Item: Action1
Rating: 9
Author: Nick Axelberg

Overall Satisfaction with Action1

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use it to identify and mitigate security holes that need to be patched. Most of the time the patch is all ready to go on A1's end and I just need to approve it being applied. Sometimes I use it to find out who has a program installed and then I use it to uninstall that program from their machines.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Windows Updates
Patching Software
Reporting on software inventory

Cons

Lots of times Action1 will identify a program that needs to be patched, but then not really have a path laid out to get that done...so they just remain as they are, but are tagged as such.
Really wants to replace the windows update mechanism. Resists (or did at least) you if you try to keep updates as they are and update occasionally from Action1
Could develop the scripts section a bit more, looked pretty sparse last time I checked it out.

Return on Investment

I use the free version, so for $0 it's all gravy.
I'm the only one that cares about this stuff, so I can't even wow anyone with a report on how many threats i've mitigated... :(

Usability

Easy to use. Straight Forward. No hidden settings or stuff that's buried several layers deep and you have to watch a video before you do it. Point. Click. It works and I can feel assured that my CVE issues are being handled.

Alternatives Considered

PDQ Deploy & Inventory and GFI LanGuard

GFI LanGuard was pretty nice, but that was ages ago. I do pay for PDQ deploy and inventory though and am happy with that software...however, while its feature set does overlap with Action1, it is not just another flavor of the same thing, so I find that I use both of them.

Key Insights

Do you think Action1 delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Action1's feature set?

Yes

Did Action1 live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Action1 go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Action1 again?

Yes

Other Software Used

PDQ Deploy & Inventory, GFI LanGuard

Likelihood to Recommend

For my specific scenario, Action1 works pretty well. I'm the sole IT person for a school district with 1500 kids 250 staff 6 schools and special services has a building and central office is its own building, so lots of people, lots of devices, IT Administrator stretched very thin.
Would also work well in a small to medium business (~10-500 employees)
It seems to be pretty scalable, but it's possible it's not meant for larger than 500 employee organizations, I don't know.

Comments

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Great software easy to use