Microsoft Configuration Manager Reviews

This is a diverse tool so its use case varies. Most people use it for patch management and software distribution, and operating system deployment. It can also be used for policy management and for maintaining a baseline on the computer, depending on the company and its goals. We are consultants and resellers and deploy this solution on the cloud and on-prem. We use Azure for our cloud deployments. I'm a consultant and president and CEO of our company. 

The solution enables significant streamlining and reduces resources from a personnel perspective.

Patching is very effective and reporting is very good. In general, the software distribution and operating system deployment are very good. Most organizations with small support resources leverage it, along with the Azure Autopilot component or the Intune Autopilot component. The customer orders the solution, it's shipped to them, they open it, log on with their Azure credentials and it builds the machine for them as opposed to going to an imaging center, and having a dedicated staff for that particular function. 

I think the asset management component, the TSM piece, could be improved. That would allow them to compete with other products. It's currently very basic and rudimentary because there are no other connectors such as PeopleSoft that you can get.

I've been using this solution for 24 years. 

This is a very mature product so it's very stable. In the 24 years I've been using it, most of the kinks have been worked out. It's all about having a healthy network and a healthy, active directory structure. If those two things are in place, you'll have a really good experience. If not, it will definitely show its head in the SCCM product. 

The scalability is excellent. 

Technical support for SCCM is good. You have to get past the tier one person, but once you get to a dedicated MECM engineer, it's good. The support forums are also helpful. 

If the solution is being deployed by someone with experience, it can be done in about two hours. They're pretty good with hydration kits where you can configure all the prerequisites and all the components, and you're up and running in about two clicks. It's the customer and budget that dictates how complex or how involved a setup is. If they're only leveraging a couple of the core features of the product, it's pretty straightforward, but if they want to use more advanced functions and distribute that out and do low balancing and that sort of thing, it takes a little more time. Generally, clients allow us to integrate for them, we conduct a turnkey training solution, and then they take it over.

Although the solution is not as expensive as Ivanti, the cost is still quite high. Certain licensing arrangements can get you a better deal, but it's still expensive. It's based on a CAL license, so if you have a client on an endpoint, there's going to be a charge. I think it's around $US35 per license per year. It's not too bad. 

If you're new to the solution then it's worthwhile studying the documentation because it's not easy in terms of all the components that make it up such as SQL and so forth. 

I rate the solution nine out of 10. 

We use MECM for intelligent logic automation. About 400,000 users are impacted by the solution, but there are around 20 admins who work with it directly. We have multiple automation tools and use the one that makes sense as needed.

We're designing PowerShell scripts to automate patching the boot process. The ROI is there.

I like the data collection. 

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 have used MECM for about four or five months.

I rate MECM nine out of 10 for stability. 

I rate MECM eight out of 10 for scalability.

I haven't gotten support from Microsoft for MECM, but I've contacted them in the past for various tickets. They're professional.

I work in the lab. I design a solution before it's deployed in production. I wasn't involved in the actual deployment. Deploying things in the lab is different. It's a much smaller footprint.

So far, the ROI is pretty decent.

MECM is more expensive than Ansible, which is open and free. That's why we'll use other tools as needed for automation. 

I rate Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager seven out of 10. You need to have the right mindset to use it. The first question should always be: Can this be automated? From there, you'll see if the product will satisfy their automation requirements.

We use this solution to apply new group policies.

The solution was particularly helpful for patching the OS, and for the VM in our environment. With 10 branches, we have a huge number of VMs. Using ECM, we can download the new patches one by one, apply and then restore them. It saves us a lot of time. 

The valuable feature is the ability to gain all the data you need. We can collect data and get insight into the functionalities of their scope. As system administrators, we get a summarized report for each site with the installed version of the OS for all PCs in our environment. We know which meet the requirements and which don't. For those that don't, we can mitigate any potential vulnerabilities or threats.

I think managing Linux devices could be improved. It would help our colleagues and other departments like the dev opps, who only use Linux machines to quickly patch their VMs.

I've been using this solution for two years. 

The solution is stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

The technical support could be improved. 

The initial setup is very straightforward. We have six users. 

It's important to keep the database going at all times to avoid any interruption of the service. The implementation must be very well designed because you have to know the scope of your workload and that should be addressed in the action plan before proceeding with the deployment. 

