KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. SysAid

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
KACE Systems Management Appliance
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Quest now offers the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as an IT Asset tracking and management appliance (also available as a virtual deployment if hardware requirements are met). Beyond discovery, inventory tracking and license management, KACE emphasizes automating software upgrade distribution with minimal end-user disruption, featuring remote replication for multi-site upgrades and rollouts. KACE SMA may be bundled with KACE Cloud Mobile Device Management (MDM) to form a complete UEM…N/A
SysAid
Score 8.9 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
SysAid is an ITSM platform that enhances service delivery with AI Agents, chatbots, workflow automation, and asset management. AI Copilot categorizes tickets, provides case summaries, and offers sentiment analysis. The AI chatbot, available via chat, email, and Teams, speeds support.N/A
Pricing
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
KACE Systems Management ApplianceSysAid
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
Additional DetailsSysAid Copilot is available as an add-on for any plan. It bakes generative AI into every aspect of service management.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
Features
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
IT Asset Management
Comparison of IT Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
8.6
12 Ratings
11% above category average
SysAid
-
Ratings
Software and hardware inventory tracking10.012 Ratings00 Ratings
License management9.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset lifecycle monitoring8.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract management6.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset relationship management10.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Incident and problem management
Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Product A and Product B
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
-
Ratings
SysAid
8.8
188 Ratings
7% above category average
Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings9.6187 Ratings
Expert directory00 Ratings8.0154 Ratings
Service restoration00 Ratings8.7135 Ratings
Self-service tools00 Ratings8.0181 Ratings
Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings9.5136 Ratings
ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings9.1155 Ratings
ITSM reports and dashboards00 Ratings8.9164 Ratings
ITSM asset management
Comparison of ITSM asset management features of Product A and Product B
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
-
Ratings
SysAid
8.3
163 Ratings
1% above category average
Configuration mangement00 Ratings9.1153 Ratings
Asset management dashboard00 Ratings8.9160 Ratings
Policy and contract enforcement00 Ratings7.0111 Ratings
Change management
Comparison of Change management features of Product A and Product B
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)
-
Ratings
SysAid
8.9
153 Ratings
4% above category average
Change requests repository00 Ratings9.2139 Ratings
Change calendar00 Ratings8.2118 Ratings
Service-level management00 Ratings9.2145 Ratings
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KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
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Medium-sized Companies
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
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Enterprises
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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User Ratings
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(12 ratings)
9.1
(189 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(22 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(3 ratings)
8.0
(48 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
9.5
(4 ratings)
8.3
(56 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(12 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(3 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(15 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(10 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
User Testimonials
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)SysAid
Likelihood to Recommend
Quest Software
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
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SysAid Technologies
SysAid just works. For the number of built in features, it is relatively easy to use and get started with. Getting started with SysAid is hassle free as well. Once setting up the RDS on prem, rolling out to all of the machines is a breeze. The cloud service takes over from there. Device scans will immediately begin sending data to SysAid cloud that provides hardware and software information.
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Pros
Quest Software
  • 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.
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SysAid Technologies
  • Email integration. End-users can interact with the ticketing system exclusively through email, and admins can message exclusively within a ticket. All communications are linked directly to user accounts including SysAid admin accounts.
  • Ticket management is very customizable. You can add categories, statuses, action and communication automation, ticket sorting, and much more.
  • knowledge base links directly to tickets, so repeat issues are easy to solve.
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Cons
Quest Software
  • 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.
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SysAid Technologies
  • The Help tool could use some refining. Particularly indicating the order in which steps must be done. A clear example is the creation of customized fields or lists.
  • Formatting of the ticket. There is no possibility to create dynamic tables, use more than one column. I would want to have more flexibility without having to pay for Professional Services
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Likelihood to Renew
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
This rating reflects our overall satisfaction with the platform’s performance, reliability, and flexibility in meeting our IT service management needs. SysAid has streamlined our ticketing processes, enhanced asset management, and improved operational efficiency through automation and reporting. The system’s adaptability across multiple departments has added significant value beyond IT. An excellent service tool.
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Usability
Quest Software
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.
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SysAid Technologies
