Using G2 Review Data to Choose the Best ITSM Software

The IT team’s responsibilities have grown significantly since the remote work era. IT professionals have to provide technical support to cross-functional teams, ensure security and compliance for software and hardware use, and address internal and external tickets on time, along with other tasks. 

With such a heavy workload, IT teams use IT service management (ITSM) software to aid their efforts to support a client-centric process. However, many companies need help with administration, automation, and integration. Let’s look into what software solutions are best to solve these concerns.

ITSM prioritizes delivering value to customers by aligning all IT processes

ITSM is a set of practices that help IT teams service clients. This approach defines each IT team's roles, responsibilities, resources, and deliverables based on business needs. Therefore, every ITSM setup is different from company to company. For example, an e-commerce company might want to ensure customers can always order whenever they want. So the IT team would like to implement practices that ensure high server availability and connectivity. However, an offline retailer might have a different focus. The IT team may focus on keeping up with the inventory management system instead of prioritizing the retailer’s online presence. 

Since every business’s IT need is different, IT managers must pick the right ITSM software. Most modern ITSM software have service management, change management, self-serve portals, knowledge management, and so on, to integrate with other business software. Many issues arise from this complex set of features and use cases. 

Let us explore these difficulties and how G2 data can help software buyers find the right software to address these concerns.

Heavy reliance on IT to administer the system 

ITSM software requires high administrative resources because there are too many processes, including incident management, change management, service management, configuration management, self-service portals, etc. To address this, G2 asks reviewers to rank ITSM software based on “Ease of Admin." Below is the ranking for the top five.

With a category average of 85%, NinjaOne leads by 98%, followed by Squadcast, Infraon Desk, SolarWinds Web Help Desk, and Freshservice. IT administrators who want easy-to-administer ITSM software should explore these five products.

Excessive manual processing and not sufficient automation 

One of the top-selling points of ITSM software is to automate repetitive tasks such as onboarding and offboarding employees to save time. Automation is great for utilizing workers’ time for high-quality work and increasing morale. Mundane work (for example, searching through email on which employees should be offboarded) is a prime candidate for automation. Automation will deliver a greater return on investment (ROI) for the company by receiving the maximum value from the IT team.

To address this, G2 asks reviewers to rank ITSM software based on “Automation,” where users can automate repetitive tasks associated with IT service operations and maintenance. Below is the ranking for the top four.

With a category average of 88%, OTRS led by 96%, followed by CA Service Desk Manager, Infraon Desk, and SolarWinds Web Help Desk. IT administrators who want ITSM software that automates repetitive tasks should check out these four products.

Integration and workflow 

While ITSM software is a key component in IT service management, it also relies on other software, such as network management, service desk, etc., to handle various requests from different teams. ITSM software allows administrators to design and implement workflow processes. Integration plays a key role since the implemented process usually executes on the integrated software instead of the ITSM software. 

For example, an employee onboarding request will go through ITSM software first as the client inputs the employee information. The information will trigger the designed onboarding process to an HR software so the employee payroll, account, and access are automatically created based on the input. Suppose the ITSM software workflow doesn’t automatically integrate with the HR solution. In that case, the IT administrator will have to integrate manually, or HR personnel will have to manually input the data into the HR software. Both scenarios will take time away from doing other, more meaningful tasks. 

To address this, G2 asks reviewers to rank ITSM software based on “Process Workflow." Users can create flowcharts and other means to outline specific processes to ensure all requirements are met. Below is the ranking for the top four ITSM software ranked by “Process Workflow.”

With a category average of 88%, Micro Focus Service Management Automation X (SMAX) led by 95%, followed by Aisera, ClickUp, SysAid, and OTRS. IT administrators who want an ITSM solution with a highly rated workflow feature should look into these five products. 

For integration concerns, IT teams should always test if the ITSM software and workflow can be integrated with their existing infrastructure before committing to a full purchase. Since each company has a different infrastructure, one ITSM software that integrates well in one environment might not integrate well in another. The software buyer is responsible for ensuring that all systems are well integrated. 

ITSM software needs a good process to do the heavy lifting

While the points above are essential when buying ITSM software, IT managers should remember to dedicate time and resources to designing processes for each type of request and business case. While many modern ITSM software solutions can handle a variety of requests, they cannot automatically design process flow when integrated with other types of software. This usually happens when IT administrators create too many request catalogs without testing or instead of gradually rolling them out. It is important to understand if it is a process problem or a technical concern. With ITSM software, It helps to have a process for technical implementation along with a well-thought-out workflow process.

Edited by Shanti S Nair