Atera vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Atera and Quest Software are both solutions in the Patch Management category. Atera is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0, while Quest Software is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3. Atera holds a 4.6% mindshare in PM, compared to Quest Software’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Atera users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Quest Software users who would recommend it.

Atera

Read 15 Atera reviews

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1,153 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Quest KACE Systems Manageme...

Read 38 Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) reviews

2,291 Views
1,419 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Atera

Quest KACE Systems Manageme...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 27, 2024

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance and Atera compete in the endpoint management category. Quest KACE takes the upper hand with its focus on integration and comprehensive functionalities, though Atera excels with cross-platform capabilities.

Features: Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance provides tools for quick deployment, automated imaging, and extensive asset management, ensuring efficient and scalable operations. It integrates seamlessly into existing IT setups, enhancing functionality. Atera offers cross-platform support, robust remote monitoring capabilities, and versatile automation tools that boost proactive management. Its intuitive interface makes IT management streamlined and straightforward.

Room for Improvement: Quest KACE users report challenges with scalability and complex task simplification as well as issues with automatic updates and patch management. Atera could enhance its mobile device management and improve integration with other products. It also needs better customization for ticket automation and user authentication to broaden its appeal.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Quest KACE supports diverse deployment options with on-premises and cloud solutions tailored to corporate infrastructures. It is known for strong customer support, although variability in response times has been noted. Atera primarily offers cloud-based solutions providing flexibility and ease of deployment, coupled with high-quality customer service and competitive response times.

Pricing and ROI: Quest KACE is more expensive, justified by its extensive functionality and centralized management, achieving ROI through improved IT productivity. It uses straightforward endpoint licensing. Atera offers a predictable pricing model of charging per technician, benefiting startups and small businesses looking to scale efficiently without significant cost burdens. Both offerings are designed to cater to their respective user bases while delivering substantial ROI through operational efficiency and resource management.

To learn more, read our detailed Atera vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Atera vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Atera

Ranking in Patch Management

8th

Average Rating

9.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Service Management (ITSM) (14th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (3rd)

Quest KACE Systems Manageme...

Ranking in Patch Management

7th

Average Rating

8.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (14th), Endpoint Compliance (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Atera is 4.6%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 7.1%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

Chris Bashlor

IT Managed Service Provider at Principal PC Consulting, LLC

Mar 18, 2021

Pay just one price for unlimited devices and remote features enable easy access to all end points regardless of their location

When it comes to ease of use and the user interface I would give Atera a nine out of 10. The platform responsiveness to everything is solid. The updates Atera has put out have been second to none. Moreover, I find that if it wasn't for Atera, I wouldn't be gaining the number of clients I have and growing my business as I do. Atera provides ease of access to all devices no matter where they're located. It makes no difference if the client is in a work group or if he is on a certain domain. Atera enables me to access our clients' devices with ease and to provide them with feedback across the board. It benefits both me and my clients. When it comes to pushing out anything, such as antivirus features, it's second to none. As I'm more of a hands-on person, I visit many of my clients. Often, while visiting a client site, another client will call. With Atera, I am able to remotely handle whatever needs to be done to his machine, be it installing a printer or helping with a password. When a client calls and needs something handled quickly, Atera is a big help. On a daily basis, it saves me time and approximately seven to 10 hours per week. Were I not always going around to all my clients, it would save me even more time.

