designed to help service and support teams manage and automate their operations and processes.
Why I Picked monday Service: monday Service is a highly effective IT Service Management (ITSM) tool known for its customizable workflows, which allow IT teams to tailor processes according to specific needs, ensuring that all tasks are managed in a structured and efficient manner.
Additionally, the platform's automation capabilities help save time by automating repetitive tasks, reducing the burden on IT staff, and minimizing the risk of human error. Real-time collaboration tools enhance productivity by enabling communication and coordination among team members, regardless of their physical location.
monday Service Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that stood out to me when using monday Service include a self-service knowledge base for both customers and agents, ticket intake via email and WorkForms, smart ticket routing, unlimited tickets and workflows, HIPAA compliance, automatic ticket classification, and enterprise-grade security and governance.
Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, DocuSign, Gmail, and Azure DevOps.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Customizable project views
- Comprehensive knowledge base
- Real-time updates
Cons:
- Limited mobile app functionality
- 3-person minimum team size
Syncro is a comprehensive platform tailored for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to manage their IT needs efficiently. It encompasses features like Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Professional Services Automation (PSA), and various integrations.
Why I Picked Syncro: Syncro stands out as a robust ITSM tool with features tailored for MSPs. I like its integration of PSA and RMM into a single platform. This integration allows MSPs to streamline their operations. For instance, Syncro's built-in help desk ticketing system and smart ticket management features enable technicians to manage support tickets efficiently. Additionally, the platform has the ability to automate workflows and convert emails into tickets.
Syncro Standout Features and Integrations:
Features include its smart ticket management that leverages AI to intelligently route tickets, classify them by problem type, and suggest remediation steps. The platform's robust scripting engine supports various scripting languages and offers a library of ready-to-go scripts, while its automated billing functions dynamically count employees, assets, or policies and bill accordingly.
Integrations include Acronis, Bitdefender, Proofpoint, Splashtop, Webroot, QuickBooks, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, and Zapier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Syncro is scalable and can grow with the business
- Robust automation tools
Cons:
- Lacks customization for dashboard and reporting features
- Ticketing system could have more advanced features
SysAid is an ITSM provider whose key features include a help desk, service automation, and asset management.
Why I Picked SysAid: I like that SysAid has a vast number of automation options. You can automatically route tickets with predetermined rules that scan their properties and send them to the most appropriate agent or team. The ticketing system is complemented by advanced reporting capabilities, which provide valuable insights into service performance and help identify areas for improvement.
SysAid Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that made me recommend SysAid for ticket management include the priority matrix, which could determine the urgency of a ticket and automatically prioritize it accordingly. If you're worried about missing tickets because the system handles them for you, SysAid also automatically sets due dates based on the particulars of each service request and then sends reminders and notifications to keep you in the loop.
Integrations include Jira, Slack, Office 365, Google Apps, Shibboleth, Nagios, OpenAM, Microsoft Teams, SolarWinds, and TeamViewer.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Real-time chat feature
- High levels of customizability
- Effective ticket tracking and incident management
Cons:
- Extensive features may be overwhelming for smaller IT operations
- User interface may be complex to navigate
SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based ITSM platform that provides features such as asset management and an employee service portal.
Why I Picked SolarWinds Service Desk: SolarWinds Service Desk adheres strongly to IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices to improve upon its ITSM functions. One area where I noticed this in effect was in incident management, where I could visualize the entire incident cycle, giving me the distinct details I needed to prioritize accordingly.
SolarWinds Service Desk Standout Features and Integrations:
Features I liked while testing SolarWinds Service Desk include the ability to sort tickets by urgency, so I could easily see which issues to escalate and which could wait. It was easy to slot together similar low-level incidents and deploy a targeted change that would batch-resolve them. I also liked being able to map out my infrastructure to see relationships and dependencies.
