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IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager [EOL] vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

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

IBM Tivoli Configuration Ma...
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Configuration Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Software Distribution (1st), Server Monitoring (6th), Configuration Management (3rd), Patch Management (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Megha Rastogi - PeerSpot reviewer
Server Administrator at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
Responsive support, reliable, and scalable
IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager is used for complete database storage The user interface of IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager could improve. You have to know the full UI before you can manage it properly. I have been using IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager for approximately 10 years. IBM Tivoli…
JunedBedrekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Have effectively deployed patches and applications while integrating with cloud solutions
The features I find most valuable in Microsoft Configuration Manager are replication and scripting. If I want to get a fetch report for anything, such as hardware-related issues or group policy-related issues, I need to fetch the report by using SCCM's scripting language and remediation part. The inventory collection features of Microsoft Configuration Manager are good because we always prefer the inventory. We do it by using the script language. We use remote management capabilities in Microsoft Configuration Manager. Remote management capabilities are useful if the user is not providing access; we can use the backend users to update the group policy and sync the devices. These are the main features we require.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have found IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager to be scalable."
"It uses detailed descriptions of the workstations, and that is good for me."
"The most valuable features I find in Microsoft Configuration Manager are mostly patching, deploying software, deploying images, and running custom scripts."
"It is easy to install, and quick to deploy."
"It does the job and meets our needs. With everybody working remotely these days, we are using this solution to deploy everything. The deployment of PCs is easy."
"The most valuable feature of SCCM is the application distribution."
"The most valuable features are Remote Connect, SUP, Cloud functionality, Report, Query, and third-party patching."
"We are happy with the collaboration of SCCM with Patch My PC, which allows us to do patch work."
"Endpoint Manager is valuable to our organization because it allows us to connect to our enterprise from remote locations securely. The most useful feature is its robustness and scalability. It is highly scalable and flexible, allowing us to use it in various environments. Additionally, we can specialize the policies related to each device group. This ensures that each group has access to the applications they need for their work and non-work hours."
 

Cons

"The user interface of IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager could improve. You have to know the full UI before you can manage it properly."
"The setup was complex and I faced a lot of problems initially because I was new to the solution."
"In terms of the monitoring, the timeframe it takes to actually report back on the compliance of a device after it has been patched is a bit too long."
"There is no asset management package included."
"The solution is on-premises. The cloud version of the product, if a person needs to be on the cloud, would be InTune, which already exists as an option. SCCM doesn't need to offer cloud features for this reason."
"In spite of us being a premier customer we find the support unsatisfactory."
"The main room for improvement is the on-screen display. I think it would be good if some improvements were made."
"Not everything is readily available, and there are a lot of commands that are only executable via PowerShell."
"It should provide the ability to remotely connect to mobile devices. There are some solutions that are doing that, but with Microsoft Intune, the only way to remotely connect to devices outside the organization and mobile devices is by using TeamViewer. It is pretty strange for a big company like Microsoft to not have something for that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is not a license needed to use the solution."
"Presently, I am using a free trial version."
"The price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is expensive."
"Along with buying a license for MECM, we also have to buy a service called CMG (Cloud Management Gateway) which is a virtual machine in the cloud with which you can link your MECM to the Azure tenant so as to manage teleworkers."
"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager an eight out of ten."
"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."
"Its licensing is quite complicated because we are getting the license not only for SCCM but for the full Microsoft package. We don't need to pay for a separate license. We need to have one license that includes everything we need, such as Windows, Microsoft 365, SCCM, encryption, and so on. So, we don't have a specific price for it. Perhaps, it is good that it includes the full suite of licensing of Microsoft. It is expensive, but we are getting a lot of features."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise64
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bendigo Community Telco
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Symantec Ghost Solution Suite and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
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