Introduction
Problem Management Tools are software solutions designed to help IT teams identify the root cause of recurring incidents, prevent future issues, and minimize the impact of disruptions on a business. While “Incident Management” focuses on fixing a problem quickly (like putting out a fire), “Problem Management” focuses on why the fire started in the first place and how to make sure it never happens again. These tools provide a structured way to log “known errors,” track investigations, and manage a database of workarounds that keep the business running while a permanent fix is developed.
Using these tools is important because recurring IT issues cost companies a staggering amount of money in lost productivity and frustrated customers. By moving from a reactive “break-fix” mindset to a proactive one, IT departments can significantly reduce the number of tickets they handle each day. Key real-world use cases include performing a “Root Cause Analysis” (RCA) after a major server outage, identifying a pattern of hardware failures across a specific office location, or managing a major software bug that affects thousands of users. When choosing a tool, users should look for strong data analytics, easy integration with existing help desks, and a user-friendly way to document and share solutions.
Best for: IT managers, DevOps teams, and Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) in medium to large organizations. It is especially vital for industries that cannot afford downtime, such as healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, where every minute of an outage has a direct financial cost.
Not ideal for: Very small businesses with simple IT needs or solo freelancers. If your “IT department” consists of one person managing five laptops, a specialized problem management tool is likely overkill; a simple task list or a basic ticketing system will usually suffice.
Top 10 Problem Management Tools
1 — ServiceNow IT Service Management (ITSM)
ServiceNow is the industry giant in the world of IT service management. It offers a massive, enterprise-grade platform that connects problem management to every other part of the IT ecosystem, from change management to configuration databases.
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA) workflows that guide investigators through a structured process.
- Proactive problem identification that uses machine learning to spot trends in incoming incidents.
- Integrated CMDB (Configuration Management Database) to see exactly which hardware or software is causing trouble.
- Known Error Database (KEDB) that stores workarounds and permanent fixes in a searchable format.
- Automated task assignment to ensure the right expert is always looking at the problem.
- Visual task boards for managing the lifecycle of a problem from identification to closure.
Pros:
- It is incredibly powerful and can handle the most complex IT environments in the world.
- The reporting and analytics features give managers deep insight into long-term IT health.
Cons:
- It is notoriously expensive and often requires a team of specialized consultants to set up.
- The sheer number of features can make the interface feel overwhelming for smaller teams.
Security & compliance: Includes SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliance, with robust SSO and encryption.
Support & community: Offers world-class enterprise support, a massive global user community, and extensive documentation and training through ServiceNow “Now Learning.”
2 — Jira Service Management (by Atlassian)
Jira Service Management is a flexible and popular choice, especially for teams that already use Jira for software development. it bridges the gap between IT operations and development teams perfectly.
- Unified platform where IT and Dev teams can collaborate on the same ticket.
- Automation engine that handles repetitive tasks like linking related incidents to a single problem.
- Customizable workflows that allow you to define exactly how your team investigates issues.
- Problem-to-Incident linking to keep track of how many users are affected by an underlying issue.
- Self-service portal that shows known errors to users before they even submit a ticket.
- Insight asset management to track the hardware and software involved in recurring problems.
Pros:
- It is much more affordable than ServiceNow and very easy to scale as your team grows.
- The integration with Jira Software makes it the best choice for DevOps-heavy organizations.
Cons:
- Setting up complex workflows can require a lot of manual “tinkering” with the settings.
- Some of the more advanced asset management features require higher-priced plans.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant. Supports SSO and data residency options.
Support & community: Extensive documentation, a very active online community, and a large network of local partners for implementation help.
3 — Freshservice (by Freshworks)
Freshservice is known for its modern, “refreshingly simple” interface. It is designed to be easy to use from day one without sacrificing the powerful features that enterprise IT teams need.
- AI-powered incident trend discovery to help identify problems before they become major outages.
- Structured RCA documentation that makes it easy to record and share findings.
- Change management integration to ensure fixes don’t cause new problems.
- Gamification features that help keep IT staff engaged and motivated.
- Mobile app that allows managers to track problem status while on the go.
- Sandbox environment to test new workflows before pushing them to the live team.
Pros:
- The user interface is one of the most intuitive on the market, requiring very little training.
- Setup time is much faster than traditional enterprise tools, often taking days rather than months.
