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BMC Helix Discovery vs ServiceNow Discovery comparison

BMC and ServiceNow are both solutions in the IT Asset Management category. BMC is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2, while ServiceNow is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2. BMC holds a 9.0% mindshare in IAM, compared to ServiceNow’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.
BMC Helix Discovery
Read 25 BMC Helix Discovery reviews
  • 2,870 Views
  • 1,432 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
ServiceNow Discovery
Read 40 ServiceNow Discovery reviews
  • 1,208 Views
  • 593 Comparison Views
97% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between BMC Helix Discovery and ServiceNow Discovery based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two IT Asset Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery Report (Updated: December 2024).
Buyer's Guide
BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery
December 2024
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Categories and Ranking

BMC Helix Discovery
Ranking in IT Asset Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow Discovery
Ranking in IT Asset Management
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (2nd), Cloud Resource Discovery Services (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the IT Asset Management category, the mindshare of BMC Helix Discovery is 9.0%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Discovery is 4.8%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Asset Management
 

Q&A Highlights

MOHSIN SHAWL - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 06, 2023
Which product do you prefer: BMC Helix Discovery or ServiceNow Discovery?
I have implemented both, and BMC Helix Discovery including its earlier versions is a far easier solution to implement than the ServiceNow Discovery offering. The BMC discovery solution integrates with Remedy and ServiceNow CMDBs and is also a technically superior product if you also want application service mapping. Contact me directly if you need a more detailed explanation.
See all answers
 

Featured Reviews

Shirish Kamalapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Very stable, fast, and powerful with valuable inventory management features
Our company uses the solution as an inventory tool for customers. The solution discovers your infrastructure and lets you know what servers and network devices are on it. It gives you details about applications, hardware, and software such as how they are connected and the dependencies between…
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RISHI GUPTA - PeerSpot reviewer
Valuable relationship building that discovers and auto-builds to make cleanup easy
Proof of concept for the solution doesn't make much sense. It totally depends on the capability of your partner. Choose the partner very carefully while you plan to use the solution. If you get a very competent and capable partner, then life will be easy. If you have a partner who only does technical implementations, then that won't help you. You need to have CMDB and CSDM experts on the team because the solution is for CMDB and CSDM. If you don't design your data model really well, then the solution will not give you much result. The solution is not fully automated so you still need to make some effort. You have to go through the complete remodeling cycle for non-useful data elimination whenever you add a new LAN segment or new mid-server on a new data center or service. It is a little bit of effort, but it is worth the effort. Based on the necessary but important effort, the solution is rated a seven out of ten.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's accuracy of the results we receive looks promising in general. Its values are more than 95 percent accurate compared to other clients or different tools. I would say that Discovery offers a valuable mechanism to discover information."
"It is a scalable solution."
"BMC Helix Discovery is very intuitive."
"It immediately understands which component it is, and it provides the exact API details with all the components."
"BMC provides great support. As managed service support, they are gold."
"The solution is very stable and powerful."
"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 services, it learns how it works. So, it learns to predict when a problem is going to happen. It becomes predictive in an autonomous way."
"The speed at which it's able to collect a wide-range of information, then make it useful for you, like asset management, knowledge management, and incident management."
More BMC Helix Discovery pros
"One highly valuable aspect is the use of service accounts, which automates the process of identifying underlying nodes and associated assets."
"The biggest advantage of ServiceNow is the value that it brings."
"We can find servers or services we were unaware of and stumble on vulnerabilities from those devices."
"The service management and operations management modules are valuable."
"They have a very good network in the infrastructure of Discovery."
"ServiceNow Discovery is useful for discovering the servers, like the servers of Windows and Linux, from the client network."
"We mostly use the solution's ITSM and ITOM capabilities in most workflows."
"The best thing about Discovery is maintaining all the CIs in one place. I can sort the data, export it to Excel for manipulation, and build reports like how many computers or servers we have and their capacity."
More ServiceNow Discovery pros
 

