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Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL] vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 4, 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

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint M...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KACE Systems Management App...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (2nd), Endpoint Compliance (6th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (11th), Patch Management (10th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (12th)
 

Featured Reviews

PraveenRajan - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Infrastructure at Elevate Services
Smoothly handles software patching and scheduling, enabling monthly patch distribution across multiple projects
We face some challenges, particularly with non-domain-joined macOS devices. Patching, updating, and syncing with the server can be tricky for them. So, the major challenges are macOS updates, patching, and backups. And for drawbacks, I wish Patch management was cloud-based instead of hosted on our own server. If Ivanti Patch had a cloud-based option instead of requiring an on-premises server and software. Hosting it in the cloud would simplify management, eliminating dependence on VPNs or other connectivity issues. Similar to Microsoft's EMS licensing, offering a cloud-based solution like Azure Active Directory or Endpoint Management Suite (EMS) would be ideal. EMS allows us to manage policies, batching, and software distribution entirely through the cloud, minimizing server downloads. If Ivanti considered a cloud-based approach, it would be hugely beneficial in today's hybrid work environment, where employees use desktops, laptops, and various locations. It's not just about patching office PCs anymore; mobile workers and backups need seamless access as well. Cloud-based patching would be much easier in a hybrid environment. Imagine updates coming directly from the cloud instead of relying on individual VPN connections. It would streamline the entire process.
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

"When it comes to Ivanti Patch for endpoints, I find peer-to-peer patching valuable. Having a peer-to-peer patching capability is highly beneficial for us."
"The product is easy to use, easy to implement, and easy to manage."
"It's been doing a lot for us, especially with third-party software patching and scheduling. We create multiple projects for monthly patch distribution and manage it all well."
"Clear visibility regarding the status of the endpoint."
"Because of the internet gateway, we were able to get clear visibility regarding the status of the endpoint which we needed to do recently when everyone was working from home."
"Overall, this is a good solution that saves us time and effort."
"KACE has made our life much easier since we got off the Microsoft solution."
"Using Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), we have been able to manage three times the amount of machines as other groups while having half the staff, which has positively impacted our organization."
"Asset management is most valuable. It is essential for all customers. The other features are also useful, but asset management is most important."
"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."
"It definitely saves us all kinds of time and value, saving us well over half the time because we are not having to touch individual things or micromanage them and freeing us up to do other stuff so we are more responsive and able to come up with solutions faster when fixing some people's problems."
"We can get the majority of what we need with this product and do not have to spend money on something else."
"The help desk is super simple to use and we saw our return on investment a long time ago, just in man hours alone."
 

Cons

"The major challenges are macOS updates, patching, and backups. And for drawbacks, I wish Patch management was cloud-based instead of hosted on our own server."
"Inability to configure a rule-based management."
"The UI must be more user-friendly."
"I'm currently struggling with one of the issues related to Linux or Ubuntu. Ivanti does not support Ubuntu and it has a limitation of CentOS to a specific version, which is CentOS 7, not 8."
"It would be great to have an easier way to patch Linux machines within the product."
"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."
"I still need better communication about which processes are really due and which processes are currently being processed. According to the initial setup service provider, there is still no real management or overview on KACE where you can really see 100 percent of what is going on as well as what is going to be processed next and whether I can influence the overall process. It could really help me if I knew, e.g. exactly in 10 minutes my colleague will be supplied with this or that software. I haven't found this yet. If they could add this, that would be cool. It is still missing and I haven't yet found something like this."
"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."
"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."
"There should be a mini toolbox, like the competitors of KACE have, with the small features for KACE administrators."
"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."
"Paying for the product should come with full and extended training anytime it is needed."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, it is on the expensive side."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"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."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"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."
"We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it."
"The pricing is fair."
"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."
"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Construction Company
10%
University
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

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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) for just pushing updates, it is completely fine. However, apart from that, I d...
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 agent. I am curious about why it does not offer EDR functionality. Additionally, the...
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 scripts. I have designed various scripts for tasks such as password resets afte...
 

Also Known As

Ivanti Patch for Endpoints, Patch for Endpoints, Shavlik Patch for Endpoints
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

InfoPro Digital, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Qualys, Microsoft, NinjaOne and others in Patch Management. Updated: August 2026.
910,564 professionals have used our research since 2012.