ITSM vendor evaluation criteria: complete guide

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Key takeaways

• ITSM vendor evaluation is a *structured, criteria‑driven* process that reduces the risk of failed implementations, disruption, and hidden costs.
• Clear ITSM selection criteria, a well‑designed RFP, and a weighted scoring model are essential for objective comparison of tools and vendors.
• Modern platforms such as HaloITSM often score highly when organisations prioritise ITIL alignment, configuration over custom code, integrations, and predictable TCO.
• Stakeholder alignment, realistic demos/PoCs, and the right implementation partner (for example, SMC Consulting) are just as important as the tool choice itself.
• Avoid common pitfalls such as relying on glossy demos, ignoring TCO, or excluding frontline users from evaluation and testing.

What is ITSM vendor evaluation?

ITSM vendor evaluation is the structured process of assessing IT service management (ITSM) platforms against your organisation’s functional, technical, and commercial requirements to reduce risk and avoid expensive mistakes. When done well, it prevents failed implementations, operational disruption, and hidden costs that often surface months after go‑live.

A practical ITSM evaluation approach gives you clear ITSM selection criteria, a strong ITSM RFP, and an objective scoring model so you can compare vendors on evidence, not impressions.

Throughout this guide, leading platforms such as HaloITSM are used as examples of modern, ITIL‑aligned, configurable, and cost‑effective ITSM solutions. As a specialist HaloITSM implementation partner, SMC Consulting helps organisations turn this guidance into a robust, real‑world selection process.

Why a structured ITSM vendor evaluation process matters

A disciplined approach to ITSM vendor evaluation is often the difference between a platform that supports you for the next decade and one that needs replacing in a few years.

Pitfalls of ad‑hoc ITSM tool selection

Many organisations still choose ITSM tools in an unstructured way. They:

• Rely on brand recognition or an analyst quadrant instead of actual fit.
• Are swayed by polished demos that ignore day‑to‑day workflows.
• Focus only on licence price, ignoring the full total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Neglect the importance of the implementation partner and support model.

This often results in:

• Tools that only partly support ITIL practices and business processes.
• Heavy custom development that is hard to maintain.
• Platforms that do not scale as ticket volumes, regions, or teams grow.
• Re‑platforming within 2–3 years, creating further disruption and cost.

By contrast, organisations that follow a structured ITSM evaluation guide make decisions grounded in data, not just impressions.

Benefits of a structured ITSM evaluation guide

A structured ITSM evaluation guide is a documented set of criteria, weights, and scoring rules used to assess vendors consistently across areas such as:

• Functionality and ITIL process coverage.
• User experience and adoption.
• Integrations and ecosystem.
• Cost, licensing, and TCO.
• Security, compliance, and reliability.
• Implementation quality and ongoing support.

With this approach you can:

• Align your ITSM tool with IT strategy and business goals.
• Reduce the chance of implementation failure or re‑platforming.
• Build transparency and trust with stakeholders via objective scoring.
• Justify decisions easily to executives and procurement teams.

When organisations apply long‑term and holistic criteria, platforms like HaloITSM often score highly. HaloITSM combines rapid configuration, strong ITIL alignment, scalable architecture, and predictable licensing, making it a compelling option in serious ITSM vendor evaluation exercises.

To go deeper into building robust ITSM vendor evaluation criteria, you can review SMC’s dedicated guide to ITSM vendor evaluation best practices and scoring models at ITSM vendor evaluation criteria guide as a companion to this article.

Why is a structured ITSM vendor evaluation process important?

• It reduces risk of failed projects and emergency re‑platforming.
• It aligns the chosen tool with ITIL practices and business outcomes.
• It makes costs and trade‑offs transparent for stakeholders.
• It supports fair, evidence‑based comparison of multiple vendors.

Laying the groundwork before contacting vendors

Successful ITSM vendor evaluation starts long before the first sales call. You need clarity on *why* you are changing tools and *what* success looks like.

Clarify your objectives and scope

Begin by identifying the triggers for change, such as:

• Legacy tool limitations (no automation, outdated UI, poor reporting).
• Desire to align with ITIL 4 and best‑practice service management.
• Need for omnichannel support (email, portal, chat, phone).
• Requirement for better self‑service and knowledge management.

