BMC Helix Discovery Reviews

The use cases for BMC Helix Discovery would depend on the specific business needs of our customers. So, it varies based on their requirements. The typical BMC-ServiceNow scenario is when BMC Discovery collects data and passes it to ServiceNow CMDB to support IT and Business processes managed there.

BMC Helix Discovery can be a valuable part of the overall architecture responsible for discovering CIs and sharing the CMDB data with other systems, especially when the organization already works with the BMC platform. However, if the IT and Business practices/processes are managed in a platform like ServiceNow, then the discovery solution directly in this platform offers a more straightforward solution (one CMDB data model, no integrations needed, seamless connection to enterprise disciplines like Digital Portfolio Management).

Next to a horizontal discovery, there is also a capability of dependency modeling enabling us to see relationships between CIs.

There is still room for improvement in terms of stability and scalability. 

I have been aware of BMC (Helix) Discovery's existence since its appearance on the BMC platform. I have been working with ServiceNow for the last eight years so I'm rather using ServiceNow Discovery.

Since I am on the system integrator side, we are using the latest versions of the products.

The stability of this solution is above average but not perfect.

It is a scalable solution. The number of users depends on the specific customers we are working with. BMC Helix Discovery seems to work well for small to mid-size organizations.

From my perspective, the initial setup is quite easy.

The deployment of BMC Helix Discovery varies from customer to customer. I see it as a product that can be part of the solution from an architectural perspective.

First and foremost, it's important to understand the whole landscape of the implementation in the enterprise environment. Whether it's for ITSM or business management, you need to be aware of the target landscape and other systems in place and how the systems are interconnected. Integration of data into the system is crucial, so it's essential to assess how easy it is to integrate the data. 

Overall, this should be one of the key architectural principles to consider as any integration represents an increased complexity. There might be benefits of decentralized solutions in terms of multiple systems cooperating to provide their best value together, but there is also a huge advantage of having an enterprise platform as the real "one system of records" and "one system of action" when the provided solution is robust, scalable and modular (e.g. ServiceNow). It is also a matter of knowledge management - what knowledge do you need (and can afford) to maintain? Two platforms = two sets of knowledge.

BMC Helix Discovery is used for data center discovery. Clients also look for client-side discovery, so desktop discovery is supported, as well as printer discovery and on-premises discovery, but the solution is more focused on data center discovery, where you discover all kinds of assets, including mapping and dependencies.

I've used other discovery tools, but I found BMC Helix Discovery to be more UI-friendly, and that's the most valuable feature of the solution.

What would make BMC Helix Discovery better is if it had more client-side discovery features, for example, printers and desktops. Right now, it's focused more on data center discovery, so if it had additional features focused on the client-side discovery, that would be great.

In the next release of BMC Helix Discovery, I'd like more client-side discovery features such as desktop discovery, printer discovery, and other IP-based client-side discovery features. The solution can discover desktops and printers, but there's still room for improvement on the client side.

I've been using BMC Helix Discovery for more than eight years.

BMC Helix Discovery is a stable solution.

BMC Helix Discovery is a scalable solution, though sometimes you need techniques for different integrations because some work out of the box while some require an integration flow but API's support makes it easy most of the integrations.

I've contacted BMC Helix Discovery support many times, whenever there's an issue in the client environment and I need help from the BMC support team. The support is good, and I would rate it nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup for BMC Helix Discovery was easy. It didn't take much time because it had a clear format, so in one day, you can prepare the discovery environment, though it would also depend on the data and the requirements.

You need a license to use BMC Helix Discovery. The license is paid yearly, though I have no idea how much it costs.

BMC Helix Discovery was mostly deployed on-premises, and the rest was deployed on AWS.

My company deploys BMC Helix Discovery, ServiceNow Discovery, and other tools. 

I'm an integrator for BMC Helix Discovery.

I'd recommend BMC Helix Discovery to others because I've been working with it for the last eight years and my experience with it has been good. It's worth the money if you're using it just for discovery purposes.

I would rate BMC Helix Discovery nine out of ten because I'm able to implement it and discover assets with it and transfer those assets to CMDB. It's also very user-friendly and has several out-of-the-box features such as reporting and generating queries which I like. You don't need to know queries to be able to pick or generate a query. Currently, several dashboards are in process for BMC Helix Discovery, and it has installation facilities and CPIs, so my rating for it is a nine. I won't give it a ten because there's no perfect solution.

I am using the latest version, which is 20. 

We use the solution to explore the infrastructure, servers and network devices, in respect of the database, services and storage devices and the topology into the devices.

A valuable feature concerns the ability to integrate with different solutions. BMC Helix Discovery can integrate with BMC Helix ITSM and ServiceNow ITSM. ServiceNow is another solution, and so BMC Helix Discovery provides the information and data about the devices. It is important to have visibility of the complete infrastructure in one's organization. 

While I consider the solution to be good, it should better be able to integrate with other solutions. 

The solution does not offer 100 percent availability, but 99 to 99.5 percent. 

It would be nice to see more updates to the solution. Every two months it delivers new features which contain new infrastructure and configurations. 

I have been using BMC Helix Discovery for a long time, eight years. 

The solution can be scaled without a problem to match the growth of one's organization. This can be done easily, as the resources can be rolled to the infrastructure solution. 

There are two types of support, that of the vendor and the other being full time. We are prioritized and receive the support only in English. The other support, which is global, involves the partner and is conducted in one's local language. The support can be provided with ease and customers state their preference as being in the local language. 

In brief, the support is provided quickly. It varies with the priority level of the request. 

The initial setup is easy.

While it varies with the number of discovered devices, implementation of the solution lasts two weeks. 

It takes, perhaps, a couple of weeks to discover 200 devices. In a month, one can use the complete solution and have the benefit of its use. 

The primary functionality of the solution ranks well against other solutions in its ability to discover the topology of devices, the connection into them and its relationship with different services.

We can use the solution both on-premises and on-cloud. 

I would recommend this solution to others. It provides beneficial information. 

I rate BMX Helix Discovery as a nine out of ten, as it is a good solution, but it should have better integrative capabilities with others. 

We use the tool to deliver our Configuration Management service - asset discovery and service modelling.

Accuracy and clarity are vastly improved for the service lines. We have built the tool to a point where we are considered the primary source of asset data within the company.

Start anywhere application modelling brings a fantastic opportunity for users to see what is where and talking to what with little understanding of the tool and/or the service they are looking at.

Management of its own application infrastructure and integrations with other BMC tools.

Also, a review of end of life data would be nice.