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

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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 (11th), 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

"The product is easy to use, easy to implement, and easy to manage."
"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."
"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."
"This solution makes it easy to control assets and upgrade all types of software."
"The solution definitely saves us time; we used to have four people putting in 40 hours, and now we have one person doing it in 16 hours."
"Using this solution saves us lots of time, especially when it comes to performing updates."
"This product made the job easy to do without having to go put hands on the machines."
"The Systems Deployment Appliance is magical when it comes to automating deployment... Not only can we have multiple images, specific to end-users' uses, but we have a plethora of post-installation tasks to install or configure the system, tasks that can be re-used for each system. You just have one basic base image, and then you use the post-install tasks to customize everything else. It is amazing."
"The big pros of Quest KACE Systems Management are its simple interface, and simple, direct management. It's very easy to maintain and manage the device, and it's easy to get it up and running. You can have it up and running in an hour..."
"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."
"The initial setup is relatively easy."
 

Cons

"It would be great to have an easier way to patch Linux machines within the product."
"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."
"The UI must be more user-friendly."
"Inability to configure a rule-based management."
"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 could be designed a little bit more intuitively in terms of administration."
"I think it should have the ability to have the applications automatically update. It would be really helpful if this would override what the user might choose to do."
"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."
"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."
"On the patching, the Systems Management appliance, I noticed whenever there is something new that the vendor has to do, he always has to call KACE for help with it."
"The only hiccups we had were some power issues, where the box was a little under-powered early on."
"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, it is on the expensive side."
"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."
"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."
"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."
"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."
"We pay annually for technical support."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
University
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.
912,517 professionals have used our research since 2012.