Quest KACE Systems Management Primary Use Case

MW
Systems Administrator at Custom Truck One Source

We use the System Management Appliance and the System Deployment Appliance.

On the K1000 management appliance, we're running version 12.0.103 and on the K2000 deployment appliance, we're running version 8. Our solution is deployed through a virtual machine.

For the K1000, we push out the agents through a group policy and provisioning agent. For the K2000, which we have four of, we have them set up as virtual machines and they reach out through PXE boot, IPv4 PXE.

We use the K1000 to manage all of our machines. Currently, there are 1,626, which includes 20 Android devices. We have a complete scripting library where managed jobs are maintained, both ones that run now and case by case.

We also use it to distribute and manage software. We use it to repeal unwanted software. We use it to disable machines after a given amount of time and repeal them from Active Directory. It is utilized for Windows feature build updates, as well as tracking Windows patch management and Windows patching.

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GR
Computer Management at University South Brittany

We are a small university of 10,000 students with 1,000 faculty and staff. We have to manage about 3500 computers spread over 3 sites.

There are 2,000 computers available for students. The rest are for staff, including 700 laptops.

Student computers are completely redeployed during the summer break, unlike staff computers which are redeployed during their replacement (every 5 years).

We use KACE SMA mainly to deploy software and security updates. We also use KACE to manage our assets and create monitoring reports.

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SB
Technical Support Engineer at City of Rochester

It is a virtual device. We use it for our everyday systems management and software deployment. It is implemented on all of our devices as an inventory and asset management tracking system. Our help desk system is utilized through it, and we do software distribution and deployments from it. We do all of those things on a daily basis.

We just updated to the beta version 12 on our test prep unit. We're on 11.1 on our active production device.

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Buyer's Guide
Quest KACE Systems Management
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Quest KACE Systems Management. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AS
Database Administrator at Department of National Defence - Canada

We have KACE SMA and KACE SDAThe SMA is to image all of our desktops. There are 3,000 desktops, and we use KACE SMA for Windows imaging and security patching and updates. We're using KACE SDA for our software library, so our client base can go to the software library and install software from there. We're using the support component and the trouble ticket system.

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JT
IT Department at Garber Automotive Group

We use K1000 as multiple ticket queues, as well as 1 queue setup as a KanBan project management type of setup.

We also have a custom queue (we're still setting it up) for our new hire/employee change/employee exit process (with over 50 custom ticket rules).

We use K1000 for our patch management of over 2000 workstations.

We also use K1000 for all (or most) software deployment and for purchase order tracking and some asset controls

It is definitely an all in one platform.

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Kevin Egger - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology System Engineer at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees

We have used it as a help-desk ticketing system, a software deployment platform, a patch management platform, and a hardware inventory platform.

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DO
Assistant Unit Head, IT Systems Support at a security firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

We use it to deploy software, push updates to the software, and manage our endpoints, desktops, and laptop computers. We are currently managing over 4,000 endpoints.

We are patching our software with KACE.

We have a virtual appliance.

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Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Engineer at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees

We use Quest KACE Systems Management for things like deploying software packages, inventorying, and versioning what we currently have.

For me, specifically, the use case is for package deployment. When I need to push out a new package. We use a new 8x8 client, or I have Chrome set to update, and if it doesn't, we'll post it here. We use this solution to push packages because we don't have an SCCM solution or anything similar that I am more familiar with.

SCCM is a Microsoft solution, which is now known as MECM.

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CH
Director of IT at CCOF, INC

We use Quest KACE Systems Management for everything. It does everything from soup to nuts. It does inventory control, and not just of computers that check; we also do inventory of other hard IT assets, like big-screen monitors, printers, laptops, et cetera.

We also use it for software inventory, license inventory, and for server management. We use it for end-user workstation patching, for Windows and Dell EMC patches, as well as other critical software updates, such as Adobe Acrobat. 

In addition, we use it for ticket queues and ticket management. We've got queues for multiple departments on this machine, including our people services queue, facilities, IT, and web development queues. It's our ticket system. 

We also push out software and software updates with it all the time. 

Up until about a month ago, it was on-prem, but we just migrated up to Azure in the cloud.

