ConnectWise Automate vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

The compared ConnectWise and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. ConnectWise is ranked #10 in RMM , and holds a 7.7% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #7 in SM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 5.2% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of ConnectWise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

ConnectWise Automate

Read 15 ConnectWise Automate reviews

1,953 Views
1,152 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Read 82 Microsoft Configuration Manager reviews

11,776 Views
1,884 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

ConnectWise Automate

Microsoft Configuration Man...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ConnectWise Automate and Microsoft Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Kaseya, NinjaOne, N-able and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM).

To learn more, read our detailed Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

July 2025

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Helped 864,155 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

ConnectWise Automate

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (10th)

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (7th), Configuration Management (4th), Patch Management (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ConnectWise Automate is designed for Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and holds a mindshare of 7.7%, down 9.1% compared to last year.
Microsoft Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Server Monitoring, holds 5.2% mindshare, down 7.7% since last year.

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

MikeChacker

IT Manager Global Service Delivery at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Facilitates valuable patch cycles, but the web client is not very intuitive and needs updating, and the scripting has room for improvement

The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive. It could use some updating and some thought around the UX. Also, with the scripting, I would like to see something where it could have third-party scripts already pre-built, and all you have to do is say, "Hey, I need this," and go load it. It's not as automated as I'd like it to be.

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MikeNelson2

IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government

Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements

While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This product saves us a lot of time and increases our efficiency."

"The most value we get from this solution is that everything is on a patch cycle."

"A good automated scripts feature."

"The initial setup is easy and the deployment is quick."

"Maybe they could improve the capability to be multi-tenant."

"It allows us to manage all client requests, jobs and invoicing."

"It is very scalable."

"The database is great. It's a nicely ordered database."

More ConnectWise Automate pros

"SCCM is a stable solution."

"It lets you know what your infrastructure is like and what state you are in."

"We have found the scalability to be quite good."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is it's incredibly simple to configure and execute changes in bulk, allowing for seamless deployment. With this solution, you can easily track the status of all modifications and send them with ease, making it a comprehensive and efficient solution for any necessary adjustments."

"The product is useful for patch management."

"The dashboards have information about our assets."

"The most valuable feature is the graphical-based reports of software updates that have been successful, the ones that have failed, and a summary of where the failures are what security breaches may occur."

"It is easy to install, and quick to deploy."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"Their support needs to be better."

"Scheduling of automation could be improved and made more simple."

"I have a problem with the reports available on the solution. I don't understand how to work with the reporting functionality. For example, when I want to give a report for a specific machine, ConnectWise doesn't seem to have this as an option. I'm not sure if I'm missing something, or if the reporting functionality is just poorly conceived."

"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back. It is a little frustrating when we have to wait for a couple of days. A lot of times, the issue is critical for us. If we're reaching out to their support team and submitting a ticket, it is because we need it handled quickly."

"This is a raw system. Of course, it has some flaws that could be improved. But, it's something that we will have to work with to get to the point where we need this, we request it and they do their best to make it happen."

"Technical support was helpful."

"Patching and reporting need improvements, especially reporting. The reporting engine is quite outdated, so you end up having to use your own dashboard."

"The project management needs improvement and there's a section of the product called configuration that also needs to be improved."

More ConnectWise Automate cons

"The configuration of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager could be improved, it is a bit complicated."

"In spite of us being a premier customer we find the support unsatisfactory."

"They need to improve the support for the Mac operating system."

"We'd like the solution to make it easier to manage remote users."

"I want the system to provide some dependency relations. I would also like to see the relationship between different machines."

"It would be better if automation options were available. For example, in Nexthink or SysTrack, there is an analytical tool. Creating dashboards would be very easy if you implement the same thing in Microsoft. That report will be a daily cost to the customers and good revenue for our organization. The price also could be better. In the next release, we need to include some features like tables, dashboards, surveys, services, and metrics in the dashboard. Whatever we are implementing will be downloaded by a report. Apart from the report, we will telecast from the dashboard. It's very easy to compare, and it will be easy to telecast to the end-users."

"The TSM component could be improved."

"The product needs to improve scalability."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."

"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."

"I believe Automate is available for around $2."

"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."

"The license price could be reduced for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager They should make the price more affordable for smaller companies, most companies would be able to use the solution if it was priced better. There are more people on this cloud because you don't have to have either a server room or an on-premise server. You can have one IT person handle this without any local infrastructure."

"The price is competitive and reasonable."

"The price could be better."

"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."

"The price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is expensive."

"Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers."

"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."

"When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Performing Arts

Healthcare Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the set up will take depends on the kind of technical architecture that your org...

See all answers

How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?

ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...

See all answers

What do you like most about SCCM?

One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages efficiently and deploy them to specific groups within our network. This streamlined ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 29% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Atera vs ConnectWise Automate

Compared 8% of the time

ConnectWise Asio Platform vs ConnectWise Automate

Compared 3% of the time

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 13% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 9% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ConnectWise Automate

July 2025

Download ConnectWise Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

July 2025

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

LabTech for IT Service Providers, ConnectWise Automate for Corporate IT Departments, ConnectWise Automate for IT Service Providers

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )

Overview

ConnectWise Automate is an IT management tool that helps deliver IT services at the speed of business. Our remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform provides powerful automation to discover & manage devices, monitor for problems, and automate action. Deliver streamlined reactive and proactive managed services, stop putting out fires, and start focusing on what matters most. See why over 5,500 partners worldwide chose ConnectWise Automate by visiting ConnectWise.com or calling 877-522-8323.

ConnectWise

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

I-M Technology, Mainstay Technologies, PC Works Plus, Integrity IT, Kerkhoff Technologies Inc., Marathon Consulting, Christenberry Sales Company, EDTS, Secom Technology, Ready to View, ARRC Technology, DaVinci Digital, JNR Networks, Quinn Technology Solutions, PCIT, Liberty Technology, Capital Computers & Networks, Atlanta Technology Force, Doberman Technologies, First Column Enterprises, CisCom Solutions

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Buyer's Guide

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

July 2025

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