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Microsoft System Center vs Nagios XI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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
8.3
Microsoft System Center boosts efficiency, saves costs through automation and internal task handling, achieving ROI in eight months.
Sentiment score
6.6
Nagios XI enhances efficiency and time management but concerns about increased costs affect ROI perception across organizations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.9
Microsoft System Center support is appreciated but criticized for slow response times, regional dependencies, and cost concerns.
Sentiment score
6.5
Nagios XI support is mixed; praised for responsiveness but criticized for high cost, complex licensing, and delayed responses.
As a partner, I cannot create a ticket directly; I have to involve the end user's email to create one, so using the Software Assurance ID to create a ticket directly is not possible, making it very challenging for me.
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft System Center is highly scalable, managing thousands of endpoints efficiently, yet requires careful resource consideration for optimal performance.
Sentiment score
7.1
Nagios XI is scalable for small to medium environments but faces challenges in large infrastructures and cloud adaptability.
Microsoft System Center is scalable, allowing integration even if I have different sites.
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
If the user interface isn’t presenting data well, it becomes difficult to manage when scaling.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft System Center is valued for its maturity and stability, performing reliably with manageable bugs and efficient update resolutions.
Sentiment score
7.3
Nagios XI is stable, but large deployments may experience performance issues, database problems, and minor network dependencies.
It is very stable.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft System Center needs improved third-party integration, simplified installation, enhanced performance, user interface updates, and better documentation.
Nagios XI's interface is outdated, lacks scalability, needs better cloud integration, APIs, automation, and improved documentation.
The disadvantage of Microsoft System Center is related to the many integrated services; if one service is failing, then all features will be affected.
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
The GUI could be improved. It's a bit too basic.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft System Center is pricey, with annual fees and potential savings from SQL Server, rated 5-7 on affordability.
Nagios XI provides cost-efficient enterprise-level monitoring with reasonable pricing, appreciated for its features and open-source options.
We are using the free, open-source version.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft System Center offers comprehensive endpoint management with integration, automation, monitoring, and ease of use in Windows environments.
Nagios XI provides customizable, flexible, and scalable IT infrastructure monitoring with real-time alerts and extensive plugin support.
In Microsoft System Center, all the features are integrated already, whereas in ManageEngine, you have to license each feature individually to access those features.
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
The alerting system is very effective.
Site Duty Manager at Assw
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft System Center
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (15th)
Nagios XI
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (27th), Server Monitoring (14th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (29th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Cloud Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center is 0.6%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios XI is 3.3%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Nagios XI3.3%
Microsoft System Center0.6%
Other96.1%
Cloud Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Carl Palapal - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
Provides comprehensive system management with effective deployment and integration capabilities
The advantages of Microsoft System Center are significant, and I have seen other products as well. As far as advantages are concerned, they have PXE deployment, which is good for deploying operating systems, such as Windows client systems including Windows 10 and Windows 11. Since it is a Microsoft product, all the patches are proprietary, making it easier to deploy. In Microsoft System Center, all the features are integrated already, whereas in ManageEngine, you have to license each feature individually to access those features. The automated features of Virtual Machine Manager are very useful; it automates as long as the policy that I have created is in line with the objective, especially the templates when I'm going to deploy. Regarding endpoint management, Microsoft System Center is very helpful; it has integrated endpoint protection deployment, allowing me to handle endpoint configuration, system deployment, and patch deployment, making it an all-in-one stop shop for managing and configuring end clients. The impact of using Microsoft System Center is significant; it gives me a whole picture of my environment, making it easy to get inventory details regarding applications and hardware, providing full visibility of my setup within the organization.
Emmanuel Appiah Boateng - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Simplifies setup and requires user interface enhancement
Nagios XI is easy to install, which sets it apart from other open-source solutions I've tried. Typically, setting up a monitoring system on Linux involves cloning files from GitHub, building it, and installing many dependencies, but with Nagios XI, it wasn't like that. Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools.
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft System Center?
The disadvantage of Microsoft System Center is related to the many integrated services; if one service is failing, then all features will be affected. For example, with site configuration, when one...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
What is your primary use case for Nagios XI?
I normally use Nagios XI for our servers. It's not particularly used for network equipment, however, I use it for monitoring our server performance, including CPU, memory, data, and services runnin...
 

Also Known As

MS System Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Kassen_rztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein, Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Adeka, QualCare, Aeriandi, UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar, Allianz Australia Ltd., Grupo Familia
Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center vs. Nagios XI and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.