ConnectWise PSA vs IBM SmartCloud Control Desk comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ConnectWise PSA and IBM SmartCloud Control Desk based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, BMC and others in Help Desk Software.
To learn more, read our detailed Help Desk Software Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The search function is really good. To have a single place where we have the account information stored is probably most valuable.""It's a pretty simple web interface. The rules engine was really easy to set up, and it ingests emails very well.""The product has been pretty stable so far.""I also like ConnectWise's ability to set up queries. I can set up all these different queries that look for specific things and end up with a list of results, like feedback from the client or the ticket status.""All the features of ConnectWise Manage are valuable. However, ticketing, customer management, customer communication, technician efficiency, calendars, coding, billing, invoicing, and contract management are available. It's a complete solution. Additionally, the company is responsive with the ability to progress or make necessary changes happen.""The ease of reporting is valuable. We have a weekly management meeting, and we gather numbers from ConnectWise in preparation for that. It is helpful for measuring how we're doing in our performance.""We like the way that ConnectWise is completely integrated. So you when you identify an opportunity, you can save it, and ConnectWise pushes it through to the whole invoicing process.""It handles ticketing pretty well, and it's not something I have many critiques for."

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"In the early stages of our company, all requests were done in notebooks, and none of it was centrally managed. But now we have a central tool which is an entry point for all requests that come in.""The most valuable are its flexibility and agility. It's quick to change it, to adapt it to your needs. That's the most important for us.""The solution is very easy to work with.""The brand name is the most valuable aspect of this solution for me. It's IBM. It's a global company that supports this product, it's not something open source or something like that.""The solution has been stable.""SLA integrations, reports, and integration with other applications are the most valuable.""The workflow capability is useful. It's not a manual helpdesk operation. It's fully automated, even when an alarm has occurred. It covers the complete cycle of initiation to resolving the events. This is its most strong feature that is easily integrable with a monitoring solution. It creates tickets, and the workflow feature is the most important one.""What I like about the Control Desk is that everything is centralized. You have all the requests in one place, you know which ones are for whom and who is working on them."

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Cons
"Their reporting options aren't great. BrightGauge was something that we added on, and that enhanced the experience.""ConnectWise PSA’s graphical interface is a little old.""All other ticket systems can search previous tickets, whether they were homegrown in Oracle or something else. I'm talking about searching the actual contents of the discussions in the ticket. In ConnectWise, you can only search the summaries. It's ridiculous.""The tracking inventory or the way it tracks the products is not very good.""The custom reporting needs to be improved.""It needs to be easier to share tickets between users who need to work together.""It would be nice if ConnectWise gave us more flexibility when using customized fields in the interface. You can set up a user-defined field, but those don't port over to tables. It's really inconvenient.""Sometimes it is a little bit slow, which is the only complaint I have about it."

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"The user interface is not very interesting. If you look at other products like JIRA and ServiceNow, they have made it much easier for the end-users. Maybe not ServiceNow, but JIRA is quite flexible. From a presentation point of view, IBM should make more user-friendly interfaces.""Overall the user experience, as opposed to the system and databases, could be improved. It does work as it should and it's good, but they should invest more in the user interfaces to be less data oriented and more appealing for the user.""The reporting in relation to updating could be improved upon.""The time calculations can be improved. While working on reports, it was taking the time only in seconds, which was hard for me to work out. While creating some dialogs in the service portal, you have to use certain data types in some fields. It was very tricky to make them work. I was testing a certain type of input, and it didn't work. It didn't show me the domain that the fields have to show. I had to make the change to the database, and only then it worked. It was a tricky thing to make them work with the dialogs. Their technical support can also be improved in terms of response time.""Support has been the biggest problem for us. I understand that because we use the product of a global company, some changes are not quick to deploy.""It could use more facility or flexibility for reporting, and business intelligence in the tool.""The solution lacks a graphical user interface.""What needs improvement in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is its graphical interface because it needs to be more user-friendly. IBM is a big company, but this solution is a little bit outdated. The most common comment I get from customers is that IBM SmartCloud Control Desk looks old and needs a refresh. Its frontend needs a little bit of work. The solution needs to be more modern. In the programming world, you see a lot of new technologies, but this particular solution is still on Java. IBM SmartCloud Control Desk isn't like web-based service request tools, and that's an area for improvement. What I'd like to see in the next version of the solution is a more upscale technology. IBM SmartCloud Control Desk has small issues with document links and attachments, and those could bother you when you're using it for a long time. A more user-friendly GUI is also another improvement I'd like to see in the next version of the solution, plus a better user experience, and it would be great if IBM could resolve the current issues I've noticed in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "There are some different add-ons and benefits that are optional and come at an additional cost."
  • "The cost can be the main barrier. It's not a solution for a three person company. It just isn't going to be cost effective. Because ConnectWise Manage does have everything there, the licensing is a little bit restrictive as far as how they want to granularly assign licenses rather than having more of an all-inclusive package."
  • "We're paying $940 a month for 14 users."
  • "The pricing of ConnectWise Manage is reasonable."
  • "I have one monthly license for all of the ConnectWise products I use, and it's $85 per user."
  • More ConnectWise PSA Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It's basically for a big company because of the costs. A small company can't afford the licensing cost. For medium and large companies, it's the best product. The price of the license is on the higher side compared to others."
  • "The licensing we have for IBM Control Desk is on a yearly basis. They have a concurrent license and an administrative license. And with these, you get all the products. There aren't any additional fees for extra add-ons or anything like that."
  • "The license for IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is paid yearly and is on a per-user basis. You buy the product and pay for its license yearly. IBM is changing the licensing structure, but for now, it's a yearly license. There's no additional cost. It's just the license that you need to pay for to use IBM SmartCloud Control Desk."
  • More IBM SmartCloud Control Desk Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I have one monthly license for all of the ConnectWise products I use, and it's $85 per user. In addition to the standard license fee, I think there's a $1,500 implementation fee.
    Top Answer:ConnectWise PSA’s graphical interface is a little old. They could make it more refreshing.
    Top Answer:A feature I found most valuable in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is the service request. Another feature I like most about the solution is IT asset management, which tells you who owns a specific asset… more »
    Top Answer:The license for IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is paid yearly and is on a per-user basis. You buy the product and pay for its license yearly. IBM is changing the licensing structure, but for now, it's a… more »
    Top Answer:What needs improvement in IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is its graphical interface because it needs to be more user-friendly. IBM is a big company, but this solution is a little bit outdated. The most… more »
    Ranking
    15th
    out of 59 in Help Desk Software
    Views
    1,387
    Comparisons
    628
    Reviews
    5
    Average Words per Review
    339
    Rating
    7.8
    21st
    out of 59 in Help Desk Software
    Views
    632
    Comparisons
    356
    Reviews
    1
    Average Words per Review
    1,117
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    ConnectWise Manage
    SmartCloud Control Desk
    Learn More
    Interactive Demo
    IBM
    Demo Not Available
    Overview

