The breadth of tools, features, and capabilities that fall under the ITSM software category is vast, which is why finding the right ITSM provider can be very challenging.

To help you make a well-informed decision, we’ll discuss the 9 best ITSM software platforms for various types and sizes of organizations — from smaller businesses to large enterprises across different industries.

We’ve organized them into two main categories, based on the main use cases they serve: 

1. AI-driven ITSM & Tier-1 Ticket Resolution in Slack

First, we’ll show how Risotto, our AI ITSM tool, helps enterprise IT teams automate 20-60% of tier-1 tickets. You’ll learn about Risotto’s out-of-the-box capabilities, Slack-native workflows, and ability to streamline repetitive tasks like software access requests, knowledge-based questions, and password resets. 

Note: If you’re interested, check out how Fundrise automated nearly 60% of IT support tickets with Risotto.

2. Traditional ITSM  for Broader Use Cases

These ITSM platforms serve a vast number of use cases, including: 

• Request management 
• Incident management 
• Problem management 
• Change management 
• Asset and configuration management 
• Knowledge management 
• SLA Management

Some of the ITSM platforms we'll cover in this category are most suitable for businesses where technology is a key part of the end product (e.g., Jira Service Management, Freshservice, and Zendesk), such as SaaS and other software-based companies. 

Other platforms are typically used by large businesses in traditional sectors (e.g., Ivanti, BMC, SolarWinds, and ManageEngine), where technology supports operations, but isn't central to the customer or employee experience. 

However, it's important to note there's overlap between these platforms, and ITSM solutions that may be better known for serving tech companies can also effectively serve non-tech-focused organizations and vice versa.

Best ITSM Software

1. Risotto
2. Jira Service Management
3. Zendesk
4. FreshService
5. ServiceNow
6. Ivanti
7. BMC
8. SolarWinds
9. ManageEngine

1. Risotto

Risotto is our AI-powered ITSM platform purpose-built to deliver tier-1 ticket automation via a genuinely helpful, conversational format that feels like chatting with a human IT agent.

Most IT teams using Risotto achieve 20-30% ticket automation rates, while teams handling high volumes of access requests can reach up to 60%:

• Fundrise: Automated nearly 60% of IT support tickets. 
• Superhuman: Automated nearly 20% of IT support tickets. 
• Trust & Will: Automated nearly 35% of IT support tickets.
• Hazel Health: Improved deflection from 3–5% to over 20%. 
• Shakepay: Automated nearly 40% of IT support tickets. 
• Retool: Improved SLA resolution time from an average of 2 days to under 1 day.
• Vidyard: Automated nearly 56% of IT support tickets. 

All of this happens entirely within Slack. Based on our experience, this resolves the key problem that kills the adoption of other AI IT support tools — the need for employees to go to an external app or portal whenever they need assistance. Our philosophy is that employees should never have to wonder where to go for support. 

Risotto is not designed to replace existing ticketing systems. Our goal is to enhance them with a powerful AI component. That’s why we offer seamless bi-directional sync with Jira, Freshservice, and Zendesk.

Risotto works immediately out of the box and can be deployed in hours. In contrast, most generalist AI platforms require weeks or months of setup, and still deliver limited ticket automation because they weren't purpose-built for this specific use case.

Up next, we’ll cover:

• Why we built Risotto
• How Risotto works in a nutshell 
• A deeper dive into 7 key Risotto advantages as an ITSM solution

Why We Built Risotto

Before building Risotto, our co-founder Alex led IT engineering at high-growth companies like HelloSign and Gusto. There, he evaluated dozens of AI IT help desk solutions that claimed to revolutionize IT support.

However, most shared the following shortcomings:

🚫 Limited automation for common tasks like software access. Software access requests are a huge part of ITSM. However, existing tools could only create a ticket while a human agent still had to manually check role-based permissions, provision the access, set time limits, and remember to revoke it later. 

🚫 Providing knowledge base links rather than directly solving the issue. Instead of the promised intelligent, AI-powered automation, most tools simply returned generic knowledge base links without understanding employee questions and solving them directly. 

🚫 No ability to perform multi-step troubleshooting. ITSM processes often require back-and-forth troubleshooting, but existing tools hit a wall when employees reply, "That didn't work, now what?" — with no follow-up questions or adaptation to the challenge at hand.

