SolarWinds Service Desk Reviews

SSD has more features and simplicity in implementation, and working with it is very important to us. It is also very reputable in terms of company security and safety. Helpdesk software should be designed user-friendly in mind. The SolarWinds desktop is created in the cloud and works in the secure cloud, and is constantly updated for usability and performance.
We looked at different platforms, most of them were limited and must buy a separate plugin and module for every common feature, but SolarWinds has all the basic features as standard and by default.

Above all, the Samanage Sales rep provided me with everything I need, which in comparison to the others made a huge difference at the end. ServiceNow is too expensive, and the sales rep quickly put me out of their target. JIRA Service Desk didn't provide clear information about their product and I felt they didn't give me enough attention in my evaluation process.

Samanage is much simpler to implement in a medium-sized organization of around 100 employees. Other software easily gets more complex, and would have taken too much time for an end user to learn as well as inexperienced IT gurus. Price etc also has a say, and with Samanage you will find the biggest expense when you look at the admin users, and not the end user license.

Prior to Solarwinds we had been using Spiceworks that resided on a local server. They both had the basic items that I needed to have but Spiceworks was local so I would only be able to connect when I was in one of the offices or connected through my VPN. Spiceworks was not as easily managed and configurable as Solarwinds and for the Spiceworks configuration, we spent a week or 2 getting it configured. Several times we had the Spiceworks service fail, which caused us to have to troubleshoot and search forums for answers as it is freeware so no true support.

WebTitan we only watched an online demo so we really never got any hands-on time with it. From what I saw it was very similar but since it had a higher price-point we haven't pursued any further any evaluations.

I previously used Sales Logics but have not in quite some time. I decided to purchase and utilize SSD and find it very valuable and beneficial to my organization. It's functions and capabilities have proven to be very useful for my staff and organization. I am about to renew again very soon.

We looked at ServiceNow, SysAid and Track-It! and Samanage came out on top because it did everything well. The other three were all more proficient in some things, but they were not a complete package.

We are using SolarWinds Service Desk because it was here and already integrated with our computer management inventory. We also have access to Footprints, which is used campus-wide, but SolarWinds Service Desk is better for us. It is easier to use and is connected to our inventory management.

As Solarwinds Service desk is completely hosted, it removes the need to commission one or more servers and database(s) which also removes quite a bit of overhead for the IT department to manage and maintain. Also, the operating system, database, and software updates are a thing of the past once the hosted platform is adopted completely. A few detractions of the hosted model are as follows:

• If the Internet or network connectivity is lost, so is the access to the ticketing system.
• There is little control over maintenance windows or problems that may affect the system.
• Customization is not an option beyond the controls provided by the platform.
• Feature additions are somewhat random and not under your company's control.

We chose SolarWinds Service Desk for its user friendly platform compared to what we had. Its was easier for requestors to submit tickets, provide feedback, merge tickets, build a suitable approval process.

Our organization had a hard time going back and forth with the end user on providing a status on their request or issue, where most users just didn't follow through or lost interest in their issue. We would have to send multiple emails to get any type of feedback and that's something we did not want to keep on doing.

Solarwinds has a much better UI than Remedy. It's more modern and flows better than the older "Windows 95" view of Remedy. Spiceworks does offer a modern UI but is lacking on a lot of features that are considered basic for ITSM related tools. Spiceworks does work very well for smaller companies that need but the core functions of ITSM.

Solarwinds Service Desk is much more intuitive, user-friendly, and modern than the service desks we have used in the past. It offers additional features and is a lot easier to navigate. We selected Solarwinds Service Desk because we were looking for a change and a way to positively increase customer service and our offerings.

Zendesk and ServiceNow are both tools my organization has used and are still on the board in the future if things change with Samanage. Samanage came in at a good price point, provided the functionality we needed as an organization to centralize our support efforts, and is easy to manage. Spiceworks wasn't even a contender for our decision, just something we looked at, and it fell flat compared to the others.

When we transitioned to Solarwinds Service Desk, it was the only hosted service that was HIPAA compliant. Having a HIPAA-compliant solution was a requirement to allow us to support our health care clinics.

We had Spiceworks and we were limited by functionality, customer service, and program updates. We selected SolarWinds Service Desk because the software had all the functions that we needed in 1 program. We had several meet and greets and demos with their sales team. The way they listen to their customer's needs you can not beat. The company is always striving to help make the software user-friendly and efficient.

ServiceNow is definitely the leader in this space and I've used it at a prior company. It has a lot more integrations and modules. Samanage is good for newer or smaller shops that need something.

We have used Zendesk, ServiceNow, Spiceworks, and TeamDynamix. Zendesk lacked features like vendor and contract management but offered a competitive price. ServiceNow and TeamDynamix are more full-featured ITSM tools with more features but not cost-effective for our organization. Those tools are also highly customizable, which is great, but also an impediment to standing up a solution quickly and at low cost. Solarwinds Service Desk offered most of the features we were looking for with our budget.

Have not used other products

Solarwinds Service Desk seems to offer more features and a more intuitive interface for our internal customers. While Zendesk may provide some slightly better usability features, Service Desk gives us great reporting and contains an inventory management tool where information about each computer in our company is documented and continuously updated automatically with service agent software can run on each device and some network scanning tools.

I didn't use Zendesk much but when I used it at a previous company it was years ago and I felt it was very lackluster and didn't have a lot to give. Samanage at the time I was introduced and now has continued to grow and build out its systems making it feel very powerful and intuitive.

We looked at 5-6 different packages before selecting Samanage. Our decision was based on seeing our need and what best fit that need. Incident tracking/asset tracking/Procurement, etc.

We evaluated several vendors like ServiceNow, Track-IT, Footprints, FreshDesk etc. Service Desk had a lot of the features that covered our IT processes/needs, and enough features for us to grow into. Service Desk implementation was well organized and fast. Price-wise, Service Desk has a lot of features at an affordable price.

Spiceworks, Freshdesk, and their ITSM product. Both of those products are limited in their scope and difficult to implement. Solarwinds Service Desk was easy to implement and their implementation team got us to production quickly and with little fuss or changes since. We just use the product, we don't have to manage the tool.

Zoho has a multitude of products that may be great for some companies, but I found the product didn't feel like it was polished or done well. More of a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Freshdesk and Zendesk had a lot of modern features but lacked the ability to host multiple companies/domains under one help desk. They also lacked the ITSM framework, which was a huge plus in my decision making.

Samanage offered the same options, for a much better cost. SolarWinds might be up there with Zendesk now.