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

Why PeerSpot?

Ivanti and Quest Software are both solutions in the Patch Management category. Additionally, 100% of Ivanti users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint M...

Read 4 Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

KACE Systems Management App...

Read 40 KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) reviews

6,317 Views
3,601 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint M...

KACE Systems Management App...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 4, 2026

KACE Systems Management Appliance SMA and Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager EOL are competitive products in the enterprise IT management sector. KACE Systems Management Appliance SMA is generally preferred for its favorable pricing and support, while Ivanti offers a more feature-rich set.

Features: KACE Systems Management Appliance SMA provides strong asset management, patching features, system surveys, and threat detection. Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager EOL is known for extensive patch management and integration capabilities that ensure seamless operation with other security solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: KACE Systems Management Appliance SMA is straightforward to deploy with a generally user-friendly experience. Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager EOL offers dedicated support with a comprehensive deployment framework but may initially require more time for onboarding.

Pricing and ROI: KACE Systems Management Appliance SMA offers competitive pricing with potentially quicker ROI due to lower costs and effective resource use. Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager EOL may require a higher initial investment, resulting in a longer time before realizing ROI and potentially being less cost-effective in the short term.

To learn more, read our detailed Patch Management Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Patch Management

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 917,181 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

KACE Systems Management App...

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

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

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.

Read full review

AdityaJain

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.

Read full review

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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"KACE has made our life much easier since we got off the Microsoft solution."

"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."

"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."

"Asset management is most valuable. It is essential for all customers. The other features are also useful, but asset management is most important."

"Every year, the system becomes so much more valuable for us; maybe the quality of our service is much better now, the students at our university can use more software, so the knowledge of students using state-of-the-art software is much better than in the past."

"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."

"This product made the job easy to do without having to go put hands on the machines."

"The KACE SMA has helped make our endpoint team work more agilely, efficiently, and productively."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"Inability to configure a rule-based management."

"It would be great to have an easier way to patch Linux machines within the product."

"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."

"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."

"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."

"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."

"The labeling process should be more streamlined. It should be easier to do. It gets confusing at times."

"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."

"KACE implemented the possibility of reducing the network speed of the KACE agent. You can set it so that it takes whatever network speed you want or you can set it to 5 Mb, to save network speed. You set it for all the computers, but it would be preferable to separate between VPN connections in our home office and the local area. It would be great to be able to set separate speeds for different VLANs."

"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."

"I would like them to implement VBScript language in KACE Systems Management. Currently, we can only use PowerShell."

"We'd love to see support for larger dependencies in the scripting feature."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In terms of pricing, it is on the expensive side."

"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."

"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 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 product is reasonably priced."

"The pricing is great. It's billed annually and it's very reasonable."

"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."

"We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Patch Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

917,181 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	16

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Kaseya VSA vs Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

Compared 16% of the time

GFI LanGuard vs Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

Ivanti Autonomous Endpoint Management vs Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

Compared 6% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

Compared 4% of the time

More Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL] Competitors

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 8% of the time

BigFix vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 7% of the time

Atera vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 6% of the time

Kaseya VSA vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 5% of the time

Ivanti Autonomous Endpoint Management vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 3% of the time

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL]

October 2026

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL] report

Download Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

October 2026

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Download KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

Also Known As

Ivanti Patch for Endpoints, Patch for Endpoints, Shavlik Patch for Endpoints

Dell KACE Systems Management

Overview

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager provides a robust solution for managing and automating patch deployment across network devices. It reduces security risks and improves compliance by efficiently updating systems and software with minimal disruption.

Focused on enterprise needs, Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager offers centralized control over patch management. It ensures that network endpoints are up-to-date, enhancing security and operational efficiency. This expertly configured tool uses automation to streamline processes, minimizing manual interventions and reducing the potential for errors. By integrating with current management infrastructures, it facilitates seamless patching workflows, helping organizations maintain a high level of cybersecurity.

What are the most important features of Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager?

Automated Patch Deployment: Streamlines the patch process by automating the deployment of updates.
Compliance Reporting: Provides detailed reports to ensure systems adhere to compliance standards.
Cross-Platform Support: Manages patches for various operating systems and applications.
Scheduling Flexibility: Customizes when patches are deployed to minimize disruption.
Vulnerability Assessment: Identifies and addresses security weaknesses.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Reduces vulnerabilities by maintaining up-to-date systems.
Operational Efficiency: Saves time with automated processes and reduces manual efforts.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces the cost of security incidents and management overhead.
Improved Compliance: Assures adherence to industry regulations with comprehensive reporting.

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager finds application in various industries, including healthcare, finance, and education, where it supports compliance with industry-specific regulations. By automating patch management, each sector ensures its systems are secure and compliant, reducing the risk of breaches and enhancing operational stability.

Ivanti

KACE Systems Management Appliance offers integration capabilities, efficient image deployment, and comprehensive asset management. It supports centralized management across diverse devices and locations, simplifying IT processes and enhancing security.

KACE Systems Management Appliance provides single-pane visibility for endpoint management, mass software deployment, automated patch management, robust scripting, and detailed inventory tracking. It streamlines IT management and improves cyber-security compliance through remote software updates and centralized IT request handling. Despite struggles with scalability and the need for interface improvements, it enables efficient device imaging, script automation, and network management through detailed reporting. Organizations find it effective for software deployment, asset management, and endpoint monitoring, serving thousands of IoT devices and desktops.

What are the key features of KACE Systems Management Appliance?

Integration capabilities: Seamlessly connects with existing IT systems.
Efficient image deployment: Facilitates quick and effective distribution of system images.
Comprehensive asset management: Provides detailed tracking and management of IT assets.
User-friendly helpdesk: Simplifies handling IT requests and issues.
Automated patch management: Ensures devices are up-to-date with security patches.
Robust scripting: Allows for automation of complex IT tasks.
Detailed inventory tracking: Maintains accurate records of all IT assets.

What benefits should users expect from KACE Systems Management Appliance?

Simplified IT processes: Centralized management enhances operational efficiency.
Improved security: Streamlines cyber-security compliance through automated updates.
Flexibility in customizations: Adapts to specific IT environment needs.
Increased productivity: Efficient ticketing and reporting ease organizational operations.
Remote software updates: Ensures all devices are current, reducing security risks.

In healthcare, KACE Systems Management Appliance is used for maintaining device compliance and security standards. Educational institutions benefit from its capabilities to manage large numbers of endpoints across campuses. In finance, it aids in strict compliance requirements through automated patch management and detailed reporting. Retail sectors leverage its asset management features to streamline operations across numerous locations.

Quest Software

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.

DOWNLOAD NOW

917,181 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Patch Management vendors.

We monitor all Patch Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.