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IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
358
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
IBM Security MaaS360 with W...
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
16th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KACE Systems Management App...
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (2nd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Patch Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 22.3%, down from 32.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune22.3%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)2.4%
IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson0.4%
Other74.9%
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
collaboration support engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Centralized device management has transformed security and streamlined remote provisioning
One area where Microsoft Intune can improve is the user interface. Sometimes the portal feels a bit complex and not very intuitive, especially for new users, and it can take time to find specific settings. Another point is troubleshooting. While logs are available, the diagnostic policies and sync issues can still be time-consuming and not very straightforward. I also feel that reporting could be more detailed and customizable. The built-in reports are helpful, but for deeper insights, I often need to rely on additional tools. Overall, it is a strong solution, but improving usability and troubleshooting experience would make it even better. While Microsoft Intune works very well within the Microsoft ecosystem, the integration of some third-party tools could be smoother and require less customization. Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected. In terms of features, I think more advanced automation and built-in remediation options would be helpful since common issues can be fixed automatically without manual intervention.
Hehic Faith - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Manager at DuPont
Centralized device control has reduced data costs and protects lost mobiles and tablets
Synchronization is a problem sometimes, and I suggest that IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson should improve by making the user interface more user-friendly. It feels pretty average, which gives a hard time for new users. It should be more user-friendly and intuitive. IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson should reduce the cost of the per-device subscription, because when you have a lot of devices like our organization has, it becomes pretty expensive to manage all the devices. It should also allow simplified device management. The cost reduction of 30 to 40% is primarily from reduced device losses, less manual work for admins, and other factors. The more devices you have to manage, the more the cost, especially because they bill per device. In our case, IBM Security MaaS360 can be a bit expensive. It could be less expensive for a small organization dealing with a few devices. The setting is slightly complicated because of the unintuitive interface.
AdityaJain - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Administrator at EbixCash
Centralized software deployment has simplified endpoint control but needs stronger security alerts
What I like best about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that it allows pushing custom-made applications to all computers that have KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) endpoint installed. This makes it easier for the organization to push patches and updates. If I need to push EDR updates, I can use KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), as it automatically updates the EDR on that endpoint, and that is a great feature. Overall, KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) helps streamline my processes by allowing me to check the uptime and downtime of machines, whether they are connected to the internet or not, and how long a machine has been switched off. I can also gather hardware details and software inventory from it. I can show a live demonstration if a video conference can be arranged. Incident resolution capabilities with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) have improved operational efficiency for system administrators, as it makes it easier to track machines with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), gather their IP addresses, and push several updates, patches, or software deployments at once. I can design compliances as per my requirements, such as ensuring passwords are reset after 45 days.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Without Microsoft Intune, it would be extremely challenging, if not impossible, for a large company to send out computers to users and have them set up and ready to use right out of the box in a remote location."
"Conditional access has helped 3M tailor and enforce our security policies in the mobile space."
"What I have found most useful in Microsoft Intune is creating an environment where customers or clients need someone to work immediately with an out-of-box experience."
"Microsoft integrated BitLocker and Active Directory into Intune, simplifying management."
"Microsoft Intune is a must and should be needed for this time, for this hybrid model period, and I highly recommend this product for employees, education institutions, or device management."
"Microsoft's licensing is more flexible and adaptive than its competitors."
"Once it is well integrated with the rest of the environment, it makes everything easy."
"The biggest benefits of Intune are the ability to push changes and the added security. When we moved forward with Defender, we onboarded all those machines automatically. That helps dramatically. For a while, we were left with machines that weren't protected. We could see where people had done things they shouldn't have done, and Defender saved our skins a few times. It didn't happen a lot, but it happened enough that it made us glad we made that decision."
"IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson has positively impacted my organization by enabling us to manage all our devices in one place, settle all the issues remotely through troubleshooting, and it allows the AI feature for reporting."
"IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson has positively impacted our organization by improving our security posture through effectively managing and securing mobile devices, apps, and content."
"Everything since we started using IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson has been phenomenal, especially security, which has improved overall on our devices and our data."
"I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning, and I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it."
"My primary use case of this solution is to help us obtain accreditation in the UK of Cyber Essentials Plus, a program sponsored by the UK government which encourages UK companies to obtain a certain level of cyber-security within their cyber environment."
"Patching is definitely the most valuable feature. It gives us good, centralized software, which comes in very handy since we are doing 400 servers at a time. It enables us to manage all the servers, and to deal with the application team regarding reboots and scheduling."
"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."
"Overall, this is a good solution that saves us time and effort."
"In terms of the amount of time KACE saves us, it's weeks of work on a monthly basis, and we're able to do things in a day that used to take us about a month to do."
"This product made the job easy to do without having to go put hands on the machines."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to monitor updates—the software versions—on machines so that we can keep everything compliant."
 