Cons:
- Large organizations with extremely complex needs might find it less customizable than ServiceNow.
- The reporting, while good, isn’t quite as deep as some of the high-end competitors.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant.
Support & community: 24/5 or 24/7 support depending on the plan, a helpful knowledge base, and regular user webinars.
4 — BMC Helix ITSM
BMC Helix is a long-standing leader in the IT space that has evolved into a cloud-native, “cognitive” platform. It uses artificial intelligence to help teams manage problems in a more proactive way.
- Cognitive automation that can suggest root causes based on historical data.
- Multi-cloud management for companies that run IT across AWS, Azure, and local servers.
- Proactive problem management dashboards that highlight risks before they fail.
- Digital workplace features that provide a modern experience for end-users.
- Live chat and virtual agents to help gather information about recurring issues.
- High-performance analytics powered by AI to track team efficiency.
Pros:
- It is built for the “smart” enterprise and handles huge amounts of data very effectively.
- The platform is highly stable and trusted by some of the world’s largest government and financial institutions.
Cons:
- The learning curve can be steep for new users due to the complexity of the system.
- Upgrading from older versions of BMC software can be a complex and time-consuming process.
Security & compliance: Federal-grade security, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant.
Support & community: Comprehensive global support, a dedicated customer success program, and professional certification paths.
5 — Zendesk for Service
While many people think of Zendesk as just for customer support, their enterprise service features offer strong problem management capabilities, especially for companies that prioritize a great user experience.
- Side Conversations feature that lets IT teams talk to developers or vendors within a ticket.
- Problem-to-Incident ticket types that keep investigations separate from daily fixes.
- Extensive app marketplace with hundreds of integrations for monitoring and alerting.
- Help Center integration for publishing workarounds to a “Known Errors” page.
- Unified agent workspace that puts all relevant data on one screen.
- Advanced reporting (Explore) to track the time it takes to resolve root causes.
Pros:
- It is incredibly easy to set up and is ideal for companies that value a sleek, customer-focused look.
- The “Side Conversations” feature is excellent for collaborating with people who aren’t in the IT tool.
Cons:
- It lacks a native CMDB, which can make deep root cause analysis harder for hardware issues.
- It is not a “pure” ITIL tool, so some IT professionals might find the terminology a bit different.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant. Supports SSO and 2FA.
Support & community: Strong online documentation, a large community forum, and 24/7 global support options.
6 — ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine is a favorite for mid-market companies because it offers a very complete set of ITIL features at a price point that is much lower than the big-name enterprise competitors.
- Integrated Problem & Change management to ensure fixes are tracked correctly.
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA) templates for consistent documentation.
- Asset management and CMDB included directly in the platform.
- Automatic ticket closure for all related incidents once a problem is fixed.
- Visual workflow builder that uses a simple drag-and-drop interface.
- On-premise or Cloud deployment options to suit different company security needs.
Pros:
- It offers one of the best “bang-for-your-buck” values in the IT software world.
- Having asset management and help desk in one tool makes finding patterns very simple.
Cons:
- The user interface can feel a bit cluttered and “old school” compared to modern cloud tools.
- Some users have reported that the mobile app is not as functional as the desktop version.
Security & compliance: GDPR compliant, supports SSO and encryption. ISO and SOC compliance varies by deployment type.
Support & community: 24/5 support, a large library of “how-to” videos, and an active user community.
7 — Ivanti Neurons for ITSM
Ivanti focuses on “self-healing” IT. Their platform is designed to automate the discovery and fixing of problems before a human even needs to get involved.
- Self-healing bots that can detect and fix common software issues automatically.
- Neurons for Discovery to find every asset on your network for better problem tracking.
- Unified endpoint management to see exactly which devices are experiencing recurring errors.
- AI-powered search that helps investigators find similar problems from the past.
- Voice-enabled automation for a more modern way of interacting with IT tasks.
- Comprehensive CMDB that tracks the health and history of every asset.
Pros:
- The automation and self-healing features can significantly reduce the workload on your IT staff.
- It is excellent for companies with a lot of remote workers and different types of devices.
Cons:
- The system is very powerful but requires a significant time investment to set up the automation correctly.
- The pricing can be complex depending on which “Neurons” modules you choose to add.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant.
Support & community: Global technical support, a professional services team, and an online community for users.