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Fernando Cezario - PeerSpot reviewer
Level 2 Support at Tigs

With KACE, we have a good manager for computers. We have a good dashboard with software and computers. For example, if I don't know the status of a computer, like if I haven't turned one on in 90 days, KACE automatically identifies it and shows me that it hasn't been used recently. 

I find this helpful because usually, someone who needs a computer uses a different method (likely contacting another team), and KACE allows me to proactively address these situations. 

Additionally, KACE has a great "Reset Computers" feature. Everything syncs seamlessly at this point.

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WM
System Administrator - Desktop Operations at Manhattan College

We primarily use our KACE system for imaging, deploying software, and deploying fixes to Windows computer labs. 

We don't use the active directory in our environment, so pushing out changes to local group policy is something we use our SMA for often. 

Additionally, managing over 1000 Windows endpoints of varying models and manufacturers is no easy task. Management of these endpoints involves utilizing the inventory and scripting features on the KACE SMA. 

We even use KACE SMA on our VDI infrastructure, helping to maintain and track those endpoints.

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FM
Director of Technology at Unirede

We use KACE internally in our company to deliver and manage services for our customers. We access it every day. We are on the support page every day. KACE is open in my browser all the time.

We provide our own KACE services to customers. We are managing more than 85,000 machines by using KACE. In terms of the setup, sometimes, there is a shared environment, and sometimes, there is a dedicated environment. 

Our customers are in retail, power, healthcare, and education. We have more than 20 customers with recurring contracts, and we have had many customers for one-time projects. 

Our customers use KACE for inventory and software delivery and distribution. They use it to apply policies and generate reports. We have some customers who use it for Service Desk. We have done some customizations on Service Desk for ITSM in terms of assets and CMDB to maintain all information related to IT assets.

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RJ
Computer Support Specialist at Truckee Meadows Community College

Our main purpose is to image the computers we have on campus, using the Systems Deployment Appliance. After we get that set up, our second purpose is to use the Systems Management Appliance to keep an inventory of, and send scripts to, all the computers that we have on campus.

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HR
Works at University of Hawaii

The primary use of this product is for our user support (help desk).

Kace has helped us integrate all of our IT needs from inventory to imaging. Having this appliance to do everything automatically and push out software is a plus. Summer tasks are so much easier with imaging across the network that requires almost zero technicians intervention.

Managing 3,000+ computers across our campus from one single solution has made our life (and work) so easy. We are able to respond to the needs of our users always and can look into the history of the devices or the KB created to self-serve our users.

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TH
Laboringenieur / Computeringenieur at HTW Berlin

With KACE Systems Management, we can deploy this specialized software for students and teachers in separate computer rooms. In the beginning, we used a master PC. We edited one PC with all the usable software, then enrolled this master PC at the beginning of the semester. However, a big problem was when (in the middle of the semester) one of the teachers told us, "We needed another software," or, "We need updates." We did not have the possibility to go into the computer rooms during our work time. We had to do it at night and on the weekends. That was a big problem for us, so we looked for a solution to this problem. So, we installed the specialized software for the students and teachers in a short amount of time.

During the first years, we used the hardware/server from Dell in our environment. We then switched to the virtual appliance, which we use now in our network for one of my university's faculties.

It is a private cloud because we can't use a third-party cloud due to data protections for our university researchers.

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JL
Security Systems Integrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The KACE K1000 is primarily used for patching or pushing out software that needs to be pushed out. The KACE K2000, the deployment server, is primarily used to image new and older computers.

I should be updating the image at least once a month. The reason why I am taking so long right now is because we didn't have access to it through our VPN, and I am mostly working from home. They just opened it up so I could work with it from home, which is great.

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SN
Sr. Systems Engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

I usually use it for deploying patches, as well as for inventory, and sometimes even monitoring. KACE Systems Management is deployed through physical hardware. We have two of them. We use one for desktops and laptops, and we use the other for our servers.

We are part of a university, working under the president's office. We collaborate with all six campuses and have students from all six campuses interacting with us. To fulfill their requirements, we need tools for monitoring, patch management, and for inventory. KACE Systems Management is how we keep our customers and stakeholders happy.

