OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) vs SysAid comparison

OpenText Service Management...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

SysAid and OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are IT service management solutions, competing to enhance business efficiency. In pricing and customer support, SysAid stands out, while SMAX offers richer features, appealing to those valuing advanced functionality.

Features: SysAid includes a user-friendly interface, powerful automation capabilities, and comprehensive asset management. SMAX boasts AI-driven analytics, extensive integration options, and advanced natural language processing for better incident management.

Room for Improvement: SysAid could improve its reporting functionalities and self-service portal customization. SMAX, while feature-rich, may focus on simplifying its interface and making its AI analytics more accessible for smaller enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SysAid offers a straightforward deployment with robust support for quick onboarding. SMAX, though supportive, requires detailed configuration, making initial setup more complex.

Pricing and ROI: SysAid's competitive pricing with a lower setup cost attracts budget-conscious organizations, delivering quick ROI through its efficient features. SMAX demands a higher investment but justifies this with long-term ROI for enterprises needing extensive solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) vs. SysAid Report (Updated: April 2025).

OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) vs. SysAid

April 2025

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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

OpenText Service Management...

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SysAid

Ranking in IT Service Management (ITSM)

18th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Help Desk Software (19th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the IT Service Management (ITSM) category, the mindshare of OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) is 2.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SysAid is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Service Management (ITSM)

Featured Reviews

Mourad Ali

ITSM Consultancy Head at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

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.

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Todd Blake

Senior IT Specialist at COMMUNITY HEALTH CONNECTIONS INC

A solution that streamlines ticket creation for the staff members of a business and enables efficient issue resolution by the IT team

SysAid is similar to Nintex AssureSign. Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help. Also, there are almost too many features that we are not taking advantage of in our company since we don't even know about them. A little bit of a streamlining or simplification of the main features would be a good improvement. I would like to see SysAid present its solution more easily. There is a lot in the solution, and it is more than what we need in our company.

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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 is very easy to use."

"The most valuable features of Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) are that it is user-friendly, easy to configure, and adaptable."

"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."

"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."

"The SysAid team provided excellent service to implement the solution for us. From the very first day, we received a comp manager, and a project manager, to implement the product. They continued to inquire about our business needs and then finalized the best path for us."

"It's really customizable. It's very user-friendly to change very quickly. We've developed lots of custom forms and things, without any need for thousands of accounting consultants which was one of our main aims of it."

"SysAid is more user-friendly, and its configuration is easier than other tools."

"All our service management is integrated into one system. Our response time is much faster because we have a visual into what is going on."

"I would say the overall flexibility of the product is its most valuable feature."

"The service desk automation and orchestration are very good. We are implementing it at the moment. We implemented it for two of our applications already for our CRM. Whenever there's a change in the CRM, it will automate them into SysAid as well. We have two workflows from our CRM into SysAid, which is very helpful. Overall, we're very happy with the workflow."

"It tracks everything that the technicians are doing. We can account for time and manage resources."

"The service desk orchestration, overall, is good. It allows an organization to build that service desk concept into its organizational and support strategy. And it allows an organization to digest that and create a support model very quickly around the tools. The fact that the tools are integrated within the system itself gives the organization a really robust way to integrate everything and have a complete support model."

More SysAid pros

Cons

"The tool has negatively impacted our productivity."

"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 solution lacks sufficient documentation."

"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."

"Monitoring needs improvement. At the moment we are looking for some advanced monitoring tools, which are using AI and machine learning as well. This product currently does not offer that."

"So far, we're very happy with the new integration. The only thing that I would like to see is for them to improve asset management so that it's more usable. We looked at it once and we didn't find it quite usable for us. That's why we didn't use it. We haven't looked into the new one yet but the asset management is something that can be improved even more and patch management is not as good as it could be."

"There is a learning curve for the users."

"We would like them to approve the security functionalities, e.g., management security features."

"Currently, SysAid does not have a mobile application."

"The automation needs improvement. The workflow has some improvements to do. There's some stuff that they are working on like having cascaded fields. For example, we're categorizing tickets by location, by site and by building and then by data room within a data center. At the moment they're all separate fields."

"Some of the back-end configurations of the solution are very difficult. So, we always need SysAid's help."

"SysAid has fewer AI features compared to other tools."

More SysAid cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Once you're interested, talk with SysAid. You can have them come in and look at your company and advise you on the best solution. They will tell you what comes with each separate package and also advise you what application to activate. If you want something that they don't have, they have a department that can design something based on your unique requests."

"Though I am not really sure about SysAid's prices, I know that it is competitive compared to some of the other products that our company looked at, like ConnectWise and ServiceNow."

"Overall, the price is good. It's all about what you get for the base amount. From my perspective, you want to look at what you're getting out-of-the-box. SysAid does a good job of putting key stuff in the box for you."

"We saw our investment back at the end of year one."

"SysAid is a good solution, especially from a pricing perspective."

"The pricing of SysAid is less than its competitors."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Retailer

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX)?

The tool is very easy to use.

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...

What do you like most about SysAid?

SysAid is more user-friendly, and its configuration is easier than other tools.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SysAid?

Though I am not really sure about SysAid's prices, I know that it is competitive compared to some of the other products that our company looked at, like ConnectWise and ServiceNow.

What needs improvement with SysAid?

With SysAid, most of the customers are requesting a native mobile application. SysAid has fewer AI features compared to other tools.

ServiceNow vs OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX)

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus vs OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX)

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Compared 36% of the time

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Product Reports

IT Service Management (ITSM)

March 2025

OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) report

Download OpenText Service Management Automation X (SMAX) product report

Download SysAid product report

March 2025

Also Known As

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

No data available

Interactive Demo

OpenText

Demo not available

Overview

OpenText™ SMAX is a SaaS-based solution that delivers a smart approach to IT and enterprise service management with built-in analytics, codeless configurations, and private generative AI chatbots.

OpenText SMAX delivers a smart approach to service management, with full capabilities for IT service management (ITSM), IT asset management (ITAM), and enterprise service management (ESM). Empower users to self-resolve common requests with private generative AI chatbots that offer human-like responses. Give your team what they need—ITIL best-practice templates, codeless configurations, and built-in AI and analytics for automating workflows, improving processes, and solving issues. With SaaS deployment, SMAX eliminates the hassle of installation, maintenance, and upgrade. What’s more, SMAX offers flexible and affordable licensing that adapts to your business needs and saves you money.

SMAX has a flexible and transparent pricing model that lets you change license allocations or add capabilities without costly surprises. Pricing starts at $79 per agent per month for a full range of processes and features that include a service portal, mobile app, AI, analytics, federated CMDB, ITSM, ESM, discovery, and orchestration. Visit the OpenText ITSM SaaS pricing page for details.

OpenText

Offered in both cloud and on-premise versions, SysAid is a globally-adopted IT Service Management (ITSM) solution that combines all the essential capabilities in one, feature-rich tool. From traditional ticket management to asset management, SysAid allows administrators to monitor and manage tasks in one platform, so they can deliver fast and comprehensive support from a single view. Available in 42 languages, SysAid serves over 10,000 customers across 140 countries, spanning all industries and sizes.

Sample Customers

Zurich Airport, Envirosuite, Norsk Helsenett, Achmea, University of Milan, World Vision, Petroleum Development Oman, Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT).

Disney, Sears Holdings Corporation, LAN Airlines, Schneider Electric, On Semiconductors, Toyota, Sky, KPMG, Georgetown University Law Center, Motorola, North York General Hospital, Volksbank, Xerox, Bacardi, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Manpower, Nucor, Ecobank