I rate this solution eight out of 10. 

I use the solution to manage security and policies. 

The solution effectively handles inventory management, deployment, and reporting. 

The solution does not support remote devices so CMG is still required. 

I have been using the solution for six years. 

The solution is very stable. 

The solution is for ICCM so does not scale like a cloud application. It is intended for security, management, or device teams and not end users. 

Scaling is always available with a monetary investment. 

Technical support is pretty good. 

The complexity of setup depends many factors such as the number of sites or distribution points and whether they will be centrally administered. Proper planning and execution are important. 

Deployments of an ICCM server can take up to four weeks. 

The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive. 

Pricing is reasonable for small companies but large companies or enterprise environments require multiple licenses. 

The solution is very stable and robust with a longstanding reputation. It works well with Windows devices and offers good management for ICCM.

The cloud-based platform is a good option for managing only Android or iOS devices. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

The primary use case of the solution is to deploy the computers and servers.

The most valuable feature is that it integrates well with other Microsoft solutions.

The solution can be improved with the addition of a mobile device manager.

I have been using the solution for three years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable.

The initial setup is straightforward.

The implementation was completed in-house.

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

I recommend the solution because it functions as advertised. The solution is user-friendly and easy to learn. The solution has a nice-looking interface, unlike others out there.

We are using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to manage our client's Microsoft estate. 

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is the availability of being able to manage the Microsoft estate. It handles many areas, such as asset management and tracking.

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager could improve the integration.

I have been using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager for approximately 10 years.

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is highly stable.

The scalability of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is good.

The support for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is good.

We did not face any challenges with the initial setup of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager. The time it takes to do the deployment depends upon the size of the environment. Smaller deployments don't take more than a week and very large deployments can take up to three to six months.

The support staff needed for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager depends upon the size of the deployment. However, we do not require a large number of people to support it. 

Microsoft comes with an end-to-end package that can include Office 365 and many other applications put together, it makes it a very integrated system for people to use.

We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable.

I rate Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager a nine out of ten.

The on-premises useability is very good.

The solution is stable. 

For the most part, for our needs, the scaling is fine.

Microsoft is already pushing users towards Intune, as opposed to SCCM. It's on the roadmap for them. It's inevitable. SCCM will be on Endpoint Manager in the future. I would say nothing needs to be changed.

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.

We have used the solution for the past decade. It's been around ten years at this point.

The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

SCCM is built for corporate networks. There is some advantage from Microsoft in terms of the content management gateway that we already have so that we can utilize the internet, however, scaling is fairly it's straightforward.

In our company, we have 44,000 devices. We do not need more. Scalability-wise we are good. We are not a company of hundred thousand devices. I'm not looking to scale it more. Therefore, I can't speak to what scalability would be like for those with 100,000 or more devices.

We have a support team that does technical support for us. I don't work directly with Microsoft. I go into priority calls, however, our technical teams manage that. Therefore, I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

We are trying to transition from SCCM to Bigfix.

My understanding is that the installation is a two-day setup, however, I did not personally set it up, and therefore can't speak of the implementation or how easy or difficult it might have been.

I cannot speak on pricing. I let the procurement team deal with it. Therefore, I don't have any information on licensing fees, et cetera.

I have looked at comparisons between Bigfix, SCCM, and Intune. I personally prefer INTune as a solution, however, the company is moving towards Bigfix and away from SCCM.

We are just customers and end-users of SCCM.

We have been using SCCM for the past decade, however, now, the company is supposed to go with Intune for model management. However, we have a new CPO or CSO double hatting with security as well. He's more inclined in Bigfix features, which offer more robust patch management as well as vulnerability scan. SWe dropped the plan to go with Intune and will go with Bigfix, moving us away from SCCM.

Our CPO, CSO is mainly the driver for the change, not because it is on our roadmap or our partnership with the vendor or anybody else.

In general, I would recommend the solution to other organizations and companies. We've been happy with it over the years. I'd rate it at a nine out of ten.

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps with patch management. 

The tool's deployment is difficult. Microsoft needs to improve documentation with videos. 

I have been working with the product for ten years. 

Microsoft Configuration Manager is stable. We have experienced downtime from time to time. 

We use the tool's free license. It is expensive. 

I rate Microsoft Configuration Manager a six out of ten.