UK BUYER’S GUIDE · 3 PRODUCTS
IT service management
Can we move from a request to an accountable resolution without losing the approvals, affected assets or history?
Compare service requests, incidents, assets and controlled change workflows.
YOUR SHORTLIST STARTS HERE
Compare the options.
Highest documented score first. Fit adds up the 20 feature checks below, including AI, across documented plans. Entry prices may exclude scored capabilities. The upper end of a range represents unverified points.
3 of 3 products · Highest documented score first
| Product / good fit for | Pricing context | Documented fit | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
Freshservice Freshservice Teams wanting one service desk with room to add structured IT operations. | US$19.00Agent / month VAT basis not stated annual | 100/100 documented fit100% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
Jira Service Management Jira Service Management Teams already coordinating development and operations in Atlassian. | US$21.50Agent / month VAT basis not stated monthly | 70–100/100 documented fit70% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus Cloud ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus Cloud Organisations wanting technician-and-asset licensing with a UK data-centre option. | US$1,595.00Year; 2 technicians and 250 assets VAT basis not stated annual | 65–100/100 documented fit65% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
Prices retain their original currency, billing basis and VAT status. Check the evidence and plan requirements before buying.
| Capability & demo question | Freshservice100/100 documented fit | Jira Service Management70–100/100 documented fit | ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus Cloud65–100/100 documented fit |
|---|---|---|---|
Core workflowEmail request intake5.0 points availableAsk in the demoCreate a ticket from a test email. | ✓ Supported Email intake. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Email request channel. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Native email listed for UK. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowSelf-service request portal5.0 points availableAsk in the demoSubmit and track a request as an employee. | ✓ Supported Employee portal. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Customisable help centre. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Employee self-service portal. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowConfigurable request forms5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow a form collecting service-specific details. | ✓ Supported Custom fields and business rules. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Configurable forms. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Service-specific request templates. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowSearchable knowledge base5.0 points availableAsk in the demoFind and use a relevant approved article. | ✓ Supported Knowledge management. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Knowledge articles and suggestions. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Searchable approved articles. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowAutomatic ticket assignment5.0 points availableAsk in the demoRoute a sample request to its responsible group. | ✓ Supported Round-robin assignment. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Rules, round-robin and load balancing. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowService-level targets5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow response and resolution targets on a request. | ✓ Supported SLA policies. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported SLA metrics. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Site-specific targets and escalations. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowService performance reporting5.0 points availableAsk in the demoReport a backlog and a service-level result. | ✓ Supported Service analytics. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Service reporting. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Custom and scheduled service reports. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowIT asset inventory5.0 points availableAsk in the demoFind the device associated with a request. | ✓ Supported Asset management; capacity varies. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Assets inventory; plan object limits. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Professional and Enterprise asset inventory. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowService catalogue5.0 points availableAsk in the demoOrder a defined service from an employee-facing catalogue. | ✓ Supported Service catalogue. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Role-relevant service catalogue. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthConditional approval workflow5.0 points availableAsk in the demoRoute a request to a different approver based on its details. | ✓ Supported Workflow Automator conditional approvals. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Conditional change approvals. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthProblem and root-cause records5.0 points availableAsk in the demoAssociate recurring incidents with a problem record. | ✓ Supported Pro problem management. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Root-cause and problem management. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Root-cause, impact and symptom records. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthControlled change workflow5.0 points availableAsk in the demoDemonstrate review, approval and tracking of a change. | ✓ Supported Pro change workflows. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Approval and change workflows. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthConfiguration dependencies5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow how a service depends on related configuration items. | ✓ Supported Configuration dependency mapping. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Asset dependency mapping. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Visual configuration relationships. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthOn-call escalation5.0 points availableAsk in the demoEscalate a sample alert to the current on-call responder. | ✓ Supported On-call schedules and escalation. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported On-call and incident escalation. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthRestricted agent responsibilities5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow a restricted role unable to change unauthorised records. | ✓ Supported Agent roles and restrictions. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthAdministrative audit history5.0 points availableAsk in the demoFind an administrative change with actor and timestamp. | ✓ Supported Enterprise audit logs. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Administrative audit logs. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthService data API5.0 points availableAsk in the demoRetrieve a request through an authenticated API. | ✓ Supported REST API; edition-specific rate limits. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Authenticated request retrieval API. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
AIAI ticket summaries5.0 points availableAsk in the demoSummarise a long incident without omitting key evidence. | ✓ Supported UK customer documents AI summaries. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported UK summaries require ChatGPT or Azure OpenAI. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
AIAI response drafting5.0 points availableAsk in the demoDraft a reply grounded in a relevant knowledge article. | ✓ Supported UK customer documents response generation. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
AIConversational employee service agent5.0 points availableAsk in the demoResolve a routine request and demonstrate escalation. | ✓ Supported Freddy employee conversational support. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Premium virtual service agent. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not established by the reviewed official evidence; request a demonstration. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
“Not verified” means the recorded evidence does not settle this specific check. It does not mean the feature is absent. Read the scoring method.
Focus on up to three products →ASK BETTER QUESTIONS
Before you buy it service management software.
What to look for
- Demonstrate one real incident and one employee onboarding request.
- Map the services and assets you can maintain before buying a large CMDB.
- Test permissions between IT, HR and external support teams.
What changes the cost
- Agent seats and separate non-IT or occasional-agent licences.
- Asset counts, automation actions and AI consumption.
- Migration, service-catalogue design and ongoing administration.
What to watch out for
- Comparing an entry helpdesk price with a full ITSM configuration.
- Assuming an integration is available in every data centre.
- Automating an unreliable process without assigning an owner.
Common questions
Is ITSM just customer support ticketing?
It includes internal service controls such as changes, configuration records and operational incidents. A general inbox may not provide these workflows.
Will AI resolve every request?
No. Measure escalation quality, answer provenance and inappropriate actions on your own sample tickets.
How should we price a UK deployment?
Request the precise region, agent and asset counts, AI limits, automation allowances and VAT treatment.