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Azure Bastion vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
Azure Bastion offers significant savings and seamless infrastructure automation, though some users don't see specific cost or time benefits.
Sentiment score
7.1
Quest KACE streamlines operations, saving time and resources, offering quick ROI and enhancing productivity through efficient patch management and automation.
We have noticed savings of approximately twenty percent by using Azure Bastion compared to VM pricing.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Azure Bastion's customer service is efficient and patient, with positive ratings, though some improvements are needed in data transfer.
Sentiment score
7.8
Quest KACE support is praised for responsiveness, knowledgeable staff, and effective problem-solving, with minor ticket resolution time issues.
Support is satisfactory but with room for improvement, primarily concerning data transfer issues.
We usually get backup within two hours.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Azure Bastion offers scalability for extensive use but lacks customization, meeting diverse organizational needs with varying user exploration.
Sentiment score
7.2
Quest KACE scales efficiently, managing up to 10,000 endpoints, and adapts to expansions with simple resource additions and licensing.
It is designed to provide access over a private network without hitting the internet.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Azure Bastion is praised for stability and performance, with minimal issues, especially in North America, ensuring long-term reliability.
Sentiment score
7.9
Quest KACE SMA is reliable with minimal downtime, regular updates improve functionality, but frequent updates may need attention.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Bastion users face data retrieval costs, limited functionality, browser issues, and call for improved protocol speed and AI support.
Quest KACE struggles with scalability, automation, usability, imaging, customization, and support, while needing improved licensing, reporting, and integration.
A storage solution must be created to transfer data, and this requires additional permissions like ACL or NFS.
I would like to see integrated AI features with Azure Bastion, especially for connectivity issues.
It would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote Desktop emulation.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

Azure Bastion's pricing reflects its high-quality security, starting at $150/month, suitable for enterprises despite competitive alternatives.
Quest KACE SMA offers competitive pricing with per-device licensing, valued for comprehensive features and ROI for large organizations.
Microsoft's pricing is on the higher side and could be more competitive.
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
 

Valuable Features

Azure Bastion offers secure VM access with Azure AD integration, avoiding public IPs, supporting scripting, and infrastructure as code.
Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance streamlines asset management, deployment, and IT tracking, enhancing productivity with automation and integration tools.
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a jump server by providing secure access to servers without hitting the public network.
The security is the main reason we use Azure Bastion because it is integrated with Azure Active Directory, ensuring that access is secure.
We use Azure AD integration to specify who has access and what they can do.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Bastion
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (24th), Microsoft Security Suite (19th)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (6th), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Patch Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) category, the mindshare of Azure Bastion is 2.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

Aladin Steiner - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good scalability and provides secure access to the virtual machines
The product improved the security posture of our organization. We don’t have open ports and connect them to servers using it. We can carry out two-factor authentication to protect the devices with conditional access features. It would be nice to have a feature to copy and paste the files into servers. I rate the product a nine out of ten.
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion makes it easy to provide quick virtual machine access to our customers.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Bastion?
The price is not necessarily cheaper, but it is acceptable. We are satisfied with the licensing on a yearly basis.
What needs improvement with Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion does its job. However, it would be nice to have the capability to cut and paste across desktops, similar to old-fashioned Remote ( /products/remote-reviews ) Desktop emulation. I am u...
What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?
My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface and lacks a manual configuration option.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Bastion vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.