Item: SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD)
Rating: 7
Author: Mike Paron

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use Solarwinds Service Desk (Samanage) for inventory tracking on all of our end-user systems, appliances, network devices, servers, and AV equipment. We track equipment age and warranty status in Samanage, as well as software, hardware, and location.

We are not currently using the service desk portion of Samanage. It is only used within the IT department for systems administration.

Pros and Cons

Easy to deploy! We can install in many different ways, even having the end user install.
The user interface is fast and responsive.
Reports are super easy so my director is happy I can gather info he needs quickly.
Lifecycle changes are tracked automatically.

We currently don't have a way to add custom fields and report against them.
Not easy to pull a report for systems missing certain software.

Return on Investment

Deploying Samanage has freed up precious time for me as a solo systems admin. I can generate reports for my director quickly and be confident the info is up to date and accurate.
We always have up to date info on which systems will be out of warranty, and are able to see each system's age. This helps us when it's time to budget for replacement systems and when purchasing.

Alternatives Considered

LogMeIn Central and Microsoft Intune

Currently evaluating LogMeIn Central as a replacement for multiple services including Samanage. Central is a complete remote management tool with inventory capabilities optional. If I only needed inventory tracking I'd stick with Samanage alone.

We are also using Intune for deployment, which has some inventory capabilities as well. It does not satisfy all of our requirements on its own.

Support Rating

Support is always available and quick to answer any questions! I've had a great experience interacting with the Solarwinds support team.

I have only had questions for their support and have never encountered any issues with the admin side or the agent. Everything has worked as it should with no problems.

Key Insights

Do you think SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD) delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD)'s feature set?

Yes

Did SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD) live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD) go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy SolarWinds Service Desk (SSD) again?

Yes

Other Software Used

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection, Zendesk, Backblaze

Likelihood to Recommend

I would recommend Solarwinds Service Desk (formerly Samanage) for anyone who needs automatic inventory tracking. Before, we were using spreadsheets and PDQ, which is not a great solution. Samanage has saved me hours of work every month and provides more info than I could track manually.

Great for inventory management

Overall Satisfaction with Solarwinds Service Desk (formerly Samanage)