Halo positioned as a Challenger by Gartner® – Zitac’s perspective on the development
Halo’s position as a Challenger in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for IT Service Management Platforms marks another milestone in the platform’s development. We spoke with Andreas Wain, Business Manager ESM at Zitac, about why Zitac chose HaloITSM, what is changing in the market and where he sees the journey heading next.
For Zitac, Gartner’s positioning of Halo as a Challenger is an external confirmation of a development we have already been seeing in customer conversations. More organisations are looking for modern Service Management platforms that can combine capability and flexibility without introducing unnecessary complexity.
An alternative to complex and costly platforms
Andreas has been part of Zitac’s Halo journey from the beginning. Before choosing to invest in the platform, Zitac carried out a broad evaluation of different ITSM and ESM solutions.
What stood out was the combination of a modern user experience, flexibility and the ability to support larger and more complex organisations.
“During our broad evaluation of ITSM and ESM solutions, HaloITSM came out on top in virtually every category we chose to explore in depth.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacAt the same time, Zitac was seeing a clear challenge in the market. Many organisations were working with platforms that were powerful, but also complex, costly to change and sometimes cumbersome to work with on a day-to-day basis.
“The more discussions we had with our ESM specialists, the clearer it became that the market was looking for an alternative that could deliver the same business value without the same level of complexity.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacAnother important factor was HaloITSM’s licensing model. Halo uses a single licence tier with functionality included, while its roadmap also shows a strong focus on continued development, including AI.
For Andreas, that helped turn Halo from an interesting platform into something Zitac wanted to invest in for the long term.
A position that reflects a development already visible in the market
Andreas describes Gartner’s positioning of Halo as a Challenger less as something that changed Zitac’s view of the platform, and more as external confirmation of a trend the team had already been seeing.
“It probably did not come as a huge surprise to us. We had already seen growing interest from customers and noticed that Halo was increasingly appearing in discussions where organisations would previously have looked almost automatically at the large, established vendors.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacOne of the things that has impressed him most is Halo’s pace of development and the way the company listens to customers and partners.
“Halo has managed to develop its offering at a rapid pace while maintaining the right focus on user experience and customer needs.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacAt the same time, Andreas is clear that analyst recognition is not the most important measure of success.
“It was great to receive that external recognition, but the strongest proof is still when customers choose the platform and succeed with their initiatives.”
Why Zitac continues to invest
In parallel with Halo’s development, Zitac has continued to invest in its ESM offering and expand the team.
Behind that investment is a broader change in how organisations think about Service Management. Increasingly, the conversation is not only about replacing an ITSM tool. It is about using the platform to support more areas of the organisation, automate more processes and create better experiences for users while keeping costs under control.
“We see more and more organisations wanting to modernise how they work with Service Management. At the same time, supporting IT alone is no longer enough. Many want to bring more business areas together, automate more and create better user experiences while remaining mindful of cost.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacAndreas also sees customers approaching these projects differently compared with only a few years ago.
“The discussions are no longer just about replacing an old tool. They are about how the platform can be used to create real business value.”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacThat development makes continued investment in expertise a natural next step for Zitac. There is also another factor: the specialists working with the platform genuinely enjoy building and developing solutions in Halo.
A growing role in the Nordic Service Management market
Halo has moved from being a relatively unfamiliar name to becoming a platform that more organisations are considering when facing major changes in Service Management.
For Zitac, the next stage is about continuing to build expertise and helping customers translate the capabilities of the platform into measurable value in practice.
“Technology is important, but it is only when processes, people and business objectives come together that you get really good Flow!”
Andreas Wain · Business Manager ESM, ZitacLooking a few years ahead, Andreas hopes that Halo will become a natural name in more procurement processes – and that Zitac will be one of the partners organisations associate with successful ESM and Service Management initiatives in the Nordics.
“In a few years, I hope Halo will be an obvious name in most procurement processes, and that Zitac will be one of the partners customers naturally associate with successful ESM and Service Management initiatives in the Nordics.”
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