Is nara an alternative to OTRS and Znuny?

Yes. nara includes a ticket system, self-service portal, service catalog, problem and change management, SLAs with queues and escalation, email-to-ticket, CMDB with discovery, license management, client management and a knowledge base, every module in one price. There is also an AI that resolves requests itself in Teams, by phone and on the device.

When did the OTRS Community Edition end, and what does that mean for us?

On 23 Dec 2020, OTRS announced that OTRS 6 and the ((OTRS)) Community Edition 6 would receive no further security updates after 1 January 2021. [5] Anyone still running the Community Edition has done so without security fixes from the vendor ever since. [7] nara takes over tickets, knowledge articles and assets from the Community Edition and is fully in operation after about six weeks.

What is the successor to the OTRS Community Edition?

OTRS offers Community Edition users the current OTRS, with free migration consulting and a sandbox. [7] Znuny continues the Community Edition as open source, with its own roadmap. [6] Each of these routes is a migration. So you can just as well choose the system that resolves requests itself: nara takes over your history and runs fully after about six weeks.

What can the AI in OTRS and Znuny do?

OTRS's AI services automatically assign new tickets to a service category, summarize conversations and suggest replies. OTRS runs them with BOTfriends on infrastructure in Germany and describes them as support for service teams, not a replacement. [4] OTRS also describes Pulse AI Conversations, an AI agent for chat with a Microsoft Teams integration: it searches the knowledge base and external sources, creates tickets, answers status questions and triggers actions in the system. [18] For Znuny, the free Znuny-LLM add-on has been available since July 2026: it suggests queue, type, service and SLA, summarizes tickets, rewrites subject lines and text and drafts FAQ articles from resolved tickets. Agents rate the suggested classification field by field, thumbs up or down. You provide the language model yourself, for example through Ollama or Azure OpenAI. [15] With nara, the AI resolves the request itself, within the approvals you set.

We just updated OTRS or Znuny. Do we still need nara?

With a current version, you have a maintained ticket system. Your team still works the requests, though. nara resolves them itself, in Teams, by phone and on the device, and runs alongside OTRS or Znuny to do so: it takes on requests and records every step in your current system. You decide later whether and when to switch completely.

What happens to our processes and customizations?

You describe what your processes do today, the way you would explain it to a colleague. nara builds forms, approvals and steps, tests them in a simulated run and only goes live after your approval. You don't need Perl extensions, add-ons or process files from OTRS or Znuny for this, and nara applies the updates, without an upgrade project. In February 2026, Znuny wrote that a new version often meant most users had to wait for their add-ons, and it changed its schedule for them. [17] If you like, we set up your processes together with you.

How long does the switch from OTRS or Znuny to nara take, and what does it cost?

Alongside OTRS or Znuny, nara is productive within one to two weeks. The full switch with ticket history, knowledge articles and assets takes about six weeks, and the migration comes at a fixed price. After that, the ITSM costs €2.50 per employee per month with every module, plus a [nara plan](/preise) from €1,500 per month. If your OTRS license contract is still running, you pay nothing for the ITSM until it ends, for up to 12 months.

Where does the information on OTRS and Znuny come from?

As of October 2026, last checked on 19 Oct 2026. Information comes from public sources of OTRS and Znuny. OTRS and ((OTRS)) are trademarks of EasyVista-OTRS GmbH or its affiliates. Znuny is a trademark of Znuny GmbH. Something out of date? Let us know through the [contact form](/unternehmen/kontakt).

nara or OTRS and Znuny

From OTRS or Znuny to nara, with your entire ticket history.

Q: Where does nara run, and where does it process data?

In our cloud in Germany; nara Edge carries out actions in your network, without open ports. For large enterprises, nara can run entirely in your own data center, AI included. nara is developed in Germany, AI processing takes place exclusively in the EU, and your data is not used for training.

Whether you run the ((OTRS)) Community Edition, Znuny or the current OTRS, nara runs alongside it within one to two weeks and replaces it in about six weeks, with tickets, knowledge articles and assets. From day one, the AI resolves requests itself, in Teams chat, by phone and right on the laptop. You set up processes in your own words, without building add-ons.