Next, define which ITSM processes will be in scope for phase one and which will follow later, for example:

• Incident management and service request management.
• Problem management and change management.
• CMDB and IT asset management (including auto‑discovery).
• Service catalog and request fulfilment workflows.
• Knowledge management and self‑service portals.
• Later: release, vendor, or IT financial management.

Tie these process areas to business drivers, such as:

• Reducing mean time to resolution (MTTR).
• Improving SLA compliance and customer satisfaction.
• Using automation to free IT staff from repetitive tasks.

Leading platforms like HaloITSM make this easier because they support a broad range of ITIL‑aligned processes out‑of‑the‑box. Instead of heavy custom builds, HaloITSM enables organisations to configure incident, change, asset, and service catalogue workflows rapidly, keeping future scope changes manageable.

Stakeholder alignment

Before you contact any vendor, bring key stakeholders together:

• IT operations and infrastructure teams.
• Service desk and support teams.
• Security, risk, and compliance.
• Finance and procurement.
• Key business units and end‑user representatives.

Run short workshops or interviews to capture:

• Current pain points (“too many manual updates”, “no self‑service”).
• Desired outcomes (faster resolution, fewer tickets, better reporting).
• Measurable targets (for example, 20% reduction in average resolution time, 30% increase in self‑service usage).

Downtime can be extremely expensive; industry analyses from firms such as Gartner often quote hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour for some sectors. Linking your ITSM project to these business impacts builds urgency and executive support.

Convert these outcomes into high‑level ITSM selection criteria categories that you will refine later.

Document high‑level ITSM selection criteria categories

At this stage, your criteria can be relatively high‑level. Typical categories include:

• Functional coverage of ITIL/ITSM processes.
• Usability and adoption for agents and end‑users.
• Integration and ecosystem fit.
• Flexibility, customisation, and scalability.
• Reporting and analytics capabilities.
• Security, compliance, and resilience.
• Implementation, training, and support model.
• Licensing approach and TCO.

These categories will feed directly into your ITSM RFP and into the detailed ITSM evaluation guide and scoring model you will use later.

Because HaloITSM performs strongly across many of these categories—particularly functional breadth, usability, integrations (for example, Microsoft 365), and cost‑effectiveness—it frequently appears on shortlists once organisations document their initial ITSM selection criteria.

What should you do before contacting ITSM vendors?

• Clarify project objectives and triggers for change.
• Define which ITSM processes are in scope now and later.
• Align stakeholders and capture business outcomes.
• Draft high‑level ITSM selection criteria categories for later refinement.

Core ITSM selection criteria (what you should evaluate)

This section is the heart of your ITSM evaluation guide. Each criterion should be turned into concrete questions for your ITSM RFP, vendor demos, and any proof of concept (PoC).

What are the key ITSM selection criteria?

Key ITSM selection criteria typically include:

• Functional capabilities (ITIL process coverage).
• User experience and adoption.
• Integration and ecosystem fit.
• Flexibility, customisation, and scalability.
• Reporting and analytics.
• Security, compliance, and reliability.
• Licensing model and TCO.
• Implementation approach, support, and partner ecosystem.

Functional capabilities

Functional fit remains critical, but you need to evaluate it in context. Core ITIL/ITSM capabilities to assess include:

• Incident and service request management:
  • Ticket creation from multiple channels.
  • Categorisation, prioritisation, SLAs, queues, and assignment rules.
• Problem management:
  • Problem records, root cause analysis, and known error database.
• Change and release management:
  • Standard/emergency change models, approvals, risk assessment.
• CMDB and IT asset management:
  • CI types, relationships, and dependency mapping.
  • Discovery options for servers, endpoints, cloud, and network devices.
• Service catalogue and request fulfilment:
  • Standardised service items and reusable workflows.
• Knowledge management:
  • Article lifecycle, search, feedback, and linking to tickets.
• Automation and workflows:
  • Event‑driven rules, escalations, approvals, and task routing.

Good ITSM vendor evaluation practice means turning these into questions such as:

• “How does your platform support end‑to‑end incident and request handling from multiple channels?”
• “Show how you implement a standard change workflow with approvals and risk checks.”

