ServiceNow IT Service Management vs. SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ServiceNow IT Service Management
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
ServiceNow is a fast-growing service management provider that went public in 2012. Built on the ServiceNow Now Platform, the IT Service Management bundle provides an agent workspace with knowledge management, and modules supporting issue tracking and problem resolution, change, release and configuration management, and (on the higher tier ITSM Professional plan) ITAM and software asset management.
$10,000
per year
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
SolarWinds Web Help Desk is ticketing and IT asset management software. It is designed to simplify help desk management. This solution includes built-in ticketing management, asset management, change management, and knowledge base capabilities.N/A
Pricing
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Editions & Modules
Starting Price
$10,000.00
per year
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
ServiceNow IT Service Management
8.3
67 Ratings
2% above category average
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
9.8
19 Ratings
22% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets8.966 Ratings9.819 Ratings
Expert directory7.650 Ratings10.013 Ratings
Service restoration7.655 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service tools9.064 Ratings00 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications7.662 Ratings9.817 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation8.359 Ratings9.014 Ratings
ITSM reports and dashboards8.861 Ratings00 Ratings
Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.99 Ratings
Ticket response00 Ratings9.99 Ratings
ITSM asset management
Comparison of ITSM asset management features of Product A and Product B
ServiceNow IT Service Management
8.5
60 Ratings
4% above category average
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
-
Ratings
Configuration mangement8.259 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset management dashboard8.658 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy and contract enforcement8.752 Ratings00 Ratings
Change management
Comparison of Change management features of Product A and Product B
ServiceNow IT Service Management
8.1
61 Ratings
3% below category average
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
-
Ratings
Change requests repository7.661 Ratings00 Ratings
Change calendar7.455 Ratings00 Ratings
Service-level management9.157 Ratings00 Ratings
Self Help Community
Comparison of Self Help Community features of Product A and Product B
ServiceNow IT Service Management
-
Ratings
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
9.4
8 Ratings
19% above category average
External knowledge base00 Ratings9.46 Ratings
Internal knowledge base00 Ratings9.48 Ratings
Multi-Channel Help
Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Product A and Product B
ServiceNow IT Service Management
-
Ratings
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
9.4
9 Ratings
20% above category average
Customer portal00 Ratings9.78 Ratings
Social integration00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Email support00 Ratings9.89 Ratings
Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Small Businesses
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Ivanti Neurons for ITSM
Ivanti Neurons for ITSM
Score 9.1 out of 10
SAP Service Cloud
SAP Service Cloud
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(78 ratings)
8.4
(19 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(13 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
6.3
(11 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.3
(22 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Online Training
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ServiceNow IT Service ManagementSolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)
Likelihood to Recommend
ServiceNow
In our organization, we are using ServiceNow extensively. Change Management, Incident Management, Problem Management, Time tracking are few modules which we use extensively. This sort of model will work for any product or service based companies as the product is built on ITIL framework. So this product will be suited for small or large scale companies to better organize and add controls and track SLA's for technology or business process.
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SolarWinds
SolarWinds WHD is well suited if you have a limited budget, as it costs less than many help desk software packages that are more full featured and modern in their design. It is not well suited to an environment where you want to manage inventory, users, purchases and tickets all in one package. It has an asset feature that we don't use but that looks quite limited. We track our assets and users separately from this.
Read full review
Pros
ServiceNow
  • When I have a number of requests to make, for example a request to add a dozen or so user accounts to more than one group account in Active Directory , I can put all the needed information into the initial form, add it to my "shopping cart" and all of that information remains on the screen for the next item for which I only need to edit a few items (like the AD group name in this example), and keep adding them to the shopping cart until I have them all. When I "Check Out" each of those items is generated as a separate task under the one request. It simplifies and expedites the creation and tracking of these kinds of requests.
  • I can easily and quickly see what tickets are currently assigned to me in order to prioritize them and remain aware of my workload.
  • Numerous fields for CIs can be used when trying to find the entry for a particular item. For example, IP Address, server name, raw text, classification, and so on.
  • To help with making sense out of related tasks, when a task is assigned to me and I need to open another task for a different team to work in order to complete my task, I can open a sub-task from my ticket so that the relationship between the two can be pulled up later into reports. For example, I may have a task to build a new vm, and need to open tasks for networking, security accounts, software installation and so on. By opening sub-tasks from my assignment, the time spent by all parties concerned is tied together for more meaningful cost accounting.
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SolarWinds
  • Customized reporting allows us to track our service and support better, and find where we need improvements. This allows us to constantly upgrade our service levels and keep the customers happy.
  • Detailed tracking and response to the end users have led to quicker remediation of tickets. We are able to see where we need a better response or where to add additional resources for support.
  • Overall metrics allow us to staff properly for our tickets by location and remote users.
Read full review
Cons
ServiceNow
  • It is hard to find areas for improvement, the tool is very powerful. That said, building the CMDB still involves some manual interaction which was not how it was presented in demos.
  • The CMDB data is almost too deep and detailed. When you build the relationship map it can be so large that it is overwhelming. You can limit this, but the default maps are massive if you are discovering lots of device classes.
