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AWS Systems Manager vs KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.7
Microsoft Intune boosts cost savings and efficiency by streamlining device management, reducing infrastructure costs, and enhancing security measures.
Sentiment score
1.0
Users reported ROI from AWS Systems Manager due to cost savings, improved efficiency, automation, better security, and streamlined operations.
Sentiment score
7.3
KACE SMA increases efficiency and productivity, offering rapid ROI by streamlining operations and reducing time, costs, and staffing needs.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
Microsoft Intune not only saves costs by reducing the number of personnel needed but also offers a comprehensive solution for managing laptops, applications, security, individual access, and enrollment.
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
The return on investment is seen in the quick access to information, good inventory management, and efficient systems management.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Microsoft Intune support feedback is mixed, with faster resolutions at premium levels but slow response at basic tiers.
Sentiment score
1.0
AWS Systems Manager support satisfaction varies, with higher praise for business support and consistent approval in Colombia.
Sentiment score
6.6
KACE SMA support is praised for its expertise and 24/7 availability, with occasional room for flexibility improvement.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
I would rate the customer support for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as a 10.
The customer service is very good, providing quick customer support in Spanish.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Intune excels in scalability, efficiently managing thousands of users and devices across diverse environments, supporting seamless expansion.
Sentiment score
7.3
AWS Systems Manager is highly scalable and efficient, handling large workloads seamlessly, making it ideal for complex environments.
Sentiment score
7.2
KACE Systems Management Appliance efficiently supports various organization sizes, excelling in integration, scalability, and comprehensive network management.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
The product is very scalable as it supports 10,000 thousand endpoints with just one appliance.
We have outgrown the size of one KACE appliance and are now running two.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Intune is stable and reliable, with users rating its performance highly despite occasional update or sync issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
AWS Systems Manager is mainly stable, though some users face issues like clipboard sharing, battery drain, and misconfiguration.
Sentiment score
8.1
KACE Systems Management Appliance is praised for its stability, reliability, and efficient performance, with swift recovery during incidents.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
A couple of years ago, the performance was not as good as it is now, but there are noticeable backend improvements.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune needs better application deployment, reporting, macOS/Linux support, platform integration, user-friendliness, remote desktop, and competitive pricing.
AWS Systems Manager users seek improved automation, integration, usability, cost optimization, and broader service integration with better incident management.
KACE Systems Management Appliance struggles with scalability, usability, customization, integration, image deployment, and technical support responsiveness.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
Currently, we have to go into each org to deploy applications when we need them all across the university.
The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune offers cost-effective prices with Microsoft 365 bundles, flexible licensing, and discounts for large volumes or specific sectors.
AWS Systems Manager offers cost efficiency and value, but requires optimization to mitigate cost increases during high-demand periods.
KACE Systems Management Appliance offers cost-effective enterprise solutions, although potentially expensive for small businesses, with no additional feature costs.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimize costs according to our use case, time, and frequency.
The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hands down, it beat all of the others in simplicity and pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration, robust management, and security features, enhancing remote device management and compliance with a user-friendly interface.
AWS Systems Manager provides log analysis, task automation, parameter storage, and efficient access, enhancing security, productivity, and integration.
KACE SMA offers integrated, centralized IT management for efficient software deployment, asset management, and security with customizable inventories.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts.
Scripting has saved us hundreds of hours over the years when patching these vulnerabilities compared to how we did it before.
The most valuable features include simplicity, which makes systems management easier and faster, especially for device management.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
301
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
AWS Systems Manager
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (5th)
KACE Systems Management App...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (3rd), Endpoint Compliance (8th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (12th), Patch Management (10th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
AWS Systems Manager9.9%
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform16.1%
Microsoft Configuration Manager11.5%
Other62.5%
Configuration Management
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)1.0%
Kaseya VSA18.2%
NinjaOne13.7%
Other67.1%
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
Ambe Frankline - PeerSpot reviewer
Tracks every action on AWS accounts in a centralized way
Setting up AWS Systems Manager to monitor and control other services is easy. You need to link the services you want to observe and track. The time it takes to deploy depends on factors like connectivity, latency, and the complexity of the services. For example, setting up a simple application is faster than setting up a more complicated three-tier or multi-tier system. Using the solution for batch updates varies depending on the number of servers involved and the commands needed. Personally, when I do small projects at home, deploying a few servers doesn't take long. But at work, where we handle larger deployments with hundreds of servers, it's faster due to better connectivity and resources.
Scott Tweed - PeerSpot reviewer
Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages
I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
12%
Government
10%
Non Profit
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business116
Midsize Enterprise46
Large Enterprise152
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What do you like most about AWS Systems Manager?
With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems m...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Systems Manager?
Every AWS service comes with some associated costs. While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimi...
What needs improvement with AWS Systems Manager?
I do not use the automation feature in this product.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that, hand...
What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?
I wish Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) would have a top-down approach since we use orgs; currently, we ...
What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?
My main use case for Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is to deploy applications and maintain security, a...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Amazon Elastic Container Registry
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Systems Manager vs. KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.