BigFix Reviews

We're using it for Windows patching and inventory. We are totally dependent on BigFix for these tasks.

Almost every feature is wonderful in BigFix. It is very stable, and we can rely on it. It is an awesome tool.

It can be improved speed-wise. They can make it a little bit light. If you do any query for servers in bulk, it can take some time. Similarly, creating a job can take some time. 

Automation is everything, and we're looking for more automation. If we have different jobs to secure the environment, such as with server hardening, and I want a particular service that is not running, BigFix should automatically check it and do the deployment. It can send a message about why a particular job is not working on the servers or not communicating properly with Active Directory. We should be able to check the reason. We just want just a little bit of monitoring in that area.

I have been using this solution for more than three years.

It is very stable. You can trust and rely on an automated job. It will definitely work. You get a proper message if it is not working for any particular reason. It gives you a complete picture.

It is definitely scalable. We are managing around 20,000 servers with it, and we have more than 100 users. We are providing web report access to application users as well. We create a job and provide access to different teams, such as the monitoring team, backup team, and security team to deploy the job. So, it is definitely scalable.

I have personally worked with them because I request them to create access for all my colleagues. If required, I log a case in BigFix. Earlier the support was very good for BigFix, but now, HCL is facing some challenges. We are getting support, but we need more in that area. Their support was much better as compared to this time.

I have not worked with a similar solution previously. We purchased Tanium
two to three years ago. It is being used by a different team, but we are still using BigFix. We want to replace BigFix, but we are not able to because we are more comfortable with it. So, we are continuing with BigFix.

It is very easy. It is simple to understand. Even though I had requested training for BigFix, I would have been able to work with it without training.

Its price is very reasonable.

I have been recommending BigFix to my friends and different companies. We are very happy with BigFix. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten. It is an excellent product, but there is always room for improvement.

I have used BigFix for patch management, compliance for security, and inventory OS deployment to software.

The most valuable feature of BigFix is the software deployment.

The solution could improve by adding support drivers for different systems and equipment. When you have a lot of different computers if they could fix how to install any updates, firmware, or drivers for different systems or servers it would be good.

In an upcoming release, they should add database support included and deliver the solution as a cloud service similar to the services on Microsft Azure.

I have been using BigFix for approximately 10 years.

BigFix is extremely stable.

I have found BigFix to be highly scalable. BigFix can be used on 10 computers, 10,000 and 1,000,000 computers. It doesn't matter the number of computers.

We have approximately 50 people using this solution in my organization. We use the solution daily.

BigFix is suitable for both SMB and enterprise customers.

The support from BigFix is excellent.

I rate the support from BigFix a five out of five.

I have used other similar solutions previously. The main difference between the other solutions and BigFix is you can do more for a lesser price with BigFix. You can do more with less effort to get it up and work properly. Its broader support for different OS systems.

I rate the implementation difficulty of BigFix a five out of five.

If you choose, for example, Microsoft SSM Configuration Manager, you need a lot of servers, databases, and the configuration of firewalls, et cetera. It's a tremendous cost before you get up and running. With BigFix, in 10 to 15 minutes, you're up and running. Everything is working well.

The price of BigFix is better than the solutions. You are able to pay monthly or annually. There are not any hidden costs with BigFix. There is an additional cost for the SQL database.

I rate the price of BigFix a five out of five.

I would recommend this solution to others. I would advise others the solutions are suitable for small to medium-sized companies, and enterprises.

I rate BigFix a ten out of ten.

We are a global security and cloud integrator, and we are also a reseller with a capability of up to 69 brands, but we're not married to anybody. Our goal is to give customers exactly what they need based on the scenario. We build everything that we sell. So, we have a large distribution partner that enables us to resell a lot of things. We definitely and always see what's hot in the market, and we are constantly reviewing technologies.

Patching and mobile device management are probably two of the biggest use cases of BigFix. 

In terms of the version, some of the clients have the latest version. BigFix is not a subscription as a service. It is not a SaaS model. It is an on-prem model for infrastructure teams to manage folks through the web or through the network, and it is not provided as a service. There is no open-source capability, so it doesn't really have an ecosystem around it. It's basically sold to clients for specific use.

For security these days, patching is obviously mission-critical. If you leave something unpatched, the vulnerability is easily found by the adversary, so that's critical. 

Mobile device management is also critical from the security aspect. BigFix is useful in scenarios where if a device is lost, you can disable it, and you can wipe it. All the company data that is available is completely encrypted, and it is basically illegible or not usable. People even have BigFix Mobile that they put on phones and other peripheral devices. You are basically putting a wrapper around the applications that are company applications in the bring your own device (BYOD) scenario.

