SCOM Reviews

Name: SCOM
Brand: Microsoft
Rating: 3.9 (83 reviews)

3.9 out of 5

83 reviews
86% willing to recommend

What is SCOM?

SCOM (System Center Operations Manager) is a cross-platform data center monitoring and reporting tool that checks the status of various objects defined within the environment, such as server hardware, system services, etc. The solution allows data center administrators to deploy, configure, manage, and monitor the operations, services, devices and applications of multiple enterprise IT systems via a single pane of glass. It is suitable for businesses of all sizes.

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SCOM is the #5 ranked solution in top Event Monitoring solutions and #15 ranked solution in best Network Monitoring Tools. PeerSpot users give SCOM an average rating of 7.8 out of 10. SCOM is most commonly compared to Zabbix: SCOM vs Zabbix. SCOM is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 64% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 13% of all views.

Helped 865,140 peers since 2012

Featured SCOM reviews

MarcMermuys

ICT System Administrator at College of Europe

We use SCOM to configure different monitors using several management packs. It integrates systems like Active Directory and correlates them, and it is used for monitoring and managing systems SCOM allows integration of several systems, providing correlation between different systems such as…

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GaneshRp

Senior Manager - Monitoring & Observability at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

One of the good features is the inbuilt reporting in SCOM. It has a reporting tool where you can fetch the performance data and have historical data. By default, SCOM has a data warehouse, so all the data is collected and stored there, and you can use it for future analysis. That is one of the features. And apart from that, we have the web console. You don't need to have the thick client installed on your laptop. You can just go to the web console URL and see the HTML dashboards and live alerts. You can even see the live data and live performance data, the graphical view of the current performance of your application.

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Mohamed Tantawy

IT Technical Support Deputy General Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The product's availability reports are valuable because they provide feedback on service stability. If a service isn't stable, the team focuses on maintenance or looks for alternative solutions They could provide better dashboards, detailed logs, and reports crucial for monitoring services in…

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SCOM mindshare

Product category:

As of August 2025, the mindshare of SCOM in the Event Monitoring category stands at 9.5%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Event Monitoring

PeerResearch reports based on SCOM reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Event Monitoring	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	SCOM vs ServiceNow IT Operations Management	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	SCOM vs OpsRamp	Aug 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	SCOM vs BMC TrueSight Operations Management	Aug 17, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Zabbix	4.2	N/A	95%	107 interviews Add to research
Datadog	4.3	N/A	97%	188 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

SCOM showcases extensive capabilities in monitoring Microsoft products and other technologies. Users value its reporting, dashboards, and flexibility with custom monitoring solutions. The integration with Active Directory enhances management, while real-time alerts and comprehensive management packs streamline operations. Its ease of deployment and configuration, paired with threshold notifications, provide efficient infrastructure oversight, including application and network monitoring. The seamless integration with third-party tools and Azure supports scalable solutions for enterprise systems.

"The most valuable feature of SCOM is its monitoring capability, and we have integrated SCOM with Grafana, which is a dashboarding tool."
"Setting up SCOM is straightforward and takes about an hour as long as you have all your firewalls and DNS settings in place."
"SCOM provides alerting capabilities and threshold settings, which are helpful for monitoring."

Room for Improvement

SCOM faces issues with high licensing costs, weak dashboards, and limited non-Microsoft application support. Reporting is complex, requiring customization. There's difficulty in monitoring non-domain systems, and false positives are common due to configuration challenges. Management packs need improvement, as does the integration with third-party systems. The user interface is cumbersome, lacking intuitive design and cross-platform support. Additionally, its ability to handle cloud, big data, and container monitoring is lacking, and application performance management features need enhancement.

"We believe that the dashboarding in SCOM needs to be improved or enhanced because it is not too expressive in reporting."
"SCOM is likely to be phased out in favor of more compatible tools like Icinga for application monitoring or when moving to cloud solutions like CloudWatch and Azure."
"SCOM is not as straightforward in terms of user interface or general experience, which could be improved."

ROI

SCOM provides a significant ROI by enabling efficient infrastructure monitoring and proactive issue management. Many users highlight reduced penalties and enhanced SLA compliance due to minimized downtime. Centralized data-center monitoring leads to effective issue escalation. Licensing challenges are addressed when utilizing multiple Microsoft System Center components. Some organizations are unable to quantify the ROI, yet they benefit from improved control and reduced costs. A few encounter latency issues that affect perceived benefits.

Pricing

Enterprise buyers report mixed experiences with SCOM's pricing, licensing, and setup costs. Many find it cost-effective due to inclusion in Microsoft Enterprise Agreements. Others note complexities in licensing based on agents installed and rely on Microsoft for accurate calculations. SCOM is often bundled with the System Center suite, reducing individual costs. Some users benefit from additional discounts or free setups tied to existing Microsoft agreements, while others compare SCOM unfavorably to cheaper or open-source alternatives.

