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JIRA Service Management 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

JIRA Service Management
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Help Desk Software (2nd)
OpenText Service Management...
Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)
17th
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 March 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of JIRA Service Management is 10.7%, down from 12.2% 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

Karim Yousef - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently track and document projects with seamless tool integration
We are a management warehouse that provides services to different customers in different sectors. Primarily, we serve the banking sector and the military sector. We manage all the software delivery projects through tools such as JIRA Service Management or TFS Confluence is a great tool for…
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

"I'm mainly working in the ITSM module of JIRA Service Management, and the integration between the system incident and how you can link all the records to the change makes it quite powerful."
"We can track, monitor, and get all the details we need from the end-user's point of view for any service request."
"I find the Kanban chart where we put each story in to be the most valuable feature. We use the Kanban chart to revise the project every morning in our five-minute meeting."
"The visibility features are great."
"The most valuable feature of JIRA Service Management is a plugin we are using for the front end for simple user forms."
"This is a flexible tool for logging and tracking issues efficiently."
"The solution offers lots of information on the website to assist with technical queries. There are also many community sites to help you troubleshoot any problems."
"Using JIRA simplifies tracking issues and updates."
"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."
"This is a cordless application that can be used throughout any organization."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"I think the performance can be better."
"Cost has prohibited us from switching entirely to this solution."
"Jira Service Management should be more user-friendly."
"In the Turkish market, the biggest problem is that they are looking for a server type of solution, but when it comes to Jira Service Management, Atlassian is a remote type of license. There are just two different options, data center and cloud."
"It is pretty complex to move between the test environment and the production environment. There is potential for improvement."
"It would be better if it had capabilities to connect to mobile applications (e.g., Whatsapp)"
"JIRA Service Management should make reporting easier. I would like something integrated with DevOps tools."
"The way it handles subtasks can be improved. We would really like the ability to have different types of subtasks. If we have a user story for a feature, we would like to have a subtask for documentation, a subtask for requirements, a subtask for development, and a subtask for testing. Right now, we just make four subtasks, but there is no way to specify their type, so we have to add a custom field to specify what type of work is this. It just means you've got to look at more data. For logging time or time tracking, we would like to have something using which we can define the work type we're doing. We would like to log whether we're working on a bug, a new development, scope change, or rework. We've got a user story for which we do the dev, and then we have to do more dev. It is the same story, but some of it could have been a scope change, and some of it could be a rework because we either screwed up the first time or missed something obvious. Currently, we have to have a custom field and track that separately. It would be nice to have some kind of work type for logging time."
"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 tool has negatively impacted our productivity."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Actually in Iran we don't have copyright or intellectual property, so we can use JIRA for free."
"For the people like us, the lower the price, the better. But when compared to other competitors, I think it's Jira's price is okay."
"JSM's pricing is one of the best, starting at around $10 per user, per month, with volume discounts available."
"Do not forget to calculate add-on costs. These cost a percentage of the JIRA purchasing costs and are based on the number of JIRA users."
"I price of JIRA Service Management is reasonable."
"It's not really expensive, especially when you compare to ServiceNow or other solutions, and it's not expensive to maintain."
"Jira Service Management has affordable license fees. It's $12 a month per person."
"The license we use is on a yearly basis. As a Solution Partner, we were using the free one and were using the free plugins. We were also giving our own plugins to the Atlassian Solution Partners for free. We don't pay anything to Atlassian."
"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
19%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
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 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

JIRA Service Desk
OpenText Service Manager, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

mgm technology partners, Telestream, Build.com, Zend Technologies, OfficeDrop, PGS Software, American Diabetes Association, NEPTUNE Canada
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 JIRA Service Management vs. OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.