HaloITSM is strong in this area. It offers comprehensive ITIL practice coverage across incidents, requests, problems, changes, assets, and service catalogue, plus a built‑in knowledge base. Its automation engine allows teams to define rules for routing, notifications, and escalations without custom code. Consequently, organisations using HaloITSM often find that both current and future functional needs can be met from one configurable platform.

User experience and adoption

User experience has a direct impact on adoption and ROI. Even the most powerful ITSM platform will fail if agents find it slow or confusing.

Key UX criteria include:

• Agent experience:
  • Clean, uncluttered interface.
  • Minimal clicks for common tasks (logging, updating, resolving tickets).
  • Easy filtering, search, and dashboards for daily work.
• Self‑service experience:
  • Intuitive portal navigation and search.
  • Clear service catalogue items and forms.
  • Mobile‑friendly design and, optionally, chatbot or virtual agent support.
• Configuration experience:
  • No‑code or low‑code tools for building forms, workflows, and business rules.
  • Ability for process owners (not just developers) to manage changes.

Turn these into demo/RFP questions such as:

• “How many steps does an agent need to log, categorise, and assign a ticket?”
• “Show how a non‑technical administrator can change an approval workflow.”

HaloITSM’s modern web interface is designed to keep agents productive with quick actions, flexible queues, and dashboards. The self‑service portal can be branded, is easy for end‑users to navigate, and supports knowledge‑driven deflection. Meanwhile, HaloITSM enables organisations to configure forms, workflows, and automation rules using intuitive, no‑code designers, making it easier for IT teams to own and adapt the platform over time.

Integration and ecosystem

Integration is one of the most important ITSM selection criteria and a frequent source of hidden cost. Your ITSM tool needs to fit into a wider digital ecosystem that might include:

• Identity and access:
  • Azure AD/Active Directory, SAML/SSO, SCIM provisioning.
• Monitoring and APM:
  • Tools such as Azure Monitor, Datadog, or other observability platforms.
• Collaboration and communication:
  • Microsoft Teams, Slack, email systems.
• Enterprise systems:
  • HR tools, CRM, ERP, finance, and bespoke business systems.
• Integration capabilities:
  • Well‑documented REST APIs and webhooks.
  • Pre‑built connectors or integration marketplace.

Your ITSM vendor evaluation should therefore include questions like:

• “Describe your standard integration options with Microsoft 365 and Teams.”
• “Provide API documentation examples for creating tickets from monitoring alerts.”

HaloITSM has an API‑first architecture with extensive REST API support, plus native connectors for common tools such as Microsoft 365, Azure AD, Teams, and email systems. This enables automation across your ecosystem, for example automatically opening incidents from monitoring alerts or synchronising user data from identity platforms.

If deep integrations and automation are central to your ITSM vendor evaluation, it is also worth looking at how SMC leverages Halo’s API for advanced orchestration scenarios in HaloITSM API advanced automation across complex IT environments.

Flexibility, customisation, and scalability

Your ITSM platform must grow with you. Processes will mature, new services will be added, and more departments may join the platform.

Key flexibility and scalability criteria include:

• Customisation:
  • Ability to add custom fields, forms, and views.
  • Ability to define and modify workflows, SLAs, and automation rules without coding.
• Enterprise service management:
  • Support for multiple service lines (IT, HR, Facilities, Finance) with appropriate separation and shared capabilities.
• Global considerations:
  • Multi‑site, multi‑language, and multiple time zones.
• Performance and scale:
  • Ability to handle large ticket volumes and agent counts without performance issues.

In your ITSM RFP, ask questions such as:

• “How can we add a new request type with its own approval workflow and SLAs?”
• “Do you support separate but related service desks for different departments?”

HaloITSM’s configuration model allows you to create new workflows, services, and data fields through its admin interface. Many organisations start with IT support and later extend HaloITSM to HR, Facilities, and other shared services, leveraging the same intuitive automation engine. This makes HaloITSM suitable for both mid‑market and large enterprises needing a scalable, enterprise‑ready solution.

Reporting, analytics, and continual improvement

Reporting is essential for continual service improvement. ITIL best practices, as described in ITIL best‑practice guidance, emphasise measuring performance to identify where to optimise.

