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BMC Helix Client Management vs ManageEngine Endpoint Central comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

BMC Helix Client Management
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Device Management (MDM) (7th), Endpoint Compliance (6th)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (3rd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Endpoint Security solutions, they serve different purposes. BMC Helix Client Management is designed for Mobile Device Management (MDM) and holds a mindshare of 6.0%, up 3.7% compared to last year.
ManageEngine Endpoint Central, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 21.1% mindshare, down 42.2% since last year.
Mobile Device Management (MDM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
BMC Helix Client Management6.0%
Jamf Pro13.6%
NinjaOne7.2%
Other73.2%
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Client Desktop Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
ManageEngine Endpoint Central21.1%
Symantec Client Management Suite13.9%
Clarity CA11.6%
Other53.4%
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

AA
Senior Account Executive at FDS
Efficient remote control capabilities; compliance features greatly reduced customers' licensing costs
The on-premises version of BMC Client Management has powerful remote control functionality and decent compliance features, but these features both rely on the discovery tool in order to gain a complete set of insights about the endpoint's environment. Now, BMC's discovery solution depends on having an agent installed in each endpoint and sometimes the agent doesn't work properly, making it difficult to get an accurate understanding of the environment (including special topologies) even with BMC's discovery tool. This can be a pain when it comes to the area of compliance, since you might not have full access to everything running in the organization, including important infrastructural components such as servers and databases. For example, some endpoints may have gotten their software updates from servers not visible to the discovery tool, and this can further impact operations when it comes to patch management. Compare this scenario with the way Red Hat handles patch management: their software is always updated from the main patch providers, so you will always know what is running on the endpoints in this kind of environment. Although their endpoint management has its pros and cons, this is where BMC Client Management is at a bit of a disadvantage and I believe they need to improve on this area. Another area BMC could look into improving is the mobile device side of client management. It has lots of support for Microsoft products in terms of client management, but lacks comprehensive mobile device management support, such as for Android devices.
SR
Manager - IT at Milliman
The user-friendly interface and effective patch management streamline server maintenance
There are times when we have a particular software installed in our system, but we do not receive patches for it from Endpoint Central. The support team mentions that the software may not be updated in their database yet, which requires us to raise a request for their database update. This lack of regular database updates has been an issue. Additionally, Endpoint Central does not support Linux, which makes it challenging to patch Linux machines using commands. Support for Linux, such as CentOS or Ubuntu, would be highly beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The inventory and patch management tools are very valuable."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its patching capabilities and the help it offers when it comes to use cases, like prompting for the reboot after a certain period of time."
"It's a scalable solution. We have deployed it for customers using 3000 nodes to those using 300,000 nodes."
"One feature I like, that was especially valuable during the pandemic, is remote control. Remote control grants administrators and support personnel access to the laptops and PCs of employees (who might be working from home) in order to fix any issues that come up as and when they come up, even without having to wait for a support request."
"BMC Client Management is a stable solution and one of the best in the market. It allows me to manage all recipe endpoints, including iOS, Android, Linux, Unix, and Windows, all within the same solution."
"The most valuable features of the solution are patch management and software license management."
"The support from BMC Client Management is very good."
"What I like best about this product is that I can log on to every PC, very easily, and chat with the user via the chat feature."
"Honestly, I have to say all features together have become the Swiss army knife of desktop management. They all work hand in hand. Software deployment saves an unbelievable amount of time installing an application on hundreds of computers."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"The stability is very good."
"Desktop Central has improved these organizations and this is why it has been repeated multiple times at multiple organizations. If something works and is getting better it is worth repeating."
"The GUI of Endpoint Central is very user-friendly, which simplifies the process of training new users."
"The initial setup process is good."
"The patch manager is good, and it's easy to use."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to add whitelisting because many customers request it."
"It would be good if BMC Client Management can perform vulnerability assessment scanning at the endpoint on its own and mitigate that. Then, we wouldn't have to rely on a third party VA tool. I would like to see this application move to being a web-based one."
"The on-premises version of BMC Client Management has powerful remote control functionality and decent compliance features, but these features both rely on the discovery tool in order to gain a complete set of insights about the endpoint's environment. Now, BMC's discovery solution depends on having an agent installed in each endpoint and sometimes the agent doesn't work properly, making it difficult to get an accurate understanding of the environment (including special topologies) even with BMC's discovery tool."
"The solution does not offer the functionality of remote access to users."
"BMC Client Management could improve in the area of integration."
"BMC Client Management supports only iOS devices. It would be good if they would support Android as well."
"In BMC Client Management, I would like to see more features for executing commands remotely. For example, with SAP, there isn't the capability to execute all the commands available in the console. The latest version includes more endpoints, but they do not cover everything the operations team needs. Additionally, I think improving the hierarchy for managing endpoints is crucial. Extending the endpoint capabilities would be highly beneficial."
"In relation to ManageEngine Endpoint Central, ManageEngine NGAV seems to be completely useless right now."
"The performance sometimes lags a bit because the solution is demanding on system resources."
"The pricing could be a bit better."
"ManageEngine should support various browser features, including those that address browser limitations."
"Some difficulties with setup for multiple locations."
"It might be helpful if they offered a simpler way to use the OS deployment function. It's a bit complicated for most of the customers."
"Sometimes computers fail to receive patches, and we need to investigate why."
"I would like to see them come out with a SaaS version of the product in the future."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"To use BMC Client Management they charge annually per node."
"BMC Client Management is a very affordable solution. There is one main server license which I believe is around $1,000 per year, and then there is the license for the actual solution. With the solution license, you can opt for a suite license where you get access to all the features and benefits, or alternatively you can buy any of the five main components of the suite license individually."
"BMC Client Management is a high-priced solution, but given its performance and capabilities, I think it offers great value. I don't have the exact number for the yearly licensing costs. I believe there is an additional cost of around two hundred dollars."
"The solution is low cost."
"The licensing is very easy to understand and pricing is right for what you get."
"The pricing is very low, compared to other products. Compared to Intune or SCCM, it's much less. I can say it's a good product for less of a price."
"Could provide more services on the standard license"
"The pricing of the product is not bad compared to the other similar solutions in the market."
"The product is cheap."
"Choose wisely between the Professional and Enterprise editions, based on your needs."
"Affordable for any customer."
"The price could be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Retailer
12%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Client Management?
BMC Client Management is a high-priced solution, but given its performance and capabilities, I think it offers great value. I don't have the exact number for the yearly licensing costs. I believe t...
What needs improvement with BMC Client Management?
In BMC Client Management, I would like to see more features for executing commands remotely. For example, with SAP, there isn't the capability to execute all the commands available in the console. ...
What is your primary use case for BMC Client Management?
The most common use cases for BMC Client Management among my clients include managing inventory and deployment of a software package.
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...
What do you like most about ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Well, what we like is that it catch actually a lot of features constantly upgrading. So all the three maybe there there were some features as the tenant on the earliest version. Now it's it's almos...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Regarding the pricing of ManageEngine Endpoint Central, it depends on the region. In India, it is very cost-effective and provides great value. In other regions such as the UAE, US, or UK, the pric...
 

Also Known As

BMC Helix Client Management, Helix Client Management, BMC Fromdistance Mobile Device Management
ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Charter Manufacturing
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Find out what your peers are saying about JAMF, Microsoft, Cisco and others in Mobile Device Management (MDM). Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.