Atera vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

Atera and Microsoft are both solutions in the Patch Management category. Atera is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. Atera holds a 4.8% mindshare in PM, compared to Microsoft’s 19.6% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Atera users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Atera

Read 15 Atera reviews

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1,081 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Read 81 Microsoft Configuration Manager reviews

4,851 Views
3,736 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Atera

Microsoft Configuration Man...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

Microsoft Configuration Manager and Atera are competing products in the domain of enterprise systems management. Microsoft Configuration Manager has the advantage in large-scale enterprise management due to its comprehensive features, while Atera's user-friendly design and all-in-one setup make it appealing to small and medium-sized businesses.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager provides extensive features including application deployment, software patching, and hardware inventory management. It also integrates with WSUS and enforces compliance across a domain. Atera offers remote management tools such as device monitoring, automation, and a centralized console that is accessible and simple to use, making it suitable for IT service providers.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager users have noted the need for performance enhancements, better integration with non-Microsoft systems, and more straightforward reporting. Atera could improve its network monitoring, mobile management, and customization options, as well as extend its integrations with industry partners and cloud-based tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager can be complex to deploy, often requiring an on-premises setup and expert management, favoring large-scale environments but challenging for less experienced users. Atera offers both cloud and on-premises options, needing less specialized knowledge, while customer service for both platforms is rated positively, with Microsoft offering an expansive support network usually at an extra cost.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Configuration Manager's pricing includes costs for licensing and infrastructure, contributing to high ROI through efficient management in large enterprises. Atera’s pricing model is cost-effective, charging per technician with unlimited devices, making it attractive to small businesses and MSPs due to its predictable costs and scalable pricing, offering a good ROI for budget-constrained companies.

To learn more, read our detailed Atera vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Atera vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Atera

Ranking in Patch Management

11th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Service Management (ITSM) (13th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (3rd)

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Ranking in Patch Management

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (3rd), Configuration Management (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Atera is 4.8%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 19.6%, up from 18.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

James Clowes

IT Manager at Dynamic Bradview Roofing

Having fewer hardware replacements saves us in annual costs

There is a new version of the interface coming out. I have been asking for a new version for a while. While the interface is nice, I guess the developer thinks one way and the user thinks another. So, I think the interface is getting a big overhaul. This is what they have mentioned in their webinars and stuff. It is in beta, but I'm not on the beta program, so I haven't seen it. I can't really complain about the old interface, but now that I have heard there is a new one coming, all I want is the new one. The one thing that could do with improvement is the reporting. This is from someone who worked in an MSP, where I would want to run a report and be able to just present that to a client. Reports are fine for internal use, where they never leave your company. However, if I was an MSP, I would probably want a little bit more information or the ability to customize some of it without having to edit PDFs.

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MikeNelson2

IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government

Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements

While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"All of the features of Atera are valuable because they allow the customers to achieve their goals. It is easy to use, has good collaboration, and has zero maintenance."

"Atera has saved our organization money. We look at Atera as an extra employee that we only pay about $300 a month. This is incredible savings over having to hire somebody to do all the tasks that Atera performs for us."

"Atera's Remote Access feature has been invaluable for our monitoring needs. It allows us to use FlashOps in Azure to control equipment remotely and supervise real-time details like server and computer statuses for our clients. This access is crucial as it enables us to handle network issues and manage server administration efficiently. Regarding automation, Atera's tools have significantly boosted our service efficiency. They streamline tasks like installing tools and provide quick insights into critical issues with our servers. This saves us time and enhances our ability to deliver valuable services, especially for large-scale projects requiring precise and swift actions."

"We value the alerts that come with the product which allow me to reach out to my clients. Overall, Atera generates additional revenue streams for work done on their machines."

"Measuring the integration is very helpful when using Atera Assist Test. It takes the solution to the next level by automating activities. It doesn't just provide the solution but also allows running scripts to fix issues before a technician has to work on them."

"I would say it's the number one tool for all ITMS."

"I have better access when I go to look for something regarding either a specific user or software. It is easier to locate. When I am troubleshooting with my clients on the phone, I am not fiddling around looking through a bunch of ticket notes trying to locate something. It makes me a lot more efficient."

