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BMC Helix ITSM vs OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

BMC Helix ITSM
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (4th)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
16th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 11.4%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is 2.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Service Management (ITSM)
 

Featured Reviews

Fairoz Gadad - PeerSpot reviewer
Development team is quick to address bugs or shortcomings in their product
BMC's technical support team needs to improve. Right now, the problem over here is we are not getting the exact answers on time. Their engineers are mainly based in the US or Israel, and we get comprehensive dedicated support. Some of the Indian customer service representatives are also outstanding. Unfortunately, in the past six months or seven months, I've been getting brand-new engineers. Either they're not entirely aware of most cases, or they don't know how to troubleshoot further. So for any product to be stable and work correctly, BMC must ensure that customer service is excellent. Even though if your product is a hundred percent, we'll have problems marketing it to our customers.
Mourad Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers topic analytics for incident and problem management
The only challenge with Azure customers is when they have a specific requirement that is not available out of the box and is inflexible to adjust. Sometimes, customers have tough requirements that are not flexible enough to be adjusted, even if SMAX can provide a better alternative. They need this specific feature. This challenge is common with SMAX, BMC, ServiceNow, IBM, or other similar tools. When working with enterprise tools that are not developed in-house, I don't have access to the source code and am limited to the features and capabilities provided by the leading vendors. So, this challenge is common across SMAX, BMC, and ServiceNow. The solution could have more customization flexibility.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features I have found to be the activity logs and the other features where you are able to continuously address issues and are able to annotate notes inside to convey them to the customer."
"If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth operations, any arising issues, be it security concerns or issues within departments like HR or finance, require a swift resolution. This is where the product comes into play. It provides a platform for raising tickets and obtaining quick solutions."
"What I have found to be the most valuable is that it offers the radius deployment package not only to the BMC cloud but also to the public cloud such as Azure."
"Automatic orchestration is the most valuable. The feature for designating some cases or incidents to the right PM for resolution, first call resolution, and change management are also important. The self-service feature and knowledge base resolutions are helping the customers in resolving issues rather than opening tickets."
"Helix is more lightweight than these tools. It's a traditional tool that was developed more than 10 years ago. Ease of use is the operative word."
"Initial setup is straightforward, and if you follow best practices, then future enhancements will be smoother."
"The solution is already aligned with the framework, so it is easy for us to proceed with any ISO 27K certification."
"Our Change Management and Incident Management​ processes have been greatly improved."
"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 most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."
"The tool is very easy to use."
"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."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"The product provides an interface for the end users to make requests."
 

Cons

"BMC Helix ITSM should have an easy-to-use user interface."
"Support could be better."
"I have customers that always would like to adapt and personalize BMC Helix ITSM more."
"We have experienced outages, because some other customers did something on the same cluster that we share."
"The tool needs greater customization flexibility, particularly concerning notifications and the progressive view web page. This is significant because it encompasses various aspects like incident management, problem management, change management, work orders, and tasks. Aligning the GUI interface with these functionalities requires more flexibility."
"Support could be more skilled. We are wasting too much of our time debugging.​"
"Maybe the upgrade process and the release between environments should to be more transparent for anyone to execute it."
"To raise any ticket, there are too many fields to be filled and it makes generating tickets very time-consuming."
"The product's connectivity with third-party products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The contract management feature can be improved."
"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 solution lacks sufficient documentation."
"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing should come down."
"BMC Helix ITSM is a very cost-effective solution."
"Please always get the latest quote from a BMC partner or from BMC. Check for the latest offerings."
"While purchasing, try to negotiate on per user licensing costs, associated maintenance, and purchase 20% more then what you think you should have. Bulk is always cheaper."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. The solution is expensive."
"There are licenses to use this solution."
"It is too expensive for a small business."
"If you are looking for some kind of professional services form the OEM then you would have to purchase that."
"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."
"The solution is somewhat cheaper than the competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix ITSM?
If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth operations, any arising issues, be it security concerns or issues within depart...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
BMC Helix ITSM is difficult for us to customize, and most customizations require vendor support, which leads to extra costs. The interface should be more user-friendly, and the customization should...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
We are currently using BMC Helix ITSM in our organization. We are in the process of implementing new modules like CMDB and discovery.
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The solution is used for the end-user portal. It is used for incident management, requests, and other informational purposes.
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?
The tool is appropriate if we don't have a complicated use case. It is the right tool for simple use cases. It's a lot cheaper than ServiceNow. It is an appropriate tool for a smaller business or m...
 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.