🚫 Forcing employees out of their natural workflows. While employees worked in Slack, most solutions forced them into separate, clunky interfaces. These tools also offered poor Jira integrations, so teams had to manually copy conversation logs and update ticket statuses in multiple places. 

Because of these limitations, we decided to build the tool we wished existed — one that actually offers intelligent, AI-powered tier-1 ticket automation without being a burden to set up or yet another inconvenience for employees.

How Risotto Works (+ Customer Case Studies)

In a nutshell, Risotto’s specialty is in automating two prevalent IT processes:

1. Common IT actions, including software access automation and password resets. This includes time-based access, approval-based access, and self-service access.

2. Knowledge-based questions. As a conversational AI IT platform, Risotto mirrors the experience of working with a skilled IT member who engages in natural back-and-forth troubleshooting conversations to solve issues: 

To be clear, our ITSM software isn’t meant to automate all tickets. However, it can automate a significant portion of tier-1 ticket volume while acting like an experienced team member. This helps teams scale IT support and focus on high-value tasks — all without adding headcount.

A Deeper Dive Into Risotto’s 7 Most Powerful Use Cases as an ITSM Solution

Now that you know how Risotto works in a nutshell, we’ll dive deeper into 7 key advantages our AI-powered ITSM software offers. 

#1: Effective Knowledge-Based Ticket Handling 

Besides handling simple knowledge-based tickets, Risotto can effectively perform triage and multi-step troubleshooting. Not only can it understand language and intent, but it also scans screenshots, recognizes complex problems, and fully solves them (rather than simply redirecting employees to a KB article).

Here are 3 examples of these capabilities in action:

Example #1: Intelligent Triage

In the example below, Risotto solves a camera troubleshooting issue without linking to a knowledge base article. Instead, it performs intelligent triage (just like a human IT agent would) and offers a clear, effective solution.

Andrew Baker
Hey, I'm in the conference room and the camera isn’t working, can you help?

Risotto performs intelligent triage and asks a key clarifying question 🤖
Of course! Can you please tell me which conference room you are in?

Andrew Baker
Conference Room B 

Risotto 🤖

Here are some steps you can try to fix the camera in Conference Room B:

1. Make sure the camera USB is plugged into the port labeled “AV1”...
2. Try unplugging the camera’s USB cable and plugging it back into the correct port. 
3. Restart the Zoom meet session and check if the camera works after rejoining. 
4. If it still doesn’t work, unplug the camera's power cable and plug it back in, and then try again [1] [2] 

Example #2: Multi-Step Troubleshooting 

In this example, Risotto seamlessly handles a curveball – adapting its response mid-conversation without confusion or defaulting to generic knowledge base links.

Tyler Morris
How can I get an employee badge?

Risotto’s initial response 🤖
“To obtain an employee badge, follow these steps…”

Tyler Morris throws a curveball into the equation:
I actually just need a temporary one, I left mine at home.

Risotto intelligently adapts to the new context 🤖
If you forget your employee badge, visit the reception desk to obtain a temporary badge. 

Example #3: Multi-Modal Capabilities 

This is an example taken from our Trust & Will case study. 

An employee uploads a screenshot and adds, “Hey, I’m having trouble logging into my account”. 

Risotto scans the screenshot, recognizes the problem, and solves it: “That error message is because we no longer allow username/password logins. Can you try it through a Single Sign-On (SSO) in your Okta dashboard?”

The employee replies: Cool! That worked! 

#2: Auto-Learning Capabilities Based on Past Slack Tickets and Updates

In some situations, there’s no answer in the knowledge base for certain employee questions. When that happens, and Risotto can’t find an answer, it seamlessly escalates the issue to a human agent. 

Just as importantly, Risotto automatically learns from the agent's solution, so it can suggest it in the future when a similar question arises. This greatly reduces the time spent on creating and maintaining knowledge base articles.

Plus, with your specific approvals to track certain Slack channels, Risotto can automatically learn from updates and use them to inform responses and solutions to problems.

