IT service and asset management (SMB)
Posted by Important_Ad_3602@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 22 comments
We’re a small IT team supporting an SMB with approximately 160 users. My colleague handles L1 and L2 support, while I take care of everything else. With the increasing pressure on IT, we’re looking to work more efficiently.
To that end, I’m exploring ITSM and ITAM solutions (service desk and asset management). So far, I’ve evaluated three vendors:
- Invgate
- Freshservice
- Jira Service Management
I’ve only tested Invgate until now, because testing also costs time. :-)
Our main constraints are:
- no high costs
- no intrusive agents beyond inventory (we don’t want to introduce another SaaS security risk)
- minimal additional workload for an already stretched team
A read-only agent would be a plus, as it avoids manually entering asset data (although manual entry wouldn’t be a dealbreaker). Combining ITSM and ITAM is also preferred, so my colleague can link assets directly to tickets.
The ticketing system itself doesn’t need to be complex. No workflows etc. Its primary goals are task visibility, identifying recurring issues, and providing insight into ownership and responsibilities.
Given this, asset management is the main focus. Invgate requires a minimum of 5 agents and 500 assets (Pro tier). Freshservice allows only 100 assets unless you purchase a 500-asset pack, which ends up being more expensive than the two required agents.
Jira Service Management charges $57 per agent (Premium) plus $5 for SSO (Atlassian Guard). This would add up to $1488 per year. At the moment, this (financially) seems like the most attractive option.
What are your experiences with Jira Service Management? Will it fit our SMB goals and is it easy to setup? Am I missing license costs or is it really that ‘cheap’ (for our size)?
Additional_Twist_595@reddit
Jira covers the basics pretty well and is less of a pain to onboard than some others. You are right on the pricing unless your user count or sso needs change a lot. for smbs where asset tracking is key, hud io is worth a look since it does itam and docs together without loading your team with more overhead.
Appropriate-Plan5664@reddit
jira covers the basics pretty well and is less of a pain to onboard than some others. you are right on the pricing unless your user count or sso needs change a lot. for smbs where asset tracking is key, hud io is worth a look since it does itam and docs together without loading your team with more overhead.
Pretty-Fox1855@reddit
Honestly, if you're looking at asset / ITSM tools right now, I’d at least take a look at CoreITSM (www.coreitsm.xyz).
A lot of the more established platforms still feel like traditional ticketing systems with newer features layered on top. CoreITSM feels a bit different in that it’s built more around AI + automation from the ground up, which becomes pretty important once you start scaling teams or managing multiple entities.
A few things that stood out to me:
The main thing for me is it leans more toward preventing and automating work, rather than just handling tickets after they come in.
If you're comparing tools like Freshservice, Halo, etc., it’s worth having in the mix just to see how the automation/AI approach differs in practice.
mattberan@reddit
Heya - I work for InvGate and we should talk to a sales team member. Most of our stuff is pretty flexible - so let us know how we can improve!
Heavy_Banana_1360@reddit
Had similar requirements with a stretched team and not much budget. Jira Service Management is okay for ticketing, but managing assets gets clunky, and the total cost climbs if you need SSO or go over the user cap. We moved to Atera since it bundles ITSM and asset management in one, setup was quick, and the agent only pulls inventory data so no extra risks. Worth a demo if you want to avoid more SaaS bloat or manual asset entry.
code-m@reddit
Hi, I’m Mahmut from Hipporello.
Jira seems like a great fit for your needs, and with the help of the community and Jira support, it can be set up quite quickly.
However, the Service Management (JSM) side of Jira can often lead to workflow complexity and rising costs. While using Jira for your asset management, you can use Hipporello integrated with Jira for your service desk and support requests. Unlike JSM, you can complete the setup in just 2 minutes and start receiving requests immediately.
You can access Hipporello Service Desk for Jira through the Jira Marketplace.
larademir@reddit
Hi, I’m Lara from Hipporello.
Jira seems like a great fit for your needs, and with the help of the community and Jira support, it can be set up quite quickly.
However, the Service Management (JSM) side of Jira can often lead to workflow complexity and rising costs. While using Jira for your asset management, you can use Hipporello Service Desk integrated with Jira for your service desk and support requests. Unlike JSM, you can complete the setup in just 2 minutes and start receiving requests immediately. You can find to Hipporello Service Desk in Jira marketplace.
larademir@reddit
Hi, I’m Lara from Hipporello. Jira seems like a great fit for your needs, and with the help of the community and Jira support, it can be set up quite quickly. However, the Service Management (JSM) side of Jira can often lead to workflow complexity and rising costs. While using Jira for your asset management, you can use Hipporello integrated with Jira for your service desk and support requests. Unlike JSM, you can complete the setup in just 2 minutes and start receiving requests immediately.
larademir@reddit
Hi, I’m Lara from Hipporello. Jira seems like a great fit for your needs, and with the help of the community and Jira support, it can be set up quite quickly. However, the Service Management (JSM) side of Jira can often lead to workflow complexity and rising costs. While using Jira for your asset management, you can use Hipporello integrated with Jira for your service desk and support requests. Unlike JSM, you can complete the setup in just 2 minutes and start receiving requests immediately.