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Fernando Cezario

Level 2 Support at Tigs

Jan 25, 2024

Helpful for IT asset management and offer a good dashboard

I like the KACE software dashboard so much! It's convenient. I don't need to know technical details like file formats (PDF or whatever) for installation, even for applications like Adobe. Here's how I use it: Let's say I have a license for Adobe and I need to install it on a computer named Julian. I simply open a case, enter the name of the application (Adobe), open the dashboard, and search for the computer named Julian. Once I select the computer, it shows up in the dashboard. Now, in the same case, I can open a large batch of software, select the application (Adobe Acrobat again), and choose the computer named Julian. KACE then deploys the application with minimal errors, usually within one or two minutes. Julian even receives a notification on their computer that the installation process has begun. It's fantastic! Moreover, it helped so much streamline our IT asset management and inventory. Sometimes someone changes the computer assigned to someone else. For example, Juliano had a computer, and then Matos changed it to his own use. I wouldn't know about this change if it weren't for KACE. KACE automatically tracks this information and saves it for me, allowing me to call it up on the dashboard. For example, if I need to find Juliano's computer in the system, I don't need to search through endless spreadsheets. I just search for "Juliano" in KACE. KACE also lists other details like the last login user. So, if I see "Juliano" on KACE but a different user is logged in, that tells me something might be wrong. I find this functionality very helpful for IT asset management.

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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

"The most valuable features of this solution are automatic batch matching and unattended support access."

"It is reliable, and when it is working, it works without issues."

"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."

"It's very easy to use, not just for me, but even for people who have claimed, "I'm not very good at IT." Once you have it installed and you have it set up, it pretty much works by itself. It really helps you do what you need to do. It's easy to use for a beginner, compared to some of the other larger RMMs that are a little bit more complicated."

"Atera has helped me to provide more accurate solutions based on a given problem. For example, we base our solutions on event scenarios, like the alerts. We identify that there's a series of problems occurring in a particular area from the information provided by the alerts."

"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."

"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."

More Atera pros

"The scripting part increases IT productivity because of the specialized software in our environments for students' courses. You need to use software which is not programmed by developers. A lot of software for building houses or other things is developed by normal guys, who do not have much skill in programming. When you need to install this type of software, it is very difficult. You have to install registry keys, etc. For that, it is very good to use the scripting part of this solution. So, you can automate this part as well."

"The single pane of glass for managing devices is helpful because it allows me to perform updates and control things without having to disturb the doctors or nurses."

"With KACE, we were able to have a simplification of the software deployment management with more granularity and flexibility."

"The solution provides us a single pane of glass with everything that we need for endpoint management of all devices. It definitely has made our endpoint management process much easier."

"It also does patch management. At the moment, I'm rolling out a new feature update, 20.8.2, and it's a great challenge because we have to deploy it to 1,200 computers in the home office. We want to do it without interrupting production, but KACE is reliable and it's easy to adapt it to my needs for how and when to deploy the feature update."

"It is excellent in terms of updating and configuring everything the way we need. For anything more complex, we do professional service engagements, and they're exceptional. For anything less complex, we just need to ask questions. Their support division is extremely good too."

"The most valuable feature of KACE is the mass package deployment. There are a lot of endpoint management solutions in the market. The way KACE responds is with the installation management feature, which is done in a very intelligent way, as well as scripting. It's wow. It's really wow. On top of that, there is a mass undeployment feature as well."

"The ability to push an image to a machine, wake that image up, and just blast a new image to a computer without even having to touch it, and then push the software to that machine. This just made things so much more convenient for us and so much more efficient."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"The mobility of Atera is also a feature which needs to be addressed so that it can be used on iPads, iPhones and things of this nature. I would also like to see an agent included on these devices so that I can monitor, maintain and manage them."

"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."

"There is definitely room for improvement with its automation capabilities."

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

"The solution is scalable. However, in the past, we did have some issues."

"Having more freedom to perform identity access management would be great."

"It should improve its processes."

"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."

More Atera cons

"It is a little bit difficult to use the license compliances because you need to decide when you are using the software catalog if you are using it with their license compliance or the normal software part. Under the inventory, you can use software as a menu link or software catalog. Most of my specialist software is not in the software catalog. When I try to import them, in my license compliances overview, there are cryptic names for this software that I have to import. That is not very good for the reports that I use. When I take them to my bosses, they see cryptic names of software that they don't understand. It would be much better for me if I could use software and the software catalog as well for the license compliances."

"KACE implemented the possibility of reducing the network speed of the KACE agent. You can set it so that it takes whatever network speed you want or you can set it to 5 Mb, to save network speed. You set it for all the computers, but it would be preferable to separate between VPN connections in our home office and the local area. It would be great to be able to set separate speeds for different VLANs."

