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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

"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."
"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."
"Clear visibility regarding the status of the endpoint."
"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."
"The solution provides us a single pane of glass with everything that we need for endpoint management of all devices, and it definitely has made our endpoint management process much easier."
"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."
"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 scripting is a very valuable feature, as it saves us time on pushing certain things out to the users, such as software and patches."
"The service desk can be configured and customized to better serve our environment."
"For what I use it for, the solution provides a single pane of glass with everything I need for endpoint management of all devices."
"The solution has saved us a ton of time in several areas."
"KACE’s knowledge-based articles are very good."
 

Cons

"It would be great to have an easier way to patch Linux machines within the product."
"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."
"Inability to configure a rule-based management."
"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."
"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."
"When we have to do a rebuild on these machines, although it is rare, I would like to be able to do more than 10 at a time. With the current limit, it slows me down because I have to set up 10, then the next 10, and so forth."
"The customization of the interface needs improvement for things like end user tickets. While the functionality is good, some of that UI stuff does need improvement."
"There are some of the patching solutions that it doesn't take care of for us, so we have to do those manually on the devices, and that's really the biggest thing."
"We'd love to see support for larger dependencies in the scripting feature."
"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."
"The labeling process should be more streamlined. It should be easier to do. It gets confusing at times."
"Scalability is my primary concern right now."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, it is on the expensive side."
"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."
"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."
"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."
"Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license... The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
13%
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, Ivanti and others in Patch Management. Updated: September 2026.
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