If an organization seeks an asset management tool with features like asset inventory, software inventory, and hardware inventory, ManageEngine Endpoint Central is a suitable choice. However, if the requirement extends to replacing tools such as a service desk, ManageEngine Endpoint Central may not fulfill this need. While it excels in asset management capabilities, it lacks the functionality to serve as a comprehensive service desk replacement, making it essential to evaluate specific requirements before selection.
Symantec Ghost Solution Suite is well suited to standard images of company approved software and standard configurations for all users. When every user has the same computer configuration, it is easily managed with a standard image across the board. It is less effective if you need to have multiple configurations for different groups. It becomes cumbersome to manage all the various images. When you add to the complexity by having to address the different drivers for the different hardware model computers, this only adds to the overall number of images you will have to manage, create and keep updated. I find Ghost most helpful with standard hardware model computers and one or two images company wide.
product support - the technicians at ManageEngine Endpoint Central are very knowledgeable when it comes to the system- I have never had an issue not fixed promptly by them
The OS deployment tool saves us a significant amount of time and man hours in deploying machines- from manual setups taking 1-2 hours to complete per device, to 6 minutes each, is all the proof you need
Being able to remotely and silently install packages of software e.g Foxit PDF viewer, means we can instantly give hundreds or even thousands of machines a piece of software that before using EC, would have taken weeks to do, even with multiple technicians
The tables for the query reports could be catalogued online so we can more easily write out own query reports, without needing to contact support.
Linux and MacOS application patching needs improvement.
The API needs some more data we can retrieve, e.g. allow us to query all Custom Groups, which devices are in the groups, and which patching policies apply to those groups
The patching could use a calendar-style view, showing which devices or groups are due to patch on which days
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
The user interface is clear and well organised. Having spent over 3 years using this, I can find anything I need and this assists me in my role. One feature that I use a lot is deployment policies. This helps me pick a more precise time to install patches. I struggle to do this in Intune.
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.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central has a lot more features like remote connection and patching and perfomed better for us in testing compared to other software. Endpoint Central does cost a lot of money but if you utilise all the features is it good value for money. It does the job of multiple pieces of software.
Our security posture is easy to see and act upon as you have a single place to look at all machines vulnerabilities. This helps us when it comes to security audits as we are able to demonstrate the value of the application.
Remote support is inbuilt and easy to use as you can just hop onto any agented machine and control it directly without asking for codes or getting people to visit a specific website.
We were able to mass install various applications to client machines over the years and the time and cost saved by not having to visit remote machines in different countries has proved invaluable.
A positive impact of Ghost would be time. To deploy computers form scratch is very time consuming and labor intensive for the IT Department. Ghost clearly saves the time of the IT departments staff to quickly get a new computer out to user so they can spend their time on addressing other issues and being more productive.
Time is money. If the IT department is spending hours preparing computers and employees are out of a computer for an extended period of time waiting for one to be loaded, this is money lost to the company in paying employees to sit around and wait for a computer to be configured.
