KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. ManageEngine Endpoint Central

I think it has added value for any organization. It reduced our Tech Support cost by: -Supporting users anywhere -Reducing users downtime as well keep them informed with the status of their tickets -Managing software and hardware actively -Processing automation -deploy mass software installs, patching or updates - Provide approved software's to users to install without IT help

Incentivized

ManageEngine Endpoint Central is fantastic for a set and forget patching tool. This is great for the Windows clients that we have and provides good reporting and ensures machines are kept up to date and gives us good reporting on which machines are vulnerable in our organisation. Linux machines are not as well handled due to the multiple flavours of Linux that are out there. ManageEngine Endpoint Central only manages specific versions of Mac and Linux so it is best to check compatability ahead of time.

Incentivized

• Inventory: KACE provides a ton of hardware and software inventory information that is easy to search, filter, and export. This is critical when we need to find the answers to questions about how many of such and such we have in our fleet.
• Patch Management: We were using WSUS before and it was altogether too cumbersome. KACE has given us the power, flexibility, and verification we need to feel comfortable our patches are up-to-date.
• Service Queue: We made KACE our help desk system and it does everything we need it to do. Great improvement over our old system.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• The KACE SMA needs a better way to handle different roles in the software so certain users can access or administrate certain parts of the software, but not the entire software installation.
• The KACE SMA could improve the ticketing process of projects. The aspects of the title and some information do not always flow down from the parent ticket to its child tickets.
• The KACE SMA could improve the UI of the software with the addition of different CSS color schemes.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

ManageEngine is considered an excellent product due to its comprehensive suite of solutions for IT management, with ManageEngine Endpoint Central specifically excelling in endpoint management. The platform stands out for its user-friendly interface, robust features, and versatility in addressing diverse IT needs. It offers organizations a centralized solution for endpoint security, patch management, software deployment, and asset management

Overall, the software is simple to understand and use. That said, most vendors have been slowly updating their user interfaces to HTML5 so that they have a clean updated look and feel. This is where KACE falls short in that the UI is great for a packaged software 10 years ago. This isn't a major limitation as the software is really meant primarily for technology users.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

KACE does exactly what you need it to do, it maintains your computer environment. You can set patch schedules, inventory computers, setup software catalogs; basically everything you need to ensure the computers on your network are being actively managed. This is all with little need for constant configuration or updating the setup.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We have selected this software because it rolls several different systems into one. We have a helpdesk system with this and an asset and inventory management system as well. We pay one price for the whole system instead of paying multiple companies different amounts that would have totaled more than we pay for the single system.

Incentivized

WSUS (provided by Microsoft) is a MUCH inferior product, no flexibility at all, updates when it wants and how it wants and was generally not suit for purpose. In addition, endpoint offers all the other functionality that WSUS doesn't (as said earlier in my review, remote control, endpoint security and much more).

• KACE has saved us from having to spend several days of employee hours in crafting DVDs and duplicating them (100+ DVDs)
• KACE has saved us on the postage required to send out those DVDs for every update (monthly) to all of our customers electronically

Incentivized

• With software metering, the real use of applications by users has been identified; in this case, when the license renewal date arrives, users who do not use this application have stopped renewing it. This has achieved savings for the business.
• The deployment of images has made the onboarding of collaborators faster, this means less downtime and more productivity for the company.
• By having the laptops patched and without vulnerabilities, there is greater productivity, because the equipment is no longer out of service due to an attack or vulnerability.