SCOM vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Microsoft and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.2, while SolarWinds is ranked #31 with an average rating of 7.6. Microsoft holds a 1.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

SCOM

Read 83 SCOM reviews

9,977 Views
6,685 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

3,271 Views
3,206 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

SCOM

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SCOM and SolarWinds Network Device Monitor compete in IT monitoring. SCOM has an edge with robust Microsoft integration and flexible custom solutions. SolarWinds is user-friendly with simpler network monitoring capabilities.

Features: SCOM offers strong Microsoft technology monitoring, extensive management packs, and flexibility in creating custom solutions. It supports various systems like Windows, Unix, and network devices with comprehensive dashboards. SolarWinds provides effective network monitoring with customizable dashboards and is designed for ease of use but has less integration in Microsoft environments.

Room for Improvement: SCOM's pricing is high since it requires the entire System Center suite; it needs easier dashboard customization and better support for non-Microsoft products. SolarWinds should improve platform integration and reporting features, alongside developing AI-based issue resolution for better usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SCOM is mainly on-premises with some hybrid cloud features, benefiting from Microsoft's Premier Support for consistent assistance. SolarWinds also operates on-premises but offers greater flexibility with private and hybrid cloud options. Its support service is efficient yet could improve response times.

Pricing and ROI: SCOM, part of Microsoft's System Center, is often bundled in enterprise agreements, offering potential cost savings despite high initial costs. Its ROI includes proactive monitoring and reduced downtime. SolarWinds has variable pricing, potentially higher than alternatives, with ROI realized through immediate alerts and network management efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed SCOM vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

SCOM vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

June 2026

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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:

Categories and Ranking

SCOM

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

15th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Event Monitoring (2nd)

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

31st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of SCOM is 1.5%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
SCOM	1.5%
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.9%
Other	97.6%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Akshita Kukreja

Assistant Manager at SMS group GmbH

Have integrated effective monitoring and seamless alerting with improved visualization capabilities

The most valuable feature of SCOM is its monitoring capability, and we have integrated SCOM with Grafana, which is a dashboarding tool. We have implemented and integrated this to create dashboarding of the SCOM monitoring system for the database, SQL, and the Linux servers we have configured in SCOM. We have created separate dashboarding for it, and the monitoring and creating rules and monitors in the management servers and management packs that SCOM provides are very useful for us. The alerting mechanism of SCOM has benefited our operations because we have modified the thresholds as per our internal requirements. We have configured threshold modifications for the CPU, memory, and especially for disk space. For routine disk space usage on the system, we have provided a separate threshold configuration.

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Sorin Gogean

IT Infrastructure Senior Network Technician at Autoliv

Offers some features but needs better customization and analysis tools

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for improvement. The features are not as customizable as we would prefer, but they are workable. If configured properly, you can perform a drill-down analysis. However, I have not used this feature much for our infrastructure on the network side.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"SCOM has helped us to monitor all the VMs in our environment, especially the Windows servers."

"The most valuable feature is the extensibility, as there are really no limits as to what you can do with it."

"This solution helps our application teams by allowing them to drill further into issues and perform a root cause analysis."

"All our environments are automated to automatically install the SCOM agents across different domains which helps us to check the health of the server, to get the server details like IIS, app pools, Performance counters like CPU, Memory, Disk usage, etc."

"They have great integration with the active directory."

"We are able to do problem determination on runaway processes."

"The most valuable feature of SCOM is the capability of using classes within your management pack development."

"This product helps companies detect problems before they cause any real problems like downtime."

More SCOM pros

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it can alert you when a device is not working."

"The most valuable features of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor are the reports. We are configuring the reports, and the first reports are only about the devices. We are configuring the thresholds in order to monitor all the devices."

"In terms of general network monitoring features, I find SolarWinds Network Device Monitor very flexible and comfortable to use. The software itself is extremely useful when it comes to monitoring how our data moves between different networks and environments."

"We are doing more with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor than we were doing in the past with WhatsApp Gold; when we moved to SolarWinds Network Device Monitor, the whole observability part started to grow."

"The alerts we are getting when we start losing connection access have been helpful."

"The deployment process is quick."

"SolarWinds is flexible and works with multiple vendor devices."

"Since our devices are spread out across the world, we can see the status of these devices without having to send someone physically to a remote location, which saves money."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"In some ways, SCOM is a double-edged sword."

"There were some deployment and configuration problems with the gateway server and overall this feature works a bit sloppy with other monitoring."

"Stability and some performance issues exist and they need improvement."

"Dashboarding and application performance management."

"Direct integration with third-party tools, like ticketing systems, is lacking but would be beneficial."

"My advice to people who are looking for a solution like SCOM would actually be to advise them to move from licensed software to open-source."

"I would like to see more standard libraries for the market solutions, out of the box, that you don't need to do a lot of work on."

"Regarding certain issues in the solution, it can be difficult to generate reports if we have a program that is not user-friendly for reporting. While this is not necessarily negative, we may need to use another solution."

More SCOM cons

"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"SolarWinds pricing is on the higher side, and in India, every customer is cautious about commercial aspects."

