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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Power Admin PA Server Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

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 Configuration Man...
Ranking in Server Monitoring
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Software Distribution (2nd), Configuration Management (4th), Patch Management (2nd)
Power Admin PA Server Monitor
Ranking in Server Monitoring
29th
Average Rating
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (74th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 4.2%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Power Admin PA Server Monitor is 1.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Configuration Manager4.2%
Power Admin PA Server Monitor1.6%
Other94.2%
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

NS
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Centralized endpoint control has streamlined deployments and improved security compliance
In my experience, the best features of Microsoft Configuration Manager are software deployments and updates, OSD, hardware and software inventory, compliance and configuration baseline, reporting and monitoring, and integration with Intune hybrid management. These features make endpoint management efficient and scalable. The feature I rely on the most day-to-day is software deployment and patch management. It keeps endpoints updated and secure with minimal manual effort. Inventory and compliance monitoring are also important, but daily deployments are critical. Microsoft Configuration Manager has had a significant positive impact on our organization in several ways: improved efficiency, enhanced security and compliance, standardization, scalability, and visibility reporting. Overall, Microsoft Configuration Manager has helped us save time, reduce risk, improve operational efficiency, and maintain strong control over our endpoints. One of the biggest impacts Microsoft Configuration Manager has had on efficiency is the reduced manual work for software deployment and patching. For example, deploying a new application or security updates to hundreds or thousands of devices previously required several days of manual effort, including running scripts, checking devices individually, and validating installation. With Microsoft Configuration Manager, these tasks are automated and managed, allowing deployments to complete in hours rather than days. We also have automated reporting for deployment success and compliance which saved the IT team significant time that used to be spent gathering and reconciling inventory data from multiple tools.
it_user225771 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Network Engineer at a engineering company with 51-200 employees
The setup is straightforward, but t​he satellite service installation file could be separated from the server one.
* The status overview page provides a state of computers monitored and provides quickly what users need to focus on * The satellite service installed on remote computers is an easy way to add clients, plus it's easy to deploy and to configure * The licence is perpetual and not linked to one computer, so it's possible to remove a licence from one computer and use it on another with no extra cost

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 very helpful and very responsive."
"Excellent reports for compliance, status of updates, and software metering."
"Patching is the main feature because SCCM is made to control the entire environment without manually interpreting. So it is good to use for patching."
"It's helped us solve problems surrounding patching, installing, and reporting different patches, etc., on the virtual machines."
"Overall, I believe Microsoft Configuration Manager is definitely a good product."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is patch management."
"We are using the solutions for PC application inventories, patch management for new PC installation, PC reinstallation, and zero-day patching."
"The stability of the product is good."
"The possibility to develop your own VB scripts."
"The satellite service installed on remote computers is an easy way to add clients, plus it's easy to deploy and to configure the licence is perpetual and not linked to one computer, so it's possible to remove a licence from one computer and use it on another with no extra cost"
 

Cons

"On some hardware, we'd like an easier way to get peripherals attached."
"It would be better if reporting were more user-friendly."
"Our company would prefer not rebooting computers while people are using them. There seems to be no strategy behind it."
"SCCM should strive to enhance the accuracy of its reporting functions in order to avoid any issues with incorrect or inaccurate data."
"A lot of experience is needed in terms of troubleshooting, as this is one of the most difficult tasks in MECM. We were seven people in a group and I was the only one that had the patience to do the troubleshooting at times."
"The reports are too busy. They could be simpler. I'm a technician, so I don't care how pretty the reports look. They should be easy to read. I'm designing this for production folks. They need to read the reports quickly when they're patching in the middle of the night."
"I want the system to provide some dependency relations. I would also like to see the relationship between different machines."
"Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM."
"The satellite service installation file could be separated from the server one. It would reduce the size of the file, and reduce the time to deploy on weak connections."
"Basic monitoring on Unix was working really well but it didn't really help under machines in Windows Domain Controller."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better."
"Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM. It's super-duper expensive but it works. The acquisition cost is expensive, it's labor-intensive. But it works."
"Its licensing is quite complicated because we are getting the license not only for SCCM but for the full Microsoft package. We don't need to pay for a separate license. We need to have one license that includes everything we need, such as Windows, Microsoft 365, SCCM, encryption, and so on. So, we don't have a specific price for it. Perhaps, it is good that it includes the full suite of licensing of Microsoft. It is expensive, but we are getting a lot of features."
"The price model is different for every client."
"We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable."
"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."
"Presently, I am using a free trial version."
"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise69
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the set up will take depends on the kind of technical architecture that your org...
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. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCCM?
The setup cost is considered sufficient. It is not significant enough for us to consider a change at the moment.
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Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM ), Microsoft SMS
PA Server Monitor
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Sauder Woodworking, Symantec, Microsoft, Skull Candy, NASA, Xerox, Chevron
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Power Admin PA Server Monitor and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.