    ConnectWise PSA is an award-winning professional services automation solution that connects your entire organization. Save time throughout your entire business lifecycle with the powerful automation and standardization that ConnectWise PSA brings to the table. A single view of your business operations makes it possible to streamline your business even further.​

    Key features and benefits of ConnectWise PSA:

    Help desk

    Centralize your help desk with features that allow you to organize and standardize your service requests and streamline workflow automation to ensure your support operations are as efficient as possible. Keep your help desk responsive and productive no matter how challenging the issue is.

    Cloud billing

    Managing recurring billing can be a streamlined and straightforward process. You can standardize and simplify the way you manage customer contracts, including cloud. Easily manage, monitor, and bill for other public cloud services such as Microsoft 365 and Cisco Cloud Solutions.

    Sales and marketing

    The competitive landscape has made the window of opportunity for growing your business more challenging. Take control for generating leads with sales and marketing features that help you build a stronger, more predictable pipeline and improve communication with prospects to ensure high conversion rates.​

    Procurement

    Supplier operations can be hit and miss, making the procurement process far more challenging. Optimize internal purchasing and receiving workflows to keep your operations department and customers in the know.​

    Time tracking and billing

    Time tracking and billing reduces revenue loss and client skepticism. Your team can easily enter and track their billable time by the minute and by client, project, or task and include detailed notes to avoid client audits. With these efficiencies, your team will have more time to better serve your business and your customers.​

    Project management

    Don’t miss a beat. Project management gives you what your team needs to track the progress of multi-faceted projects and project milestones, so you can deliver what you promise to your clients on time and on budget.

    Reporting

    Knowledge and visibility are key components of a successful IT service provider. Leverage a reporting engine that give you the insights and metrics to help you make data-driven decision across all areas of your business.

    What can ConnectWise PSA do for you?

    Improve employee experience

    Give your teams a PSA that helps them perform more effectively and provide the best experience possible—for them and your customers. Keep everyone in the know, increasing management’s confidence in the ability to sustain and grow a happy customer base. ​

    Enhance the customer experience

    When your teams have what they need to do their job well the first time, your customer experience gets better and better. Provide amazing service delivery, timely and accurate invoices, and automate important reports to keep your customers happy (and in the know). Pair that with the end-user portal available, and your customer experience just got even better!​

    Give your team precious time back

    With coupling centralization and automation, your teams will function more efficiently than ever, giving everyone more time to focus on what’s important. You'll get more time to focus on growing your business!​

    Increase revenue and decrease costs

    When your systems are centralized and your operations more efficient, you can save time and reduce costs. In essence, you can improve revenue and decrease costs through all your gained efficiencies.

    IBM Control Desk on Cloud offer an access to a user friendly self-service, automated service management, and seamlessly-integrated, best-practice based service desk capabilities. IBM Control Desk provides the IT service management (ITSM) needed to simplify support of users and infrastructure. It also offers a unified IT asset and service management software provides a common control center for managing business processes for both digital and physical assets and enables control, governance and compliance to applications, endpoints and assets to protect critical data and prevent outages. Control Desk is IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-compliant, accessible through mobile devices and integrates with social media and development tools.
    Sample Customers
    IT Connexx, High Standards Technology Inc, Solvere One, MyIT, ConnectWise, Simpatico Systems, Fred IT Group, ECS, OneStop, K2 Technologies, Clark Integrated Technologies, Jmark, Geek on Wheels
    St Vincent's Health Australia, Kalibrate Pty. Ltd., Cognizant Technology
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company57%
    Non Profit14%
    Security Firm14%
    Energy/Utilities Company14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company30%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Financial Services Firm5%
    Construction Company5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Energy/Utilities Company8%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business84%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise53%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business67%
    Large Enterprise33%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise66%
    Buyer's Guide
    Help Desk Software
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about ServiceNow, Atlassian, BMC and others in Help Desk Software. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    ConnectWise PSA is ranked 15th in Help Desk Software with 19 reviews while IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is ranked 21st in Help Desk Software with 9 reviews. ConnectWise PSA is rated 8.2, while IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is rated 7.6. The top reviewer of ConnectWise PSA writes "Its macros, shortcuts and custom queries are really helpful ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM SmartCloud Control Desk writes "Stable but clunky and lacks a user interface". ConnectWise PSA is most compared with ServiceNow, Datto Autotask Professional Services Automation, JIRA Service Management, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Kaseya BMS, whereas IBM SmartCloud Control Desk is most compared with ServiceNow, JIRA Service Management and SymphonyAI IT Service Management.

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