Key reporting and analytics criteria:

• Dashboards:
  • Role‑based dashboards for service desk managers, process owners, and leadership.
• KPI and SLA tracking:
  • Real‑time visibility of SLA/OLA performance with alerts on breaches.
• Trend analysis:
  • Ability to identify recurring incident trends, problem areas, and bottlenecks.
• Data access:
  • Export options (CSV, API) and possible integration with BI tools.

Example questions:

• “Show how we would build a dashboard showing open incidents by priority and SLA status.”
• “How can we identify the top recurring incident categories over the last quarter?”

HaloITSM includes configurable dashboards and reports that support real‑time monitoring of service performance. Teams can create and share custom reports without specialist skills, which supports an ongoing CSI cycle and data‑driven decision‑making.

Security, compliance, and reliability

Security and compliance are non‑negotiable, especially in regulated industries. When evaluating ITSM vendors, consider:

• Certifications and standards:
  • ISO 27001, SOC 2, and alignment with frameworks such as ISO 20000 where relevant.
• Access control:
  • Role‑based access control (RBAC) and granular permissions.
• Audit and logging:
  • Full audit logs of changes and access.
• Data protection:
  • Encryption in transit and at rest.
• Resilience:
  • High availability architecture, backups, and clear RPO/RTO commitments.

Include questions such as:

• “List your current security certifications and attestations.”
• “Describe your backup, disaster recovery, and data recovery processes.”

HaloITSM offers enterprise‑grade security and hosting options aligned with corporate security requirements. This allows organisations to adopt a modern, cloud‑based ITSM platform while satisfying internal and external compliance obligations.

Licensing model and total cost of ownership (TCO)

Total cost of ownership goes far beyond the headline licence price. In ITSM vendor evaluation, TCO should cover:

• Licence model:
  • Named vs concurrent agents, requesters, and any module‑based charges.
• Included vs optional features:
  • What is in base licensing vs paid add‑ons.
• Implementation and training:
  • Partner services, internal resourcing, and ramp‑up effort.
• Upgrades and maintenance:
  • Whether upgrades are automatic, their impact, and any extra costs.

TCO can be defined as the sum of licensing, implementation, configuration, training, ongoing administration, customisation, integration work, and upgrade costs across the life of the platform.

You should request:

• “A three‑ to five‑year TCO estimate, including licences, implementation, and support.”
• “Details of your upgrade policy and any associated costs.”

HaloITSM is known for transparent, straightforward licensing and relatively low implementation overhead. Organisations often find that HaloITSM offers enterprise‑level capability without the complex, expensive licensing and heavy services requirements associated with some legacy or “top‑end” tools.

When comparing vendors on cost as part of your ITSM vendor evaluation, you can use SMC’s detailed breakdown of HaloITSM licensing and pricing models at HaloITSM pricing to benchmark TCO and avoid hidden fees.

Implementation, support, and partner ecosystem

The best product can still fail if the implementation is poor. Your ITSM selection criteria should therefore assess:

• Implementation support:
  • Availability and quality of implementation partners.
  • Typical project timelines and methodologies.
• Vendor support:
  • Support SLAs, channels, and escalation paths.
• Resources:
  • Quality of documentation, training materials, and community forums. For example, HaloITSM maintains detailed HaloITSM documentation to support administrators and implementers.

Ask questions such as:

• “Describe a typical implementation timeline and approach for an organisation of our size.”
• “What partner ecosystem exists in our region, and what roles do partners play?”

HaloITSM’s growing partner community includes specialists like SMC Consulting, who bring structured methodologies for process design, configuration, data migration, and change management. This reduces project risk and accelerates time‑to‑value.

Building an effective ITSM RFP

Once your criteria are defined, the next step is to convert them into a structured ITSM RFP.

An ITSM RFP (Request for Proposal) is a formal document used to solicit detailed, comparable proposals from ITSM vendors based on your defined ITSM selection criteria. It ensures vendors answer *your* questions rather than delivering generic marketing responses and supports fair comparison.

Purpose of an ITSM RFP

An effective ITSM RFP aims to:

• Align expectations between your organisation and potential vendors.
• Drive consistent, comparable responses across all vendors.
• Capture both functional and non‑functional requirements clearly.
• Provide the basis for objective scoring in your ITSM evaluation guide.