Book a meeting

Explore the ticket analysis

The difference in brief

OTRS, the service management system from EasyVista-OTRS GmbH, runs as a managed service, in Germany by default, or in your own data center. [1][2] Its AI assigns tickets, summarizes and suggests replies, designed to support service teams, per OTRS; the Pulse AI Conversations chat agent creates tickets and triggers actions. [4][18] Znuny has continued the ((OTRS)) Community Edition as open source since 2021. [5][6]

nara is an AI-native ITSM with every module in one price. The AI resolves requests in your systems and right on the device, and records every step in the ticket. nara runs alongside OTRS or Znuny within one to two weeks and replaces it in about six weeks, with your ticket history.

What OTRS and Znuny users need to plan for

End-of-support dates as stated by OTRS and Znuny, as of October 2026. The numbered sources are listed at the end of the page.

((OTRS)) Community Edition 6

No security updates after 1 January 2021; at the time, OTRS warned that using the software exposes you to a high security risk. [5] Today OTRS calls 6.x end of life, without official security fixes, and offers a move to the current OTRS with free migration consulting. [7]

Znuny 6.0 to 7.2

According to the roadmap, support for Znuny LTS 6.0 ended on 28 Mar 2023 and for Znuny 7.2 on 25 Mar 2026. [6] Security fixes now only come for the maintained versions LTS 6.5 and 7.3. [6]

Znuny LTS 6.5 and 7.3

Znuny 7.3 is maintained until the next 7.x release, LTS 6.5 until six months after the next LTS. [6]

OTRS on-premises and managed

On-premises, your IT applies patches itself, and OTRS lists Linux knowledge as a prerequisite; in the managed version, OTRS updates continuously. [2]

Comparison at a glance

Information on OTRS and Znuny comes from the vendors' public sources. The numbered sources are listed at the end of the page.

Feature

nara

AI-native ITSM

OTRS

As of October 2026

Znuny

As of October 2026

Ticket system, self-service portal, SLAs

Yes

Yes [8][9]

Yes [12][13]

Problem and change management, CMDB

Yes, CMDB with discovery and license management

Yes; up to 1,000 assets in Starter, unlimited in Pro [3][8][9]

Through ITSM packages; for changes, Znuny usually recommends a process instead of the change module [13]

Pricing

ITSM €2.50 per employee per month (€1.75 from the 1,001st), every module; nara plan from €1,500 per month

Per licensed user; Starter, Advanced and Pro packages plus extras; prices on request [3]

Software free; support from Znuny €4,250 to €24,900 per year, net [12][14]

What the AI does

Resolves requests itself, from request to closure; you decide what needs approval

Assigns tickets to a service category, summarizes, suggests replies; designed to support the team, per OTRS [4]. Pulse AI Conversations agent in chat: knowledge search, ticket creation, status queries, actions in the system [18]

Znuny-LLM add-on from 7.3: suggests queue, type, service and SLA, summarizes, rewrites text [15]

AI in the price

In the nara plan, language model included

Included in Advanced and Pro, per OTRS; used through AI credits, 12,000 of them in the Pro package, more credits and Pulse AI Enablement as extras [3][4]

Add-on free; you provide the language model and computing power, for example through Ollama [15]

Where requests come in

Teams chat, Teams calls, phone number, portal, email and app

Email, customer portal and omnichannel communication [9]; Pulse AI Conversations chat with a Microsoft Teams integration [18]

Email, phone, web portal, API and monitoring alerts [12]

Work on the device

The AI checks and fixes right on the device, through nara Edge on Windows, macOS and Linux

Technicians use EV Reach to start remote sessions, scripts and software deployment from the ticket; EV Reach user license in the Pro package [3][10]

Not mentioned on the product page [12]

Setting up processes

In your own words; nara builds, tests and goes live after your approval

BPMN process editor in the admin area; process and web service design as premium services [3][11]

Process editor in the admin area; ITSM features and extensions as packages [13]

Operation

Cloud in Germany; for large enterprises also entirely in your own data center, AI included

Managed with servers in Germany, or on-premises; AI services in Germany [2][4]

Self-hosted or hosted by Znuny [12]

Updates

Applied by nara, without an upgrade project

Managed: continuously by OTRS; on-premises: your IT applies patches [2]

Each 7.x version until the next; LTS 6.5 until six months after the next LTS; remote patch updates by Znuny in support from Gold, minor-version updates only in Platinum [6][14]

Getting started

Alongside OTRS or Znuny in 1–⁠2 weeks, full switch with ticket history in about 6 weeks

ITSM in days, not months, per OTRS; free migration consulting and a sandbox for Community Edition users [7][8]

Upgrades by following the guide or with help from Znuny [16]

Where nara, OTRS and Znuny overlap

On the ticket system and on data location, the three are close. The difference is who does the work.

