The 6 best ITSM tools

ServiceNow: Best for reporting and analytics

ServiceNow provides ITSM tools that help teams manage multiple aspects of their IT service operations. With reporting features included in all plans, users can easily keep track of how their organizational processes are succeeding, and how they can be improved.

In addition, the ServiceNow ITSM products help teams determine the best ways to meet their employees’ needs, with mobile and virtual agents that offer service in language that is easy for non-tech-savvy users to understand.

The ITSM Pro plan comes with additional features, like built-in machine learning for predictive analysis and performance analytics to help users make data-backed business plans. Additionally, the software’s continual improvement management features allow Pro plan users to align work teams based on the processes and data that will best benefit their operations.

Pricing

The ITSM product is provided in three price packages: ITSM, ITSM Pro and ITSM Enterprise. Specific pricing details are not provided online, and visitors are encouraged to reach out to a ServiceNow representative to receive a custom quote.

Features

• Incident and problem management.
• Asset and cost management.
• Configuration management.
• Reporting and benchmarks.
• Surveys and assessments.
• Digital portfolio management.

Pros

• The software contains built-in dashboards to analyze service performance and accelerate root cause identification.
• ServiceNow supports incident management with service restoration through intelligent routing, so incidents can be taken care of faster.
• The change management features reduce the time it takes to carry out work processes by automating approval.

Cons

• There is a learning curve for some actions, such as configuring workflows.
• At the time of publication, ServiceNow does not offer a free trial for new customers.

SEE: Discover how ServiceNow compares to Jira Service Management.

Wrike: Best for customization

Wrike provides IT project management software that contains features to save agents time and improve workflows. The tool allows IT service teams to automate requests and build custom forms to gather the right information from requesters. The forms can then automatically generate tasks within the system and assign them to the right agent.

Customization when generating workflows is especially helpful in ITSM project management, as this enables team members to zero in on the tasks they need to prioritize and stay on top of their unique projects. Wrike lets organizations build customized workflows using their pre-built ITSM and industry-standard templates, which help agents keep up with tasks like support ticketing, security approvals and sprints.

Pricing

A two-week free trial is available for each of the following plans:

• Free: No cost.
• Team: $9.80 per user per month, billed annually.
• Business: $24.80 per user per month, billed annually.
• Enterprise: Quote available upon request.
• Pinnacle: Quote available upon request.

Features

• Project management.
• Custom work views and reporting.
• Email integration and notifications.
• AI work intelligence tools.
• Use case project templates.
• Collaboration tools.

Pros

• The solution takes a visual approach to agile planning, offering Kanban boards, Gantt charts and a Workload view that help users keep track of their tasks and priorities.
• Wrike’s IT project management solution focuses on security throughout the approval process, letting authorized users provide access to resources and approvals for software purchases.
• The Workload view feature is especially helpful for team leaders, as it allows them to see their team members’ workloads and balance tasks between agents.
• Organizations can automate their IT project management by setting up automatic approval requests when a task enters a new stage.

Cons

• This is a pricier option and may be too expensive for smaller teams.
• Not all features are available with the lower-cost subscriptions.

SEE: For more information, read our full Wrike review.

Zendesk: Best for user support

Zendesk users benefit from its automation features, which are included throughout its IT help desk solution. With automated workflows, ticketing and answers to simple troubleshooting questions, organizations can complete tasks quickly and efficiently, meaning agents can dedicate more of their energy to complex work actions.

With machine learning and AI, Zendesk provides many features and capabilities to support agents in their day-to-day duties. Furthermore, Zendesk’s integrated ticketing system can easily convert customers’ tweets, emails and even Facebook wall posts into tickets, so teams never miss an opportunity to provide customer support.

Pricing

Zendesk service solutions come in the form of Basic plans and Suite plans. A free trial is available for each of the following plans:

• Support Team: $19 per agent per month, billed annually or $25 per agent billed monthly.
• Support Professional: $49 per agent per month, billed annually or $59 per agent billed monthly.
• Support Enterprise: $99 per agent per month, billed annually or $125 per agent billed monthly.
• Suite Team: $49 per agent per month, billed annually or $59 per agent billed monthly.
• Suite Growth: $79 per agent per month, billed annually or $99 per agent billed monthly.
• Suite Professional: $99 per agent per month, billed annually or $125 per agent billed monthly.
• Suite Enterprise: Quote available upon request.

Features

• Skill-based routing.
• Contextual workspaces.
• Live analytics dashboard.
• Reporting and analytics.
• Customer details and interaction history.
• Multilingual support.

Pros

• The Zendesk help center reduces the time it takes to aid employees with their IT issues by offering tutorials, articles and other resources.
• The unified agent workspace makes it easy for teams to manage conversations across the web.
• Organizations can analyze user service with pre-built dashboards, enabling them to quickly pinpoint areas needing improvement.

