Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Ivanti Endpoint Manager vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Sponsored
 

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
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
273
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Ivanti Endpoint Manager
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (14th)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
18th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (12th), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (17th), Patch Management (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 34.4%, down from 41.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Endpoint Manager is 2.4%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

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.
CJ
System supports legacy OS and manages endpoints efficiently but requires a more user-friendly interface and improved technical support
Ivanti Endpoint Manager has served us well over the years, supporting operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 10 ( /products/windows-10-reviews ). It provided essential features needed for our operations, including endpoint management and remote control. The licensing was quite affordable when it was an on-premises model. Despite being an older tool, it met our requirements until recent advancements.
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

"The biggest thing for us is enforcing logins only from devices that are managed by Intune."
"The ease of applying security policies to applications we deploy is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune."
"Fortunately, now everything is streamlined into a single, unified platform."
"I like how Intune deploys the policies and makes them customizable. You can deploy it through Intune and forget about it."
"I would rate Microsoft Intune a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable features are the ones that make sure that the deployment is of a standard operating system and the Zero Touch deployment, which is very useful. This allows users to have an out of box experience."
"A valuable feature is user enrollment, where users can enroll their devices in their organizations themselves."
"Intune provides a centralized management solution, although its suitability depends on specific needs and comparisons with alternatives like Jamf, Kandji, or ManageEngine."
"Ivanti Endpoint Manager has served us well over the years, supporting operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 10."
"Ivanti is a great product from a security perspective."
"The product saves time and money."
"The information available via KACE is up to date, critical to our normal operations, and has become the go-to tool of our IT teams for extended support."
"It is excellent in terms of updating and configuring everything the way we need. For anything more complex, we do professional service engagements, and they're exceptional. For anything less complex, we just need to ask questions. Their support division is extremely good too."
"There is ease of use, and its pricing was a driving factor."
"There is one place for a lot of different things. If somebody has a problem with their computer, they will put in a ticket. From there, we will know who it is and the assets assigned to them, because there is one place to go look for what we are talking about and with whom we are talking. Just having one place for everything is really convenient. For example, we are able to deploy software to hundreds of computers. We don't need to go to each individual device."
"It also does patch management. At the moment, I'm rolling out a new feature update, 20.8.2, and it's a great challenge because we have to deploy it to 1,200 computers in the home office. We want to do it without interrupting production, but KACE is reliable and it's easy to adapt it to my needs for how and when to deploy the feature update."
"Asset management is most valuable. It is essential for all customers. The other features are also useful, but asset management is most important."
"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 tool helped us deploy custom software for specific departments. We also did Windows updates with the product."
"You don't have to be an advanced user. Rather, in terms of ease of use, this product is right where it needs to be."
 