"The platform is cost-effective due to our existing Microsoft support."
"It is the cheapest product available in the market."
"SCOM's pricing is average."

Popular Use Cases

Primary use cases of SCOM include monitoring Linux and Windows systems, network devices, hardware, and infrastructure in Microsoft environments. Users use it for server performance tracking, application monitoring, reporting, and analytics. It integrates with third-party dashboards, supports virtual environments, and handles endpoint management. SCOM is employed for service availability and proactive system health checks, alerting users to issues across diverse sectors and industries.

Service and Support

Microsoft's customer service and support for SCOM receive positive feedback. Users note prompt, professional attention, especially with Microsoft Premier agreements. Technical support often resolves complex issues quickly, guided by knowledgeable personnel. However, experiences vary with occasional limitations. Users frequently rely on community resources like TechNet and forums for additional insights, highlighting the importance of Premier agreements for more effective support. Some users report sluggish responses and prefer hands-on assistance or alternative services for faster resolutions.

Deployment

SCOM's initial setup is often described as straightforward, especially when documentation and best practices are followed. Some users find it complex due to prerequisites like TCP ports and resource allocations. The process is simplified if preliminary work is done, but configuring and tuning alerts presents challenges. Deployment duration varies depending on environment size, ranging from a few days to several weeks. Users appreciate available guidance but note that complex configurations require significant attention and experience.

Scalability

SCOM is known for its capability to increase in size efficiently. Users can incorporate additional management servers or resources, facilitating easy growth. The architecture supports numerous devices and servers, though monitoring non-Microsoft systems can prove challenging. Challenges arise with specific configurations, such as extensive network devices monitoring. Nonetheless, users often commend SCOM for its flexibility in adapting capacity, scalability potential, and suitable nature for large enterprises with good monitoring expansion.

Stability

SCOM demonstrates strong reliability with most users experiencing stability and no major issues. Some mention that it depends on the infrastructure and design choices, with challenges arising from hypervisors, SQL servers, or outdated versions. Occasionally, users encounter minor glitches during maintenance or scaling, but correct configurations typically ensure smooth operation. Proper resource allocation and maintenance such as periodic updates and patching can contribute significantly to maintaining reliability. Users frequently acknowledge SCOM's robust nature.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our SCOM Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Retailer

Insurance Company

Energy/Utilities Company

University

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

Hospitality Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Construction Company

Non Profit

Media Company

Legal Firm

Comms Service Provider

Transportation Company

Logistics Company

Outsourcing Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Consumer Goods Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Security Firm

Compare SCOM with alternative products

Learn more about SCOM

SCOM Features

SCOM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Application monitoring
Database monitoring
Threshold alerts
IT Asset Discovery
Predictive capabilities
Server usage monitoring and capacity forecasting
Application performance management console
Server availability and performance monitoring
Collaboration tools
Virtualization monitoring
Patch management
Out-of-the box templates to monitor applications
Application dependency mapping and thresholding

SCOM Benefits

There are several benefits to implementing SCOM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Management and monitoring of Windows as well as Unix/Linux platforms
Remotely connect to Windows machines and perform administrative tasks from the console itself
Custom dashboard creation to help monitor the datacenter with ease
Agent based monitoring
Integrates well with other Microsoft products
Easy to use and reliable

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the SCOM solution.

A Manager at a financial services firm says, “The feature I like most about SCOM is that it is easy-to-use. I find it very user-friendly. I also like the knowledge base which it has. You can find the resolution to questions or issues directly within the SCOM itself. It will alert you with a recommendation of what you need to do at the same time. This sort of self-diagnosis or prompting is one of the great values you get from SCOM compared to other solutions.”

PeerSpot user Zahari Z., Information Technology Auditor at a financial services firm, mentions, “Availability monitoring is the feature I have found most valuable, as well as the capacity and ability to send notifications. There is a mechanism to set up a notification from the SCOM and whenever there is a drop in the availability the notification alerts not only for availability but for other issues as well. You can align thresholds according to the speed of your environment and you can have a threshold related notification, which is one of the useful features.”

Bill W., Sr. Systems Engineer at Arapahoe County Government, comments, “ I like some of their newer features, such as maintenance schedules, because SCOM records SLA and SLO time. When we patch, things are automatically put into maintenance mode so that the numbers for our systems being down, do not count against us.”

A Project Manager at a tech services company explains, “The feature I have found most valuable is the book feature. While we run the Sprint one we can add some setups for multiple sprints.”

A Systems Engineer at an educational organization states, “Because it's Windows-based, it actually reports quite well. It reports everything you can think of on the Windows server and allows you to monitor anything. It's excellent for those in the Windows world as it's very good at it.”

SCOM was previously known as System Center Operations Manager, SCOM 2012.