It is used for software deployments, PC operating system deployments, and security patch deployments.
Currently, we are using it on-premises, but we are slowly moving to the cloud solution that is called Intune or Microsoft Endpoint Management (MEM).
We have high availability for all of our deployments. We can trust this platform for all our deployments. We are quite happy with the fact that we can do what we want to do. It fulfills our goals for all deployments.
It is a very well-rounded product. It is a complete package with all the features using which we are able to manage our PCs very efficiently.
One area of improvement is regarding the patching of Office 365 products. We have some difficulties on this side, and it can be improved.
Their support should be improved. Mostly, when we are doing patches on Microsoft 365 clients, we need to escalate to Microsoft support. It takes a long time to get to someone in their support team who has good knowledge of the product. Their support at level one is not quite helpful and knowledgeable.
In my current company, we deployed SCCM two years ago.
Its stability is quite good, and its performance is quite good. There is nothing to complain about.
It is scalable, but we are far from reaching that limit. We don't have any problem with its scalability.
We have three people working on the SCCM side. In terms of the implementation, we have 6,000 PCs that have this installed. It is being used daily.
Mostly, when we are doing patches on Microsoft 365 clients, we need to escalate to Microsoft support. We are not quite happy with the support because it takes a long time to get to someone who is knowledgeable. When we have a tricky issue like this, it is very complicated to get appropriate support. We lose a lot of time with Microsoft support before we find someone who is able to understand and resolve the issue.
We were previously working with BigFix. I also worked with HPE's solution. As compared to these two products, SCCM is much more integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem. We are fully on Windows, so it is much easier for us to manage our PCs with SCCM. It is easier to have a Microsoft product on Microsoft operating systems.
It is a Microsoft product, and we have an efficient team that is managing the solution. We have a lot of people who have the knowledge of doing its setup. So, deployment is not an issue for us. If you know the product, it is quite easy. You just need the knowledge of the product.
From the beginning to the end, it took about six months. It was deployed on all PCs.
We mainly had two people for its implementation. I managed the deployment, and I had one external resource who helped me in implementing the full product. To implement it, we needed to integrate all of the enterprise applications. This integration of the enterprise applications was outsourced, and there were a few people involved.
For its maintenance, we have a resource in India who is managing the solution. We need one full-time administrator for managing the solution. We also have one person who is integrating new applications and updates with this platform.
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.
In the next release, we are moving to the cloud, which also fits the strategy of Microsoft. We would like that the features on the cloud side are very similar to what we have on the on-premise side. We are looking to move to the cloud with Intune, but Intune is not like SCCM in terms of the features. We prefer that they develop all the features on the cloud.
I would recommend others to go for it if they are using any other solution to manage their Windows or Microsoft environment. It will make life easier. I would also recommend others to check the cloud solution before implementing the on-premise solution. They can see what can be done on the cloud. Cloud is not fully ready to replace the on-premise solution, but they can do some of the parts on the cloud and some of the parts on-premises.
I would rate it a nine out of 10.
We are a distributor and solution provider, and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients. It is used for monitoring the performance of applications and infrastructure.
The most valuable feature is the Access Rights Manager.
It is a very powerful tool for database administration and management.
The support for Active Directory is good.
Support for the IBM Mainframe is needed.
I have been working with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor for two years.
This is a stable product.
It is absolutely scalable. We have worked on projects of different sizes for companies operating on local, national, and international levels. The smaller deployments include perhaps 10 network devices, 20 servers, and two network storage devices. We have done several medium-sized deployments with between 100 and 500 servers, including two data centers.
The technical support is nothing special. The service is available on a 24/7 basis, which is good enough for my market.
I have worked with similar solutions including Zabbix, HPE Performance Manager, and Microsoft System Center Manager. I have good opinions of HPE and SolarWinds.
This solution is simple to deploy. I do not need more than two or three hours to complete it.
I spend perhaps 30 minutes customizing it, making technical changes for the customer's environment and infrastructure. This can be done once we have all of the information that we need concerning the IT processes.
I like the pricing for this SolarWinds product.
There are several tools included in this solution including AppStack (Application Stack Management), PerfStack (Performance Analysis), and NetPath (Network Path Analysis).
This is an open platform so if there is something that it does not support then you can write your own scripts. You have the ability to include metrics from different systems, which is very good.
In summary, I like this product and I recommend it. SolarWinds is one of the best products on the market and if they eventually support the IBM Mainframe then it will be perfect.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
