IT Teams

  • 7 min read

Zendesk Vs ServiceNow Vs Jira: Which ITSM Platform To Choose?

Team Zluri

5th April, 2023

SHARE ON:

Jira's user-friendly interface is known for its ease of use and flexibility. Its range of customizable templates and workflows allows IT teams to tailor the platform to their specific needs. Meanwhile, ServiceNow and Zendesk have more complex interfaces and require technical expertise to customize and configure. 

Though both offer many out-of-the-box integrations and automation features to help IT teams streamline the IT service management process, they also have other unique capabilities you can look into before deciding which ITSM tool will suit your IT teams.

You would want to look into various key factors before choosing an ITSM tool, like its user interface, the business size the tool caters to, whether it meets the company regulatory standards/policies, pricing, external situations (like recessions), and more. 

Let's take a scenario, a small-scale business which has only 50 or less employees, requires an ITSM tool which is apt for small-size organizations. So out of Zendesk, Jira, and ServiceNow, which one will be a feasible option?

Zendesk and Zira are suitable for small and midsize businesses. Meanwhile, ServiceNow is more appropriate for large enterprises. 

Now in this scenario, IT leaders can either consider opting for either Zendesk or Jira. However, you cannot just look into one factor and make your ultimate choice. You have to thoroughly go through their unique capabilities that they have to offer, enabling you to choose the best. 

Let's proceed and discuss different parameters to help you decide which ITSM platform offers the best functionalities.

Comparison Based On Different Parameters - Which Tool Is Best?

Listed below are some of the key parameters based on which we have made a close comparison between the three. This will help you decide which tool can cater to your IT team's specific requirements and helps streamline the IT service management process.   

1. IT Service Management Capabilities

• With Zendesk's reliable ticketing system, you can automatically create support tickets from your email, social media, live chat, and voice messages. Also, end users are updated whenever the IT support team receives their queries or requests.
  
  To manage the conversations, it supports multiple channels in one place. Furthermore, you can track customers' previously raised tickets and how you resolved them, allowing you to refer back to the information when similar queries arise. Moreover, functionalities like SLA, time tracking, routing, and more makes Zendesk a suitable ticketing partner. 

• Whereas Jira allows you to showcase your services online, making it easy for clients and employees to contact you quickly. Additionally, request forms can be customized to cater to different clients and teams' specific needs.
  
  Like Zendesk, it also accepts requests via email, chat, and other means. Also, you can categorize tickets into groups based on their shared features. This will be very helpful for IT teams as such a structured system will save them time and effort.

• Meanwhile, employees can request apps, services, and solutions for any problems at any time on any device with the help of ServiceNow's AI-powered self-service.
  
  Additionally, the organization's chatbot-embedded portals enable employees to look up information using keywords linked to their inquiries, and related articles will be displayed on the portal. Also, the mobile interface makes it easier for IT teams to handle requests, collaborate through chat channels while on the go, and receive real-time notifications to respond to requests immediately.

2. Knowledge Management Capabilities

• Zendesk provides IT teams with a help centre feature known as "Do it yourself service". Basically, this feature gives you the flexibility to create a smart knowledge base, allowing customers/employees to help themselves with their issues/queries. 
  
  They can search for articles based on keywords, and its advanced search algorithm instantly provides relevant and accurate results. Eventually, this helps minimize ticket volume and support costs and reduces the need for 24/7 assistance. 
  
  Furthermore, one additional key advantage of the Zendesk Knowledge Base is its integration with other Zendesk products. For instance, IT teams can use the knowledge base to create self-service portals for their employees/customers, allowing them to find answers to their questions without the need to contact IT support. 
  
  Also, its knowledge base can be integrated with Zendesk's ticketing system, allowing support agents to quickly find and reference articles while helping customers/employees.

• Meanwhile, Jira's knowledge management feature enables IT teams to manage knowledge articles to resolve more requests instantly. It provides a self-service portal for employees/customers where they can get their hands on the most relevant and accurate knowledge articles when they feed their queries. 
  
  How does it do that? It monitors knowledge usage to identify which articles have deflected the most requests and sort them out so that whenever employees feed their queries on the portal, these articles are viewed on the top. With the help of its machine learning algorithm, employees get curated search results. 
  
  Also, employees can provide feedback and ratings on articles, whether the articles were helpful or not, which will further allow for improving the quality and relevance of the knowledge base content.

• On the other hand, ServiceNow offers advanced features for creating knowledge articles, which include using templates, version control, and content reuse. It provides self-service features to help employees resolve their queries on their own with the help of AI. Also, it enhances the IT team's productivity with contextual knowledge powered by machine learning. 
  
  Furthermore, it offers collaboration functionalities that allow IT teams to work together on knowledge articles. This includes receiving notifications when changes are made, assigning tasks, and adding comments. 
  
  Also, enables IT teams to define multiple approval stages and roles, and it provides customizable approval forms that can be used to gather comments and feedback from approvers. 

3. Integration & Automation Capabilities

• Jira offers a robust workflow automation engine. It enables IT teams to build custom rules and workflows to automate repetitive tasks, such as allotting tickets to specific agents or teams depending on specific conditions. 
  