"Atera saves money. A trip to the customer costs between $20 to $30. Then, you need to charge the customer $20 to $30 for the travel. However, if you are doing this work remotely, then you are not driving. This makes the process easier and saves money for you and the customer. For example, if it is just one machine, then the savings comes out to $50 to $60. If we are talking about a huge client, who has hundreds of machines and is changing their infrastructure, that is a lot of money."

More Atera pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is it's incredibly simple to configure and execute changes in bulk, allowing for seamless deployment. With this solution, you can easily track the status of all modifications and send them with ease, making it a comprehensive and efficient solution for any necessary adjustments."

"Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is very scalable."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is the availability of being able to manage the Microsoft estate. It handles many areas, such as asset management and tracking."

"It lets you know what your infrastructure is like and what state you are in."

"What's valuable is the basic management of the systems, being able to control who can access the systems."

"Provides great insight into the functionalities of the data scope."

"The major features of this product are the reporting tools. The most valuable features are package deployment and application deployment. Security management is also good because any vulnerability will be identified, and you can fix it. It's the best tool because you never know what kind of client you will have. For example, you may have your offices in low bandwidth remote areas. But it's achievable because it accommodates the bandwidth that you have available. Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is an excellent reporting tool for your environment. If you want to know the details about the hardware configuration, software configuration, what is causing a problem, or when a new feature update comes in for Windows, even that goes on SCCM itself. A lot of deployment stuff."

"SCCM does everything from A to Z for a Windows operating system."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"Atera could be improved by adding more granular control over technician roles. We need more specific controls on what technicians can access, like limiting their ability to view certain sections or access devices and share files. This feature request has already been made. The IP asset management capabilities need improvement to better manage assets beyond just devices."

"The billing module has a standard layout which is too limited for my needs."

"It will be interesting if Atera can integrate all kinds of products. In North America, there are a lot of resellers, like Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Arrow Electronics, etc. It would be amazing if Atera could integrate with these products. If they could integrate with these products for MSPs, it would be much easier. Then, if you are buying something, and need to add something, you don't need to jump from place to place because this is a very quick sales instrument for use on a daily basis."

"There should be enhancements in network monitoring capabilities beyond just physical devices like computers and servers. It would be beneficial to include better tools for monitoring networking infrastructure such as routers. Additionally, while Atera excels in ticket management, I believe there's room for improvement in user authentication and security features, especially when accessing and managing remote equipment. These updates would contribute to a more robust and secure user experience overall. Atera should include a monitoring tool integrated with Azure or similar cloud platforms. It would be beneficial to have capabilities for monitoring network growth and automatically generating statistics based on system stability and performance metrics. This feature would help us better manage and optimize our equipment and network resources, especially for strategic customer planning and resource allocation."

"The one thing that could do with improvement is the reporting. This is from someone who worked in an MSP, where I would want to run a report and be able to just present that to a client."

"They are working on an update, and I would like to see more stuff outside of just computers and servers. Increasingly, we need to be able to monitor and manage network devices. Atera is improving on that already, which is one place that it is currently lacking."

"Customization could be improved."

"It should improve its processes."

More Atera cons

"The solution is on-premises. The cloud version of the product, if a person needs to be on the cloud, would be InTune, which already exists as an option. SCCM doesn't need to offer cloud features for this reason."

"With Microsoft Premier Support, you get what you pay for. There's Third Tier Support that you pay for. If you pay for that, you get excellent support, and if you don't pay for that, then you get the less experienced staff."

"There were misconfigurations by our team rather than issues with the product itself. However, it does seem a bit buggy from time to time, based on what I have heard."

"It should provide the ability to remotely connect to mobile devices. There are some solutions that are doing that, but with Microsoft Intune, the only way to remotely connect to devices outside the organization and mobile devices is by using TeamViewer. It is pretty strange for a big company like Microsoft to not have something for that."

"Regarding this, I'd like to mention the agent situation. When the agent on an end-user device is not functioning correctly, it can be quite problematic. It would be highly beneficial if there were a self-healing mechanism in place. Essentially, if the agent becomes corrupted or encounters issues, it should be able to rectify itself autonomously. This is particularly critical because, in order to utilize a tool like MECM (assuming you're referring to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager), we need to deploy agents, known as AsMs, on all the devices we use, such as Windows 10 or Windows Server. Sometimes, when we deploy configurations or updates, they don't apply properly due to agent issues. This issue has been present since we began using MECM around 23 years ago. Unfortunately, there is currently no built-in mechanism for the agent to detect its own problems and initiate self-repair. Microsoft doesn’t have any feature to scan vulnerabilities and hence, they could include those."

