KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs Qualys Patch Management comparison

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Qualys Patch 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

7.3

KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.

Sentiment score

7.2

Qualys Patch Management enhances security, reduces vulnerabilities, saves time, lowers costs, and offers an intuitive interface with updated data.

The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

With Qualys, we can save around 70 percent of time and between 30 to 40 percent of money.

Zafar Syed

Information Security Manager at BARC India

We have a 50 percent return on investment due to reduced operational complexity and increased efficiency in patching and detection.

Revathi VeeraRaghavan

Information Security - Manager at Infosys

We have achieved significant time savings of 90 percent, primarily due to comprehensive oversight and visibility of security issues.

reviewer2593263

Manager Information Security at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.

Sentiment score

7.3

Qualys Patch Management offers efficient support, though initial responses vary; communication is better via email than phone.

I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

The support team is experienced and responsive.

Arshad Nr

Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP

The support team is responsive and provides detailed information.

GokulM

Vulnerability Management Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Whenever we raise a request and mention the priority of the ticket, they respond immediately via email or call.

Pallavi Jain

Security Consultant at Onity

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.

Sentiment score

8.4

Qualys Patch Management is scalable, accommodating growth, though improvements are needed in multi-tenancy, Mac support, and licensing cost-efficiency.

The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

It scales efficiently across different machines globally, ensuring patches are deployed smoothly.

reviewer2589096

Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Qualys Patch Management is a globally scalable product, easily handling increasing workloads and users.

Zafar Syed

Information Security Manager at BARC India

If a client has purchased licensing for ten thousand assets and exceeds that, Qualys continues to scan those additional assets, which ensures the client's coverage.

Amber Mitchell

Lead Product Manager ASM at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.1

KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.

Sentiment score

7.6

Qualys Patch Management is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and rare disruptions, offering consistent performance for most users.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

I would rate the stability of Qualys Patch Management nine point five out of ten.

reviewer2590236

Information Security Lead at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

The stability of Qualys Patch Management is impeccable.

Sandeep Pasi

Sr Cyber Security Manager at BARC India

Overall, it is reliable.

Karan Bhateja

System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Room For Improvement

KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.

Qualys Patch Management requires better driver updates, user interface improvements, increased automation, and enhanced support and integration features.

Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

There is a limitation where Qualys may not always offer solutions for remediation, particularly for end-of-life or end-of-service applications.

Karan Bhateja

System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

It would be better if Qualys Patch Management identifies whether the process has failed at the first instance and provides a retry button or retry mechanism, allowing retries for failed patches.

AntonyLai

Sr Security Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

For critical options, they could make them red, green for medium, and blue for less significant options.

Arshad N. R.

Cyber Security Specialist at UBS Financial

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Setup Cost

KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.

Qualys Patch Management offers good value despite higher costs, with scaling benefits and improved affordability for small businesses.

The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

We get many more features at the same price as other solutions such as Microsoft SCCM.

Arshad Nr

Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP

However, it can be a bit expensive sometimes, and I think clients can be shocked when they see the price.

Amber Mitchell

Lead Product Manager ASM at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

The pricing is reasonable and less expensive than the previous tool.

Chaitanya Kajjam

Technical Lead - Security Operations at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Valuable Features

KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.

Qualys Patch Management offers automated scheduling, real-time insights, and risk-based management, enhancing security and reducing vulnerabilities efficiently.

Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.

For more quotes and insights, download the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Avocat at Star Boxes India Pvt Ltd

We leverage this functionality to deploy scripts that adjust registry values, effectively patching vulnerabilities and enhancing the security of our machines.

reviewer2589096

Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

We have been able to apply workarounds for zero-day vulnerabilities efficiently.

Arshad Nr

Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP

It provides insight into the organization's security posture and keeps databases updated with new CVEs.

Mubashir K

Cyber Security Engineer at Techensglobal

For more quotes and insights, download the Qualys Patch Management report

Categories and Ranking

KACE Systems Management App...

Ranking in Patch Management

9th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (10th)

Qualys Patch Management

Ranking in Patch Management

1st

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 3.9%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Patch Management is 3.6%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Qualys Patch Management	3.6%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)	3.9%
Other	92.5%

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

Reliability and adaptability enable efficient application deployment and security management

Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The best features Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) offers include the scripting function, which stands out to me because I can find specific needs and deploy the applications based on those needs. There was a time when scripting really saved me time by allowing me to find specific registry entries and modify them to patch security vulnerabilities. Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before. I really enjoy the security features that are enabled to deploy Microsoft and other vendor patches, which stand out to me as key functionalities.

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Arshad N. R.

Cyber Security Specialist at UBS Financial

Patch management process becomes more efficient and cost-effective while significantly improving vulnerability remediation rates

Regarding improvements in Qualys Patch Management, I did not quite understand the downsides they were expecting. Initially, I was confused about where to find and how to use the available features. It was challenging to identify the options we could employ and why we were using them. However, once I gained hands-on experience, I was able to identify the tool's particular features, making it easier for us to use it. The initial phase had some difficulty with the user interface. I would them to improve user training. They have used many colors, which can be confusing, so they should use specific colors for specific options. For critical options, they could make them red, green for medium, and blue for less significant options. This would make it easier for a beginner to recognize which buttons are dangerous to click. Such adjustments can help new users learn the solution faster.

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879,711 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

12%

Non Profit

Government

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	23

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.

What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?

I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the...

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

My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, and we use it day-to-day to handle those tasks. With Quest KACE Systems Managemen...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Patch Management?

The pricing of Qualys is promising, but I don't have the specifics. Based on my experience, both Qualys and Tenable have similar price points, but clients choose based on whether they need a compre...

What needs improvement with Qualys Patch Management?

Qualys should improve by offering a dedicated testing environment for patches, allowing clients to test patches before deploying them to production. Currently, clients must manage this themselves, ...

What is your primary use case for Qualys Patch Management?

I have experience using Qualys because I'm a pre-sales engineer in one of the systems integrator companies here in the Philippines. I am also handling and selling Qualys, doing presentations to our...

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Product Reports

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Download KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Qualys Patch Management

Download Qualys Patch Management product report

Also Known As

Dell KACE Systems Management

No data available

Overview

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

Qualys Patch Management optimizes patching and vulnerability remediation through automation and intelligence insights, accelerating the process by 43% and improving patch rates by 90%. Its integration with CMDB and ITSM tools speeds up ticket closures by 60%, effectively reducing the attack surface while freeing IT and security resources. This cloud-based solution bridges the IT-security gap, making it essential for cybersecurity.

Qualys

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Qualys Patch Management