Cons

"BMC Helix Discovery is a bit tough to use and administer."
"The solution should have different portals and logins for each customer so only that customer's assets show."
"BMC is agentless discovery, followed by hybrid discovery, which performs discovery across clouds, on-premises, and then dynamic service modeling."
"What would make BMC Helix Discovery better is if it had more client-side discovery features, for example, printers and desktops. Right now, it's focused more on data center discovery, so if it had additional features focused on the client-side discovery, that would be great. In the next release of BMC Helix Discovery, I'd like more client-side discovery features such as desktop discovery, printer discovery, and other IP-based client-side discovery features. The solution can discover desktops and printers, but there's still room for improvement on the client side."
"The improvement I want to see is a reduction in duplicate records."
"There isn't much that could be improved. The solution is pretty thorough, very easy to implement, and very easy to operate."
"The product falls short compared to storage discovery mechanisms offered by Tenable or ServiceNow ITOM. In the market, there are various applications available that provide different sets of features. Its drawback is that it doesn't give the database configuration customers need out of the box. Additionally, the classification of storage virtualization is relatively lacking. Therefore, there is room for improvement, particularly in the database areas."
"The solution is definitely useful."
More BMC Helix Discovery cons
"ServiceNow Discovery should be updated to provide its users with more out-of-the-box information and attributes to support the routers and switches from Cisco."
"It creates quite a bit of duplication, so that needs to be fixed."
"Its integration with legacy apps is one area for improvement. ServiceNow Discovery offers out-of-the-box reports, and though that's okay, allowing easier report customization would improve the solution."
"ServiceNow Discovery should improve its cloud capabilities."
"The solution needs to improve the cost of the solution. There are a few different solutions and they do act the same and have the same types of capabilities, however, the cost is quite high."
"ServiceNow has a constant development environment. Hence they get constant bugs which result in incorrect performance. It should also improve customer service."
"Improvements are required with the scripts used to collect the information from servers."
"The manual pattern-matching process is not only time-consuming but also presents challenges during system upgrades, demanding revisits to ensure compatibility."
More ServiceNow Discovery cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not a cheap product. But the benefits it delivers is that it's a fair price."
"The solution offers yearly licenses."
"The price was fair compared to competitors. BMC is very affordable. There are optional consulting services to assist with implementation."
"BMC is available for a reasonable price compared to ServiceNow — it's half the price."
"The licenses are very complex and quite costly."
"The licensing fee is very low."
"I've heard that the solution was expensive earlier but is now much cheaper than its competitors."
"You need a license to use BMC Helix Discovery. The license is paid yearly, though I have no idea how much it costs."
More BMC Helix Discovery pricing and cost advice
"Setting up and licensing for ServiceNow can be expensive, especially for enterprise service management."
"It costs a lot. It is probably close to over a hundred thousand. It's an expensive platform, but you can't compare ServiceNow's Discovery functionality to other discovery tools. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison of ServiceNow to a configuration management tool to an asset management tool because it does those things, but it's not those things."
"This solution is a paid option within the ServiceNow framework."
"It is an expensive product with a price that depends on the models that you wish to purchase."
"It's on a yearly basis. We renew our contract for three years at a time."
"If the product is not deployed properly, it can be very expensive."
"I would rate the product's pricing a six out of ten. We had availed some discount from the standard pricing. Even then, the tool's pricing is expensive. You have to pay some vendor service fees for the product's implementation."
"It's a bit expensive compared to other products in the market, but it's worth the money you pay because it's far advanced in terms of features, automation, and capabilities compared to other products."
More ServiceNow Discovery pricing and cost advice
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Answers from the Community

