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BMC Helix Discovery vs ServiceNow comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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
BMC Helix Discovery offers 314% ROI, streamlines audits, boosts efficiency, reduces costs, and saves administrators up to 80% time.
Sentiment score
6.6
ServiceNow boosts efficiency and cost savings through automation, enhanced project management, and improved integration, despite initial setup expenses.
BMC Helix Discovery has delivered a very good return, and we cannot stop using it at this moment.
System Administrator at Porto Editora
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
6.0
BMC Helix Discovery support is responsive and professional, but response times and technical effectiveness need improvement according to users.
Sentiment score
6.9
ServiceNow's customer service is efficient and responsive, though technical support experiences vary with some noting delays and mixed outcomes.
When opening a severity one ticket, they respond within four to six hours, which is commendable.
Systems Integration Specialist Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The response has been satisfactory, though improvements could be made in response time and overall competence.
System Administrator at Porto Editora
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
7.4
BMC Helix Discovery offers flexible deployment, strong scalability, and effective integration, ideal for medium to large organizations.
Sentiment score
7.4
ServiceNow offers high scalability, adaptability, and seamless expansion for diverse applications with minimal concerns, supported by regular updates.
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
7.2
BMC Helix Discovery is praised for its high stability and reliability, though minor early issues were quickly resolved.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow offers reliable performance with minimal downtime, efficiently resolving issues while occasional bugs are linked to customizations.
In the past four to six years, I cannot recall encountering any bugs.
Systems Integration Specialist Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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

BMC Helix Discovery requires better management, integration, customization, automation, and IoT capabilities, addressing technical support and license issues.
ServiceNow struggles with pricing, complexity, and usability, facing issues in training, integration, and user satisfaction due to its challenges.
I would like to see a lower price and better technical support.
System Administrator at Porto Editora
It uses a Berkeley database, and the query language is not easy to master for performing complex queries.
Systems Integration Specialist Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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
There is a need for bug or error tracking in ServiceNow.
Team Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Their customer support could make it a great solution, not just product support but also their relationship with partners and training initiatives in different regions.
Security Architect at وزارة الثقافة Ministry of Culture
 

Setup Cost

BMC Helix Discovery's pricing varies significantly, perceived as fair or expensive, with complex licensing and additional feature costs.
ServiceNow is pricey with complex licensing; strategic negotiation and planning can optimize value and manage costs effectively.
The price is about twelve per license per year, and the support is included.
System Administrator at Porto Editora
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

BMC Helix Discovery offers agentless discovery, flexible deployment, and integration for efficient asset management and predictive IT operations.
ServiceNow offers flexible customization, intuitive interface, automation, integration, and seamless collaboration, enhancing efficiency and meeting diverse business needs.
This is very useful for compliance as it helps in audits by providing a comprehensive view of all assets and software.
System Administrator at Porto Editora
The best aspect of BMC Helix Discovery is its flexibility. You can perform scanning at any time, and it provides substantial data for extraction.
Systems Integration Specialist Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
What we're looking for and trying to move towards is autonomous operations so that AI is implemented to suggest resolutions and to quickly identify faults or repeated patterns with no human intervention.
Technical and Business Consultant at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
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

BMC Helix Discovery
Ranking in IT Asset Management
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow
Ranking in IT Asset Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
223
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (1st), IT Service Management (ITSM) (1st), Rapid Application Development Software (2nd), No-Code Development Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IT Asset Management category, the mindshare of BMC Helix Discovery is 5.3%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow is 14.6%, down from 24.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Asset Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ServiceNow14.6%
BMC Helix Discovery5.3%
Other80.1%
IT Asset Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2729955 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Integration Specialist Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Flexible data discovery has streamlined processes and enhances efficiency
The best aspect of BMC Helix Discovery is its flexibility. You can perform scanning at any time, and it provides substantial data for extraction. If there is data it doesn't extract and you understand TPL, you can write your own patterns to pull the data out of it, making it very powerful from that standpoint. The query language is somewhat challenging to learn as it uses a Berkeley database. However, it has an excellent query building tool, and they have recently released a new visually-based version, which is very beneficial. Extracting data is straightforward through writing queries, running them, and pulling reports. The scanning process and credential setup are also easily manageable. Overall, it is an excellent tool.
SP
General Manager at sPerception IT
Adopting flexible workflows with customized automation delivers measurable benefits
There are things that I would like to see improved in ServiceNow, such as the pricing, as it is a very costly solution compared to other tools. Additionally, its presence in the local market is very limited; in Pakistan, for example, I don't see any vendor or distributor of ServiceNow available. They need to increase their sales spectrum globally so people can easily access them and engage them for client meetings and more. From a functionality perspective, the features in ServiceNow are acceptable as, at the moment, the ITSM modules rank highly, being 13 plus Pink Elephant certified, which is a good aspect to have. When providing advice to users, I would suggest they consider making strategic decisions about their per user pricing since it is very high. In our region, people normally start with 5 to 10 users, but the per user price is quite steep. Moreover, ServiceNow does not charge based on data uploaded or downloaded, so they should reconsider their pricing and data policies to align better with the financial capabilities of the region.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which IT Asset Management solutions are best for your needs.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise164
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix Discovery?
I like the artificial intelligence and machine learning that it uses in the solution. Because once the solution discovers all the assets, all the infrastructure, and all the dependencies between se...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Helix Discovery?
That's always a million dollar question regarding whether the solution is affordable or quite expensive; if you talk to the vendor, the pricing's great, but end users are always looking for a bette...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix Discovery?
Technical support from BMC is generally good. Resolutiion time is what's bothering me, as it's not always easy to get to the correct person or the right technical level needed to resolve the issue.
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

Discovery, ADDM, Atrium Discovery & Dependency Mapping
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Windstream Communications, News UK, Mercator Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR)
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 BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.