For example, the image below is from our Superhuman case study. An employee asks, “Hey, when’s our next audit for SOC 2?”. This isn’t something you’d find in a knowledge base article, but someone probably provided an update about it in a Slack channel. 

Risotto utilizes information it learned from Slack in its answer and provides a successful resolution: “The next SOC 2 audit will start in July and the observation period should last three months [1] [2].” 

Plus, each Risotto answer always includes numbered reference links that ensure full transparency.

#3: Seamless Slack-Based Workflow

Like we discussed earlier, Risotto integrates directly with Slack. There’s a good reason for that — Slack is a solution employees already use in their daily workflows, making it an ideal place for them to also find help when necessary.

Risotto is ready to use from day one in Slack, without forcing employees to set up and learn yet another tool.

Taking the earlier conference room camera example, when Risotto suggests a solution, the employee might reply:

“I tried that and it’s still not working - what next?”

If Risotto recognizes it has reached its limit, it escalates the ticket to a human agent via Slack:

“@Amanda Hill (AV Support), can you take a look?” 

Risotto intelligently routes the ticket to the correct department and person. In this example, Risotto routes it to the AV Slack channel and tags Amanda because her ticket history indicates she handles such issues.

From here:

• The IT agent has full visibility into all of Risotto's prior resolution attempts. 
• Risotto automatically detects when an issue is resolved by analyzing the language in employee replies (e.g., "That worked"), then marks the ticket as closed. 
• Agents can also manually close a ticket by using the ✅ emoji.
• The IT agent can also transform their response into a formal knowledge base article with a single click, using the ✍️ emoji.

#4: Enterprise-Grade Software Access Automation Workflows

Software access requests make up a significant portion of IT tickets, and Risotto can take a major load off your plate. As Collin Clifford, Legal & Compliance Manager at Superhuman, stated: 

"Automated software access saves us so much time. Within minutes people get the access they need with everything tracked, approved, and no additional overhead needed… For sensitive tools and resources Risotto's automated time-based access has been a game-changer."

In the backend, you can easily add existing applications and permissions via an Okta import wizard.

Then, you can easily configure RBAC rules via boolean logic, create sophisticated approval workflows (e.g., sequential and broadcast approvals), and more, all via an intuitive self-service dashboard. 

From here, Risotto automates time-based, approval-based, and self-service access, including provisioning and de-provisioning. 

Our AI agent also requests reasoning for application access when appropriate. Plus, Risotto maintains detailed audit logs for compliance.

Below, we’ll look at three examples of how Risotto handles access requests for time-based, approval-based, and self-service access.

Automated Time-Based Access 

Going back to the Superhuman case study, you can see that the company uses custom branding. That way, their logo appears as the avatar with every Risotto response, creating a better user experience.

Tyler Morris
Can I have access to ChatGPT? 

Risotto 🤖
I can take care of that for you! How long do you need access for?

Tyler Morris
30 days should be enough for this project. 

Risotto 🤖
I granted you access to ChatGPT for 30 days, you can also ask me for more time if you need it later. 

Automated Approval-Based Access 

When approval is needed, Risotto automatically sends a request to the relevant manager through Slack, grants access immediately upon approval, and notifies the employee.

Andrew Baker
Can I get a seat for Amplitude? 

Risotto 🤖
I need a reason for why you need access to Amplitude before I can proceed. Please provide a brief explanation.

Andrew Baker
I need to create reports for sales. 

Risotto 🤖
Access to Amplitude requires approval. I’ve submitted your request with your reason (“Create reports for sales”) and will grant access once it’s approved. 

On the backend, Risotto sends an approval request to the appropriate manager in Slack ⏳

Upon approval, Risotto sends the employee a message 🤖
The request to grant you access to Amplitude was approved. I’ve granted you access

Automated Self-Service Access Example

In some cases, Risotto can automatically grant "Read-Only" access without requiring a manager's approval. This depends entirely on your needs and preferences, so you can easily change the settings anytime via our self-service dashboard. 

In the above example, taken from the Trust & Will case study: 

Amanda Hill asks:
Hey, can I get access to Figma? 

Risotto 🤖
Sure I can handle that for you. Can you tell me why you need access so I can record it in the ticket? 

Amanda Hill
Thanks! I need to see the latest sketches to finalize a project. 

