Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

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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 Security Controls [EOL]

Read 4 Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

KACE Systems Management App...

Read 40 KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) reviews

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95% willing to recommend

Ivanti Security Controls [EOL]

KACE Systems Management App...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 4, 2026

KACE Systems Management Appliance and Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] are competing in the IT management and security market. KACE SMA seems to have the upper hand in pricing and customer support, while Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] offers more advanced features.

Features: KACE SMA offers asset management, patch management, and service desk integration to boost IT management efficiency. Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] provides advanced patch management, device control, and detailed vulnerability assessment, appealing to security-focused environments.

Room for Improvement: KACE SMA could improve by simplifying its vast feature set for small businesses, enhancing mobile device management, and providing more intuitive reporting tools. Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] might benefit from streamlining deployment processes, increasing third-party integration options, and simplifying its complex user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: KACE SMA is praised for its easy deployment and robust customer support. On the other hand, Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] has a more complex deployment process but compensates with adequate customer service to address challenges.

Pricing and ROI: KACE SMA is known for its competitive pricing and essentially lower upfront costs, leading to positive ROI with its efficient management solutions. In contrast, Ivanti Security Controls [EOL] has a higher initial setup cost but justifies it through comprehensive security features, promising substantial ROI for businesses needing strong security.

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

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September 2026

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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 Security Controls [EOL]

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

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

Chethan R

Windows Security Patching Operation III (Cyber Operations) at CBTS

Has reduced hardware strain through agentless patching and improved asset visibility

This solution does not have capability of managing applications. It is only used for asset management and patch management. Regarding analytics for Ivanti Security Controls, it does not have extensive capabilities. It is a basic tool from Ivanti for scanning and deploying. It does not have analytics features such as EDR or security tools available in the market. It only has capability to check missing patches, find them, and deploy them. When it comes to reports, compliance reports or similar types of reports are not user-friendly. Expertise is required for handling these aspects. The asset management in Ivanti Security Controls needs more visibility. Additionally, it can be improved to handle in-house applications, which currently cannot be installed. It can only handle existing applications, unlike Ivanti's Endpoint Manager. It should have additional features in this area that need improvement.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is helpful and responsive."

"Ivanti Security Controls is an agentless tool which means we do not need to install any agent on the server or endpoint, and through agentless capabilities, it can install software, install patches, and control over the server, including asset management."

"What has been most valuable is the ability to manage, restore and install upgrades and applications. We scan PCs and server and receive results."

"Ivanti Security Controls is a better solution than SCCM."

"I can reach people now that I couldn't have reached previously. We are saving about 25 percent in time."

"This solution makes it easy to control assets and upgrade all types of software."

"The ability to build scripts right on the deployment center itself, as well as building groups that take those scripts/task chains has been absolutely invaluable and one of the most important parts of my whole environment."

"KACE’s knowledge-based articles are very good."

"It is a very good solution."

"It has also increased the team's productivity, we've been able to create standards where we know that no matter what type of laptop it is, we can image it the same way, it has the same setup for every user, we know we can guarantee that everybody across the state is running the same version of Microsoft Office or products like that, and it has made it to where we are efficient across the board from high-level VP level down to standard user level."

"We can get the majority of what we need with this product and do not have to spend money on something else."

"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."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"It should be more scalable."

"For the Windows upgrade, the errors we experience are not clear. We see a time out error but do not know the reason. We would like to know the root cause."

"Ivanti Security Controls is a powerful product, but it has quite a steep learning curve."

"When it comes to reports, compliance reports or similar types of reports are not user-friendly. Expertise is required for handling these aspects."

"For the software deployment and scripting, it is more difficult. I only have experienced people on my team do that type of work."

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

"The initial setup was complex. It is a Linux-based virtual server, where the customer cannot get into the back-end, so you can only follow their prompts. Then, there are specific things that have to be done in their implementation and upgrade phases that have to be done in a certain order or steps. If you don't get those steps right, the system doesn't work. I think that either simplifying that process or providing really good step-by-step documentation would be helpful."

"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."

"The only pain point I have is with their salespeople. They call too often."

"Its dashboard needs improvement. Currently, there is no way to modify the dashboard. There should be more flexibility so that we can create views according to our use case."

"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."

"The K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB. There are some issues with getting things to image correctly because they rely on SMB, and SMB is a protocol that is being removed due to security reasons. Organizations are trying to rely less and less on SMB. I know Quest is aware of it. They've talked about having a new version that wouldn't rely on SMB for connection to the clients, but they haven't gotten there yet."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair."

"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."

"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."

"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."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"The pricing is fair."

"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."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Outsourcing Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

13%

Construction Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

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

What needs improvement with Ivanti Security Controls?

Ivanti Security Controls is a powerful product, but it has quite a steep learning curve. There is quite a lot to learn, though it proves to be very powerful if you put in the time to learn how to u...

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What is your primary use case for Ivanti Security Controls?

We are using Ivanti Security Controls for deploying Windows updates to Windows servers.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Ivanti Security Controls?

I am currently working with Ivanti Security Controls as a customer. I think Ivanti Security Controls is an effective product for this purpose. I would give tech support for Ivanti Security Controls...

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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...

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...

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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...

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Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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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 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Patch Management

September 2026

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Buyer's Guide

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

September 2026

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

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Also Known As

No data available

Dell KACE Systems Management

Overview

Ivanti Security Controls delivers a reliable, stable setup for managing and installing upgrades and applications, featuring agentless operation and comprehensive reporting. It's preferred by data centers for efficiently addressing vulnerabilities through agentless solutions and backend scripting.

Ivanti Security Controls is instrumental in deploying updates to servers and workstations, effectively managing Microsoft and non-Microsoft patches. Teams leverage its centralized console for efficiency, conducting vulnerability scans and deploying patches based on detected issues. Users appreciate its responsive support and backend scripting capabilities, finding it essential for streamlining patching tasks and addressing vulnerabilities. Areas for improvement include cloud capabilities, logging, and scalability, with users seeking more intuitive report designs, enhanced documentation, and improved application management. Error messages during Windows upgrades need clarity, and more visibility in asset management is desired.

What are the most important features of Ivanti Security Controls?

Agentless Operation: Minimizes system resource usage, enhancing operational efficiency.
Comprehensive Reporting: Offers in-depth insights into security status and system vulnerabilities.
Patch and Asset Management: Simplifies the management of software updates and inventory tracking.
Credential Management: Ensures secure handling of sensitive access information.
PowerShell Script Execution: Allows automated tasks and customized scripting for tailored solutions.

What benefits should users look for in Ivanti Security Controls?

Operational Efficiency: Streamlines update processes, saving time and resources.
Enhanced Security: Improves system safety by addressing vulnerabilities quickly.
Responsive Support: Assists quickly in troubleshooting and resolving user issues.
Centralized Management: Offers a unified platform for managing updates and patches across systems.
Visibility into Vulnerabilities: Provides insights to tackle potential security threats effectively.

Ivanti Security Controls sees extensive use in industries requiring robust patch management and vulnerability scanning, notably in data centers where maintaining security and efficiency is critical. Its ability to deploy updates seamlessly makes it a valuable tool for sectors focused on IT infrastructure management.

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

Information Not Available

Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King

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