By forcing vendors to respond in a similar structure, it becomes much easier to compare multiple platforms and validate claims.

Key components of an ITSM RFP

A robust ITSM RFP usually includes:

• Organisation background and objectives:
  • Overview of your organisation, current tool landscape, and reasons for change.
• Scope of services and processes:
  • Which ITIL processes and additional service areas are in scope.
• Functional requirements matrix:
  • Line‑item requirements grouped by process (incident, change, etc.).
  • Priority labels such as Must Have, Should Have, and Nice to Have.
• Non‑functional requirements:
  • Security, compliance, availability, performance, hosting model.
• Implementation and change management expectations:
  • Project phases, timelines, training, and user adoption support.
• Support and SLAs:
  • Required response, resolution targets, and escalation paths.
• Pricing structure and TCO:
  • Request a 3–5 year TCO breakdown with assumptions.
• References and case studies:
  • Evidence of successful implementations in similar organisations or industries.

Tips for writing a strong ITSM RFP

To get high‑quality, comparable responses:

• Prioritise requirements:
  • Use Must/Should/Nice‑to‑Have to signal importance.
• Use scenario‑based questions:
  • For instance, “Describe how your platform supports major incident management and stakeholder communication,” rather than simple yes/no ticks.
• Request configuration‑focused demos:
  • Ask vendors to demonstrate how workflows, forms, or integrations are configured, not just end‑user screens.
• Reference your ITSM evaluation guide:
  • Explain the criteria and weights you will use so vendors understand how they will be scored.

HaloITSM responds regularly to ITSM RFPs across mid‑market and enterprise customers. It performs especially well when RFPs emphasise rapid time‑to‑value, no‑code workflow configuration, omnichannel support, and cost‑effective licensing. To highlight HaloITSM’s strengths, include RFP questions like:

• “Explain and demonstrate your no‑code workflow designer.”
• “Describe how your licensing model supports growth without unpredictable cost spikes.”

What should be included in an ITSM RFP?

• Background and objectives.
• Scope of processes and services.
• Functional requirements matrix with priorities.
• Non‑functional requirements (security, performance, hosting).
• Implementation and support expectations.
• Pricing/TCO assumptions and structure.
• References and relevant case studies.

Structuring your ITSM evaluation guide and scoring model

With your ITSM RFP in place, you need a consistent way to interpret responses. This is where a formal ITSM evaluation guide and scoring model comes in.

Your evaluation guide should define weighted criteria, a scoring scale, and a comparison matrix so vendors can be assessed side‑by‑side using the same rules.

Define weighted criteria

Start from your ITSM selection criteria and assign weights that reflect your priorities. For example:

• Functionality: 25%
• UX and adoption: 20%
• Integrations and ecosystem: 15%
• TCO and licensing: 15%
• Implementation and support: 10%
• Security and compliance: 10%
• Innovation and roadmap: 5%

These weights can and should be tuned to your organisation. For instance, a heavily regulated financial services firm may give more weight to security and compliance, while a fast‑growing SaaS business may prioritise scalability and integrations.

Example scoring template

Use a simple numeric scale for each criterion per vendor, such as:

• 1 = Poor fit.
• 2 = Below expectations.
• 3 = Acceptable.
• 4 = Good.
• 5 = Excellent fit.

In your scoring matrix, include:

• Rows: Criteria (functionality, UX, integrations, etc.).
• Columns: Weight, Vendor A score, Vendor B score, Vendor C score, and Weighted Score.
• Additional column for notes: Assumptions, risks, and follow‑up questions.

Weighted Score is calculated as Score × Weight. After scoring each vendor, sum the weighted scores to get a total.

This quantitative approach, combined with qualitative notes, ensures your ITSM vendor evaluation is transparent and repeatable. A sample vendor scorecard structure is discussed in resources such as TechTarget’s ITSM coverage.

From longlist to shortlist

Use your ITSM evaluation guide and matrix to move from a longlist to a shortlist:

• Start with 6–8 vendors based on market research, peer input, and analyst insights.
• Collect RFP responses and run initial, structured demos.
• Score each vendor against your weighted criteria.
• Shortlist the top 2–3 vendors that fall within an agreed band (for example, within 10% of the highest total score).