It is for multiple use cases. A lot of people are looking at it just for security, and that's really endpoint security. The endpoint management part of it in terms of being able to constantly do patching for Windows, Unix, macOS, Cloud, Raspberry, VMware, and all Linux flavors is important, and they are very good at that. They have support for virtually every OS on the market.

A lot of people also use it for infrastructure value. HCL has changed the focus a little bit because it was originally looked at as a pure security tool on the IBM side for mobile device security, but since HCL took it over, it has become more focused on other different components. They've created REST APIs for the cloud, and there is now a scripting language that's associated with it. So, there are more broad use cases because the industry requires that. They also have their own development tool in BigFix.

HCL is India-based, and they've done a good job with BigFix, and they're also able to deliver the software at a lower price now. The integration is better with other security and vulnerability management tools. To remediate endpoint issues that are out there, they integrate with Tenable, Qualys, and others. So, you can manage all of your patches and fixes through one platform, even for all cloud services, which is a good thing. 

Training is obviously important, and HCL has done a better job than IBM at making that training available. Usually, there are different ways to do that, such as through video or self-service, etc.

I remember doing restarts a few times. So, making sure that it is rock solid from an executable perspective is important.

I have been working with all kinds of security tools, including this one, since 2001 or so. It has been 21 years.

We have interacted with them. They've been good and better probably in BigFix than some of the other tools that they acquired in that IBM divestiture. 

It is pretty easy to implement.

I would rate it an eight out of ten. It does everything reasonably well. There are so many competitors who do just one piece of this, or they're not really head-up competitors because some are into mobile security, and some are more into mobile endpoint management and patching.

We use BigFix for deploying applications for updating, setting up configurations, making modifications, or customizing Windows. For example, what are the applications that need to run, and what configure is needed.

The most valuable point is when you deploy an application, you have to make sure that the application has been deployed to all computers and that is working perfectly. This solution works well at deployments. 

Other solutions can have failures, such as ManageEngine, and you have to deploy the application again. In BigFix, once the computer has communicated with the BigFix server, the agent workstation, you can be sure that the application will be deployed and delivered properly.

Sometimes the workstations communicate back to the BigFix server two or three days in a week or something similar. Sometimes there can be a delay reporting back to the server for a variety of reasons, such as users turning their computer off when they go home. When the user comes back and turns the computer back on BigFix needs to synchronize and sometimes it can take some time, approximately one week. The communication between the agent and the server should be faster, there is room for improvement in this area.

I have been using BigFix for approximately two years.

BigFix is reliable and stable, it is perfect.

Performance-wise is the best. When you have to do deployments you are sure that all the workstations will receive it, even though that there is sometimes a delay in reporting back to the server. The only time the deployment would not work is if the computer is decommissioned or not available.

BigFix is simple to scale, we are using the solution regularly. We use it every other week whenever we have meetings, we rely on it.

We have approximately 10 technicians and 3,000 users who receive a patch or use the solution in some way.

We have not had any big issues that would need the support. However, we did have some minor issues and the support was good and responsive.

I have used ManageEngine previously.

In my usage, I have found BigFix is more professional than ManageEngine. The reason that I'm saying this is when you deploy an application, you are sure and you are guaranteed that all workstations will receive it. However, for the ManageEngine, for some reason, you will find it may fail for 13 workstations. You might have to redeploy again, otherwise, you have to do it manually.

One of the positives of ManageEngine is it can be easy for users to deploy an application compared to BigFix.

The deployment process of BigFix was straightforward. You need to have a small number of programming skills or scripting skills to complete it. If you have skills, it is very easy to deploy. For somebody who's experienced, and has knowledge of some programming or scripting skills, it's very easy.

There were approximately three people, the vendors, and our technical teams that did the implementation.

BigFix requires specific maintenance, whenever there is a new release we manage it.

You are charged per server and per workstation when using BigFix. ManageEngine is a lot cheaper than BigFix. There are some additional costs, such as support.

I recommend BigFix as long as they have the budget. If they don't have that much money, they can use ManageEngine, which is satisfying for small and medium companies. For example, companies that have 250 computers. I have used ManageEngine at companies that had multiple locations. You can use some ManageEngine on one central location and then deploy it to all your branch offices.

I rate BigFix a nine out of ten.

We use the HCL BigFix solution to provide patch-, software- and OS-image distribution services for our customers. In addition endpoint solution avcurat software, ILMT and hardware inventory. Since BigFix is base on the principle of pull, not push the administrators can afford precise information in real time about the status of distribution of patches and software.