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CS
IT Manager at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

Every day, we do patching and updating of Windows Drivers. We also have to activate new software packages from firewall or VPN to Adobe software on a regular basis. We then use it very often and gladly to exchange files from directories, so people don't ask, "Please change this document to this document." We would rather do this through the system, exchanging various documents inside it. 

We do inventory to see whether:

  • A machine is working fine, e.g.. hardware load.
  • Systems are regularly shutting down. 
  • A monitor is closed on a laptop.

This is exactly how the system works.

We are currently using the K1000 appliance. We now have it as a standalone, using it for software distribution.

We also have a hardware appliance. It is not worse than the last version of the hardware appliance. We don't have a virtualized one yet, but we are going in that direction.

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RO
Enterprise Service Desk Systems Manager at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

We use most of the modules, although the Service Desk is one of the most important ones for us. We, as an IT department, handle a large volume of calls that includes different requests. We tried to make it accessible for all of the different teams within the IT department, not just the Service Desk, but networking servers, admins, and applications. We try to make it so that all of our IT requests come in from a central point, basically.

In addition to that, there are a number of other Service Desk queues or departments outside of IT. Those have been either initiated by us asking if someone needed some way of tracking their own work or issues, or they've come to us and asked for the same thing. 

The second feature that we use most often is device inventory. We have our KACE agent deployed on all of our workstations and servers, and it provides us with reports on the hardware and software inventory for those. The other half of that is that we take that data and report on it for things like accuracy, renewals, and replenishment.

We also rely very heavily on the patching module, which is part of the security module. This feature ensures that our workstations and servers are up-to-date with the latest patches.

I'm also using it for extensive software deployments. For example, a couple of years ago we went from one version of Microsoft Office in our environment to a completely different version, almost exclusively through KACE automated software deployment. This saved us thousands of PC touches.

Also within the domain of software distribution, we use file synchronization and scripting.

I work with two different entities. The first is KACE as a service, which is hosted, and the second one is hosted by my company in our Azure environment.

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CV
IT Infrastructure Manager at a university with 501-1,000 employees

We use the solution for managing our fleet of approximately 1,500 devices. This includes Windows patch management and version control, scripting deployment to workstations as well as managed software deployment to groups and individuals. 

It is also used for creating reports for software use, patching records, and auditing the workstation fleet. We like being able to create custom reports based on any number of internal fields, and the ability to have custom inventory fields too. With it, we can deploy complex software solutions in a controlled manner.

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DC
Help Desk Technician at a hospitality company with 51-200 employees

I primarily use this solution to deploy software, to deploy patches, to deploy drivers, and to do software package updates. I'm not using all of the functionality that it has but another thing I do is push out Windows upgrades. Rather than doing them all at once, I push out the feature updates.

It is set up on a VMware virtual machine.

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BW
Sr. Network Server Administrator at Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company of Arkansas

We were originally using a physical appliance and now we have migrated to a virtual appliance. We migrated to the virtual appliance three years ago.

Our primary use case is for managed installations and the software that we deploy. Our offices are scattered throughout the state and we have 103 locations that are remote. We use KACE to inventory those items. We use KACE to push updates, third-party products, and third-party software to them.

We gather inventory from them, it lets us know how many machines out there have 16 gigs of memory and who's running low in this space. Any new software that we get that the company purchases, that is how we deploy out to the masses. We do that so that we don't have to travel the state over and over again, we can do all this stuff remotely.

We also have a lot of reports that are being generated from the information that KACE has so that we can take that back to our accounting department. We can provide reports on the location of newly purchased laptops. It shows us if they're still being used and who they are assigned to.

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TM
Network systems Administrator at Azura Credit Union

We Primarily use KACE as a diverse deployment and management solution. 

Our environment includes multiple locations, so having a single point of deployment for automation/patches/software/scripts and response management is ideal. 

We work in the banking industry, so having this single point and not having to worry about security is enormous. We have to go through multiple government security audits a year and our auditors are always blown away with our KACE environment. We need KACE to keep our organization going.

