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Looking for worthy ServiceNow alternatives?
ServiceNow is a cloud-based software solution that helps businesses automate workflows related to IT service management, operations management, and various processes related to customer service. It centralizes customer information, making it easily accessible to agents. It also improves the work of contact center teams and provides faster service.
If you’re a ServiceNow user, you already know how it handles routine tasks and directs customer questions to the right support agent. It works well with contact center software and manages all customer information on a single platform.
However, if you are looking for an alternative, you’re likely seeking something more or something different from what ServiceNow can offer. We’ll cover six potential alternatives to ServiceNow for you to consider, including:
Before we compare alternatives, let’s review ServiceNow’s strengths to differentiate it from the rest of the apps.
What Are Some Strengths of ServiceNow?
ServiceNow offers several features that improve an organization’s IT operations and customer service. Here are some notable ones:
Comprehensive service management
ServiceNow brings incident management, problem management, change management, knowledge management, configuration management, and asset management into one platform. This enables IT departments to work more efficiently, as they don’t need to switch between tools to manage tasks.
You can categorize incidents and prioritize issues according to their severity. When you generate reports and encounter recurring incidents, the platform lets you create a problem ticket. This way, you can deal with repetitive incidents by resolving the root problem and helping your team shift its focus to other critical tasks.
This reduces errors and empowers agents to offer better service quality by streamlining the entire service management process.
Automation and workflow optimization
ServiceNow offers advanced automation capabilities on its platform. For example, the software automatically routes service requests to the right agents and sends follow-ups. It updates customer records automatically, so your team doesn’t have to invest time in routine work.
Source: G2
ServiceNow offers artificial intelligence (AI) for IT operations, which uses predictive analytics to foresee potential problems. This helps your team address such problems before they get bigger, so it can prevent any issues and keep operations streamlined.
Scalability and flexibility
ServiceNow is suitable for organizations of all sizes, as it can evolve as you grow, offering more extensive customization options to fit your requirements. It can also be easily tailored to manage business processes that become more complicated after scaling. It’s a versatile tool that adapts to various industries and use cases.
User-friendly interface
The platform is easy to navigate. Its intuitive design lets users ramp up quickly, reducing the time it takes people to drive value through it. The interface encourages user adoption, as employees find it easier to explore features without experiencing a steep learning curve.
Source: G2
Why Customers Look for an Alternative to ServiceNow
While ServiceNow offers numerous benefits, it also has some challenges, leading some customers to look elsewhere. Here are a few of the issues that encourage businesses to look for alternatives to ServiceNow:
Complexity and implementation challenges
Deploying ServiceNow requires time and resources. Organizations might require external partners and consultants to implement the platform effectively. They may also need to configure different settings, integrate with applications, and customize the platform to suit their specific needs.
Source: G2
This involves extensive planning with a skilled IT team, making it a little tricky for small IT teams to ensure a smooth rollout.
High average cost
Many users seek ServiceNow alternatives to avoid high costs. The platform is expensive, and small organizations may face budget constraints while implementing it, as more resources are required to implement, customize, and maintain the tool.
Source: G2
As an organization grows, these costs become more significant. Some businesses face difficulties justifying the expense compared to other, more affordable solutions on the market.
Customization and configuration
This aspect can be both a strength and a challenge when considering ServiceNow. It is a double-edged sword, as proper customization and configurations require ample effort and expertise. They can also require a significant time investment from those who may not have deep technical knowledge, costing more money.
Some users might seek a more straightforward alternative that is easy to set up, configure, and implement.
Performance issues
Some users experience slow load times while using ServiceNow. As data volume increases, the platform’s performance struggles, especially with complex setups.
This might be frustrating for some users, as it directly impacts their service level agreements in closing support tickets and responding before a set time. Access to customer information is at a snail’s pace, impacting productivity for agents and the overall service experience for customers.
Support and training
Some ServiceNow users feel the platform’s support and training resources do not always meet their business needs and specific challenges. This makes the initial implementation slower, as teams need to rely on support whenever they encounter unique issues that need specialized knowledge.
Source: G2
Some organizations may need more support and training compared to others, encouraging them to seek alternatives that serve them better.
Top 6 Alternatives to ServiceNow
When you’re considering ServiceNow’s alternatives, here are a few tools that can fit your requirements.
