ServiceNow Review: A full look at the platform for IT teams

ServiceNow is a powerhouse for workflow automation, but it’s not the right fit for everyone. While some users like the deep customization, others say ServiceNow is expensive to implement, and alternatives with better Agentic AI technology are available.

In this article, we’ll take a look at ServiceNow’s platform as a whole. We’ll review its key features, user interface, pricing, and look at actual user reviews, so you can decide if it’s the right platform for your organization (or not). 

We’ll also compare the platform to other ServiceNow alternatives, so you can see where it’s strong and where it falls short. Let’s begin!

What is ServiceNow?

ServiceNow’s key purpose is to help organizations automate workflows across different areas, such as IT service management (ITSM), HR, and change management. A simple example would be to use ServiceNow to create an automation workflow to assign issues, track their status, and escalate them if they don’t get resolved on time.

#1: Key features of ServiceNow

ServiceNow’s most notable features for IT teams are:

• ITSM: This is the core of ServiceNow and what it’s initially known for. Instead of relying on scattered tools, ServiceNow helps automate the process of managing service requests, incidents, problems, and changes.
• Incident management: ServiceNow helps you to create the right workflow for detecting, logging, and resolving incidents.
• Change management: If you need to make a more notable IT change, ServiceNow gives you a framework for planning, testing, and rolling out changes.
• Asset and inventory management: You can track your hardware, software, and cloud resources throughout their entire lifecycle.
• IT operations management (ITOM): Beyond ITSM, ServiceNow extends to proactively monitoring and optimizing your IT infrastructure. This includes service mapping, event management, and automated remediation.
• Configuration management database: With ServiceNow CMDB, you get a single source of truth for IT assets, applications, and infrastructure.

While the feature set is broad, it also comes with trade-offs: the platform can be complex to use, and you need dedicated ServiceNow engineers to fully configure it. 

In comparison, Atera has a comparable feature set to ServiceNow, but it’s built with ease of use in mind.

Atera combines RMM software, remote access, ticketing, patch management, asset management, and AI agents into one single, intuitive platform that your IT team can deploy in hours.

Plus, Atera is equipped with an industry-leading Agentic AI technology, which we’ll discuss next.

#2: Agentic AI technology

ServiceNow has an “AI Agent Studio,” which you can use to build and deploy AI agents that automate workflows, such as handling tickets or routing requests to the right teams. The AI agents execute these automations using scripts, subflows, flow actions, and skills.

However, users say ServiceNow’s AI agents do the exact same thing as the traditional interface, but they’re wrapped in an “agentic” workflow.

One user on Reddit said this:

This raises the question: Do ServiceNow’s AI agents bring any additional value to its users? 

At Atera, the value our AI agents bring is highly evident. We’re recognized as leaders in the Agentic AI space, and G2 even selected Atera as the #1 best AIOps tool for 2025.

Looking into G2’s comparison graph, we can clearly see Atera leading the pack among ServiceNow and other competitors:

Our two AI agents, Atera’s Robin and AI Copilot, handle manual and repetitive tasks fully autonomously, instantly eliminating up to 40% of your IT workload.

Robin handles your first-tier support by interacting with users on channels they already live in, whether it’s email, Slack, Teams, chat, or your Customer Portal. It’s capable of solving actual issues, such as password resets, installing printers, managing Azure AD groups, or more complex tasks like troubleshooting network connectivity problems.

Instead of you having to build complex automation workflows, Autopilot improves by learning from your actual IT setup: your KBs, your enabled scripts, and how your team solves actual problems. 

The more you teach Autopilot, the more helpful it becomes.

Our customers constantly rave about the benefits our AI agents bring to their organizations. For example, this is what one Capterra user said:

Another user on G2 said, “Atera AI integrations really help our Level 1 technicians to succeed. The automation of scripts on alerts and Copilot pointing technicians in the right direction makes Atera a cut above the rest.”

#3: User interface and usability

Let’s continue with another important aspect: the user interface and usability of ServiceNow.

ServiceNow’s platform boasts multiple interfaces for managing things like IT service requests, incident tracking, workflows, and reporting. Each interface is designed to serve different user roles.

Unfortunately, most users agree that these interfaces come with a steep learning curve. In fact, “Learning Curve” is the main con of ServiceNow ITSM on G2:

Users on G2 also say that while ServiceNow claims it’s a no-code platform, you need developer skills to set everything up correctly.

You may need to spend years learning ServiceNow to fully use the platform. In most cases, your team needs to hire Snow (ServiceNow) engineers to develop the right workflows for your organization.

ServiceNow dashboard (via G2)

Ease of use is also directly linked to the intuitiveness of the interface, so let’s see how ServiceNow users rate the platform’s ease of use on G2.

We not only looked at ServiceNow’s ease of use, but also used G2 to compare it to some of its main competitors:

Atera ranks higher in ease of use than ServiceNow and its other competitors, thanks to our intuitive user interfaces.

Instead of spending years onboarding (like some ServiceNow users report), Atera makes the whole process easy. 

Enterprises can have a clear view of their IT infrastructure in days, not months or years.