SetylCookieMonster@reddit
The asset management side of Jira is pretty basic compared to dedicated asset management tools, so it depends on your needs. We have several customers who use Setyl for asset management with an integration to Jira (available out of the box) to connect tickets.
An overview of Setyl based on your listed requirements:
- Agentless
- 100+ native integrations (MDM, RMM, Microsoft/Google, SSO, IAM, HR, helpdesks, etc.) and API access
- Combines both software/contract management and asset/hardware management
- Unlimited assets included in every plan
- Import data automatically from your asset sources
- Connect assets to tickets via helpdesk integrations (e.g. Jira)
- You can be set up in < 1 hour to test the platform (free trial) and the team is always on hand to fast track implementation
Pricing wise, Setyl starts at $300 per month, and is based on company size and the plan you choose. Outside of that, there are no restrictions to the amount of assets you can track.
Important_Ad_3602@reddit (OP)
Do you have other integrations with service desk tools?
I'm having second thoughts on Jira because of the work that is needed to configure it, and pricewise, Atlassian being enterprise oriented. I do like the idea of being able to link assets though.
SetylCookieMonster@reddit
We currently also have Zendesk (and we're constantly adding more integrations, so more could come soon!). We also offer API access if that helps.
starhive_ab@reddit
I used to work in the JSM/Assets part of Atlassian so can maybe help a bit.
JSM with Assets are not as easy to setup as something like Freshservice. But they're more configurable than Freshservice. So it depends how much you like having a bit of control and customisation ability. All of these ITSM tools are a trade-off between control and setup time, in my opinion.
I was able to configure a functional ITSM solution with JSM in a few days (I had the luxury of time to focus on it), and I didn't need to set up their Asset discovery tool. But definitely do their Jira Admin course, I don't think it's something you can just click around in and figure it out.
Atlassian have gone much more Enterprise focused over the last 5 years. They can do anything an SMB needs and scale as your company grows. But they do often change their pricing tiers so be aware of that.
Otherwise I still rate them quite highly and would choose them over Freshservice any day (but I have experience of terrible customer support from Freshservice).
Nowadays I work for a European ITSM/asset platform called Starhive. I think we could also help and be a tiny bit cheaper than Jira but depends on your ticket volume.
cconard96@reddit
Was GLPI simply too complex or were there other issues you found with it?
Important_Ad_3602@reddit (OP)
GLPI was ok for asset management. The service desk part was underwhelming. I’m not very keen to hosting myself. I tend to go cheap (SMB) but trying to stop doing that, since we’re understaffed.
cconard96@reddit
As a disclosure, I'm one of the main developers of GLPI and I'm always interested in hearing how the product can be improved.
There are options to have it hosted as part of the "GLPI Network" subscription, but it probably isn't going to hit the price point you are looking for.
If there is anything you felt was missing or not user friendly from the service desk, I'm willing to listen.
lionhawel@reddit
Reach out to your Atlassian team. They're the best to provide you these answers and ask them directly about to be open about what's the CMDB / Assets limitations, tell them your current and future anticipates use cases and ask them if those use ases are possible? And get them to give you customer story or customer call.
Business_Roof786@reddit
In our experience, tools like Jira Service Management can seem cost-effective upfront, but asset management and configuration can add hidden overhead for smaller teams.
We typically help SMB teams like yours by:
If you want, we can walk you through what a lean setup would look like for your environment.
Happy to help if needed 👍
Ok_Armadillo_2865@reddit
Yes. You are right, Jira might seem like the best option, but trust me, you will quickly outgrow it. It happened to us and we were struggling to shift to another solution, as we had already gotten used to Jira. Luckily, our new employee recommended and handled everything himself with Alvao, so now everything is running smoothly again.
Ok_Armadillo_2865@reddit
You are right, Jira might seem like the best option, but trust me, you will quickly outgrow it. It happened to us and we were struggling to shift to another solution, as we had already gotten used to Jira. Luckily, our new employee recommended and handled everything himself with Alvao, so now everything is running smoothly again.
Medical_Wrangler_622@reddit
Were a similar-sized team and tested Jira, Freshservice, and GLPI, Jira is actually pretty reasonable cost-wise at small scale, but setup and maintenance can take more time than expected, if asset tracking is your main focus, lighter tools like Siit or similar itnernal ops focused desks might be worth looking at since theyre easier to run with a small team.
Warm_Share_4347@reddit
add Siit to your comparison which might be a good fit. Inventory an itsm. Integrated with mdm so you don’t have to enter manually data on the inventory. Bill per admin, no extra charge. Some built in automations which can help your stretched team