Cons

"There is always a noise when you are going to manage any endpoint devices, and noise is definitely there with this solution."
"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."
"I think nine is a very good rating for this solution, and I kept one point out because I think in the future it requires improvement based on future scalability in the IT infrastructure."
"Microsoft Copilot in Microsoft Intune is absolutely useless for protecting my environment."
"There are items that require improvements. One is the controls from iOS."
"Integration with Mac devices requires some improvement."
"Having a dedicated configuration server that assists in modifying the configuration service, and creating personalized structures, interfaces, and web services could enhance usability."
"It needs incorporation of Knox, ZeroTouch, etc."
"Synchronization is a problem sometimes, and I suggest that IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson should improve by making the user interface more user-friendly."
"Cost can also be a challenge, as this tool may come with a significant cost, particularly for organizations managing a large number of devices."
"One area IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson can be improved is that once a device is lost, I have to continue to pay for the license, which should be looked upon and configured otherwise."
"The setup process was not good with the Dell people. We had horrible training and the setup was not right on a bunch of stuff."
"The only pain point I have is with their salespeople. They call too often."
"One of the complications is that they don't have 24/7 support, and they're also not in our time zone... Sometimes, no matter how critical my application is, if my production server is down I won't be able to connect with anybody till 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time."
"The customization of the interface needs improvement for things like end user tickets. While the functionality is good, some of that UI stuff does need improvement."
"There may be a good reason why some things are not easily able to be done, yet it needs work to compete with some of the other ticketing systems out there now."
"There is a Resolve issue whereby some workstations no longer report/check-in after a recent update."
"Sometimes, no matter how critical my application is, if my production server is down I won't be able to connect with anybody till 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time."
"Its dashboard needs improvement. Currently, there is no way to modify the dashboard."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better."
"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"Intune is linked with Microsoft. We can deploy the Microsoft E365 license to users by Intune. There are different types of licenses, such as device administrator licenses, E5 licenses for device enrollment manually, and P1 and p2 licenses for device enrollment automatically. These are the licenses required for the administration."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"There are licenses required for this solution. We enable licenses on the devices we need to manage."
"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."
"Based on the features that it gives, it is cost-efficient. It is not necessarily on the expensive side of the scale. It provides a hefty number of features that any organization would want. It is in a good price range."
Information not available
"We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management."
"Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable."
"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."
"We pay annually for technical support."
"Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees."
"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
No data available
University
11%
Non Profit
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business157
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise181
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

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Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson?
I purchased IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson through the AWS Marketplace.
What needs improvement with IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson?
Synchronization is a problem sometimes, and I suggest that IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson should improve by making ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson?
IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson is a great product that we implemented to protect our devices, such as computers and...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
In terms of cost-effectiveness, considering a situation where I want to deploy KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA...
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
For improvements in KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), I would want to see it become a standalone software agen...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
I have deployed KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) around 230 plus PCs, and I use it to push Windows updates and...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security MaaS360 with Watson vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.