  However, Zendesk and ServiceNow also provide similar automation capabilities as Jira, but they vary slightly when it comes to integration capabilities. 

• Jira easily integrates with other Atlassian tools like Jira Software and Confluence, making it the perfect option for businesses that are already using Atlassian products.

• Zendesk, on the other hand, integrates effectively with other platforms like Salesforce and Slack, making it a strong choice for businesses that utilize them. It offers a robust directory of compatible applications, with 1000+ Zendesk integrations spanning 15 plus categories. Using the integration features, IT teams can simplify the process of sorting, filtering, and searching tickets. 

• Whereas, ServiceNow integration features are highly customizable, allowing IT teams to customize their integrations to meet their unique needs. Also, it seamlessly integrates with remote desktop support products, productivity tools, and authentication software to streamline the service management process. 

4. Pricing Structure & Rating 

• Jira's pricing is quite reasonable because its premium models start at $20 per agent per month and are free to use for up to three agents; however, if you need it for more than three agents, you need to pay for the same. A premium subscription is available from enterprise-scaled high-velocity ITSM, costing $40 per agent each month.

• On the other hand, Zendesk's suite plan, which contains basic functionalities, starts at $49 per agent per month, and its suite pro is $99 per agent per month, which includes all the advanced functionalities.

• The premium subscriptions for ServiceNow, on the other hand, start at $10,000 per licence annually and include free trials. But, to get a personalized quote, you need to contact the sales team.

• Customer Rating

  • Zendesk: G2- 4.3/5

  • Jira: G2- 4.2/5

  • ServiceNow: G2- 4.4/5

After comparing the three closely, you might have understood which tool can meet your specific needs. However, when it comes to choosing the best, your quest shouldn't end with deciding between three platforms. As there are other efficient tools available in the market, one such platform is Zluri which offers excellent functionalities to streamline IT operations and can be a better alternative to Zendesk, Jira and ServiceNow.

Now, What is Zluri? What types of features does it offer? Here's a quick guide.

Zluri: The Best Solution to Manage Ad-hoc App Requests

How can IT leaders improve the IT team's productivity and enhance employees' experience simultaneously? The answer is straightforward, through automation, this way IT teams no longer have to manage the app requests manually, and employees' waiting periods will also be reduced. 

But which tool's capabilities will make this possible? The perfect solution for you is Zluri. Zluri is an efficient SMP that streamlines the app request management process efficiently and effectively. How does it do that?

Let's take an example, marketing teams have access to Salesforce and Google Analytics, and now they also require access to Hubspot to monitor the team members' activities, how many assigned tasks they completed and more. Now, they have to wait for days to gain access as the request goes through multiple processes.

So what Zluri in place does is it offers a self-serve model, Employee App Store, where employees get the flexibility to choose apps from the SaaS stack and gain access to it within no time. They just have to raise a request, and the IT Admin will grant you access after verifying your identity, role or designation, whether the requested application is required by you or not, and more. 

Since the entire marketing team requires access to Hubspot, they can put forward the access request together, and Zluri does its work; it helps IT teams manage multiple raised tickets and grant them secure access with just a few clicks.  

This way, it eliminates the waiting period for employees, improving their overall employee experience and productivity. 

But what if the employee needs an app not available in the EAS? They need to submit a request for the same  When the request reaches the IT teams; they will review the application's details, such as the threat level, risk score, compliance, and more, to determine whether it is secure enough to onboard or not.

The request will then be sent to the procurement team if the application passes the checklist. The procurement team can bargain for the best deal and use Zluri's SaaS buying capabilities to get the application.

Now, the procured application will now return to IT teams, and the IT team will ultimately provide access to the employee app.

But, if the application is not secure enough to procure, IT teams will reject the request. IT teams put up the relevant reason for the employees if the request is denied. In such a situation, the IT teams will suggest substitutes for the application from the organization's SaaS stack.

The benefits don't end there; the IT teams also gain from it in a number of ways. When they had to manage tickets manually and deal with multiple app requests, IT teams occasionally lost sight of requests. With Zluri, IT teams can view every ticket that has been raised in one place and offer access to several employees at once with just a few clicks.

They can also automate repetitive processes like ticket management, saving time and effort, and track, prioritize, and assign tickets to the relevant team.

Additionally, it sends IT teams real-time alerts anytime a request is made so they can respond without delay. How do they get notified? Whenever a request or ticket is being raised, they get notified the same through emails, so no more missing out on requests. 

Furthermore, IT teams can control/restrict the application view, which apps will be visible in the EAS as per specific requirements. This helps restrict employees from viewing and accessing apps with high threat levels, risk scores, and compliance.

Now how are you going to monitor the approval workflow? Zluri conducts timely audits and generates reports and analytics on ticket resolution rates, time taken to approve requests, and more, helping streamline the approval workflow process. 

So, make sure to book a demo now and try out Zluri's other excellent features, such as data recovery, user lifecycle management, asset management, and more, that can be an added bonus and be a perfect fit for your IT team’s needs. 

About the author

Team Zluri

Team Zluri