Atera’s admin dashboard

#4: Security and compliance

ServiceNow focuses on security in two ways: It secures the Now Platform through security hardening features and also offers a security product (ServiceNow Security Operations) that helps IT teams detect, prioritize, and respond to security incidents more efficiently.

At Atera, we’re also committed to compliance and security. We strictly adhere to industry standards like HIPAA, SOC 2, and our AI agents align with global standards, such as Microsoft’s Responsible AI Principles and the ISO/IEC 42001 AI Management Systems.

In addition, we integrate with key security platforms, such as ThreatDown, Bitdefender, Acronis, ESET, Webroot, Cynet, Vicarius, and Keeper.

#5: Pricing and plans

Unfortunately, ServiceNow doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing, which makes it difficult to compare it to its competitors.

You need to fill out a form on ServiceNow’s website to “get specific pricing information.”

This is arguably a disadvantage, as many ServiceNow competitors have transparent pricing.

For example, Atera’s pricing plans are fully transparent, and there are no “hidden costs” that would skyrocket your monthly cost.  What’s also unique is that our pricing plans are based on pay-per-technician, which differs from most RMM pricing plans.

Plus, with AI agents at the core of Atera’s platform, the efficiency gains you can get from our platform quickly outweigh the subscription cost.

#6: User feedback and reviews

It’s hard to get an honest picture of a platform without looking into user feedback and reviews. For this reason, we scoured Reddit, G2, and Capterra to find ServiceNow’s real pros and cons.

ServiceNow pros: What real users like

This is what users said is good about ServiceNow:

Customizable solution:

High customizability is both a pro and a con of ServiceNow, depending on whether you have the resources to handle it.

If you have dedicated ServiceNow developers, you can build automation workflows for different parts of IT, such as ticketing.

This is how one Reddit user described this benefit:

At Atera, we also believe in customization and automated workflows, but we have a unique approach to it.

Instead of having users build complex automation workflows, our AI agents handle manual and repetitive tasks fully autonomously, without any technician involvement.

Our AI agents learn about your IT environment in real time and constantly improve their troubleshooting capabilities, meaning you spend less time creating automation workflows and handling tasks manually.

Third-party integrations:

One G2 user said, “ServiceNow’s integration capabilities with other tools and platforms are impressive, allowing organizations to create a cohesive ecosystem.”

This is especially helpful if you rely on multiple products to run your IT operations.

Atera also offers a range of third-party integrations. Atera integrates with 25+ security, MDM, warranty management, SSO, documentation, and remote access software, ensuring your enterprise has everything it needs to run efficiently and securely.

ServiceNow cons: What real users find limiting

This is what users found limiting about ServiceNow:

High implementation cost:

Most users agree that ServiceNow’s high implementation cost is its main con.

The entry is expensive, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can easily configure yourself into an unmaintainable state. ServiceNow engineers said this about the topic on Reddit:

Another user said, “We would’ve switched to ServiceNow, but it would have cost us $2 million and two dedicated engineers.”

Another factor is that ServiceNow doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing, which can make it hard to compare it to other ServiceNow alternatives.

At Atera, all of our standard pricing plans are fully transparent, which makes it easy to understand the real cost.

Expensive to maintain:

Not only is ServiceNow’s implementation cost high, but it’s expensive to maintain.

You’ll need to hire dedicated ServiceNow engineers to maintain the software properly, which can cost up to $284k per year, per engineer.

Some companies try to maintain ServiceNow with existing internal resources, but this can quickly lead to more problems. For example, see what this Reddit user said:

Another Reddit user also said that ServiceNow has actually made their processes less efficient, which is an experience of many:

Hard to navigate:

ServiceNow is capable of a lot, and in their case, it means a steep learning curve. Users say there is a range of customization available, but “it can feel like navigating a maze.” 

For example, see what this G2 user said:

At Atera, we believe deep customization doesn’t have to mean complex interfaces and long onboarding processes. 

For this reason, Atera’s interfaces are designed to be easy to use from the ground up, and onboarding new technicians and end-users is quick and easy.

Is ServiceNow worth it for your organization?

Still not sure if ServiceNow is worth it? Here’s a breakdown of when we recommend choosing ServiceNow, and when Atera is the better option:

Choose ServiceNow if:

• You want to create highly customizable workflows to automate specific tasks
• You have (or plan to hire) dedicated ServiceNow engineers to create customized workflows
• You’re prepared for a long onboarding that can last years
• You’re primarily looking for ITSM and ITOM capabilities

Choose Atera if:

• You want access to autonomous AI agents, which tackle tasks fully autonomously and eliminate the need for building complex workflows
• You want an all-in-one platform with RMM, ticketing, remote access, and patch management built in
• You need key integrations with leading security, MDM, backup, and remote access providers
• You prefer intuitive user interfaces over complex ones that take months to deploy
• You value transparent per-technician pricing with no hidden costs
• You want a future-proof platform that is constantly updated

Interested in learning more? Get in touch with our sales team today to discuss your needs. Or, try Atera’s 30-day free trial today; no credit card required!