A complete ticket system.

All three include a ticket system, self-service portal and SLAs. CMDB, problem and change management are part of OTRS; in Znuny they come through ITSM packages. [8][9][13] What your team runs along ITIL lines in OTRS or Znuny today also exists in nara.

Data in Germany.

In the managed version, OTRS stores data on servers in Germany by default, and according to OTRS its AI services run on infrastructure in Germany. [2][4] You can run Znuny entirely in-house, language model included. [15] nara runs in the cloud in Germany, and its AI runs exclusively in the EU; for large enterprises, nara can run entirely in your own data center, AI included.

Processes and automation.

OTRS and Znuny include a process editor where your team builds workflows from activities, dialogs and transitions. [11][13] nara automates workflows too, from request through approval to execution. With nara, you describe the workflow and the AI carries it out.

AI in the ticket.

OTRS with its AI services and Znuny with the Znuny-LLM add-on assign tickets or suggest where they belong, summarize conversations and help with replies. [4][15] nara does that as well. Then it goes on to resolve the request itself.

Where nara leads

The AI resolves the request.

An employee needs access to their team's shared mailbox. nara gets the manager's approval in Teams, grants the permission in Exchange and closes the ticket. You decide which steps need approval, and every action is logged in the ticket. OTRS's AI assigns tickets, summarizes them and suggests replies; according to OTRS, it is meant to support service teams, not replace them. [4]

Requests arrive through Teams and by phone.

Employees message nara in Teams chat, call it in Teams or dial a normal phone number. On the phone, nara recognizes the caller and unlocks an account or resets a password during the call. Anyone who prefers a person presses 0. OTRS names email, the customer portal and omnichannel communication as its channels, and connects its Pulse AI Conversations chat to Microsoft Teams. [9][18]

Explore nara in Teams

The AI works on the device.

If the printer stops printing, nara checks the print service and driver on the laptop through nara Edge, restarts the service or reinstalls the driver and logs the result in the ticket. nara Edge runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and also distributes software and patches. When a person should take over, your team has remote control from the ticket too. With OTRS, technicians start remote sessions, scripts and software deployment from the ticket with EV Reach. [10]

Explore nara Edge

Processes in your own words.

You describe a workflow the way you would explain it to a colleague, for example onboarding with HR and procurement. nara builds the form, approvals and steps, tests them in a simulated run and only goes live after your approval. In OTRS, your team models processes in the BPMN process editor and deploys them. [11] OTRS offers process design and web service design as premium services. [3]

Explore all processes

How to switch from OTRS or Znuny

Weeks 1 to 2: nara works alongside.

nara takes requests in Teams, by phone and by email, resolves them and documents every case in OTRS or Znuny. Your team keeps working as usual and sees what nara takes on.

By week 6: the move, with your history.

We move tickets with their history, knowledge articles and assets from OTRS or Znuny, including the ((OTRS)) Community Edition. You describe your processes in your own words, and nara rebuilds them. The migration comes at a fixed price.

Then: switch off the old system.

Patches, upgrades and add-on upkeep for OTRS or Znuny go away. If your OTRS license contract is still running, you pay nothing for the nara ITSM until it ends, for up to 12 months.

Your OTRS tickets show what nara takes on.

With read access to your ticket history in OTRS or Znuny, we show within one to two weeks which requests nara handles from day one and how much time your team gets back.

Explore the ticket analysis

Product view: example ticket analysis with around 35,000 tickets. For the five most frequent topics it shows whether nara resolves them itself, with approval or only after another connection.

What OTRS and Znuny cost

OTRS licenses per user in the Starter, Advanced and Pro packages, with prices on request. According to OTRS, the AI is included in Advanced and Pro and runs on monthly AI credits that are not carried over automatically, 12,000 in Pro. [3][4]

Znuny is free; support costs €4,250 (Silver), €9,999 (Gold) or €24,900 (Platinum) per year, net, with an unlimited number of agents. [12][14]

nara: ITSM at €2.50 per employee per month (€1.75 from the 1,001st employee) with every module and unlimited IT agents, plus a nara plan from €1,500 per month, plus migration at a fixed price per quote. All prices exclude VAT. If your OTRS license contract is still running, you pay nothing for the ITSM until it ends, for up to 12 months.

