Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.6
Microsoft Intune enhanced productivity, improved security, and reduced costs by streamlining device management and minimizing third-party service needs.
Sentiment score
5.0
Users of ManageEngine Endpoint Central noted quick returns, reduced costs, and automation benefits, despite some facing specific challenges.
Sentiment score
7.2
Quest KACE streamlines operations, saving time and resources, offering quick ROI and enhancing productivity through efficient patch management and automation.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
Applications are deployed through Intune, and we see fewer tickets for common issues because we can resolve them through the solution.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Intune support is mixed; premium plans often better, but efficiency and responsiveness need improvement in device-related issues.
Sentiment score
6.0
ManageEngine Endpoint Central's support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays, communication, and inconsistent quality, especially regionally.
Sentiment score
7.9
Quest KACE support is praised for responsiveness, knowledgeable staff, and effective problem-solving, with minor ticket resolution time issues.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
The support team is available via chat and will create a ticket if they're not available, providing assistance even for small issues.
While they are generally good, there could be improvements in their response times to align with our SLAs.
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Microsoft Intune's scalability, cloud-based integration, and efficient management make it ideal for growing businesses and diverse environments.
Sentiment score
7.1
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is highly scalable, easily integrates licenses, and manages numerous endpoints efficiently, though initial setup can be intricate.
Sentiment score
7.1
Quest KACE scales efficiently, managing up to 10,000 endpoints, and adapts to expansions with simple resource additions and licensing.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Intune is praised for its stability and reliability, despite occasional sync delays and minor bugs.
Sentiment score
8.2
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is stable and reliable, with swift bug fixes and high stability ratings, despite minor update delays.
Sentiment score
8.1
Quest KACE SMA is reliable with minimal downtime, regular updates improve functionality, but frequent updates may need attention.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
A couple of years ago, the performance was not as good as it is now, but there are noticeable backend improvements.
The product is very stable, especially with the cloud version.
We haven't encountered issues very frequently.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune needs improved reporting, better non-Microsoft support, user-friendly interface, competitive pricing, and enhanced cross-platform management.
Users criticize ManageEngine Endpoint Central for support delays, interface confusion, high pricing, and request more features and improvements.
Quest KACE struggles with scalability, automation, usability, imaging, customization, and support, while needing improved licensing, reporting, and integration.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
It would be great if there was a smarter solution to address this issue.
Endpoint Central does not support Linux, which makes it challenging to patch Linux machines using commands.
The patch management module could be simplified as it is currently a bit complicated.
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune's flexible pricing is cost-effective in Microsoft 365 bundles with varied licensing models and negotiable enterprise agreements.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is cost-effective but requires careful understanding of complex licensing and potential extra fees.
Quest KACE SMA offers competitive pricing with per-device licensing, valued for comprehensive features and ROI for large organizations.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
ManageEngine products offer reasonable prices for their product quality.
The pricing is cheaper compared to other MDM products.
The pricing of ManageEngine Endpoint Central is quite decent.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
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.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune excels in integration, security, and management features, boosting productivity and security for Windows and BYOD environments.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central excels in patch management, software deployment, and asset management, enhancing productivity and security for IT teams.
Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance streamlines asset management, deployment, and IT tracking, enhancing productivity with automation and integration tools.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central is straightforward to use and implement.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central has significantly simplified my device management practices.
The GUI of Endpoint Central is very user-friendly, which simplifies the process of training new users.
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
273
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (4th)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
18th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (12th), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (17th), Patch Management (12th)
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
Charles A - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective vulnerability, desktop, and patch management
We are using ManageEngine Endpoint Central primarily for desktop management. It allows us to deploy patches, manage antivirus, control endpoints like DLP, and more The most valuable feature to me is the vulnerability management. It also has effective patch management capabilities. The main issue…
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Client Desktop Management solutions are best for your needs.
858,327 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
23%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?
ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. Wh...
What do you like most about ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Well, what we like is that it catch actually a lot of features constantly upgrading. So all the three maybe there the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
The pricing is cheaper compared to other MDM products, but I don't remember the exact details.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SM...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
The main use cases for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance are touch management, software and hardware inventory,...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
858,327 professionals have used our research since 2012.