Cons

• Zendesk has a high cost per agent compared to many of its competitors.
• Zendesk lacks built-in live chat and messaging, although users can collaborate through the Slack integration.

SolarWinds: Best for automated features

SolarWinds IT Service Management provides software solutions for service desk, webhelp, remote support and more. The software uses smart technology and automated features to take care of repetitive or mundane tasks, enabling teams to focus their time and effort on more important work.

The service desk solution comes with automated ticket routing that streamlines the ticketing process by creating automatic rules to manage incoming tickets and service requests. These rules route, assign and prioritize specific requests based on criteria like requesters and keywords.

Another excellent feature of SolarWinds’ software is the knowledge base. This allows organizations to develop a knowledge database within the software that provides answers to service questions. Agents can use this feature to save time, as they can address repeat questions quickly by directing users towards appropriate resources.

Pricing

Specific pricing details for SolarWinds are not provided online. Visitors can contact a SolarWinds representative to receive a custom quote.

Features

• Incident, problem, release and change management modules and an efficient CMDB for your unique service needs.
• Automation for self-service capabilities with an assistive knowledge base.
• Service catalog to automate employee services.
• Customizable reports.
• Customer satisfaction scores.
• Service-level agreement management capabilities.

Pros

• The software lets agents configure custom automated notifications to support team members in resolving significant events based on organizational processes.
• Fully-customizable knowledge base resources are available to walk users through their IT issues with step-by-step articles and tutorials, so they can resolve their problems more quickly.
• SolarWinds allows team leaders to apply automation to streamline workflows and organize tasks.

Cons

• Customer reviews of the SolarWinds service desk solution have expressed difficulty with report customization.
• SolarWinds lacks an open API, so integration options are limited.

ClickUp: Best for workflow optimization

ClickUp is a task management solution that can support IT service agents and streamline IT workflow processes. ClickUp users can create customized workflows and custom fields based on a variety of factors such as the specific issues at hand, the client and the type of ticket.

With ClickUp, organizations don’t need to worry about inefficiency in workflows, as team members can see workflows in real time using the visual canvas and through trackable tasks.

ClickUp’s team collaboration features help agents access support when they need it. For example, if one agent is having trouble resolving an IT issue, they can reach out to a colleague for assistance through chat messaging, emails or comments.

Pricing

• Free Forever: No cost.
• Unlimited: $5 per user per month billed annually, or $9 per user per month billed monthly.
• Business: $12 per user per month billed annually, or $19 per user per month billed monthly.
• Business Plus: $19 per user per month billed annually, or $29 per user per month billed monthly.
• Enterprise: Quote available upon request.

Features

• Custom permissions.
• Workload management.
• Collaborative documents.
• Resource management.
• Priority support.
• Sprint management.

Pros

• Users can customize their dashboards with widgets that allow them to visualize project progress and stay updated on task actions and statuses.
• Agents can use ClickUp to support more specific IT service management solutions through the IT Service Management Template.
• ClickUp users can integrate their solution with third-party systems like Trello, monday and Wrike to access and leverage valuable data.

Cons

• ClickUp may be challenging for new users to navigate.
• The free plan comes with limited features.

SEE: For more information, read our full ClickUp review.

HubSpot: Best for performance tracking

HubSpot’s Service Hub offers desk help and ticketing software that helps IT teams effectively delegate tasks and provide support to their customers. HubSpot’s ticketing system allows customer support team members to access a dashboard where they can record, organize and track customers’ requests. As a result, everyone can quickly determine a ticket’s status, location and the time it took to resolve.

HubSpot’s centralized help desk tool comes with automation and routing features that support teams in areas like data entry, so they can focus their efforts on helping customers. For example, the solution can automatically create tickets for customer questions submitted through emails, forms or live chats.

Tracking key performance indicators like ticket volume and response times also enable teams to identify ways to improve their processes and more effectively manage their customer demand.

Pricing

A 14-day free trial is available for each of the following plans:

• Free: HubSpot offers a variety of free tools for up to five users.
• Starter: $18 per month, plus $9 per additional user, billed annually, or $20 per month, plus $10 per additional user when billed monthly.
• Professional: $450 per month, plus $90 per additional user, billed annually, or $500 per month, plus $100 per additional user when billed monthly.
• Enterprise: Starts at $1,200 per month for 10 paid users, billed at $14,400 annually.

Features

• Automated customer service.
• Customer feedback surveys.
• Customer portal.
• Omni-channel messaging.
• Playbooks (library of resources for customer service team members).
• VoIP calling.

Pros

• Agents can easily manage customer communications with a shared, collaborative inbox that aggregates customer emails, chats and forms.
• HubSpot’s automation features save team members time and ensure that tickets are prioritized and routed to the best agent for the job, based on information collected through the ticket’s help request message.
• Survey feedback can help organizations effectively measure the impact of their customer service efforts and improve their customer experience.

Cons

• There is a learning curve for managing HubSpot’s customization features.
• Plans may be too expensive for smaller organizations.