METHOD
How we build the ITSM fact grid and the fit finder
IN SHORT
We read each vendor's public product, pricing and documentation pages and G2 review themes, on 27 September and 11 October 2026, and record what they document for 13 capabilities. The finder applies published rules to your answers. We do not score or rank platforms, and we did not test them.
By The Ticket Desk · ITSM Compared · Published 2026-10-11
What does the fact grid record?
- Documented: Described on the vendor's own pages, on any plan; the note names the plan.
- Partly: Described only in part, in general terms, or only in a vendor blog.
- Not in our sources: Not described on the pages we read; it may still exist, so ask the vendor.
| Capability | Question we answer from the vendor's pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan or trial | Can you start without a sales call? |
| Published price | Is a price per agent, seat or technician published? |
| Self-service portal or catalog | Can requesters raise requests through a portal or service catalog? |
| AI triage and routing | Does AI categorise, prioritise or route tickets? |
| AI agents | Do AI agents resolve routine requests themselves? |
| Configuration tools for non-specialists | Are builders, plain-language tools or admin assistants described for setting up workflows without a specialist? |
| Departments beyond IT | Do the vendor's pages describe HR, facilities, finance or other teams using the platform? |
| Incident management | Is ITIL-style incident management documented? |
| Problem management | Is problem management documented? |
| Change management | Is change management documented? |
| CMDB | Is a CMDB with configuration items documented? |
| IT asset management | Is IT asset management documented? |
| Self-managed option | Can it run on-premises or self-managed? |
How does the finder match platforms?
Each answer adds weight to capabilities:
| Question | Answer | Adds weight to |
|---|---|---|
| How many agents will work tickets? | Under 10 | Free plan or trial 1, Published price 1 |
| 10 to 50 | Self-service portal or catalog 1, AI triage and routing 1 | |
| More than 50 | AI triage and routing 1, IT asset management 1 | |
| Who will run the platform after launch? | Nobody full-time; the service team does it | Configuration tools for non-specialists 2, Free plan or trial 1, AI triage and routing 1 |
| Someone part-time | Configuration tools for non-specialists 1 | |
| A dedicated admin or a partner | nothing | |
| How much ITIL process do you need in the next year? | Incidents and requests | Incident management 1 |
| Add problem and change management within a year | Problem management 1, Change management 1 | |
| Problem, change and formal control now, for audits | Problem management 2, Change management 2 | |
| What configuration data do you need? | None yet | nothing |
| An asset inventory | IT asset management 2 | |
| A CMDB with relationships | CMDB 2, IT asset management 1 | |
| Which teams will use it? | IT only | nothing |
| IT plus one or two other teams | Departments beyond IT 1, Self-service portal or catalog 1 | |
| IT, HR, facilities, finance and more | Departments beyond IT 2, Self-service portal or catalog 1 | |
| How will you set the budget? | We need a published price to decide | Published price 2 |
| A sales quote is fine | nothing | |
| What role should AI agents play? | They should resolve routine requests from day one | AI agents 2, AI triage and routing 1 |
| Helpful, not essential | AI agents 1, AI triage and routing 1 | |
| Not a priority yet | nothing |
Must-haves
- Who will run the platform after launch? "Nobody full-time; the service team does it": Configuration tools for non-specialists
- How much ITIL process do you need in the next year? "Problem, change and formal control now, for audits": Problem management and Change management
- What configuration data do you need? "A CMDB with relationships": CMDB
- Which teams will use it? "IT, HR, facilities, finance and more": Departments beyond IT
- How will you set the budget? "We need a published price to decide": Published price
- What role should AI agents play? "They should resolve routine requests from day one": AI agents
Match points, gaps and order
- Match points per platform are the sum over capabilities of weight × (Documented 2, Partly 1, Not in our sources 0). The maximum is the sum of weight × 2.
- Gaps are must-have capabilities the platform has as Not in our sources.
- Order: platforms with fewer gaps first, then more match points, then name alphabetically. Platforms with the same gap count and the same match points are a level match and are shown together.
- Closest matches are the first level group; Also close are the rest with no gaps; Missing a must-have in our sources lists platforms with gaps, each with its gaps.
What does the rollout runway show?
Six milestones a mid-market rollout passes through, each marked by where the vendor's pages place it:
- TRY: A free plan or a self-serve trial
- PRICE: A published price for the entry plan
- INTAKE: Portal, email, forms or chat intake for requesters
- AUTOMATE: AI triage, AI agents or automation
- EXTEND: Use by departments beyond IT on the same platform
- GOVERN: Problem and change management plus a CMDB or asset register
- On the entry plan
- On a higher plan or as a paid add-on
- Documented, plan not stated
- Not documented on the pages we read
It shows packaging, not quality.
What counts as evidence?
- A capability counts as Documented only if the vendor's own product page, documentation, pricing page, release notes or press release describes it. A vendor blog alone counts as Partly.
- Not in our sources means we did not find it on the pages we read; it is not proof that a capability is missing.
- G2 review themes appear only with a link and never as ratings or review counts.
- Vendor figures are quoted as the vendor's statement.
- Every comparative statement about ServiceNow links a G2 or ServiceNow page.
- Each SourceLine shows the date we read the page: 27 September or 11 October 2026.
Which platforms are covered?
Nine ITSM platforms a mid-market IT team of roughly 10 to 100 agents is likely to shortlist, from tools built for smaller desks to the enterprise platforms they are often compared with. Zendesk is covered for its Employee Service plans.
What are the limitations?
Public sources only. No product testing, no vendor interviews, no access to private documentation or negotiated pricing. Vendor pages describe intended capability and packaging. Facts can change after the read date. Confirm details with the vendor.
How do we handle corrections?
Send a correction through the contact page with the topic Correction to vendor information and a link to the public source. We check it against the vendor's page and update the data.
Questions readers ask
Did you test these products?
No. We read public pages. Vendor figures are labelled as vendor statements and G2 themes are linked to G2.
Why no scores?
Because the right platform depends on how much ITIL process, configuration data and reach beyond IT a team needs. A fixed ranking would hide that trade-off; the finder lets you set it.
Can a vendor change what the grid shows?
Only by publishing information on its own pages. Send corrections with a link through the contact page.