AWS Step Functions vs. IBM Cloud Functions vs. ServiceNow Now Platform

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AWS Step Functions
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
A visual workflows for distributed applications that provides serverless orchestration for modern applications. The solution helps developers use AWS services to build distributed applications, automate processes, orchestrate microservices, and create data and machine learning (ML) pipelines.
$0.03
per 1,000 state transitions
IBM Cloud Functions
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
IBM Cloud Functions is a PaaS platform based on Apache OpenWhisk. With it, developers write code (“actions”) that respond to external events. Actions are hosted, executed, and scaled on demand based on the number of events coming in. No servers or infrastructure to provision and manage.
$0
per second of execution
ServiceNow Now Platform
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
The ServiceNow Now Platform is a digital workflow building and extension tool for ServiceNow featuring a number of low-code / no code tools.N/A
Pricing
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Editions & Modules
AWS Step Functions Standard Workflows
$0.025
per 1,000 state transitions
AWS Step Functions Express Workflows
$1.00
per 1M requests
Basic Cloud Functions Rate
$0.00017
per second of execution
API Gateway Rate
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Free Trial
NoNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Best Alternatives
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Small Businesses
Stackby
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Score 8.9 out of 10
AWS Lambda
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Score 8.3 out of 10
Stackby
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Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CMW Platform
CMW Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift
Score 9.2 out of 10
CMW Platform
CMW Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
CMW Platform
CMW Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat OpenShift
Score 9.2 out of 10
CMW Platform
CMW Platform
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Likelihood to Recommend
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(7 ratings)
9.1
(29 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(22 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
7.8
(20 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(6 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
7.2
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
AWS Step FunctionsIBM Cloud FunctionsServiceNow Now Platform
Likelihood to Recommend
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
IBM Cloud Functions [is] not the worse product on the IBM cloud. I decided to write this review as I thought it would be balanced. I would still use functions to set up a serverless architecture where execution time is pretty quick and the code is relatively simple. I wouldn't use IBM Cloud Functions for async calls obviously, as costs could be higher. The functions documentation is lacking in terms of CI/CD, and there are unexplainable errors occurring - like the network connection that I mentioned. So I wouldn't just rely on IBM Cloud Functions too much for the entire system, but make sure it's diversified.
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ServiceNow
ITSM is straight forward creation of Incidents and Requests. It can get more confusing as you layer more modules on top of it with event management, risk, project, etc. It also becomes more costly as everything is a different license. Integration between other external applications is very easy to do with their API. You can easily create endpoints for external apps to talk to or create REST messages for the platform to reach out directly.
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Pros
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
  • Great substitute for a simple API calls to run non-complicated code.
  • Easy way to run Python/Java/Javascript to get something done.
  • File validation.
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ServiceNow
  • The ServiceNow platform is very good at incident management.
  • ServiceNow as an ITSM system is very as it integrates with a lot of different systems.
  • The CMDB module of ServiceNow effectively makes relationships between configuration items and other infrastructure objects in ServiceNow.
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Cons
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
  • Billing can be a hassle, not the most responsive customer service/support team
  • Handles & executes most functionalities, but other platforms offer more scalability if you're seeking consistent and stable growth
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ServiceNow
  • The ServiceNow performance speed has big room for improvement, as it is quite slow in loading Dashboards with more than 5-6 widgets. We are keeping our ServiceNow version up to date with latest releases.
  • Usually there are issues with having multiple ServiceNow tabs open in the browser and have different dashboards open in those tabs.
  • The way of showing a history log of all activities on Incident ticket is not optimal and easy to use or search in and have very old design.
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Likelihood to Renew
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
While we are very likely to renew, we are also assessing if we should renew all of what we currently subscribe to as we try to reduce costs. Some parts of the business feel there may be a better tool out there to fit their process requirements. We are currently working with them to identify what those requirements are to see if it makes sense while also pointing out a reduced cost of tooling is not always the best fit if we have an increased cost of customization and maintenance between tools.
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Usability
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
It provides a lot of modification options which is wonderful for certain team usage but becomes too much of a job when it comes to the Service Desk. Also on the app support side, since too much information can be carried, it affects the GUI and makes it complex.
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Support Rating
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
I was not in the team that take care of the installation of ServiceNow but their feedback was very positive. Go live was done by the planned date and their support at the beginning provided always a timely response. Their customer service is friendly and easy to reach. Today we don't use their customer service anymore because we have an internal IT dedicated to maintaining the system.
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Implementation Rating
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
We went through a re-implementation last year with a partner and were very pleased with the outcome. We looked at several partners and chose one that was able to provide an entire scope and cost upfront of what would be required to complete our requirements. We worked very closely with the dedicated team assigned to our project throughout the process and they fully delivered on all of our requirements that we presented in the initial scope.
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Alternatives Considered
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
  • ICF is a lightweight service and does not require runtime configurations
  • Scalable on demand and hence there is no need to pay for runtime costs
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ServiceNow
I've used Freshservice which is very similar to ServiceNow. I can definitely say ServiceNow performs better in a larger environment. Freshservice is usually used in smaller organization or less complx environment. Plus the ServiceNow reporting and dashboard features are more accurate than Freshservice. ServiceNow is a bit costly but gives way more features that really helps my organization.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
1. It is not great when they can't seperate apps/products from a particular sku, forcing you to make a business case for a larger portion of functionlity than your current business case seeks to address. 2. ServiceNow reps are able to work with you when economies of scale are projected out. They are willing to start at a desired tier and provide pricing at applicable upgraded tiers
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Professional Services
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
No answers on this topic
ServiceNow
Very easy to use. Capture more data from the Incident and problem management. Easier to escalate and following the change management process to resole the issues.
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Return on Investment
Amazon AWS
No answers on this topic
IBM
  • It directly affected our expenses since we do not need to deploy and maintain a set of separate applications.
  • It allowed us to pay for only the amount of time cloud functions run.
  • It saved on maintenance and monitoring of the applications it replaced.
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ServiceNow
  • Fast implementation of our Sales & Operation/Projects controls and process - tool adapted to our needs, not us to adapt to the tool.
  • Once we are a consulting/implementation company, our customers are happy to see that we use what we sell, and it is easy to show them how this platform/tool can have an impact on our own business.
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ScreenShots