MOHSIN SHAWL - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 6, 2023
Jan 6, 2023
Which product do you prefer: BMC Helix Discovery or ServiceNow Discovery?
Hello Mohsin, Unfortunately, I don't have experience with ServiceNow Discovery. But I have been using BMC Helix Discovery for more than five years. It is a really fast and user-friendly system. There is no need for an agent when installing the solution. I recommend this solution.
2 out of 3 answers
CG
Dec 23, 2022
I have implemented both, and BMC Helix Discovery including its earlier versions is a far easier solution to implement than the ServiceNow Discovery offering. The BMC discovery solution integrates with Remedy and ServiceNow CMDBs and is also a technically superior product if you also want application service mapping. Contact me directly if you need a more detailed explanation.
Read full answer
Madhurima Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 26, 2022
Hi Mohsin, Not only BMC Helix or ServiceNow Discovery, but a few other Discovery tools are also available in the market and every discovery tool has a unique feature, hence as per me, choosing a discovery tool for your organization should be based on the organization's needs and infrastructure. I suggest you go for proper requirement assessment sessions, i.e. infrastructure architecture, existing implemented tools, their features, use, possibilities & integrations, kind of devices in scope to discover, focused data center discovery,  focused client-side discovery, or both. What I mean to say is do not choose any tool for its features but choose the one best suitable for your organization that can provide the best output with less investment after a proper assessment of the organization's requirements and expectations from a tool. I know my reply to your query is not the exact answer you looked for but yes, this is what I would suggest to you on the basis of my experience. As far as tool comparison is concerned, you can find it in many places with the help of search engines but I think once you know what you want then reading tool features on the tool's official website will help you more to choose the best suitable Discovery tool for your organization. Thanks, Madhurima
Read full answer
See all 3 answers
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
17%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Helix Discovery?
I would rate the pricing around four out of ten. It is quite expensive.
See all answers
What needs improvement with BMC Helix Discovery?
The improvement I want to see is a reduction in duplicate records. In comparison with SCCM, SCCM does not have any duplicate records, which is a significant advantage. Discovery should adopt a simi...
See all answers
What do you like most about ServiceNow Discovery?
The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Discovery?
The product pricing is fair and reasonable for the value it provides. However, it is important to factor in the ongoing maintenance costs, as the system requires professional upkeep to ensure optim...
See all answers
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Discovery?
The continuous improvement in the quality and customization of the product features would be beneficial, particularly as more customers rely heavily on its capabilities.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

ServiceNow vs BMC Helix Discovery Logo
ServiceNow vs BMC Helix Discovery
Compared 68% of the time
Device42 vs BMC Helix Discovery Logo
Device42 vs BMC Helix Discovery
Compared 8% of the time
BMC Remedy vs BMC Helix Discovery Logo
BMC Remedy vs BMC Helix Discovery
Compared 6% of the time
Lansweeper vs BMC Helix Discovery Logo
Lansweeper vs BMC Helix Discovery
Compared 4% of the time
IBM Maximo vs BMC Helix Discovery Logo
IBM Maximo vs BMC Helix Discovery
Compared 3% of the time
More BMC Helix Discovery Competitors
Tanium vs ServiceNow Discovery Logo
Tanium vs ServiceNow Discovery
Compared 30% of the time
Lansweeper vs ServiceNow Discovery Logo
Lansweeper vs ServiceNow Discovery
Compared 18% of the time
Microsoft Configuration Manager vs ServiceNow Discovery Logo
Microsoft Configuration Manager vs ServiceNow Discovery
Compared 12% of the time
ScienceLogic vs ServiceNow Discovery Logo
ScienceLogic vs ServiceNow Discovery
Compared 5% of the time
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs ServiceNow Discovery Logo
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor vs ServiceNow Discovery
Compared 5% of the time
More ServiceNow Discovery Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
BMC Helix Discovery
December 2024
BMC Helix Discovery reportDownload BMC Helix Discovery product report
Buyer's Guide
ServiceNow Discovery
November 2024
ServiceNow Discovery reportDownload ServiceNow Discovery product report
 

Also Known As

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

Learn More

BMC
Video not available
ServiceNow
 

Overview

BMC Discovery, formerly ADDM, is a digital enterprise management solution that automates asset discovery and application dependency mapping to build a holistic view of all your data center assets and the relationships between them. 

ServiceNow Discovery finds applications and devices on your network, and then updates the CMDB with the information it finds. Discovery is available as a separate subscription from the rest of the Now Platform.

 

Sample Customers

Windstream Communications, News UK, Mercator Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR)
York, National Grid, DXC Technology, experian, BEACHBODY
Buyer's Guide
BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery
December 2024
Free Report: BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Discovery vs. ServiceNow Discovery and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
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