Risotto 🤖
I granted access to Figma for you. You can now view the UI sketches to finish your project. 

#5: Bi-Directional Sync with Existing Ticketing Systems

As stated, we offer seamless bi-directional sync with Jira, Freshservice, and Zendesk. On the back-end, Risotto manages the entire ticket lifecycle. This includes everything from creating and naming the ticket to categorization, tagging, routing, triage, and much more.

IT agents no longer have to transfer chat logs manually and update ticket statuses from Slack to their ticketing system, which saves time, avoids mistakes, and frees agents to focus on important tasks.

Plus, IT agents can also respond directly within Jira (or Freshservice or Zendesk), and these responses will sync back to the Slack ticket. 

#6: Pre-Built Workflows That Work Out of the Box

All Risotto workflows for automating tier-1 ticket resolution are pre-built. This means our platform works out of the box in hours, not weeks or months. Additionally, onboarding is always guided by a member of our founding team, all of whom possess extensive IT experience.

As several customers have noted:

“Ease of deployment was huge. We didn’t need a consultant or months of configuration. Risotto just worked.”
– Peter Hadjisavas, Head of IT at Hazel Health

‍"Risotto had the most thorough onboarding experience I've ever been a part of. Alex was great — he met with us weekly and made it very easy to quickly get up and running."
– Collin Clifford, Legal & Compliance Manager at Superhuman

‍“The speed and simplicity of Risotto’s setup was a great sign that we had made a good decision.”
– Phillip Rickett, VP of IT at Fundrise

“​​Working with the Risotto team was awesome from day one. They all have IT backgrounds and really cared about making us successful.”
– Tom Grinberg, IT Manager at Trust & Will 

#7: Multi-Department Capabilities (HR, Sales, Legal, etc.) 

Currently, IT teams are typically the first to adopt Risotto, as our platform was initially designed and positioned to address their specific needs.

However, as IT teams successfully implement Risotto and achieve notable automation rates, other departments become intrigued and also express interest in leveraging Risotto.

For example, the HR department is the most common adopter after IT, with Sales, Legal, and others also expressing interest in reducing their own repetitive tickets.

In a multi-department setup, Risotto:

• Intelligently routes tickets to the correct department and person in Slack, leading to significant time savings. 
• Offers each department the flexibility to customize their own settings, like maintaining separate knowledge bases. 
• Includes built-in ticketing functionality, ideal for non-IT departments seeking a simpler solution than tools like Jira.

Lastly, we don’t charge extra fees for each department using Risotto, which is in stark contrast to other AI ITSM solutions.

Learn More About Risotto

Risotto provides instant tier-1 ticket automation right inside Slack. Plus, it works in hours rather than weeks or months, allowing you to take quick advantage of its capabilities.  

For more details, we encourage you to:

• Book a demo
• Read our origin story
• Explore all customer stories

2. Jira Service Management

Built on the robust Jira platform in 2013 as a dedicated service desk solution, Jira Service Management (JSM) started out as Jira Service Desk to better serve IT and support teams.

In 2020, Atlassian rebranded and expanded the offering to Jira Service Management, introducing enhanced ITSM capabilities aligned with ITIL practices. The platform now supports incident, problem, change, request, and asset management, enabling IT, development, and business teams to collaborate seamlessly. Key features include customizable workflows, SLA management, automation, and a unified service portal.

JSM’s deep integration with other Atlassian tools allows for a cohesive service delivery experience. 

Despite its benefits, JSM can be difficult to set up and manage, and sometimes fails to meaningfully reduce tier-1 tickets. We discuss these limitations in our guide to the best Jira Service Management alternatives.

3. Zendesk

Zendesk started as a customer service and ticketing solution, founded in 2007 to help companies manage customer support more smoothly. Over time, its focus expanded beyond external customer interactions to include internal IT and employee support use cases.

Today, Zendesk offers a modern IT Service Management (ITSM) platform that delivers IT support through an intuitive interface, complete with self-service features powered by artificial intelligence, centralized incident and request management, automated workflows, knowledge base, service catalog, and change tracking. The platform lets employees submit service requests across channels like email, chat, and web forms, all routed into a unified workspace.