These shortlisted vendors should then be invited to deeper demos and, where appropriate, a proof of concept focused on your most critical use cases.

When organisations use this kind of formal scoring model, HaloITSM frequently ranks near the top due to its balance of usability, flexibility, integration options, and predictable TCO.

How do you create an ITSM evaluation guide?

• Define clear ITSM selection criteria aligned to your goals.
• Assign weights to each criterion based on business priority.
• Build a scoring matrix with a simple 1–5 scale per criterion.
• Use RFP responses and demos to score each vendor.
• Compare total weighted scores and document qualitative notes.

Running demos and proofs of concept effectively

Demos and proofs of concept (PoCs) are where you validate vendor claims and test real‑world usability. They should be tightly aligned with your ITSM evaluation guide.

Preparing for demos

Unstructured demos usually show a “happy path” that hides day‑to‑day friction. To avoid this, you should:

• Create use‑case scripts that reflect your ITSM selection criteria, for example:
  • Logging, triaging, and escalating an incident.
  • Handling a major incident, including stakeholder communication.
  • Processing a service request with approvals and task assignments.
  • Managing a change with risk assessment and CAB approval.
• Share these scripts with vendors ahead of time.
• Provide sample data, such as ticket categories and organisational structures, so demos look realistic.

This approach forces vendors to demonstrate how their tool performs on your real workflows, not just generic examples.

What to watch for during demos

While vendors follow your scripts, pay close attention to:

• Number of steps and clicks required for common tasks.
• How easy it is to configure fields, forms, or workflows live.
• Performance and responsiveness of the user interface.
• How intuitive the navigation is for new agents.
• How dashboards and reports are created and modified.

Have participants score each vendor against your ITSM evaluation guide immediately after each demo. Capture both quantitative scores and qualitative feedback from agents, managers, and other stakeholders.

Considering a proof of concept (PoC)

A PoC is especially valuable if:

• You have a complex integration landscape.
• There are high customisation requirements.
• You are uncertain about performance at scale or in specific scenarios.

To keep PoCs effective:

• Time‑box the exercise (for example, 4–6 weeks).
• Define clear success criteria linked to your ITSM evaluation guide, such as:
  • “Can configure three key workflows without vendor development services.”
  • “Can integrate with monitoring tool X to create and update incidents.”
• Limit scope to your highest‑value use cases.

HaloITSM is well suited to structured demos and PoCs. Its no‑code configuration and automation engine allow teams to build real‑world workflows quickly, often during the PoC itself. Non‑technical stakeholders can participate in configuring the portal, forms, and rules, which builds confidence and buy‑in.

How do you run an effective ITSM demo?

• Prepare detailed, realistic use‑case scripts in advance.
• Share scripts and sample data with vendors.
• Focus on day‑to‑day workflows, not just high‑level overviews.
• Observe configuration ease, UI speed, and user experience.
• Involve frontline agents and stakeholders in scoring and feedback.

Beyond the tool: choosing the right ITSM partner

ITSM vendor evaluation should never focus solely on the software. The implementation partner you choose is just as important.

Key criteria for selecting an ITSM implementation partner include:

• Experience:
  • Track record with organisations of similar size, complexity, and industry.
• Methodology:
  • Clear approach to process design, configuration, data migration, and testing.
• Change and adoption:
  • Ability to support training, communication, and change management.
• Ongoing support:
  • Services for post‑go‑live optimisation and continual improvement.
• References:
  • Verifiable case studies and client references.

Partners should be able to help refine your ITSM selection criteria, build your ITSM RFP, and design your ITSM evaluation guide, not just configure screens.

SMC Consulting is a leading HaloITSM implementation partner. SMC combines deep ITSM consulting experience with practical expertise in HaloITSM configuration and integration. This means you can:

• Run a structured ITSM vendor evaluation with expert guidance.
• Map your processes to HaloITSM’s capabilities efficiently.
• Deliver a rollout that drives adoption and measurable outcomes.

HaloITSM provides the flexible, modern platform; SMC Consulting ensures that platform is tailored, implemented, and evolved in alignment with your strategy and real‑world processes.

How do I choose an ITSM implementation partner?

• Look for experience with organisations similar to yours.
• Check for a clear, proven implementation methodology.
• Ask for references and case studies in your industry.
• Assess their support model beyond go‑live.
• Ensure deep expertise in your shortlisted tool (for example, HaloITSM).