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CB
IT Systems Administrator at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We use it for a lot of things. We use it to deploy software, configure Windows via scripts, and to deploy some certificates for our customers. We are a call center and we have a lot of large companies as clients, so we need to deploy several kinds of software, such as Office 365 and applications from our customers themselves. We use a scripting framework from our consultants and that works great.

KACE SMA is the main software I'm using. I'm responsible for the KACE solution, and if there are any questions related to it, my colleagues come to me.

We have local KACE Appliances with VMware workstations, computers, servers, and we are using OVF files.

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KR
IT Administrator at a construction company with 501-1,000 employees

We use it for the asset management of all our computers, servers, desktops, and laptops that are internal and external. We have multiple offices who use it to deploy some of our software. It is the system that we use for our help desk when people have issues.

We were using a physical server with a physical device up until the end of last year. Now, it is a virtual device but we are still hosting it internally.

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Raza Zaidi - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Manager at Magellan Aerospace

I use this solution for software packages, security updates, upgrades, and asset management.

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SC
Director, Information Technology IT User Services at a university with 501-1,000 employees

We use KACE SMA and KACE SDA. We use all but a few of the features that both appliances have to offer. We are in a VM environment with the KACE SMA, however, we use a physical appliance for the SDA.  

The ticketing system, real-time inventory, patching, software license, and imaging are commonly used. We also use this for scans - with this and aggressive patching we have been able to pass several outside pen tests. Scripts are used to push out software so the clients don't have to wait and it takes the pressure off of the technicians.

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MW
Works at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

We use the KACE solution for endpoint management, since our posture is based on endpoints. We have almost 2,000 endpoints.

We have two KACE boxes. It's not a virtual appliance, it is a physical appliance.

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KB
PC Technician at Cape Fear Community College

Our primary use case for using this product is as a ticketing solution. 

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SW
Computer Support Specialist at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

We have several use cases for KACE and a lot of them are related to the helpdesk. For example, they provide assistance with modifying the helpdesk, client distribution, and maybe a tad bit in scripting on how to use it.

I've used the KACE tickets a lot.

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RG
ICT at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The tool helped us deploy custom software for specific departments. We also did Windows updates with the product. 

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GR
Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

We use it for asset management for PCs and servers, and for doing updates. We also use it for monitoring all of our systems to keep them compliant with Windows updates or server updates. In addition, we use it to deploy and to uninstall software, and we use the Service Desk.

We're using Quest's K1000, which is the asset manager, and we're using the K2000, which is the deployment appliance.

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MA
Systems Administrator at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

We use all of the SMA's functionality. We use it for inventory and for asset management. We don't really do file distribution because we use Desktop Authority Management Suite for that. We heavily use the scripting and we deploy updates using the security within. We also heavily use the support help desk section and the reporting.

We're on a legacy on-premises deployment. We're hoping to move to a cloud version in the not too distant future, but that's not on the schedule currently. Our on-premises KACE solution is a dedicated KACE SMA Appliance that was purchased from them. I don't even know if you can purchase that anymore, but it's kicking.

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AB
Network Analyst at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

The use case is for organization server patching, and we also use the asset management in a smaller capacity.

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DL
Infrastructure Analyst at Ituran Brasil

We use this solution to manage our workstations and desktops. We can manage our hardware inventory and licenses, remotely install software, update software, and generate reports.

We do not use it to manage servers, only workstations.

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TW
Sr. IT Support Technician at a transportation company with 201-500 employees

We primarily use this solution for the help desk, but we also utilize the scripting portion of it to automate things that would otherwise take us a long time to do manually. We're just now trying to start using the asset management portion of it as well, tying users to various equipment.

In addition to these things, we use some of the reporting and some of the file synchronization features.

An example of automation is pushing patches out to users. For example, I just finished creating a bunch of patch schedules.

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RL
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

We use KACE for patching. 

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it_user798876 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director -Head of ICT with 51-200 employees

My primary use case of this solution is to help us obtain accreditation in the UK of Cyber Essentials Plus. It is a program that is sponsored by the UK government which encourages UK companies to obtain a certain level of cyber-security within their cyber environment. The Quest KACE product helps us get an overview of all IoT(Internet of Things) devices that are accessing our environment.

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Buyer's Guide
Quest KACE Systems Management
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Quest KACE Systems Management. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.