Integrations are pre-built for Dropbox, Slack, Jira, Google Apps, TeamViewer, VMware vCenter, Microsoft Teams, Google Analytics, Azure, and Zendesk.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Robust incident management functions
- ITIL-centric
- Unified asset management
Cons:
- Search function needs polishing
- Limited reporting customization
4me is a service management platform whose solutions cover ITSM, enterprise service management (ESM), and managed service providers (MSPs).
Why I Picked 4me: I found 4me’s ITSM to be a great time tracking tool for anybody in an organization, whether or not they’re directly involved with IT services. I was able to capture other people’s logs by having them use the self-service portal so I could better analyze how much time went into IT service across the organization.
4me Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that made me recommend 4me for time tracking include the ability to add detailed descriptions to time tracked and specify whether or not it was overtime, making project management more efficient. It also allows you to tag time tracked with timestamps and location data so you can get actionable activity insights from distributed or mobile teams.
Integrations are pre-built for Google Analytics, WhatsApp, WeChat, Google Maps, Microsoft Intune, Slack, Jira, Hotjar, Power BI, and Freshdesk.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy to set up
- Robust team management and collaborative features
- Relatively gentle learning curve
Cons:
- Could use more integrations
- Opinionated design can be cumbersome
SolarWinds Web Help Desk is the self-hosted version of the company's Help Desk ITSM for customers that run on-premise systems.
Why I Picked SolarWinds Web Help Desk: I tested Web Help Desk on a server running Enterprise Linux, and I found it to be a solid solution for anyone with their own deployments. I found the performance of the production deployment to be smooth with SQL, MySQL, and PostgreSQL databases.
SolarWinds Web Help Desk Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that made me recommend Web Help Desk for on-premise deployments include automations for generation, assignment, and escalation, as well as automated inventory management, which I found great for tracking assets in my local network. I was also impressed by the customer support I received for the first year (with the optional perpetual license) which is enough to help you learn the ropes before you continue with the product on your own terms.
Integrations are pre-built for Absolute Manage, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, and Jamf Pro.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Robust SLA management features
- Perpetual license available
- Available on-premise
Cons:
- Requires extensive configuration
- Needs in-depth technical knowledge
Freshdesk is a customer service solution from Freshworks that allows you to engage customers directly, create and manage tickets, and automate workflows.
Why I Picked Freshdesk: Freshdesk caught my attention with its wide support for various channels and a large integration library to boot. In addition to interfacing directly via the website, I could also reach customers on chat, phone, email, social media, and WhatsApp.
Freshdesk Standout Features and Integrations:
Features I appreciated while using Freshdesk for omnichannel operations include the agent collision detector, which alerts the team whenever two agents find themselves on the same ticket, which is useful for people that work on different channels. I also liked the team inbox feature, where agents can coordinate operations across tickets. I find this vital for the touch-base sessions necessary with omnichannel networks.
Integrations are pre-built for Shopify, Google Contacts, Dropbox, Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, SurveyMonkey, and Slack.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Robust collaborative features
- Large plugin library
- Wide selection of channels
Cons:
- Some key features are hidden behind complicated menus
- Complex pricing structure
BMC Helix ITSM is a reimagining of the manufacturer’s previous ITSM offering called Remedy. It combines the on-premises features of Remedy with the cloud-native features of Helix.
Why I Picked BMC Helix ITSM: The Smart IT feature in Helix ITSM caught my attention because of how easy it made it for me to initiate change requests. There are several templates to choose from, and if you don’t want to use one, there’s also a wizard that lets you tailor the specifics of the request to your requirements.
BMC Helix ITSM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features I liked while testing the change manager in Helix ITSM include the ability to designate roles so that specific people can approve change requests and leave their rationale for approval, a useful feature on large teams. I was also able to schedule change requests in advance so I could account for out-of-office periods and expected outages.
Integrations are pre-built for Jira, Chef, Puppet, Tableau, Power BI, GitLab, PagerDuty, Apptio, Cisco Prime Service Catalog, and IBM Netcool.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Supports CI/CD workflows
- Robust change management features
- Available as on-premise or cloud-based
Cons:
- Can be difficult to navigate
- Slightly dated UI
ServiceNow’s ITSM is one of its service-focused products under IT workflow that also include solutions for portfolio management, security operations, and cloud observability.