"It would be beneficial if SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could provide a feature to monitor CRC errors specifically on individual interfaces rather than the entire device. This would help in detecting intermittent issues and packet drops on main links more accurately, especially when there are CRC errors. It's important for us to be aware of these issues to avoid any voice quality problems or interruptions on our MTS links."

"There were certain aspects that weren't supported exactly. I was just able to monitor some basic things."

"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."

"The initial setup of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could be easier. It took us approximately one month to complete the implementation."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more expensive than the competition."

"Our licensing fees are approximately $30 per user, per month."

"We have an EA with Microsoft, and it comes as part of the EA."

"Two customers bought the enterprise agreement with Microsoft and paid for Software Assurance. But few customers don't buy it for Software Assurance. They just buy it and deploy it, and they think that we will be using it for the next five years."

"The pricing is good, and it's part of their system center suite."

"We have an enterprise agreement that includes this product as part of it."

"If you have a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, then this is part of the agreement."

"It is the cheapest product available in the market."

More SCOM pricing and cost advice

"The product is expensive."

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	54

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCOM?

I am not aware of the exact pricing as it is managed by my supervisor. As an academic institution, we receive substantial discounts.

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What needs improvement with SCOM?

We believe that the dashboarding in SCOM needs to be improved or enhanced because it is not too expressive in reporting. We can work on deploying new ways of viewing things and modifying visualizat...

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What is your primary use case for SCOM?

My usual use case for SCOM is as an administrator role where I create reports and provide system configuration for Linux and installation of the SCOM agent. I handle deploying and upgrading the age...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I have experience regarding the AD part, but my focus for the last 15 years has been oriented to the network side. My experience with identity tools comes more from a network perspective. We used N...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SCOM

June 2026

Download SCOM product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

June 2026

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

System Center Operations Manager, SCOM 2012

Network Device Monitor

Overview

SCOM monitors Microsoft environments with a focus on Windows servers and applications such as SQL, Exchange, and SharePoint. It offers integration with Active Directory and Azure, along with customizable dashboards, management packs, and robust alert mechanisms, aiding efficient management and control.

SCOM provides a comprehensive monitoring solution for Microsoft technologies, helping organizations track performance and availability of applications, services, and infrastructure. It integrates with Active Directory and Azure, offering capabilities for monitoring Windows and Linux environments. Extensive management packs, customizable dashboards, and automated alerts offer a refined monitoring experience. Users benefit from detailed performance data, network monitoring, and auto-discovery features, enhancing operational insights and server management efficiency.

What are key features of SCOM?

Microsoft Environment Monitoring: Specialized for Windows servers and applications such as SQL, Exchange, and SharePoint.
Integration Capabilities: Seamless integration with Active Directory and Azure for streamlined operations.
Customizable Dashboards: Tailor visual data displays to enhance monitoring and decision-making.
Extensive Management Packs: Broad range of management packs for enhanced resource and application control.
Robust Alert Mechanisms: Comprehensive alerting to maintain service stability and address potential issues promptly.

What benefits should users seek in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Enhanced management of server applications and infrastructure.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Detailed insights into performance and service availability.
Proactive Issue Notification: Timely alerts for quick issue resolution.
Improved Control: More efficient server management through automation and visibility.

In technology sectors, SCOM is widely implemented for its ability to monitor server applications and infrastructure components. Healthcare and finance utilize its monitoring and alert systems for compliance and uptime. Enterprises integrate SCOM for managing complex systems like Exchange, SharePoint, and Active Directory, enabling comprehensive analytics and reporting.

Microsoft

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor offers comprehensive real-time network monitoring capabilities with seamless integration across multiple vendor devices, ensuring efficient network operations.

Offering features like cloud workload monitoring, quick deployment, and a user-friendly interface, SolarWinds Network Device Monitor supports real-time alert thresholds, accurate link readings, historical utilization metrics, and customizable dashboards. Its ability to integrate with multiple vendor devices and perform network discovery enhances operational efficiency. Comprehensive bandwidth and fault management features provide stable network monitoring, benefiting devices such as switches and IP phones. However, there is room for improvement in integration with tools like ServiceNow and Excel, support response times, and enhanced security. Users highlight the need for a mobile version, improved reporting, and better customization options, alongside concerns about setup complexity and licensing costs.

What are the key features?

Cloud Workload Monitoring: Monitors workloads hosted in the cloud.
User-Friendly Interface: Offers an intuitive experience for users.
Quick Deployment: Simplifies installation and setup processes.
Real-Time Monitoring: Provides immediate alerts for network statuses.
Customizable Dashboards: Enhances network visibility with tailored displays.

What benefits can users expect?

Proactive Problem Solving: Real-time alerts facilitate quick issue resolution.
Efficiency: Automated network monitoring streamlines operational workflows.
Insightful Analytics: Provides valuable data on memory and CPU usage.
Cost-Effective: Monitors bandwidth and fault management to reduce outages.

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is implemented prominently in industries needing robust network infrastructure monitoring, like tech and manufacturing. Companies rely on its capabilities for IP address management, cloud workload monitoring, and remote equipment monitoring, gaining insights into system performance and ensuring compliance checks are met effectively.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Dialog Telekom

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

SCOM vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

June 2026

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