The BigFix console deliver an excellent overview of all endpoints, and tasks and fixlets to be done. You do not need to click through an endless numbers of wysiwigs, one by one - With BigFix you can create dynamics group with thousands of endoints, selected by an excact numbers of criteria. When you need to do many tasks and distribute many patches at once, BigFix gives you the opurutnity to create baselinesr where you ochestras tasks to be fone to be performed in a specific order.

BigFix is base on the principle if something is relevant or not. The systems works more or less like an complex database the sends small messeges to endpoint and ask them to report back to the server. If a given condition is true, them it's relevant and server will ask the client to something It's simple as that. Therefore, BigFix is extrempower solution when it supports more than 90 diffferent OS. The system can manage whatever you you want!

"The heart of the Fixlet technology is the Relevance language that allows authors to interrogate the hardware and software properties of your managed clients using Inspectors. With the Relevance language, you can write expressions describing virtually any aspect of the client environment. Some Fixlets are simply designed to return Relevance information to the servers, but most of them suggest actions that can patch or update the client computer. The actions, in turn, also take advantage of Relevance expressions. Fixlet messages and Relevance expressions by themselves can only notify the user or the administrator. Actions, on the other hand, are specifically designed to modify the client, so there is a clear dividing line between a Relevance expression and its associated action - typically a human is required to deploy the action."

The support of other 3rd party ssytems could be better. ServiceNow is supported by BigFix - But there is a lot of other systems that BigFix could support and vice versa and make it even more powerful. With all the inventory information avout the osftware and hardware in the network of the organization - The BigFix database could be a very valuable source for other maniufactors and porviders of software and hardware.

I have been working with Bigfix for almost ten years where I use the it distribute patches and software for my customers. After a while, the Windows 7 and later Windows 10 clienent become very stable. From what I have learn, IBM and HCL who owned thd product, do an wxtra quality chack of the patches before the release them. Sometimes the team behind Bigfix discover need of patches that become recommended by Microsoft many years later.

The stability is great! We have not experienced any issues. 

The scalability is excellent!. The BigFix solution is organized like a pyramid with the main master server at top. From there BigFix use relays to distribute Fixlets and Tasks to the clients. You can organize your hierarchy to fit your organization. The number of endpoints should not pass 5000 clients pr. relay before you set up a new relay. The funnie matter of fact is that a relay can use workstation with a lot of disk space - It does need to be a Windows-server, it can also be a Linux server or a workstation. From my point of view, this is really remarkable, because how many endpoint management systems can handle everything from a small office with 10 computers to multitenant conglormerat with 300 000 endpoints with only one, yes 1 server? Waht you need at your backroom is a SQL-server that is able to handle all the data...

Technical support is above average, and in fact, I would say that they have superb support.

Like many other small IT-companies, I patch the clients manually or by Windows Update. When you get a lot of clients to be patched, it's impossible to do it manually. You need a tool to do the job and you need documentation what you have done and when. If patch goes wrong, you must be able to identify that one very wuick and removed before it do to much damage. With BigFix, you get control and you know excactly the status of patches. If you use tools like Microsoft InTune to do the patch job, it's like sending Voyager 2 to Pluto - It felles like the patch is lost in space and you never know if it will ever send information back home what happends. With BigFix, more than 90% of you patches will dsitrbuted at first try and report back home that they found a safe harbour.

The documentation is good. Follow the recommended configuration by HCL and you will be up and running very soon. It's pretty easy to set up with some knowledge. Be aware that DNS-isssues can be a challenge if the server is not visible at Internet by a public IP during the initial setup. The configuration at firewall can a challenge especially to get SQL-server vissible for the BigFix-server.

We mananged to do it by our self. 

Very high. In a short time, you will get your expenses paid back very shortly.

The licens price of the HCL BigFix is very fair. The challenge is the license of the MS SQL server. If you can handle DB2 - The DB2 database server that is included with BigFix is free to use. Because the MS SQL -server express cannot be used unless demo purposes, I recommend and SPLA license for the MS SQL server wich gives you the oppuritiny to connect an unlimited numbers of clients to the BigFix server. 

Other systems like Microsoft SCCM has been considered. The systems is too complex and require too many resources compared with BigFix. The BigFix server with the SQL server included could be running and on a singel portable workstation and mange the patch-management of ogf thousands of endpoint. How many SCCM do you need to do that? With Bigfix you can manage a small office with 10 clients as well as enterprise evirement with 250 000 endpoint with only one BigFix-server. 