"The only hiccups we had were some power issues, where the box was a little under-powered early on."

"The solution needs to have the ability to push out managed feature updates from Microsoft in a more seamless way."

"I would like for there to be improvement when it comes to Microsoft and Windows updates. It has the ability to do it but the control of it is not there like I have in the Windows Server Update Services. The way KACE does it is still very granular. You don't really see the process like it is in the Windows Server Update Services. I think that would be one of the biggest things that I would like to see KACE really put some work into and really make that a big enhancement."

"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."

"The customization of the interface needs improvement for things like end user tickets. While the functionality is good, some of that UI stuff does need improvement."

"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

"In terms of cost, it's not very expensive. I’d rate it around three or four out of ten, considering its value for money."

"It comes with unlimited devices, so the fixed price cost is taken out of my budget. So, I'm all good."

"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."

"The price is reasonable for what we require."

"One of the biggest issues I face is the need to pay per technician. I've dealt with other platforms that you need to have 250-500 devices. Even though the cost declines as the number of devices a person has increases, they still require you to pay for 250 or 500, respectively. With Atera, the number doesn't matter as you always pay the same amount. I approximate that Atera saves me $100 per week."

More Atera pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is fair."

"n terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need."

"We need it, so we have to pay the price. It is what it is. If you need a gallon of milk, then you have to pay the price for it. You don't want to buy the cheap stuff. You want to buy the stuff that is organic and good for your body, which doesn't have all this other junk in it. You want it clean for your body. Quest has done that for our deployment and management systems."

"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."

"Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees."

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"Its pricing model is good for what it offers. Nobody here gives me a hard time about renewing the contract every year. It might be a little cost prohibitive for a smaller company who has to stand up a virtual environment as well as have virtual environment licensing and the hardware. If you have a smaller environment, it might be cost prohibitive. If you only have a couple of hundred computers, you might be more willing to do those manually. In our environment, the cost savings of having KACE far outweigh the licensing costs. We are okay with its pricing model."

"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Computer Software Company

13%

University

12%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

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.

See all answers

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

What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?

KACE automatically tracks this information and saves it for me, allowing me to call it up on the dashboard. For example, if I need to find Juliano's computer in the system, I don't need to search t...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?

It is expensive in Brazil. Generally, it's considered expensive, especially compared to solutions like Spiceworks.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?

Easier integration would be beneficial.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Atera

October 2024

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Buyer's Guide

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

October 2024

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

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Also Known As

No data available

Dell KACE Systems Management

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Atera

Quest Software

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.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is a comprehensive endpoint and service desk management platform. It supports IT operations with functionalities such as ticketing, patch management, software deployment, and asset management.

KACE provides robust automation for managing software distribution and patch tasks. Organizations depend on it for security updates, system compliance, and centralized control over diverse devices. Integration with tools like Bomgar and ServiceNow enhances its remote support capabilities, while its intuitive interface streamlines IT processes, increasing productivity. Managing thousands of endpoints, it supports accreditation compliance and reports on system status and security.

What are the key features of Quest KACE SMA?

Automation: Streamlines software deployment and patch management.
Asset Management: Offers comprehensive inventory controls.
Integration: Compatible with Bomgar and ServiceNow for enhanced remote support.
System Deployment: SDA simplifies deployment across multiple machines.
Intuitive Interface: Facilitates IT task management from a single pane.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Increased Productivity: Simplifies IT tasks, optimizing resources.
Centralized Control: Manages a wide range of devices from one interface.
Security Compliance: Ensures systems are updated and compliant.
Enhanced Support: Improved remote support through integrations.
Reporting Capabilities: Provides insights into IT operations and status.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is implemented across industries needing robust IT management solutions such as healthcare for compliance and security, education for asset tracking, and corporate enterprises for efficient IT operations. Its multifunctional nature caters to diverse industry requirements, enhancing communication and data management.

Sample Customers

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

Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King

Buyer's Guide

Atera vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

October 2024

Free Report: Atera vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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