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servicedeskcompare.com · Buyer's checklist · Rated September 2026

ITSM BASICS · RATED SEPTEMBER 2026

IT service desk buyer's checklist: 30 questions to ask ITSM vendors

Last reviewed 27 September 2026 · Service Desk Compare reviewers

ITIL practices (5)

  1. 1Which plan first includes problem management, change management and release management?
  2. 2Which ITIL practices are certified (ITIL or PinkVERIFY), and can you share the certificate?
  3. 3Can change requests link to incidents, problems and configuration items?
  4. 4Is there a change approval workflow with a change advisory board step?
  5. 5How are service level targets defined, tracked and reported?

AI and automation (6)

  1. 6Which ticket stages does AI handle: logging, categorising, routing, resolving, closing, reviewing?
  2. 7Is AI included in the plan price, sold per agent, or metered in credits?
  3. 8What share of tickets does AI resolve for customers of our size, and how is that measured?
  4. 9Can we build our own AI agents, and who maintains them?
  5. 10How does AI hand over to a human, and what context is passed?
  6. 11Are automation actions capped per month on our plan?

Time to value (4)

  1. 12Is there a self-serve trial with the features on the plan we would buy?
  2. 13What is a typical go-live time for a team of our size, and does it need a partner?
  3. 14Which templates and defaults ship out of the box?
  4. 15What admin headcount do customers of our size need after go-live?

CMDB and assets (4)

  1. 16Is a CMDB included on our plan, or an add-on?
  2. 17How is the CMDB populated: agent, agentless discovery, integrations or manual import?
  3. 18Can it map relationships between configuration items and business services?
  4. 19How is CMDB data quality checked over time?

Requester experience (4)

  1. 20Which intake channels are included: portal, email, chat, Teams, Slack?
  2. 21Are portal users or requesters limited or charged on our plan?
  3. 22Can HR, finance or facilities use the same portal and catalog?
  4. 23Can requesters track status without logging in to a separate tool?

Integrations (3)

  1. 24Which identity, device management, monitoring and on-call tools have native connectors?
  2. 25Is there an open API and MCP support for AI tools?
  3. 26Are integration runs metered or capped?

Pricing and contract (4)

  1. 27What is the per-agent price on our plan, billed annually and monthly?
  2. 28Is there a minimum number of agents or seats?
  3. 29Which add-ons would we need for our requirements, and what do they cost?
  4. 30What price protection applies at renewal?