Other key features include:

• No-code workflow builders
• AI agents that proactively resolve routine tasks
• Integrations with popular tools such as Jira, Slack, and Microsoft Teams

And more.

4. Freshservice

Freshservice was initially a cloud-based helpdesk solution aimed at improving customer support experiences. Freshworks expanded its offerings and launched Freshservice in 2014 to start providing IT teams with a comprehensive service management platform.

Today, Freshservice is an ITSM platform that delivers a modern, scalable solution for IT operations. It offers a range of features, including incident, problem, change, and asset management, and more, all accessible through an intuitive interface. 

The platform integrates AI-driven automation, self-service portals, and a dynamic Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to enhance efficiency and collaboration across IT teams.

5. ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a cloud-native ITSM platform built on a unified digital workflow engine. It brings together key ITIL processes — incident, problem, change, request, and asset management — into a single system, backed by a robust Configuration Management Database (CMDB), service catalog, and knowledge base for streamlined operations.

It also offers Performance Analytics and real-time dashboards for metrics, data-driven insights and continual improvement, as well as a mobile app for seamless access to IT services, requests, and approvals.

Overall, the platform ServiceNow scales to support enterprise needs through strong integration capabilities, process mining, and service operations visibility. This lets IT teams consolidate tools, manage SLAs, and automate workflows.

6. Ivanti

Ivanti Neurons for ITSM is a service-management platform designed for compliance-heavy environments and complex business needs. It streamlines ITIL-aligned processes, including basic help-desk ticketing and advanced incident management, IT asset management, change management, configuration management, and more. Overall, it’s a great tool to help improve your IT infrastructure and customer satisfaction. 

The platform offers a no-code drag-and-drop workflow configuration that reduces manual effort and development costs. Other key features include:

• Customizable bots
• Self-service portals
• Ticket classification 
• Incident summarization
• AI-powered virtual agents 
• Generative knowledge creation

7. BMC

BMC Helix is an ITSM platform offering cloud, hybrid, or on-premise deployment. At its core, it automates ITIL-aligned processes such as incident, problem, change, release, asset, and configuration management through an integrated service desk and CMDB. The overall solution is designed to reduce manual effort, improve visibility, and accelerate service delivery.

The platform uses AI-driven automation for tasks like automatic ticket classification, routing, and intelligent resolution recommendations. It also supports proactive problem management by identifying incident patterns and root causes early via machine learning and NLP. 

8. SolarWinds

SolarWinds is a cloud-based ITSM platform designed to streamline service delivery. It provides a unified hub where incidents, changes, assets, tickets, and knowledge converge. The platform can help optimize core ITIL processes, including incident, problem, change, release, and service-level management, and includes a robust CMDB and service catalog.

The platform also includes various AI and automation capabilities, including:

• Virtual agents
• Incident summaries
• AI-guided ticket routing 
• Autogenerated runbooks 
• Assistant-style suggestions

ServiceDesk also offers a drag-and-drop configuration, mobile access, self-service portal, and extensibility via hundreds of integrations to deliver enterprise-grade ITSM tailored for both IT and other service teams such as HR or facilities. Overall, it’s a great tool to help support IT business goals. 

9. ManageEngine

ManageEngine is the enterprise IT-management division of Zoho Corp. It offers a broad portfolio of over 60 integrated tools – from ITSM and asset management to endpoint security and service desk operations – available both on-premises and in the cloud. 

Its flagship product, ServiceDesk Plus, delivers a comprehensive IT and enterprise service management experience built on ITIL best practices. It includes modules for incident, problem, change, release, and asset management, as well as self-service portals, service catalogues, and CMDB, all designed to streamline workflows and improve visibility. The platform also supports enterprise service management, extending ITSM practices to HR, finance, and facilities. 

Automate 20–60% of Tier-1 Requests with Risotto

Risotto is our AI-powered ITSM solution that can help you automate 20-60% of tier-1 IT tickets. 

Our platform is designed to work out of the box, so you don’t have to wait weeks or months to experience its benefits. Plus, the ease of use for both IT teams and end users makes Risotto a fantastic option if you’re looking to scale support across other departments (e.g., HR, Compliance, Sales, etc.).

We invite you to schedule a demo call and see Risotto in action.