KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management comparison

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management

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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

Microsoft Intune

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 20.1%, down from 30.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 2.4%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management is 2.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	20.1%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)	2.4%
Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management	2.4%
Other	75.1%

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi

Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies

Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.

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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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Sanjay Mukhopadhyay

Director - Sales & Operations - India at Intertec Systems

It is a complete and competitive solution with excellent OEM support

Matrix42 is a complete solution in terms of functionality. Still, you need to understand whether it's also capable of managing Kubernetes containers to that extent, and this is not very clear in the product fact sheet. It’s possible with Ivanti MobileIron, though, and Matrix42 seems to be one step behind in this aspect. Likewise, in terms of integration, there is still room for improvement in Matrix42 to integrate with more third-party tools compared to Ivanti, which has a larger number of integrations due to its size. MobileIron is an older product that has evolved over time, offering advantages in terms of readily available third-party APIs and integrations.

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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

"Autopilot is the most valuable feature."

"Microsoft Intune is reliable, scalable, and user-friendly."

"The solution is easy to use, simple to understand for those new to using it, and combined with the other Microsoft products it makes for an overall good package."

"The ability to manage devices over the cloud is a big benefit, as devices now receive updates regardless of location."

"The most valuable feature of Intune is the user-friendly portal for end users."

"The key benefit of Intune is its integration with the Microsoft ecosystem."

"The device profiling which uses the official Outlook email enabled us to control the screenshot feature and prevent copying outside of the organization's application."

"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The scripting part increases IT productivity because of the specialized software in our environments for students' courses. You need to use software which is not programmed by developers. A lot of software for building houses or other things is developed by normal guys, who do not have much skill in programming. When you need to install this type of software, it is very difficult. You have to install registry keys, etc. For that, it is very good to use the scripting part of this solution. So, you can automate this part as well."

"The solution has saved us a ton of time in several areas."

"Managing 3,000+ computers across our campus from one single solution has made our life (and work) so easy."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to monitor updates—the software versions—on machines so that we can keep everything compliant."

"We use the Systems Deployment appliance. It's our bread and butter. It is every machine that gets imaged here in this building and out through the whole state goes through the SDA. We rely on it completely. There is no manual process of getting a laptop out of a box, plugging it up, turning it on, and waiting for Windows to start. If you were to go to Best Buy and buy a brand new laptop, you spend the next two to three hours just setting it up. We don't do that. We get a laptop, plug it into the network, connect it to the SDA, and within about three clicks, we're done."

"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."

"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..."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

"Matrix42 Enterprise Mobility Management offers on-premises deployment."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to assign a package to a user on a system If you have your software packages set up via SCCM. It automates the process, which is very convenient, especially since most of our people are remote. Additionally, the overall functionality is good."

Cons

"There are some areas of improvement for Microsoft Intune, including faster policy sync so changes can apply quicker, a simpler interface, better reporting with more details and clear insight, improved troubleshooting, clearer error messages and logs, and stronger support for macOS and Linux, alongside better cross-platform features."

"The solution does require maintenance, and it is complex to maintain, especially regarding updates, patching, and releases."

"What frustrates me the most is just waiting and tapping my fingers, uncertain about whether my changes will take effect."

"Technical support is not that great."

"I cannot think of any particular features which I consider to be most valuable."

"The solution's app deployment needs to be improved."

"Its configuration is fairly complicated. You have to do quite a bit of discovery to be able to deploy it for a customer. You have to ask them a lot of questions. So, its initial deployment is the biggest challenge. They should make it easier to deploy with the use of Wizards or something else. During the deployment stage, there could be profiles for the customers who are particularly wanting to use certain feature sets of Intune."

"I consider Microsoft Intune's customer support decent but not always fast or consistent, especially compared to expectations in an enterprise environment."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"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."

"I would like for there to be improvement when it comes to Microsoft and Windows updates. It has the ability to do it but the control of it is not there like I have in the Windows Server Update Services. The way KACE does it is still very granular. You don't really see the process like it is in the Windows Server Update Services. I think that would be one of the biggest things that I would like to see KACE really put some work into and really make that a big enhancement."

"The setup process was not good with the Dell people. We had horrible training and the setup was not right on a bunch of stuff."

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

"There should be a mini toolbox, like the competitors of KACE have, with the small features for KACE administrators. That would make their lives easier. If you are troubleshooting a specific endpoint, remote control is available as is Wake-on-LAN. But if you want to execute some commands, you have to use a third-party tool, the PS tool. If they would integrate those small things, it would make KACE more powerful."

"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 K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB."

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

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

"Matrix42 Enterprise Mobility Management could improve the user interface, it is not very intuitive."

"In terms of integration, there is still room for improvement in Matrix42."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We work with the subscription rather than a server license. I think it's economical this way because we don't have to have a server license for that, and I think that works in our favor."

"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."

"As a partner, we always look for how we can generate more revenue from a consulting point of view, but I do not see any complaints from the customer side regarding pricing, so they are satisfied with it."

"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."

"There are licenses required for this solution. We enable licenses on the devices we need to manage."

"It is average. Some of the costs are quite high depending on what the customer currently uses, but overall, it is not bad. I would not say that I would not recommend Intune based on the cost. I definitely would, but they can definitely improve on the cost. So overall, its cost is not bad."

"If you're ever going to buy an Office 365 environment, then pricing is reasonable given all that it does, but if you're not, then you might find the pricing expensive."

"The price could be better."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"We pay annually for technical support."

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"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."

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

"Matrix42 is more affordable than Ivanti."

"I am not sure the price of this solution but I would imagine it is fairly expensive because of the complexity, you would not use it in a small company."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

10%

Construction Company

Non Profit

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	189
Midsize Enterprise	65
Large Enterprise	185

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

No data available

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...

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 agen...

What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Download KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

Download Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management product report

Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Dell KACE Systems Management

Matrix42 Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), Silverback Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

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

Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management is a comprehensive solution designed to streamline management across devices and platforms. It enhances productivity by providing a centralized approach to managing endpoints, offering efficient, secure collaboration within enterprises.

Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management addresses the complexities of managing diverse devices. By unifying administration tasks, it allows IT departments to deploy, secure, and support a wide range of endpoints. The integration capabilities with existing systems ensure seamless operation, reducing downtime and improving operational efficiency. The platform offers robust features that aid in compliance and security, making it indispensable for enterprises striving for excellence in endpoint management.

What are the most notable features?

Comprehensive Device Management: Supports various devices including smartphones, tablets, and laptops, ensuring smooth operation.
Integrated Security Controls: Provides multilayer protection to prevent breaches and data loss.
Customizable Reporting: Allows tailored insights and analytics for strategic planning.
Automated Workflow Processes: Streamlines routine tasks for enhanced productivity.

What benefits and ROI can be expected?

Enhanced Efficiency: Reduces manual intervention through automation, saving time.
Cost Effectiveness: Lowers operational costs by simplifying endpoint management.
Improved Compliance: Eases adherence to regulatory requirements with detailed monitoring.
Increased Security: Minimizes risks with proactive protection features.

Industries like healthcare and finance, which require stringent data security and regulatory compliance, find Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management invaluable. It supports sector-specific needs through secure data handling and efficient management of a large volume of endpoints, ultimately driving business success in these fields.

Matrix42

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

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

Partou Childcare

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Matrix42 Unified Endpoint Management