"It would be of benefit if Configuration Manager could be connected/integrated with multiple Microsoft Intune subscriptions rather than just one (the current limit)."

"The solution could improve the functionality for automating, license management. Additionally, more and better-looking reports are needed."

"Troubleshooting in general needs improvement. There's just a ton of logs to go through, and so finding the error log that corresponds with that you're doing can sometimes be difficult."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is my favorite part of it. It was per user, not per client."

"Our company is a startup. The initial reason I looked into Atera was the fact that you pay by the technician, not per-device. That means you are able to jump right in with a service without having a large overhead."

"Atera's pricing stays fixed and predictable, enabling us to add more customers and unlimited monitored devices. We still have a number of clients who fit a break/fix IT model. This is something where clients are complaining more about having to pay extra month-by-month for technology services. With Atera's model, we don't have to be going out and asking for more from clients each month. Right now, with where we are at in terms of scale, this is very important to us."

"Atera happened to have the best pricing model."

"The solution cost approximately $200 Canadian per month."

"As an internal IT, it's gold right there. It is money in the bank."

"The value of the product is perfect, neither cheap nor expensive. I think it is the right rate. It would be awesome if it continued to be the same price because it is a great solution that I like. I like it because I'm not paying per device. I have some customers on monthly contracts and some of them are on break'n fix. If I have a client who is on break'n fix, and they need to pay per agent, then I am losing money. If they were ever to change structures, going to pay-per-device model, then I would need to think about changing to something else."

"We pay per user. I am the only user. It is $150 per user. If I need to add one, it is not as costly as expanding with other providers."

More Atera pricing and cost advice

"There is not a license needed to use the solution."

"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."

"When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."

"Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose."

"Its licensing is quite complicated because we are getting the license not only for SCCM but for the full Microsoft package. We don't need to pay for a separate license. We need to have one license that includes everything we need, such as Windows, Microsoft 365, SCCM, encryption, and so on. So, we don't have a specific price for it. Perhaps, it is good that it includes the full suite of licensing of Microsoft. It is expensive, but we are getting a lot of features."

"The price of SCCM depends on the size of the organization. The price is competitive."

"The price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is expensive."

"The license price could be reduced for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager They should make the price more affordable for smaller companies, most companies would be able to use the solution if it was priced better. There are more people on this cloud because you don't have to have either a server room or an on-premise server. You can have one IT person handle this without any local infrastructure."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Atera?

Pricing is low. It costs around 149 bucks per month.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Atera?

It should improve its processes.

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What is your primary use case for Atera?

Atera is integral to our daily operations. We use it for RMM, PSA, our ticket system, and contact with people. We also integrate it with different products.

See all answers

How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the set up will take depends on the kind of technical architecture that your org...

See all answers

How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?

ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...

See all answers

What do you like most about SCCM?

One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages efficiently and deploy them to specific groups within our network. This streamlined ...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Atera

January 2025

Download Atera product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

January 2025

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )

Learn More

Atera

Microsoft

Overview

Atera offers a comprehensive solution for MSPs and IT Professionals. The platform provides in one integrated solution: full remote monitoring and management (RMM), PSA, remote access, patch management, billing, reports, and so much more! Atera’s disruptive pricing model also helps managed IT service providers scale their business while providing continued best-in-class service. All plans include unlimited devices, meaning you only pay per technician.Everything you need, in one easy-to-use platform

Thousands of paying users in over 75 countries
Free 30-day trial, no credit card or commitment required
No hidden fees or restrictions, all plans include unlimited devices
Seamless integration with your favorite IT tools including: Splashtop, AnyDesk, TeamViewer, and ScreenConnect

What can Atera do for you?

Improve Efficiency. Atera delivers customers the tool suite for IT management. Everything you need in an all-in-one, easy-to-use platform.
Automation. Set alerts and proactively prevent issues for your clients. Minimize time spent on manual tasks and spend more time on what matters most, serving your customers.
Disruptive Pricing, Unlimited Devices. Per technician-based pricing with unlimited servers and workstations means you can cover it all, at one fixed price.

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

Sample Customers

MSPs, IT consultants, and IT departments worldwide trust and use Atera.

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Buyer's Guide

Atera vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager

January 2025

Free Report: Atera vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager

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