Cons

"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in terms of compatibility, extending beyond the well-known major brands."
"Once it's configured it is unobtrusive, but it does take some hands-on to configure and deploy it properly."
"The configuration could be better by consolidating options and making it simpler."
"We would like to see the ability to use multiple personas on a device, similar to Samsung Knox, included in future updates."
"There is room for improvement in the reporting capabilities, specifically app reporting. It is challenging to report which apps are installed on which device."
"A more incisive reporting tool with automated progress updates and graphical representation would be beneficial, as the current manual method lacks efficiency and visual clarity."
"Reporting can be better. Only global administrators can see detailed reports at the moment, and I don't want to use the global admin."
"The product's implementation process is in areas of concern where improvements are required."
"Setting up the solution on-premises is difficult and needs improvement."
"Ivanti Endpoint Manager is not user-friendly and feels outdated, which affects usability."
"There should be a mini toolbox, like the competitors of KACE have, with the small features for KACE administrators. That would make their lives easier. If you are troubleshooting a specific endpoint, remote control is available as is Wake-on-LAN. But if you want to execute some commands, you have to use a third-party tool, the PS tool. If they would integrate those small things, it would make KACE more powerful."
"They could make the booting solution easier for different things, e.g., easier to insert drivers. They could make it easier to create a new image and put it onto the server. Those would be some nice solutions. They could make it so that somebody who has no knowledge at all can do it. That would be really nice. Because every time, until I get it memorized, I still need to go back to the training, the manual, or Google it to figure it out again. If they would make it a lot easier, to where a nine-year-old could do it, that would be really cool. If they made it easier, I could have more people managing the images on the server, instead of just one or two people."
"It is a little bit difficult to use the license compliances because you need to decide when you are using the software catalog if you are using it with their license compliance or the normal software part. Under the inventory, you can use software as a menu link or software catalog. Most of my specialist software is not in the software catalog. When I try to import them, in my license compliances overview, there are cryptic names for this software that I have to import. That is not very good for the reports that I use. When I take them to my bosses, they see cryptic names of software that they don't understand. It would be much better for me if I could use software and the software catalog as well for the license compliances."
"The K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB. There are some issues with getting things to image correctly because they rely on SMB, and SMB is a protocol that is being removed due to security reasons. Organizations are trying to rely less and less on SMB. I know Quest is aware of it. They've talked about having a new version that wouldn't rely on SMB for connection to the clients, but they haven't gotten there yet."
"Paying for the product should come with full and extended training anytime it is needed."
"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."
"It took a little bit of time to figure out how to use the KACE Service Desk. I like the way that I'm able to customize it. But when it comes to how our techs are able to use it, it's not as functional as our current solution, which is BMC FootPrints Service Desk."
"The labeling process should be more streamlined. It should be easier to do. It gets confusing at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
"Microsoft offers some licensing where it's included at no extra cost when customers are already using the licenses. In such a case, it's a really good value. If you have to buy the licensing for it, it's probably on par with other solutions. It isn't substantially more or less expensive. The great thing is that it is included in some of Microsoft's licensed packages. So, some customers don't have to spend additional money for it. Typically, most providers that support Intune do charge a management fee of some sort or some fee. Certainly, we're no exception."
"As a partner, we always look for how we can generate more revenue from a consulting point of view, but I do not see any complaints from the customer side regarding pricing, so they are satisfied with it."
"It's affordable. In comparison to the competitors, the price depends on what features you need from Intune, but it's affordable. There are no hidden costs, but there are some features that go for a premium price. Those are the add-ons for which you have to pay extra."
"With our standard E5 agreement with Microsoft, there have been no pricing concerns. Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs."
"I liked the tool's pricing until P2 came into effect. I am unsure about the current value versus the cost of the new licensing model."
"The pricing for Intune and the competitor products are all within the same range, there is no true advantage when it comes to cost."
"With one user base license, we can use Intune for up to five devices. However, with Soti MobiControl, each license is tied to a single device, meaning one license is dedicated to one device only."
Information not available
"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."
"We pay annually for technical support."
"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."
"Its pricing model is good for what it offers. Nobody here gives me a hard time about renewing the contract every year. It might be a little cost prohibitive for a smaller company who has to stand up a virtual environment as well as have virtual environment licensing and the hardware. If you have a smaller environment, it might be cost prohibitive. If you only have a couple of hundred computers, you might be more willing to do those manually. In our environment, the cost savings of having KACE far outweigh the licensing costs. We are okay with its pricing model."
"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions are best for your needs.
858,327 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
University
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
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 needs improvement with Ivanti Endpoint Manager?
Ivanti Endpoint Manager is not user-friendly and feels outdated, which affects usability. It lacks features like easy...
What is your primary use case for Ivanti Endpoint Manager?
We are using Ivanti Endpoint Manager ( /products/ivanti-endpoint-manager-reviews ) primarily for endpoint management ...
What advice do you have for others considering Ivanti Endpoint Manager?
I would not recommend Ivanti Endpoint Manager to others, especially if they are migrating from an older setup. It is ...
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
Ivanti Neurons for UEM
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 Ivanti Endpoint Manager vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
858,327 professionals have used our research since 2012.