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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Symantec Client Management Suite comparison

 

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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Configuration Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Software Distribution (2nd), Server Monitoring (5th), Configuration Management (4th), Patch Management (2nd)
Symantec Client Management ...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Configuration Manager is designed for Server Monitoring and holds a mindshare of 4.1%, down 5.3% compared to last year.
Symantec Client Management Suite, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 13.6% mindshare, down 23.8% since last year.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Configuration Manager4.1%
Zabbix10.3%
Nagios XI6.1%
Other79.5%
Server Monitoring
Client Desktop Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Client Management Suite13.6%
ManageEngine Endpoint Central19.1%
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)12.3%
Other55.0%
Client Desktop Management
 

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.
Sathish-Holla - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees
Knowledgeable support, easy client management, and straightforward agent installation
Symantec Client Management Suite is used for Microsoft Windows patches and inventory management. The solution can be deployed on-premise and on the cloud Yes it helped to update systems remotely  The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can remote control or RDP. That has been the most valuable because we can go into one console and can get to anything we want. Instead of going to all these different consoles, we centralized everything."
"I really like SCCM."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ability to deploy patches to nearly all applications."
"Excellent reports for compliance, status of updates, and software metering."
"The tool's most valuable features include security updates and patch management, which are critical functions for maintaining security. The automated software distribution and the ability to manage deployments are also highly useful. Enforcing compliance with set policies on systems is another key functionality we leverage."
"SCCM does everything from A to Z for a Windows operating system."
"Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is a complete solution for what we need it for, and I would recommend it to others."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is the availability of being able to manage the Microsoft estate, as it handles many areas such as asset management and tracking."
"This is a very strong solution, and the most important thing for us is that it is very easy to use, as well as the availability of it in our support centers."
"The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and agent installation."
"We can track the incidents, we can track the changes, we can track the assets from cradle to grave and give some kind of accounting as they get older."
 

Cons

"This solution needs to be supported on all Operating systems."
"The database should be made to be more stable and robust, but not so much the configuration."
"It would be better if automation options were available."
"SCCM should strive to enhance the accuracy of its reporting functions in order to avoid any issues with incorrect or inaccurate data."
"The App to upgrades to the server needs to be improved."
"The solution is on-premises. The cloud version of the product, if a person needs to be on the cloud, would be InTune, which already exists as an option. SCCM doesn't need to offer cloud features for this reason."
"I think SCCM can improve whatever details they shared with the integration partner. There was a lot of junk software and data."
"It would be better if reporting were more user-friendly."
"Symantec Client Management Suite can improve by adding more network devices."
"The technical support is in need of improvement."
"The technical support has been troubling for me. I would rate them a six out of ten."
"Some parts are working okay, some of the other components aren't. Workflow isn't working properly. Different people accepting changes and being able to close it has some issues. Putting hot fixes and installing it usually breaks the system."
"Some parts are working okay, some of the other components aren't. Workflow isn't working properly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive."
"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."
"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."
"We use the tool's free license. It is expensive."
"The price model is different for every client."
"The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."
"SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free."
"When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."
"The price of the solution is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Government
12%
University
11%
Hospitality Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

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
Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Alghanim Industries, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd, Barnabas Health, Berry Plastics Corporation, BNY Mellon, Borealis, British American Tobacco Italia S.p.A, Cabela's Inc., Carrington Holding Company, College of Science, Technology, and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), Comparex, Cybercom Plenware Oy, DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Dickinson Dees LLP, Farmington Area Public Schools, Fazer Group, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, ForceTEC Co. Ltd., Frucor Beverages Ltd, Hadassah University Hospital, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Hutchison Whampoa (China) Commerce Limited, Indian River School District, Johnson County Community College, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Kier Group plc, Kwizda Holdings GmbH, Lake Health, Lansky Ganzger & Partner, Mobilezone, Molina Healthcare Inc., Nanyang Technological University, NASDAQ OMX Group Inc., Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pima Community College, Regional council of Franche-Comt_, Shanghai Pudong International Container Terminals Co. Ltd., Siemens Professional Education, Symantec Corporation (Endpoint Security 12.1), TIVIT, Travelport, University of Oxford
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, NinjaOne, Broadcom and others in Server Monitoring. Updated: May 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.