  • The product is expensive. Since they are the leader in the industry and the product has tons of features, they definitely charge for it!
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SolarWinds
  • Because of AD integration, users sometimes try logging in with their email address and not AD credentials. The user then calls stating they can't put a ticket in, it would be nice if there was a method of matching the AD Email field with a login.
  • Setting up new techs with the building they are responsible for can be a little messy
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
ServiceNow
To be completely honest setting up a new ticketing system can be a pain in the ass. Once you have it setup and customized the way you want it, you don't want to switch unless you're unhappy with the product. Unless future releases and updates really muck the system up, I wouldn't change.
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SolarWinds
We are definitely going to be sticking with Web Help Desk for the foreseeable future since the product is very inexpensive for the features that it provides, the integration that it has with our existing systems, and the ease for managing users, assets, locations, and tickets. Web Help Desk is a great product that is backed by even better support, which is well worth looking into if you are considering moving to a new ticketing system.
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Usability
ServiceNow
The dashboard is so confusing, [there are] many clicks to open a task and search by a ticket. The Enterprise customisation [we did] has finished to kill the software and creates a really bad experience on a daily basis. [It is] So slow, and so many clicks to process a ticket. Works only on IE so, that [should] make you realize that [it] is a bad idea.
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SolarWinds
The system has time and time again proven to be much easier to use and setup for both technicians and end users. It is simple enough to enter a ticket for end users, and even easier to communicate with logging back and forth because you can reply to the ticket emails to enter comments on the tickets. The technician side is a little clunky at first, but after looking at it for a few minutes it's very clear to see what you need to do to accomplish the goals. The mobile interface is snappy and responsive. It's a great product overall.
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Reliability and Availability
ServiceNow
We have never had any issues with ServiceNow's availability that I am aware of in the two years I have been using it.
Read full review
SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
Performance
ServiceNow
For a massive system, page loads are reasonably quick, including searches.
Read full review
SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ServiceNow
I would give it this rating because we have had no major issues with the support for ServiceNow after we implemented it at our organization. They seem to respond promptly and efficiently if we ever do need to open a support case with them about an issue we are having.
Read full review
SolarWinds
SolarWinds is a great customizable and affordable ticketing system. We use SolarWinds Web Help Desk for IT and Software
Development trouble ticket tracking and resolution. The reporting that
SolarWinds provides is great since it helps us discover problem areas and fix
those areas so they don't keep reoccurring
Read full review
Online Training
ServiceNow
To type in what should be a text box, you have to click an empty cell, a tiny text box pop up opens with a check box and an X. You the. Type in the text box and have to click the check mark. If you have a bunch of fields to fill out, doing this is very annoying. Absolutely know thought went in to this. I'm sure somebody in marketing thought it was a good idea. It wasn't.
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SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ServiceNow
Without exception, every client I have worked with has been very happy with their resulting product. While this is partly due to my work, I must point out that the platform is the winning decision, not the implementer.
Read full review
SolarWinds
Take the time to roll out a test VM to configure and make changes to before doing a live deployment, this way you don't end up with a VM that has been tweaked and re-tweaked until it's perfect and instead end up with a final, polished product. I would also recommend taking the time to read through the support forums for figuring out minor issues that may pop up, chances are that you aren't going to be the first one to encounter them. When all is said and done, SolarWinds Support is VERY responsive and you shouldn't hesitate to contact them.
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Alternatives Considered
ServiceNow
We used to use Jira to handle service tickets but it's way too robust for something this straightforward. Due to the nature of Jira, you needed to already have a lot of documentation and knowledge about who should be assigned the ticket, so the lift of creating a ticket was time consuming.
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SolarWinds
Web Help Desk is definitely lacking in the UI/UX department compared to most other ticketing systems I have used int he past. It's very utilitarian; however, what it lacks in UI it makes up for in extensibility and customization. The main issue that the developers need to address is the use of a Web Objects back-end.
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Scalability
ServiceNow
ServiceNow works as an enterprise solution.
Read full review
SolarWinds
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ServiceNow
  • Overall ServiceNow has a positive impact on getting the SLA of tickets down in supporting our customers.
  • One negative impact has been the amount of time to get the product to produce an ROI, it's almost too big to fail and too big to replace. You almost become committed to the product. Good or bad.
  • Another negative impact would be if you track metrics of employees and time tracking, there is a lot of scenarios where engineers will track time on tickets but not get credit for closing them as the assignee function of tickets can only be tied to one user and credits only the engineer who closes the ticket.
  • Another positive impact would be the level of security for permissions and scaling the workloads is robust and you will get out of the system what your team is willing to put in.
Read full review
SolarWinds
  • Amazing impact on our Organization, we are much more organized since we implemented SolarWinds Web Help Desk
  • The ROI is in the statistics! The application cost pennies to run compared to what the product will do for your organization.
  • I challenge you to find a better product for the price!
  • Our documentation has improved since we implemented SolarWinds Web Help Desk
Read full review
ScreenShots

SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) Screenshots

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