8 — SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds is a well-known name in network monitoring, and their service desk tool leverages that deep technical knowledge to provide excellent problem management for technical teams.
- Incident-to-Problem escalation that is fast and easy for agents.
- Risk detection that flags potential problems based on network monitoring data.
- Integrated asset management to track the lifecycle and failure rates of hardware.
- Automated routing to ensure problems are sent to the correct tier of support.
- Benchmark reporting to see how your team’s resolution times compare to others.
- Clean, modern portal for both employees and IT technicians.
Pros:
- If you already use SolarWinds for network monitoring, the integration is a huge advantage.
- It is very easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of “heavy lifting” to maintain.
Cons:
- It might not be quite as deep in terms of ITIL process management as ServiceNow or BMC.
- Some larger enterprises may find the reporting a bit too simple for their needs.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR compliant, and uses strong data encryption.
Support & community: 24/7 technical support, the “THWACK” online community, and extensive training videos.
9 — Cherwell Service Management (by Ivanti)
Cherwell (now part of Ivanti) is famous for its “codeless” platform. It allows organizations to build highly customized problem management workflows without ever writing a single line of code.
- Codeless architecture that makes upgrades and customizations incredibly easy.
- mApp (Mergeable Applications) exchange for adding new features quickly.
- Visual workflow designer that is powerful yet easy to understand.
- Multi-language support for global IT organizations.
- Flexible deployment options (on-premise, SaaS, or hosted).
- Deep ITIL alignment for teams that follow strict industry standards.
Pros:
- It is one of the most flexible tools available; you can truly build it to fit your exact business.
- Upgrading the software doesn’t break your customizations, which is a major pain point in other tools.
Cons:
- Now that it is part of Ivanti, some users are concerned about the long-term roadmap for the tool.
- It requires a dedicated administrator to really get the most out of the “codeless” power.
Security & compliance: SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant.
Support & community: Strong user groups, a dedicated help portal, and professional consulting services.
10 — PagerDuty (for Incident & Problem Response)
While PagerDuty started as an “on-call” alerting tool, it has grown into a powerful platform for managing the entire lifecycle of digital problems, especially for software and DevOps teams.
- Event Intelligence that groups related alerts together to identify an underlying problem.
- Automated Incident Response that can trigger diagnostic scripts automatically.
- Post-Mortem templates for performing structured Root Cause Analysis after an outage.
- Visibility consoles that show the health of all your services in one place.
- Deep integration with monitoring tools like Datadog, New Relic, and Splunk.
- Mobile-first design for responding to major problems from anywhere.
Pros:
- It is the gold standard for software companies that need to respond to outages instantly.
- The “Event Intelligence” is excellent at cutting out the “noise” so teams can find the real problem.
Cons:
- It is not a traditional ITIL service desk; it works best when paired with a tool like Jira or ServiceNow.
- The pricing is per user and can become expensive for large teams.
Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant.
Support & community: 24/7 support, a very active “PagerDuty Community,” and extensive training via PagerDuty University.
Comparison Table
| Tool Name | Best For | Platform(s) Supported | Standout Feature | Rating |
| ServiceNow | Large Enterprises | Cloud / Web | All-in-one IT Ecosystem | N/A |
| Jira Service Mgmt | DevOps & Dev Teams | Cloud / Web | IT and Dev Collaboration | N/A |
| Freshservice | Mid-Market Teams | Cloud / Mobile | Modern / Intuitive UI | N/A |
| BMC Helix | Data-Heavy Firms | Cloud / Local | Cognitive AI Automation | N/A |
| Zendesk Service | User Experience | Cloud / Web | Side Conversations | N/A |
| ManageEngine | Budget-Conscious | Cloud / Local | Value for Money | N/A |
| Ivanti Neurons | Remote/Device Mgmt | Cloud / Web | Self-Healing Bots | N/A |
| SolarWinds | Technical IT Teams | Cloud / Web | Monitoring Integration | N/A |
| Cherwell | High Customization | Cloud / Local | Codeless Architecture | N/A |
| PagerDuty | Software Outages | Cloud / Mobile | Event Intelligence AI | N/A |
Evaluation & Scoring of Problem Management Tools
To help you decide which tool is the best investment, we have evaluated them using a weighted scoring system based on what professional IT buyers value most.
| Category | Weight | Description |
| Core Features | 25% | Ability to perform RCA, track trends, and manage a KEDB. |
| Ease of Use | 15% | How simple it is for the daily team to log and track problems. |
| Integrations | 15% | How well it talks to your monitoring tools and dev platforms. |
| Security & Compliance | 10% | Compliance with global laws and high-level data encryption. |
| Performance | 10% | Reliability of the system and speed of reporting. |
| Support & Community | 10% | Quality of documentation and availability of expert help. |
| Price / Value | 15% | Does the ROI of fewer incidents justify the software cost? |
Which Problem Management Tool Is Right for You?