Common mistakes in ITSM vendor evaluation (and how to avoid them)

Even with good intentions, organisations often fall into predictable traps during ITSM vendor evaluation. Awareness of these pitfalls helps you avoid them.

Mistake 1: Focusing only on feature checklists

Treating ITSM vendor evaluation as a pure tick‑box exercise leads to choices that look good on paper but fail in practice.

• Problem:
  • Overemphasis on raw features, underemphasis on UX and adoption.
• Fix:
  • Give significant weight to usability in your ITSM selection criteria.
  • Validate ease of use through scripted demos and PoCs with real agents.

Mistake 2: Underestimating configuration vs custom development

Tools that require heavy custom coding are slow to change and costly to maintain.

• Problem:
  • Every change request becomes a development project.
• Fix:
  • Mandate no‑code or low‑code configuration in your ITSM RFP.
  • Score highly those platforms that allow administrators to change workflows and forms without developers.

Modern platforms like HaloITSM excel in this area, allowing rapid, configuration‑driven change while keeping technical debt low.

Mistake 3: Ignoring TCO in favour of low entry price

Lowest licence price rarely equals lowest total cost.

• Problem:
  • Decisions based on headline cost alone ignore implementation, training, integration, and upgrade expenses.
• Fix:
  • Model TCO across 3–5 years for each vendor.
  • Include internal resource costs, partner services, and expected upgrade effort.

Mistake 4: Not involving end‑users in demos and PoCs

When only the project team attends demos, you risk choosing a tool that frontline agents dislike.

• Problem:
  • Poor adoption and workarounds after go‑live.
• Fix:
  • Involve service desk agents and key business users in demos.
  • Capture their feedback formally in your ITSM evaluation guide scoring.

Mistake 5: Over‑complicating requirements and stifling agility

Huge requirement documents and over‑engineered workflows slow everything down.

• Problem:
  • Excessive complexity in early phases delays value.
• Fix:
  • Focus your ITSM RFP and selection criteria on core processes and outcomes.
  • Prefer agile, configurable platforms like HaloITSM that enable iterative improvement rather than big‑bang designs.

As you refine your ITSM vendor evaluation and avoid these pitfalls, you may also want to explore how ITSM automation and orchestration in HaloITSM, described in ITSM automation and orchestration, can reduce manual effort and improve service desk performance once your new platform is selected.

What are common mistakes in ITSM vendor evaluation?

• Relying on feature checklists instead of real‑world usability.
• Underestimating the value of no‑code configuration.
• Ignoring long‑term TCO in favour of licence price.
• Excluding end‑users from demos and PoCs.
• Over‑specifying requirements and limiting agility.

Conclusion and next steps

A structured ITSM vendor evaluation process, grounded in clear ITSM selection criteria, a robust ITSM RFP, and a formal ITSM evaluation guide and scoring model, dramatically reduces the risk of choosing the wrong tool. It aligns your ITSM platform with business objectives, supports ITIL‑aligned processes, and keeps TCO under control over the long term.

The next steps are straightforward:

• Turn the criteria in this article into your own checklist and scoring matrix.
• Use it to structure your ITSM RFP and standardise vendor responses.
• Shortlist 2–3 vendors that align strongly with your requirements—explicitly including leading platforms like HaloITSM.
• Use scripted demos and, where appropriate, PoCs to validate real‑world fit.

If you want expert support, SMC Consulting can help you draft or review an ITSM RFP, build a tailored ITSM evaluation guide and scoring model, and run a targeted HaloITSM demo or PoC mapped directly to your documented ITSM selection criteria. To explore how HaloITSM, implemented by SMC Consulting, can support your IT service management strategy, visit HaloITSM IT service management and get in touch with the team.

How do I start an ITSM vendor evaluation?

• Define your objectives and in‑scope ITSM processes.
• Align stakeholders and capture business outcomes.
• Create ITSM selection criteria and assign weights.
• Draft an ITSM RFP based on those criteria.
• Build an ITSM evaluation guide and scoring matrix.
• Shortlist vendors like HaloITSM and run structured demos or PoCs with support from an experienced partner such as SMC Consulting.

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