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IBM MaaS360 vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
267
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
IBM MaaS360
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (9th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (6th)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (12th), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (17th), Patch Management (11th)
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
Bijay Kumar Swain - PeerSpot reviewer
Ability to segregate data, well-suited for medium enterprises and installation is quick
We have some challenges. If we look at the challenges we face in the market, there are a few products like Sophos, where there are features of MaaS360, and the IBM EDR product, ReaQta. So, there are features from both ReaQta and MaaS360 available in Sophos, as well as a few other products, which we have challenges in replacing. MaaS360 definitely caters to a few of the requirements, but when someone is going for a solution, all the features are not available in MaaS360. It is like a combo, MaaS360, and IBM ReaQta, that is, EDR, ReaQta. Both of them, together as a combo plan, actually offer a very good proposition in terms of market competitors. There are a few products like Sophos and another product which have features from both endpoint detection and response and mobile device management. Because we have two different products with those features, we face challenges in proposing a particular product for the client. It is like a marketing challenge. The way other competitor products are available in the market. So it is better to have a different positive team, but, again, to remain in competition and have better scalability. So, IBM needs to integrate a few features that the competitors have in their products. No doubt, this is a different product, MaaS360. We call it MDM. We call it endpoint mobile device management. Then we call it different names that MaaS360 falls into. But when we are talking about competitor products, to remain in the competition, you need to have features that others provide. IBM surely has those features in other products, but not in MaaS360. The only challenge was replacing already existing competitor products with MaaS360. So, that’s the only area where we struggle because they always come with those requirements that they are already getting in the competitor’s product, which is not available in IBM’s MaaS360. So this product lacks some features, like Unified Endpoint Management.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune is effective because of the configuration management and endpoint security it provides. The graphical interface makes it easier to configure and deploy devices."
"Autopilot is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is that it is more of a one-stop shop, providing an easier experience."
"I would say the biggest benefit is the single-pane view. There's no jumping around multiple UI's to do your overall management."
"One of the biggest advantages of Microsoft Intune is that it brings the management of Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and even Linux under a single pane of glass."
"The ability to switch between Affinity and non-Affinity enrollment is great."
"There has been a noticeable increase in productivity for both my organization and clients."
"A great solution for anyone wanting a modern endpoint device management solution."
"The product’s most valuable feature is email, browser, and application security."
"It is a stable solution that functions twenty-four hours and seven days a week."
"One valuable feature is the ability to provide a secure environment. Another is the kiosk mode where MaaS360 can be used over a tablet or mobile device to ensure that a single application is used."
"The best feature is the ability to control mobile phones, wipe and containerize the data, and keep employees' work data separate from personal data."
"It can change policies based on geolocation or schedules."
"The most valuable features of IBM MaaS360 are encryption and mobile design."
"It allows us to have an updated inventory of all the devices in real-time with the ability to add personalized information."
"The most valuable features are mobile device management and security (which allows you to quarantine infected devices)."
"The scripting is a very valuable feature, as it saves us time on pushing certain things out to the users, such as software and patches."
"The service desk can be configured and customized to better serve our environment."
"We have our KACE agent deployed on all of our workstations and servers, and it provides us with reports on the hardware and software inventory for those."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to have an overview of all devices that are accessing our environment."
"The Systems Deployment Appliance is magical when it comes to automating deployment... Not only can we have multiple images, specific to end-users' uses, but we have a plethora of post-installation tasks to install or configure the system, tasks that can be re-used for each system. You just have one basic base image, and then you use the post-install tasks to customize everything else. It is amazing."
"Pretty much all of the features are valuable. The inventory is very helpful to be able to keep track of our devices. The deployments make it easy to deploy new software packages or upgrade packages. The help desk is also a great tool for tracking problems and problem tickets."
"The single pane of glass for managing devices is helpful because it allows me to perform updates and control things without having to disturb the doctors or nurses."
"The most valuable feature of KACE is the mass package deployment. There are a lot of endpoint management solutions in the market. The way KACE responds is with the installation management feature, which is done in a very intelligent way, as well as scripting. It's wow. It's really wow. On top of that, there is a mass undeployment feature as well."
 

Cons

"The interoperability or communication with a different platform can be better. It is a two-way street. It is not only about Microsoft. The other platforms also have to be willing to share some information, but that absolutely can be improved."
"While the ability to deploy applications at startup is reliable, the policy-based application deployment method has not reached the same level of consistency."
"Automatic updating is pretty rough. It doesn't give me as much control as I had in the past."