Why I Picked ServiceNow ITSM: When I was starting out my research into ServiceNow ITSM, one of the customer stories I read was from a major medical center in Broward County, so I decided I was going to test how well it works for such a niche industry.
One of the first features I found that would be valuable in a healthcare setting was the Vendor Manager Workspace, which brings down the walls between business and clinical staff by allowing them to coordinate and track orders more effectively.
ServiceNow ITSM Standout Features and Integrations:
Features that made me recommend ServiceNow ITSM for companies in healthcare include the robust asset management features that covers assets like communication devices and digital IDs with biometric data, which is valuable for managing access in hospitals.
ServiceNow also makes it easy to comply with HIPAA using built-in tools so you can more effectively manage patients’ confidential medical information at scale.
Integrations are pre-built for monday.com, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft 365, Google Cloud, Okta, DocuSign, Salesforce, Workday, and Jira.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Connects vendors with business and other staff
- Rich asset management features
- HIPAA compliance manager
Cons:
- Limited search customization
- Slow performance at times
Other Options
Below are some other good tools that didn’t make the cut for my main list, but still might be the right choice for other use cases.
- Zendesk Suite
Best for scaling companies
- GoTo Resolve
Best for remote device access
- Jira Service Management
Best workflow manager
- Atera
Best for patch management
- NinjaOne
Best customer support
- Device42
Best asset discovery features
- Faddom
Best pre-migration task management
- ChangeGear
Best service catalog tools
- SeamlessDesk
Best user interface
- Microsoft System Center Service Manager
Best for database management
- GitLab Service Desk
Best feature request tracking
Selection Criteria For ITSM Tools
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best ITSM tools for this article:
Core Functionality
For a tool to make the list, I needed it to provide the following functions:
- Automate tasks to cut down on repetitive functions, such as sending reminders.
- Analyze and report statistics from across the platform to help you determine how effective your service systems are.
- Work across multiple channels so you can reach customers and other stakeholders across different platforms.
Key Features
The features that made a tool effective, in my opinion, include:
- Ticketing features so you can track issues from creation to resolution more effectively.
- Contact management, which you can use to centralize information on individuals and make service delivery more effective.
- Self-service portal where customers can resolve common and low-level issues by themselves, keeping overload at a minimum.
Usability
Because ITSM tools are a key component in a successful customer experience strategy, it’s important that they’re easy to use so they don’t get in the way. This mainly involves an interface that’s detail-rich but doesn’t overwhelm the user, so they have everything they need to resolve issues without losing their way.
Integrations
An ITSM makes up one part of the customer service system in a business, so I expected them to integrate with other tools in the category. These include messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp, email services like Gmail and Mailchimp, and CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot.
People Also Ask
If you still feel like you need more information before you can choose an ITSM solution, I’ve picked out a few questions you might have and answered them below.
What is the main purpose of ITSM?
ITSM allows IT teams to run more effective processes for getting services to customers and other stakeholders. Aside from efficiency, it’s also a strategy that aligns IT with the overall goals of the business, including cost management and customer retention.
What is the difference between CRM and ITSM?
CRM, short for customer relationship management, is part of sales and marketing, whereas ITSM, short for IT service management, is part of IT operations. The main goal of CRM is gaining and retaining new customers, while ITSM is concerned with providing more efficient IT services for customers and other internal stakeholders such as employees.
What is the difference between ITSM and ITIL?
ITIL, short for IT infrastructure library, is a framework for ITSM. It provides a set of guidelines for ITSM aimed at improving efficiency by placing emphasis on aspects such as value, feedback, collaboration, and automation.
Final Thoughts
ITSM tools let you improve service delivery to both internal and external stakeholders by allowing you to keep track of and resolve issues, manage assets, and maintain active channels of communication.
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