Questions about nara, OTRS and Znuny

Yes. nara includes a ticket system, self-service portal, service catalog, problem and change management, SLAs with queues and escalation, email-to-ticket, CMDB with discovery, license management, client management and a knowledge base, every module in one price. There is also an AI that resolves requests itself in Teams, by phone and on the device.
OTRS's AI services automatically assign new tickets to a service category, summarize conversations and suggest replies. OTRS runs them with BOTfriends on infrastructure in Germany and describes them as support for service teams, not a replacement. [4] OTRS also describes Pulse AI Conversations, an AI agent for chat with a Microsoft Teams integration: it searches the knowledge base and external sources, creates tickets, answers status questions and triggers actions in the system. [18] For Znuny, the free Znuny-LLM add-on has been available since July 2026: it suggests queue, type, service and SLA, summarizes tickets, rewrites subject lines and text and drafts FAQ articles from resolved tickets. Agents rate the suggested classification field by field, thumbs up or down. You provide the language model yourself, for example through Ollama or Azure OpenAI. [15] With nara, the AI resolves the request itself, within the approvals you set.
You describe what your processes do today, the way you would explain it to a colleague. nara builds forms, approvals and steps, tests them in a simulated run and only goes live after your approval. You don't need Perl extensions, add-ons or process files from OTRS or Znuny for this, and nara applies the updates, without an upgrade project. In February 2026, Znuny wrote that a new version often meant most users had to wait for their add-ons, and it changed its schedule for them. [17] If you like, we set up your processes together with you.
Alongside OTRS or Znuny, nara is productive within one to two weeks. The full switch with ticket history, knowledge articles and assets takes about six weeks, and the migration comes at a fixed price. After that, the ITSM costs €2.50 per employee per month with every module, plus a nara plan from €1,500 per month. If your OTRS license contract is still running, you pay nothing for the ITSM until it ends, for up to 12 months.

Sources

otrs.com, legal notice of EasyVista-OTRS GmbH, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
otrs.com, OTRS On-Premise & Managed Comparison, updated 9 Oct 2026.
otrs.com, How to Buy, updated 6 Oct 2026.
otrs.com, Artificial Intelligence, with FAQ on the OTRS AI Services, updated 8 Sep 2026.
otrs.com, release note “Attention! Security risk with OTRS 6!”, 23 Dec 2020.
znuny.org, roadmap with lifecycle table, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
otrs.com, ((OTRS)) Community Edition, updated 22 Jun 2026.
otrs.com, IT Service Management, updated 19 Mar 2026.
otrs.com, OTRS product page, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
otrs.com, Remote IT Support, updated 20 Apr 2026, and EV Reach connector, updated 17 Mar 2026.
academy.otrs.com, Administration Manual, Process Management, 9 Jan 2026.
znuny.com, product page, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
doc.znuny.org, ITSM Features and Process Management, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
znuny.com, Support, retrieved 13 Oct 2026.
znuny.com, blog post “Znuny-LLM Add-on”, 19 Jun 2026.
znuny.com, blog post “Znuny 7.3 Release”, 25 Mar 2026.
znuny.com, blog post on the new release and add-on schedule (German), 24 Feb 2026.
academy.otrs.com, OTRS AI Services course, lessons on Pulse AI Conversations (teaser, 24 Apr 2026, and tutorial, 18 May 2026).

From OTRS or Znuny to nara, with your entire ticket history.

The difference in brief

What OTRS and Znuny users need to plan for

Comparison at a glance

Where nara, OTRS and Znuny overlap

Where nara leads

How to switch from OTRS or Znuny

Your OTRS tickets show what nara takes on.

What OTRS and Znuny cost

Questions about nara, OTRS and Znuny

Is nara an alternative to OTRS and Znuny?

When did the OTRS Community Edition end, and what does that mean for us?

What is the successor to the OTRS Community Edition?

What can the AI in OTRS and Znuny do?

We just updated OTRS or Znuny. Do we still need nara?

What happens to our processes and customizations?

How long does the switch from OTRS or Znuny to nara take, and what does it cost?

Where does nara run, and where does it process data?

Where does the information on OTRS and Znuny come from?

Sources

Switch with your entire ticket history.