What users are saying about
21 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.1 out of 100
Based on 21 reviews and ratings
14 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.2 out of 100
Based on 14 reviews and ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
KACE Systems Management Appliance
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
Director, IMIT
Calgary Foothills Primary Care NetworkHospital & Health Care, 51-200 employees
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
It's a good company to grow with because as needs change there are more features available.
Secretary
Button108Telecommunications, 1-10 employees
Feature Rating Comparison
IT Asset Management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
8.8
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
Software and hardware inventory tracking
KACE Systems Management Appliance
8.9
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
License management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
8.7
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
Asset lifecycle monitoring
KACE Systems Management Appliance
8.9
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
Contract management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
8.5
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
Asset relationship management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
9.3
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
—
Incident and problem management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
5.3
Organize and prioritize service tickets
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
4.6
Expert directory
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
3.4
Service restoration
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
3.8
Self-service tools
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
3.4
Subscription-based notifications
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
7.5
ITSM collaboration and documentation
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
7.3
ITSM reports and dashboards
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
7.3
ITSM asset management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
6.5
Configuration mangement
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
6.1
Asset management dashboard
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
6.9
Change management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
2.7
Change calendar
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
1.0
Service-level management
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
4.5
Pros
KACE Systems Management Appliance
- 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.
Vice President, Information Technology
INSURICAInsurance, 501-1000 employees
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
- Web Based
- Automated Ticket creation
Senior Consultant
Moser ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 201-500 employees
Cons
KACE Systems Management Appliance
- 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.
Quality Assurance Analyst II
Ashland UniversityHigher Education, 201-500 employees
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
- It is just simply too slow! The web interface requires patience, even when moving between tabs or menu choices. This is by far the biggest detracting element of MSP Manager.
- Input customization -- I would like the settings pages to allow me to customize some input screens, especially the Ticket Entry window. The "Quick Ticket" entry is missing a few key items I want in a trouble ticket, and the full ticket entry window has numerous fields I never use or are always the same, and so it just takes more time and effort than is necessary.
- Both the asset tracking and the knowledge base should be more robust and integrally tied into the RMM console, so that licenses, serial numbers, procedures, network data are quick and simple to access from either interface.
Owner
Bitlink TechnologyInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees
Usability
KACE Systems Management Appliance
KACE Systems Management Appliance 8.6
Based on 3 answers
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.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Construction Company, 1001-5000 employeesN-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
KACE Systems Management Appliance
KACE Systems Management Appliance 7.9
Based on 6 answers
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.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Construction Company, 1001-5000 employeesN-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager) 3.8
Based on 4 answers
They're good at resolving issues when they arise.
Secretary
Button108Telecommunications, 1-10 employees
Alternatives Considered
KACE Systems Management Appliance
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.

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employeesN-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
MSP Manager is a fully serviced paid option. Spiceworks is a free helpdesk. They both are very useful, but a company can just outgrow Spiceworks.

Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 1-10 employeesReturn on Investment
KACE Systems Management Appliance
- 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

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Industrial Automation Company, 51-200 employeesN-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
- We have had to spend time and resources to create our own reports, as MSP Manager does not have them.
- Searching for a ticket requires scrolling, wasting time
Senior Consultant
Moser ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 201-500 employees
Screenshots
KACE Systems Management Appliance
—N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
Pricing Details
KACE Systems Management Appliance
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
N-able MSP Manager (formerly Solarwinds MSP Manager)
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No