ConnectWise Automate vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

The compared ConnectWise and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. ConnectWise is ranked #10 in RMM , and holds a 7.7% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #7 in SM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 5.3% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of ConnectWise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

ConnectWise Automate

Read 15 ConnectWise Automate reviews

1,953 Views
1,152 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Read 82 Microsoft Configuration Manager reviews

11,776 Views
1,884 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

ConnectWise Automate

Microsoft Configuration Man...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ConnectWise Automate and Microsoft Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Kaseya, NinjaOne, N-able and others in Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM).

To learn more, read our detailed Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

June 2025

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Helped 861,524 peers since 2012

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

ConnectWise Automate

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (10th)

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (7th), Configuration Management (4th), Patch Management (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ConnectWise Automate is designed for Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) and holds a mindshare of 7.7%, down 9.3% compared to last year.
Microsoft Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Server Monitoring, holds 5.3% mindshare, down 8.0% since last year.

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

MikeChacker

IT Manager Global Service Delivery at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Facilitates valuable patch cycles, but the web client is not very intuitive and needs updating, and the scripting has room for improvement

The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive. It could use some updating and some thought around the UX. Also, with the scripting, I would like to see something where it could have third-party scripts already pre-built, and all you have to do is say, "Hey, I need this," and go load it. It's not as automated as I'd like it to be.

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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

"The most value we get from this solution is that everything is on a patch cycle."

"It allows us to manage all client requests, jobs and invoicing."

"A good automated scripts feature."

"The initial setup is easy and the deployment is quick."

"The database is great. It's a nicely ordered database."

"It's definitely improved the help-desk servicing, et cetera."

"Remote access and detailed monitoring help us support our equipment."

"Maybe they could improve the capability to be multi-tenant."

More ConnectWise Automate pros

"I like the data collection."

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

"The solution effectively handles inventory management, deployment, and reporting."

"This solution captures all the devices in our infrastructure."

"The solution is stable."

"The solution is user-friendly and easy to learn."

"The initial setup is straightforward and not too complicated."

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

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"They always change the GUI to some dumb-down version of tiles which are more "user-friendly", but slows my team down in the end."

"The project management needs improvement and there's a section of the product called configuration that also needs to be improved."

"The menu doesn't always load properly."

"Their support needs to be better."

"Scheduling of automation could be improved and made more simple."

"The wait time for a support ticket to be addressed needs to be reduced. They take a couple of days to get back. It is a little frustrating when we have to wait for a couple of days. A lot of times, the issue is critical for us. If we're reaching out to their support team and submitting a ticket, it is because we need it handled quickly."

"We would love to get feature updates and cumulative updates fixed. I know they aren't really supposed to be pushed with Patch Manager. We've got recommendations from ConnectWise to use the scripted feature update installs, scripted KB updates, etc. Having these in Patch Manager itself would be great."

"The fixed client for Automate is slow. The web client is not very intuitive."

More ConnectWise Automate cons

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

"Devices like smartphones and tablets are managed very well on VMware, however, they are absent in SCCM. I could configure iPad from the VMware site and it was done very easily. It should be just as possible on SCCM."

"They should improve their anti-malware policies like the SCEP policies. For instance, you can't have different policies for different servers, there is only one policy in all the servers, and everything is covered under that. For example, say you want to scan one group of servers on Saturday, and then you want to scan another group of servers on Sunday, you can't do that. You have to scan all your servers, a regular scan or a full scan, on the same day and at the same time. That's definitely one thing they need to resolve. In the next release, it would actually be nice if they included Apple products. It will also help if you can use Intune again. Their compliance reporting feature could also be better. They can maybe work a bit on that for patching now. It would be better if SCCM came with the functions of Right Click Tools built-in. If SCCM would have all those functions already built-in, we won't have to go and spend $5,000, just as an add-in from another company to get those functions."

"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."

"Managing role-based access control within Microsoft Configuration Manager was not helpful because we had other identity management solutions specifically designated for identity management."

"One area of improvement is regarding the patching of Office 365 products. We have some difficulties on this side, and it can be improved."

"Initial setup was complex. There's a lot that goes into it."

"It is a bit of an old and outdated product."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I pay $85 a month per user for a ConnectWise package that contains multiple solutions."

"Pricing and licensing are reasonable."

"I believe Automate is available for around $2."

"From what I've overheard, it is pretty comparable to other solutions in terms of price."

"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."

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

"We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable."

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

"The price is competitive and reasonable."

"The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive."

"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."

"Its price is okay because it is part of our licensing."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

13%

Performing Arts

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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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 ...

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Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 8% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ConnectWise Automate

July 2025

Download ConnectWise Automate product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

June 2025

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

LabTech for IT Service Providers, ConnectWise Automate for Corporate IT Departments, ConnectWise Automate for IT Service Providers

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

Overview

ConnectWise Automate is an IT management tool that helps deliver IT services at the speed of business. Our remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform provides powerful automation to discover & manage devices, monitor for problems, and automate action. Deliver streamlined reactive and proactive managed services, stop putting out fires, and start focusing on what matters most. See why over 5,500 partners worldwide chose ConnectWise Automate by visiting ConnectWise.com or calling 877-522-8323.

ConnectWise

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.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

I-M Technology, Mainstay Technologies, PC Works Plus, Integrity IT, Kerkhoff Technologies Inc., Marathon Consulting, Christenberry Sales Company, EDTS, Secom Technology, Ready to View, ARRC Technology, DaVinci Digital, JNR Networks, Quinn Technology Solutions, PCIT, Liberty Technology, Capital Computers & Networks, Atlanta Technology Force, Doberman Technologies, First Column Enterprises, CisCom Solutions

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

Buyer's Guide

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)

June 2025

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