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

Ivanti Neurons for MDM vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
312
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Ivanti Neurons for MDM
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
15th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
8
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
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Patch Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 28.2%, down from 34.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Neurons for MDM is 3.3%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 2.0%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune28.2%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)2.0%
Ivanti Neurons for MDM3.3%
Other66.5%
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
ME
Manager, Information Technology Support at FEFundInfo
Seamless provisioning and application deployment enhance workflow, yet enhancements in asset and software spend management roles are acknowledged
The zero-touch capability where you can install all the business applications and deliver the laptop to the user, who just needs to log on to complete everything without any human intervention, are the best features in Ivanti Neurons for MDM. We have security features, patch management, compliance reports, and dashboards integrated within Ivanti.
MH
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliability and adaptability enable efficient application deployment and security management
The best features Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) offers include the scripting function, which stands out to me because I can find specific needs and deploy the applications based on those needs. There was a time when scripting really saved me time by allowing me to find specific registry entries and modify them to patch security vulnerabilities. Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before. I really enjoy the security features that are enabled to deploy Microsoft and other vendor patches, which stand out to me as key functionalities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of Microsoft Intune is good."
"Intune's integration with Defender and other security solutions is valuable because it offers a view into different security vulnerabilities and enables us to secure them more effectively."
"I can reach devices or computers over the internet. I don't need to worry about the network connectivity between the offices. I can manage any device. That is the most important part."
"The ability to manage devices over the cloud is a big benefit, as devices now receive updates regardless of location."
"The performance of Microsoft Intune is good."
"It is a helpful tool to manage BYOD policies."
"The solution has significantly improved managing a diverse range of devices. We have observed enhancements across Android, iOS, and Windows devices."
"Microsoft Intune is unique in providing management for all operating systems, including macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS."
"The company provides great customer service."
"The security features in Ivanti Neurons for MDM are very effective, which is why we have been distributing it for the past 15 years."
"The products are quite good when they are operational."
"It's effective in what it is able to achieve and it's easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is that everything is in one place, which makes it easy to manage."
"The most valuable features of MobileIron UEM are tunneling and enterprise integration."
"The user interface is user-friendly."
"The products are quite good when they are operational."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to have an overview of all devices that are accessing our environment."
"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."
"The software asset management has been a big help, even when it comes to license true-ups. I can use it to find out how many Tivoli we have, and boom, there's the number... And you can actually click on the information about the software and it shows, for example, that these five servers are where it's being reported. If you really want, you can log in to them and validate."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the imaging of computers through the SDA... Being able to do that so quickly with the SDA, and to then use the SMA for reinstalling software, has been huge for our productivity."
"I am impressed by the service desk ticketing and asset management."
"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."
"With KACE, we were able to have a simplification of the software deployment management with more granularity and flexibility."
 

Cons

"It should be simplified. I've worked with many different mobile device management solutions, and Intune is one of the more complex ones. It could be more simplified, and some of it is related to the wording that is being used, such as a configuration profile versus a policy. They really should have had different names to make it less confusing."
"Some customers have reported experiencing slowness when using lower versions of the Android system."
"The most important thing is reporting. They should improve their reporting. They should give a free hand to users. In SCCM, I can create my own reports. For example, in SCCM, I can create an inventory report for my PC or for all PCs, but in Intune, we don't have an option to create any report. Microsoft claims that Intune is a successor of SCCM, but SCCM is more powerful than Intune. So, they should develop Intune more and make it equivalent to SCCM. Then, their product will be great in the market."
"There is room for improvement in server patch management and allowing direct uploads of EXE applications instead of needing to convert them to Intune format, which would save time."
"Reporting could be improved. It needs to be more expensive and robust."
"Intune could add more Linux security features and more integration with on-prem devices. The application deployments can also be improved."
"Intune's third-party patch management could be better. It should be easier for the average system admin to keep non-Microsoft applications updated."
"In terms of what can be improved, I am looking for better enhancements regarding Apple management, not only on the mobile device, but also on the laptop."
"The disadvantage in connection with Windows devices is that the pushing of policies takes some time."
"We would like the initial setup to be simpler."
"The release of new versions often goes in the wrong direction with Ivanti."
"The MDM, asset management, and software spend management are areas that could have more improvement in Ivanti Neurons for MDM."
"The integration between the MobileIron and Advanced Neurons isn't completely in sync, and we're still working on that."
"UI needs an upgrade, feels very outdated."
"The interface is complicated and not very easy to use."
"MobileIron UEM could improve the monitoring of devices."
"I would sure like them to be able to copy and paste out of OneNote. That drives me nuts. You can't copy from OneNote into KACE."
"I have complaints about smart label adaptation and because of this, I recommend a 24 to 48 hour bake-in period."
"The problem is that it's harder to directly emulate a lot of the stuff that the group policies do, using the KACE solution. With regular group policies, you just specify the various settings you want to change on the workstations, and then you specify the workstations and—while it's kind of an ugly mess—it does it. Whereas on KACE, you really have to know what you're doing with scripting to effectively script those exact same changes."
"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."
"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."
"Scalability is my primary concern right now."
"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."
"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."
 

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."
"Microsoft Intune is available for individual purchase at a low per-device cost."
"We don't pay for Intune because it is bundled with the premium subscription to Office 365. It includes Intune and Defender. I don't have to buy two extra products to manage my enterprise."
"We have a limited budget for security investments, so Microsoft should consider reducing pricing in our region. This would make investment more viable, especially since larger businesses in other countries can afford it easily."
"The price of Microsoft Intune is reasonable."
"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."
"It's a part of Microsoft 365 and E5 licenses. Microsoft's strategy of making every feature in Microsoft Intune paid needs optimization. Remote control is one of the basic features, not a luxury feature, yet we must pay for it. I"
"Its price is in the medium range. It is acceptable because you're paying for the features. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"My impression is that MobileIron is very expensive."
"The price of MobileIron UEM is very good."
"We need it, so we have to pay the price. It is what it is. If you need a gallon of milk, then you have to pay the price for it. You don't want to buy the cheap stuff. You want to buy the stuff that is organic and good for your body, which doesn't have all this other junk in it. You want it clean for your body. Quest has done that for our deployment and management systems."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"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."
"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."
"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."
"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."
"The cost of KACE has been relatively low compared to other systems. Even if those systems have the same cost, they do not do as much of the third-party patching that KACE natively does."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise154
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MobileIron UEM?
The pricing is comparable to Microsoft Intune, but Ivanti Neurons for MDM offers many features and innovation.
What needs improvement with MobileIron UEM?
Windows devices could be improved, as we are more familiar with client-managed devices where we install the applicati...
What is your primary use case for MobileIron UEM?
We are working with MDM requirements for major purposes alongside other products including mobile application managem...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hand...
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we ...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, a...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
MobileIron UEM, MobileIron Unified Endpoint Management, MobileIron EMM, MobileIron Enterprise Mobility Management
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Frontier Airlines
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Ivanti Neurons for MDM vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.