1. Nextiva: All-in-one communication powerhouse
Nextiva offers a unified AI-powered platform for all your communication needs. It lets you access customer information and data in one place, so you can focus more on delivering a remarkable customer experience. It has decent functionality, like skill-based routing, automatic call distribution, and several other features that let end users deliver maximum value while supporting customers.
Key features
Below are some notable features of Nextiva:
- Utilizes a cloud-based contact center that is easy to deploy and scale as your business grows.
- Uses AI to route customer queries to the best agent, depending intelligently on their skill set.
- Monitors and records calls for quality assurance and to help agents provide a better experience for their customers.
Why it’s a strong ServiceNow alternative
Nextiva meets users’ needs better than ServiceNow. Several users appreciate the quality of ongoing product support from Nextiva, making it a preferred option.
Source: G2
2. Kustomer: CRM with a built-in contact center
Kustomer, an inbound helpdesk tool, lets users improve service delivery through seamless support across digital channels. It leverages AI and other historical customer data to personalize engagement and automate service interactions, driving faster issue resolution.
Key features of Kustomer
Below are some of Kustomer’s notable features:
- Agent collaboration tools that streamline communication, allowing the team to collaborate easily.
- Self-service portal that lets customers find and navigate solutions independently.
- Complete overview of the customer through customer data integration.
Why it’s a good alternative
Based on SelectHub’s comparison, Kustomer does a better job of ensuring agent productivity and overall call center management. Users report that it has better AI capabilities than ServiceNow.
Source: SelectHub
3. Zoho Desk: Feature-rich help desk
Zoho Desk offers comprehensive contact center management features at a competitive price, making it a potential alternative to ServiceNow. It provides multi-channel support, so you can reach your customers wherever they are.
Key features
Below are some notable features of Zoho Desk:
- Offers support on phone, email, live chat, and other social media channels.
- Streamlines tracking and resolution of customer issues through a ticketing system.
- Provides customization options to tailor the platform to fit specific workflows.
Why it’s a good alternative
Zoho Desk offers more comprehensive service desk features than ServiceNow at a much lower price point.
Source: GetApp
4. Zendesk: A customer service powerhouse
Zendesk provides robust tools to address various customer service use cases. Its scalable platform quickly grows and adapts to contact center needs.
Key features
Below are some notable features of Zendesk:
- Offers live chat to support customers on a website in real time.
- Lets users engage customers on different social media platforms.
- Delivers self-service options and an extensive knowledge base to empower customers.
Why it’s a good alternative
Zendesk is a more suitable solution for small businesses than ServiceNow, as it scales seamlessly as your business grows.
Source: Software Advice
5. Freshdesk: User-friendly help desk
Freshdesk’s customer experience platform is well known for its user-friendly interface and intuitiveness, which makes it extremely easy for agents to learn and use the tool. The software’s automation increases agent productivity, freeing up their time for more complex issues.
Key features
Below are some notable features of Freshdesk:
- Comes with omnichannel customer support, letting businesses manage inquiries across multiple channels.
- Automates manual tasks for agents through workflow automation.
- Gives valuable insights into customer interactions through reporting dashboards and analytics.
Why it’s a good alternative
Freshdesk offers more features than ServiceNow at a competitive price point.
Source: Capterra
6. Help Scout: Shared inbox for streamlined communication
Help Scout is one of the better ServiceNow alternatives for smaller support teams and businesses that want to streamline communications. It offers a shared inbox that keeps all agents on the same page when it comes to referencing customer interactions.
Key features
Below are some notable features of Help Scout:
- Centralizes communication across different channels through a shared inbox.
- Uses conversation history to provide context for each customer interaction.
- Enables agents to collaborate seamlessly to resolve customer issues.
Why it’s a good alternative
The ease of use and support quality seem to be better for Help Scout than for ServiceNow.
Source: G2
The Verdict: Nextiva Is a Worthy ServiceNow Competitor
Although all these ServiceNow alternatives are good choices, we think that Nextiva stands out among the rest.
When you need a customizable, all-in-one solution that’s more affordable for the value it delivers, Nextiva clearly becomes the preferred alternative. It easily integrates voice, chat, email, and other channels to make managing communications easier.
The platform is so rich in features that naming a few key ones would not do justice to the comprehensive set that comes with it. It’s suitable for businesses of all sizes and flexible to scale as your communication needs evolve.
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