BigFix is value for money - You get a simple, robust, dynamic and very powerful solution for a very reasonable price. Don't for get the hidden cost compared to other tool - How many ports do you need to configure by very expensive network assistant when running SCCM? With BigFix it's enough to open only one port. With BigFix you have a multitenant solution that make is possible for you as an service provider to use BigFix to manage many customers at the same time with same server, without setting up trust between different networks. Because BigFix has it's own secure comminication between the server and the clients.

The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory. The solution's reporting is very good in a single console.

The solution’s pricing could be improved.

We have been doing a POC for the last three months with BigFix's Evolution version.

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for stability.

Around 500 users are using the solution in our organization.

I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten for scalability.

Intune only supports Windows and does not support other platforms like Unix and Linux. On the other hand, BigFix supports all platforms.

The solution's initial setup is simple and not complex. I have done the full server installation and configuration thrice, and it's not complex.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing one out of ten.

Patch management is configured in existing endpoint computers. We are pushing the custom policy deployment in weekly patches, which require critical and important patches. Since it's a by-policy, it's pushed automatically. We have enabled the solution's remote endpoint management option, but we are primarily focussing on licensing hardware and software inventory.

BigFix's integration with our IT infrastructure was easy. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten.

We use the solution to push patches to our servers, primarily for desktop and server security updates.

We proved the endpoint's effective delivery of software updates and conducted a network inventory in BigFix. This significantly improved the completion status and generated reports on the percentage of patching immediately after Microsoft releases the patches. This report is easily available for our end-user computing platform.

Desktop patching is the most valuable feature, because with servers, we have complete control over them, and we can simply push patches to the servers. However, desktops are one of the most common sources of leakage, which can occur for different reasons if patches are not uploaded on time. We have significantly improved the desktop side of it. This includes endpoints such as laptops, desktops, and other mobile devices.

The deployment has room for improvement and can be more streamlined.

The automation has room for improvement.

I have been using the solution for one year.

I give the stability an eight out of ten.

I give the scalability an eight out of ten.

We previously used Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, but we switched because we could not have a complete schedule for a server to receive updates. We have a few other features in BigFix, such as managing network endpoints, discovering endpoints, and a scanner. All of these features are not available with Microsoft and Linux patching.

It is very important to use the solution effectively. In most installations, we deploy without configuring all the features and implementing them, so we do not gain much from it. Therefore, I think some automation processes can be adjusted to prevent the zero-rate thread.

The deployment phase was somewhat complex due to the need to open many firewalls within the network. Considering the large scale of the company, with fifty thousand employees around the world, I believe that in my previous job, we could have improved communication by reducing the number of ports required for the servers to communicate within the network.

We had a project manager assigned from the BigFix team who listed out all the requirements for effective communication to be established. However, the challenge of implementing BigFix in multiple countries and coordinating with multiple network teams in order to open the required communication between the firewalls was a seemingly hopeless task. If the application uses specific codes that are common in nature, typically those ports are already allowed in the network.

The deployment took us three months.

I give the pricing a seven out of ten. The cost is slightly high.

I give the solution an eight out of ten.

In the deployment phase, we need to get the firewall ports that are required and open ports to the Internet for the DNC-based servers to communicate and download patches. These tasks need to be taken care of during the deployment phase, as it will be very difficult to troubleshoot and fix things once they are implemented. Therefore, the deployment phase needs to be covered effectively. Thinking of the features at a later point in time will not solve all the problems.

When evaluating solutions, there were very few in the market that provided most of the security features. When we evaluated BigFix, it was the VMDR functionality that stood out compared to the others. We would have to use a piecemeal solution or multiple products to be configured in the system. The effectiveness of BigFix was secondary, but we at least had some basic information available regarding security, VMDR management, detection, and response.

The solution is being used for automation. We deploy the package as customized software, and we provide ad-hoc requests via BigFix.

The solution is deployed on the cloud, but it can also be installed on-premises.

The most valuable features are patch management, software installation, and asset management.

I would like the dashboard to be improved to show the problematic machines and good machines.

I have used BigFix for five years.

It's very stable.

We can scale up or down according to our needs.

Technical support is responsible and knowledgeable. They're supportive when we have any issue in the environment and require help from them.

We can troubleshoot the tool. If there are any major issues, we go to the support team for help.

I would rate technical support as five out of five.

The setup is easy. I would rate it as five out of five.

It requires maintenance every month. Only two or three people are needed for maintenance.

We used a third-party consultant.

BigFix is very easy to use. I have also used SCCM, but there were issues with the machine not restarting. There were many problems produced in the environment and in the agent. In BigFix, I haven't seen any issues with the agent. It works smoothly.

I would rate this solution as 10 out of 10.