Selecting the right tool depends on your company’s size, your technical needs, and your budget.
Solo Users vs. SMBs vs. Mid-Market vs. Enterprise
If you are a Solo User or a very small business, you don’t need a dedicated problem management tool. A simple shared spreadsheet or a basic ticketing tool like the free version of Jira is enough. For SMBs that are starting to see recurring issues, Freshservice or ManageEngine are excellent first steps because they are affordable and easy to set up. Mid-Market companies often find the best balance with Jira Service Management or SolarWinds. Enterprises with thousands of servers and global staff should look at ServiceNow or BMC Helix to manage their massive complexity.
Budget-Conscious vs. Premium Solutions
If budget is your main concern, ManageEngine offers the most features for the lowest price. It includes many “extra” tools for free that other companies charge for. If you have a larger budget and want the best AI and automation to save your team time, ServiceNow or Ivanti Neurons are the premium choices that offer the highest long-term ROI through automation.
Feature Depth vs. Ease of Use
If you have a team of highly technical ITIL experts who want to customize every single field, Cherwell or Agiloft are your best bets. However, if you want your team to actually use the tool every day without complaining, a simpler and more modern platform like Freshservice or Zendesk will lead to much better adoption and more useful data in the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the difference between an incident and a problem?
An incident is a single event where something is broken (e.g., “I can’t print”). A problem is the underlying cause of many incidents (e.g., “The print server has a software bug”).
2. Why do I need a separate tool for problem management?
While you can use a simple help desk, a dedicated tool helps you track trends, perform deep investigations, and store “known errors” so you don’t have to solve the same thing twice.
3. What is a Known Error Database (KEDB)?
It is a central library where IT teams store information about recurring issues. It includes a description of the error and a “workaround” that tells other staff how to fix it temporarily.
4. How long does it take to see results from these tools?
You can see results almost immediately by identifying the top 3 recurring issues that take up your team’s time. Fixing just those three “problems” can often reduce ticket volume by 10% or more.
5. Can these tools integrate with my monitoring software?
Yes, top tools like SolarWinds and PagerDuty are built specifically to take data from monitoring tools (like Datadog) and automatically create a “problem” ticket when a service fails.
6. Do I need to be ITIL certified to use these tools?
No, but it helps. Most modern tools are designed to guide you through the ITIL process even if you don’t know all the terminology.
7. Are these tools safe for my company data?
Yes, most enterprise tools are highly secure and meet strict standards like SOC 2 and GDPR. If you have very high security needs, look for tools that offer “on-premise” deployment.
8. Can I use these tools for non-IT problems?
Yes! Many companies use these same tools for “Problem Management” in facilities, human resources, or even manufacturing to track recurring equipment failures.
9. What is “Root Cause Analysis” (RCA)?
It is the process of digging deep into an issue to find the true source of a failure, rather than just fixing the symptoms. Common methods include “The 5 Whys” or “Fishbone Diagrams.”
10. What is a “Workaround”?
A workaround is a temporary fix that gets a user back to work even though the underlying problem is still there. For example, restarting a server every morning to clear a memory leak.
Conclusion
Investing in a high-quality Problem Management Tool is one of the most proactive steps an IT leader can take. These tools move your team from “firefighting” to “fire prevention,” allowing your experts to focus on building new technology rather than fixing the same old bugs over and over.
There is no one “perfect” tool for everyone. The best choice for your company depends on your size, your budget, and how your team likes to work. If you are a fast-moving software company, Jira or PagerDuty might be the best fit. If you are a massive global bank, you will likely need the power of ServiceNow.
The most important step is to choose a tool that your team will actually use. Even the most powerful AI in the world is useless if the data isn’t being entered correctly. Take your time to watch some demos, talk to your frontline staff, and pick the partner that will help your IT department become a true engine of business growth.