"I wish Microsoft would keep up with their documentation. They make changes so quickly to these platforms that they do not update the documentation properly in a timely manner."
"We are currently unable to control aspects of group policy from Teams like we can for GPO. They are still not part of Intune. Microsoft is adding this, but it's currently in preview, and few GPO features have been added to the product."
"There are a few security features that are not available in Microsoft Intune, when compared to other products."
"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."
"A feature I would want to see added in Microsoft Intune is the ability to manage other non-Microsoft devices."
"User interface is basic and not very intuitive."
"The solution needs to offer live technical support. Right now, it's just a chat window and it's rather unhelpful."
"It's difficult for someone like me to set up a phone that doesn't require a SIM card, like Apple's new phones."
"The look needs to be updated and it could be simpler to use."
"MaaS360 definitely caters to a few of the requirements, but when someone is going for a solution, all the features are not available in MaaS360."
"The price could be lower."
"The interface is clunky and the layout is a bit outdated. Also, I don't think MaaS360 has as many features as Intune. It doesn't integrate with Office as seamlessly as Intune does, which isn't surprising, given that Intune and Office are Microsoft products."
"IBM MaaS360 can improve the information provided for DLP control. Some of our customers would benefit from this."
"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."
"KACE implemented the possibility of reducing the network speed of the KACE agent. You can set it so that it takes whatever network speed you want or you can set it to 5 Mb, to save network speed. You set it for all the computers, but it would be preferable to separate between VPN connections in our home office and the local area. It would be great to be able to set separate speeds for different VLANs."
"We'd love to see support for larger dependencies in the scripting feature."
"My biggest complaint is that almost every time they send out a new version, it fixes something and breaks another. Something that wasn't working in the last version now works, but something else stops; or they'll remove some dashboard that I really found to be nice and replace it with something totally different that I could care less about."
"I would like for there to be improvement when it comes to Microsoft and Windows updates. It has the ability to do it but the control of it is not there like I have in the Windows Server Update Services. The way KACE does it is still very granular. You don't really see the process like it is in the Windows Server Update Services. I think that would be one of the biggest things that I would like to see KACE really put some work into and really make that a big enhancement."
"The only pain point I have is with their salespeople. They call too often. They're too aggressive in trying to upsell. We know what we need, and we know if we want to expand. I don't mind quarterly calls from them, but sometimes, it is weekly. They need to get their sales team under control. The main goal of their support people and professional services is to make sure they deliver the service, and they deliver it well, whereas their salespeople are so interested in making a sale that they're wasting my time."
"Its dashboard needs improvement. Currently, there is no way to modify the dashboard. There should be more flexibility so that we can create views according to our use case."
"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While I can't provide insights from a business perspective, it's worth noting that the pricing may differ significantly, and the discount we received might not be reflective of standard business rates."
"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."
"I rate Intune five out of 10 for pricing. It's expensive."
"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"There is a license needed to use the solution and we are on an annual license."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"Its licensing model is not complex, but it is very expensive compared to other solutions. They can bring more models and reduce the pricing. They should allow customers to select the features they want and price it accordingly."
"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"IBM products are a little pricey."
"The solution is expensive."
"​It requires zero investment in infrastructure since it is 100% cloud.​"
"Fees are monthly and it's approximately $8 per user."
"The licensing structure is broken down into levels, each with different functionalities available. Depending on your license, there may be additional fees for extra features."
"IBM products are expensive compared to the tools offered by its competitors. IBM MaaS360 is an expensive tool."
"MaaS360 is priced at a balance. It is not as expensive as AirWatch or Jamf and is not a cheap solution like a few of the local products."
"There are other solutions cheaper than IBM MaaS360, such as Microsoft Intune."
"n terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price."
"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."
"The pricing is fair."
"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."
"Some of the other solutions were just astronomical in price compared with KACE and didn't necessarily have the ease of use either. So, we chose Quest KACE for its easy-to-use features and cost."
"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
17%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
11%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
Microsoft Intune vs IBM MaaS360 - which to choose?
Our organization researched both Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360 when considering the type of endpoint security tool...
What do you like most about IBM MaaS360?
We introduced the product as part of the SOC-2 requirement. The tool's most valuable features include keeping the ope...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM MaaS360?
IBM products are a little pricey, so it’s expensive. I would rate the pricing and licensing model a seven out of ten,...
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 SM...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
The main use cases for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance are touch management, software and hardware inventory,...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Fiberlink MaaS360, MaaS360
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bancroft, Garuda Indonesia
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM MaaS360 vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
852,796 professionals have used our research since 2012.