Automox is an endpoint management solution used to keep desktops, laptops, and servers updated and ready for users anywhere in the world. Using automation, IT can fix critical vulnerabilities and boost user productivity.
$1
per month per endpoint
SmartDeploy
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
SmartDeploy, now from PDQ.com (acquired January 2022), provides a software deployment solution supporting computer imaging, app deployment, driver management, and Windows migration.
$960
per year
Pricing
Automox
SmartDeploy
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Starter
$960
per year
Plus
Contact sales team
Pro
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Automox
SmartDeploy
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
$96,050
Additional Details
Automox can patch macOS, Windows, and Linux endpoints with PatchOS, an offering at $1 per endpoint/ month with an annual commitment.
The Automate Essentials or Automate Enterprise packages are for scaling IT automation, endpoint configuration, and software updates.
Modules are available with Automox Assist, a one-on-one remote endpoint control and assistance for helpdesk technicians.
The reason I would score it a nine is because of the inability to “run as.” Since it only runs as a system, this makes some tasks impossible. It would be beneficial to have an encrypted set of credentials in the UI that we can use to “run as,” and also the ability to run as the current user with elevated permissions would be nice. In terms of patching, Automox does a good job, and being able to use Automox to run PowerShell on a computer without needing to open up ports for WinRM is a great feature.
Well suited scenarios : One of the situations SmartDeploy helped immensly was in application deployment and management for our projects , making it and instant favorite for the deployment process. Also in one situation where we had a high flying app development which did'nt had much time to develop, deployment thorugh smart deploy made it quick and less involvement. Easier to understand major functionalities and onboard new projects. Less appropriate scenarios: We faced issues while utilising by DevOps team for monitoring every system for issue resolving in linux update on every employees system. This created alot of delay in every employees work front as systems were not working as expected
I would like to see more detailed error messages when a patch fails. Perhaps at which step it failed at, downloading, installing, etc.
It would be helpful if we could see what stage of installing or downloading a patch is at through a percentage or status bar instead of a vague "Installing..." message
It would also be helpful to have a way to kill or end scripts that are stuck instead of waiting 24 hours for them to automatically end. Something like an "End all actions" button for endpoints on our side would be extremely helpful when testing a script that had a bad line or action in it.
Remote monitoring is useful but has some lagging and functionalities are not upfront to use , making it complicated for new users to be aware just by using the application
Windows migration was quite difficult in terms of updates of softwares to be migrated to new system
Integration with client systems can be tough as major usage of other softwares is done in most of client systems causing us difficulties to integrate with smart deploy on the same platform
Automox has excellent dashboards that help to identify key performance indicators of where your patching program stands, what to prioritize, and what issues you have. Where Automox struggles is easily identifying what issues are preventing successful patching, seeing what manual patches are successfully installing/not installing, and easily remediating issues with installation issues.
In my experience, they were responsive but the fixes were more like bandaids than a fix for the underlying problems which they admitted were on their end.
SmartDeploy customer support has been very good. Although we do not always get a super-fast response (though always within the time stated). The tech support folks at SmartDeploy always go the extra mile to see that our immediate issues are taken care of in as timely a manner as possible. They have always been attentive to our needs and frustrations.
Automox is able to scale better than PDQ Deploy. We were happier with the 3rd party software patching since we have a lot of different software we use across departments. PDQ deploy required a lot more manual intervention to stay on top of deployments. Automox just ended up being a timesaver for us in the end.
SmartDeploy has a fantastic deployment process management with detailed and configurable aspects. Even though it has detailed configuration it still somehow makes it easy to understand and implement compared to other services which need special learning and courses to understand them completelya and use them efficiently. This is one quality highly appreciated and stacks up against any other services I have used for deployment
We used to use a different patching solution and since switching to Automox, I have been able to cut the amount of time I spend on vulnerability management by 50% or more. I love how "set it and forget it" some of the policies can be. I love how simple it is to keep an eye on things.
Very fast as an image deployment solution for new PCs. We do not have to create a completely new image when new hardware comes out. This is an amazing time-saver on its own.
With offline deployment and some workarounds, this is allowing us to migrate many Windows 7 units, rather than having to upgrade each one or load from scratch or replace it with new hardware.
