SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS) vs ManageEngine Endpoint Central Formerly Desktop Central

I feel like this is a very robust solution that I would recommend to anyone who relies heavily on remote support. Most of the colleagues I work with already use SolarWinds products to one extent or the other. I feel the price for the solution is very fair and a good value for the product.

This software is suited in any environment where there are more end user than IT staff, which is pretty much everywhere. This becomes especially true in medium to large sized business and organizations. The amount of time saved (from IT Support and Administration but also from the end user's side) is simply incredible.In addition, Junior IT admins will find the automatic suggestions e.g. for optimal server configurations / setup quite useful.

The only scenario where I'm not sure the benefits will outweigh the costs are in very small businesses, where there are few end users and few PC's/Servers. In all other scenarios, this tool is truly invaluable, compared to the it's low financial cost. I would add that purchasing a perpetual license is also an option with this product and does make financial sense after 5 years or so.

• Troubleshooting computers remotely without the need for the user to even be around.
• Install software that needs to be installed manually without having to travel.
• Viewing what the user is doing specifically that triggers the issue, making replicating issues way simpler.

• Patch Management is very easy to use and deploy patches each month
• Inventory Reporting is straight forward with multiple premade reports available
• Remote Connections are very simple to use, it only takes 15 seconds to find and connect to a device.
• Software Deployment and the Self serviceportal give you multiple ways of deploying your apps.

• It would be nice if the installed agent would be able to check in with the server so that I can connect to laptops, etc that have the agent pre-installed for when they are off network.
• DameWare could do better with the mobile app. I cannot connect in from the outside with the mobile app to provide quick support if needed. This kind of defeats the purpose of a mobile app. If I am on the network, I probably have access to my workstation.

• More granular access level controls for technicians (restrictions for juniors) on the Mobile Device Management add-on
• Monitoring mobile data usage on mobile devices, this has been in the product pipeline for 5 years, but not yet implemented
• Ability to remotely support company-owned mobile devices with no end-user permission. End-user needs to allow the remote session, when sometimes that's what we don't want since we're doing an investigation.

This application is one of my most used tools when it comes to supporting end users and the network as well. I don't have to run all over the place to get things done when I can access multiple computers on the network at the same time to accomplish multiple tasks in a minimal amount of time.

The other tools we use do not have an inventory management tool. Also not many tools we use intergrate well with this product.

Because it has enhanced my ability to trouble shoot more issues during the day. Instead of having to go to each machine and spend time at the machine, I can remote in from my desktop and assist the person 90 per cent of the time. I also use it from home to remote in which saves me the time from having to return back to the workplace.

Responds well to basic needs: 1. Update 2. Image/Re-image endpoints 3. Mass deployment 4. Pop-Up communications

Yes, always available.

The application always seems responsive to me

I use a Samsung mobile device; DameWare Mobile was working and then after an Android update it started crashing. I reported the issue to DameWare and worked with the technicians and developers to gather data for them to correct the issue. They quickly published a beta release for me to test (which corrected the crashes) and then published an update to the Google Play Store.

The local distributor of the product is always available, however most support is received within an hour from India. We've had complex requirements and the support team went so far as to customize their mobile application to suit our unique needs. We honestly can't complain about any support we've received and it's always been very quick.

It was excellent

The videos were more than sufficient to learn the product

It helps greatly if you know someone already using DameWare Remote Support. I was fortunate as my tech support guys were using it at their hospital and assisted me through the purchase, download and implementation of remote support. As well as, knowing how many licenses to purchase at the time. You have to make sure that anyone assisting in IT can have access to the program with their own license.

We previously utilized LogMeIn. They increased the pricing of their solution which made us reconsider it. I inherited LogMeIn. I am not a big fan of hosted solutions for some vital IT processes. There was convenience in LogMeIn, but there were also risks about the solution that I was never completely comfortable with. I had utilized DameWare at a previous company, so I knew what I was getting with it. It was an easy decision for me to make. DameWare is an exceptional product.

We chose ManageEngine Endpoint Central because of the reasonable price and the number of features offered compared to competitors. Many patch management software do not patch Linux machines while ManageEngine Endpoint Central did. Other software did not have the ability to perform pre or post-deploy tasks while ManageEngine Endpoint Central did. For these reasons, we chose this software. In addition, the ease of use, intuitive dashboards, and the ability to also have asset inventory made us decide on this software.

You get an 8 because of the constant initial freeze on most connections. Takes a reconnect to have it work.

• DameWare has allowed us to maintain our non-traditional approach to IT support. It allows our administrators to work from anywhere and has extended their reach to clients domestic and abroad.
• Return on investment was realized as soon as we purchased the licenses. We don't have to maintain a large office space or overhead costs due to the flexibility it allows our administrators.
• First call resolution has increased drastically since implementing DameWare company-wide. The user no longer has to wait to reproduce an error. We can screen share and view it as it happens and mitigate the issues.

• Positive - Endpoint Central does a lot! Which gives it an amazing bang for the buck!!!
• Positive - Endpoint Central makes various IT management tasks easy.
• Negative - I have already mentioned this, but I can't tell you how important this is. Support - it is not great, when you get a ME tech that knows their area, then it is good to great! But it can take effort to reach that person, front line support does their best, but so many of my cases have involved more advanced support. This can take days for someone to get back to me, via email. Often I have open several cases on the same issue before reaching the correct solution.
• Lastly - I spent an amazing amount of time in 2021 basically testing the product. So much so that I used that as a negotiation to bring the price down when we renewed.
• I seriously considered other products at renewal time. But the discounted price did not come close to my time dealing with Bugs and low quality support.
• We stayed with Desktop Central because it was successful in deploying updates - all the rest we could consider a different product if needed.
• 2022 - as been much better, few bugs and support has improved, but there are still timely support issues.