Whilst it delivers on most of the features it comes with, I feel Change Management needs a complete re-do as it is really complicated, and think it should be made to be straightforward. For the free services of their Market Place, they should develop a platform where one can just browse for the script (downloaded) and apply the patch, without having to go into various places in code to activate the service. or at least, build the integrations into the system and have [a] section under settings, or even straight from the Market Place, where one can just enable the service, and if required, be prompted to input additional information, including credentials.
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Reliability and Availability
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
Another of the benefits of sysaid is that it is highly available when working in on-premise environments.The only times the system is down is when a restart of the services is required to add a new feature. Apart from that, we have not had any problems.In the case of the cloud, the only condition I have seen where sysaid is not available is because the internet link is down or damaged.
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Performance
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
In the case of system performance, I have seen that no matter the number of assets and users, Sysaid responds in the same way and at the same speed. The reports that are scheduled do not have any details because they arrive directly to your email. In the same way, when it is integrated with other systems, for example through the API or by email, we have not seen any failure due to the integration. It works very well with or without integrations.
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Support Rating
Quest Software
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.
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SysAid Technologies
SysAid support is fast and effective. They support their own product, so they know it well. I can expect a response to my request in less than 24 hours and often in less than an hour. Their sales, customer support, and technical support staff are experts in the area of the support request ticket, so we seldom are transferred to another support agent. Their system is well designed and one of the best of all the applications we use.
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In-Person Training
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
My team was greatly assisted and trained well. Despite the time zone difference the trainer made every effort to be available during times that were suitable for us and the assistance and help offered was extremely appreciated by my team. A wonderful experience by the team.
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Online Training
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
The training I received was very good, they gave me tasks to carry out and then they checked what I had done.It was gratifying that the instructor noticed that I had made very fast progress because I had done the implementation myself and it was very fast. At least I remember that after 5 days I had already finished almost 90% of all the implementation tasks.
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Implementation Rating
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
It is recommended that it be synchronized with the active directory for a better experience, also using the network scanning tools are very useful both to maintain your hardware and software inventory. See all the documentation found on the portal where they suggest good practices for the use of SysAid and exploit it from the first time
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Alternatives Considered
Quest Software
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.
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SysAid Technologies
There are many items offered on the other platforms that SysAid does not have. However, for a smaller or medium-sized business that needs a simple and easy way to get tickets flowing and allow users to help themselves, this is an excellent way to start.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
When we purchase it, the plans were different and mainly we acquired lifetime licenses. in the past year, we migrated to the cloud version. In both cases, the pricing structure was accurate, although they could provide some extra flexibility to pay for exactly what we need in the business.
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Scalability
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
Le doy esta calificación porque los módulos que contiene se pueden usar para casi cualquier departamento, tanto gestión de tickets como inventarios de equipos, hemos utilizado una versión gratuita en Ingeniería para gestionar sus tiempos en las tareas asignadas, es lo único que utilizan pero podrían usar fácilmente el módulo de inventario para su herramienta y el módulo de proyectos también
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Professional Services
Quest Software
No answers on this topic
SysAid Technologies
We have used SysAid since 2008. Through out these years, we find that SysAid support is very helpful and professional. The respond that we get is very fast and they will help us until we have solved our problem that we reported to them. So far, we are very happy with SysAid support.
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Return on Investment
Quest Software
  • 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
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SysAid Technologies
  • How easy it is to configure the app to our existing ITIL process. The ability to pick what services we would like to have as well as the ability to integrate using API as well as the marketplace.
  • Intuitive interface. Integration to Outlook. Easy reporting.
  • It has a very user-friendly interface and effective management capabilities.
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ScreenShots

SysAid Screenshots

Screenshot of Monitoring & Fine Tuning - Gives the admin control over the quality of answers that the AI Chatbot provides, through the ability to edit and fine-tune the answers.Screenshot of Ticket Journey - Admins can deep dive into the history and context of a ticket, quickly, with ticket journey filters, while reviewing a chronological, consolidated view of everything to help reach a resolution, faster – including all actions takenScreenshot of a Ticket Queue, which offers a consolidated, easy-to-navigate view of the ticket queue to help admins resolve issues more more efficiently.Screenshot of AI Chatbot, a conversational self-service experience that uses Generative AI to help employees work through issues by delivering answers based on what it has learned by absorbing knowledge base articles, internal data, and ticket resolution historyScreenshot of the workflow automation that digitizes processes without coding or scripting. Users can automate complex processes with simple design and editing capabilities, and real-time visibility of the end-to-end process.Screenshot of the SysAid AI Agents that empower IT teams with intelligence that thinks, learns, and acts securely. Designed to enhance—not override—IT operations, they anticipate needs, make informed decisions, and adapt responsibly