JIRA vs ServiceNow

March 15, 2025 | Author: Michael Stromann
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JIRA
JIRA provides issue tracking and project tracking for software development teams to improve code quality and the speed of development. Combining a clean, fast interface for capturing and organising issues with customisable workflows, OpenSocial dashboards and a pluggable integration framework, JIRA is the perfect fit at the centre of your development team.
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ServiceNow
ServiceNow offers a portfolio of robust cloud-based products that automate and manage IT service relationships across the enterprise. Our products have the advantage of being built on a single cloud platform that consists of one user interface, one code base and one data model, delivering easy, automated upgrades. ServiceNow provides an intuitive and approachable user experience complete with expert services to accelerate time-to-value.

Ah, JIRA and ServiceNow, two seemingly unrelated tools that, when you really stop to think about it, are a lot more similar than you'd expect. Both are used by various beings—whether human or otherwise—for managing IT services and projects. They both love to automate things, which seems to make them rather fond of saving time, which is very important when you have a limited amount of it. These tools are both cloud-based, which makes them rather fond of floating above our heads and they are also rather helpful when it comes to keeping track of things, like bugs, tasks and those occasional miscommunications between developers and non-developers.

But of course, JIRA isn’t just any service management tool. It was created by Atlassian, an Australian company, in 2002 and it’s an absolute favorite among software developers. They have a love affair with JIRA’s agile boards and sprint management features. The thing is, JIRA is all about helping teams track tasks in the highly confusing world of software development, often among those who think "agile" is just a fancy way of saying "we're not really sure what’s going on." It's not particularly interested in, say, handling all your HR workflows or anything like that.

ServiceNow, on the other hand, is the ever-ambitious American cousin, born in 2004 from the vast land of California. While JIRA might want to focus on the specific needs of software development, ServiceNow aims to be much more ambitious, dabbling in everything from IT service management to HR and even facilities management. It prides itself on offering enterprise-level solutions, capable of automating entire departments. It’s more of a generalist, with a penchant for organizing and automating things on a much grander scale, making it the perfect tool for a business that finds itself overwhelmed by the complexities of modern existence.

See also: Top 10 IT Service Desk software
Author: Michael Stromann
Michael is an expert in IT Service Management, IT Security and software development. With his extensive experience as a software developer and active involvement in multiple ERP implementation projects, Michael brings a wealth of practical knowledge to his writings. Having previously worked at SAP, he has honed his expertise and gained a deep understanding of software development and implementation processes. Currently, as a freelance developer, Michael continues to contribute to the IT community by sharing his insights through guest articles published on several IT portals. You can contact Michael by email [email protected]