GFI LanGuard vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

GFI LanGuard vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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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

GFI LanGuard

Ranking in Patch Management

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Quest KACE Systems Manageme...

Ranking in Patch Management

10th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Client Desktop Management (6th), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of GFI LanGuard is 3.1%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 5.4%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

Ted Mbugua

Security Manager at CRAG

Improves network visibility and keeps our products up to date with the latest patches

This is a solution that I recommend. In fact, those without it are at a disadvantage when it comes to managing their network. The biggest lesson that I have learned is in terms of visibility. GFI LanGuard has given me a wakeup call in terms of what is happening on endpoint machines. However, it is more than just having visibility. It is about having control in terms of what you want to block and what you're able to block. It keeps our network stable in that there are no running applications that you don't even know you have. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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Scott Tweed

Windows Engineer at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees

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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup was easy."

"The most valuable feature is that I am able to patch third-party solutions."

"This product is a great solution at a great price as long as it is only going to be used for a local area network."

"The most valuable features of GFI LanGuard are the vulnerability assessment, it provides us with substantial insight into what applications are running on the endpoint systems and what vulnerabilities are there in the running applications. The second would be the assets tracking. I'm able to see in the network whether my endpoint server is operating and if all the other IT equipment is running in the environment. Additionally, GFI LanGuard is not heavy on system resources. It gives a competitive advantage over others."

"The solution is easy to use and integrates well with other operating systems."

"The most useful features of GFI LanGuard are vulnerability assessment and patching solutions."

"The most valuable features in GFI LanGuard are patch management and vulnerability assessment."

"I like that the solution can block users from unnecessarily putting devices on the network."

More GFI LanGuard pros

"I am impressed by the service desk ticketing and asset management."

"Using this solution saves us lots of time, especially when it comes to performing updates."

"The service desk can be configured and customized to better serve our environment."

"You don't have to be an advanced user. Rather, in terms of ease of use, this product is right where it needs to be."

"Asset management is most valuable. It is essential for all customers. The other features are also useful, but asset management is most important."

"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."

"KACE’s knowledge-based articles are very good."

"This solution makes it easy to control assets and upgrade all types of software."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"When you want to uninstall software from an endpoint, sometimes it becomes very problematic."

"The documentation on how to use this solution in a Linux environment is not clear, which is something that should be improved because it is complicated."

"GFI LanGuard has some technical limitations with machines."

"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding more modules, such as asset control or asset inventory."

"The only drawback with GFI LanGuard is that you cannot directly integrate it from the Outlook email; instead, you have to first log in to the site to make changes."

"If GFI LanGuard had a cloud version it would be better for people that are working from home."

"GFI LanGuard could improve the rollback feature. If we have installed the wrong we have had some issues with the rollback function. Additionally, more input from GFI LanGuard for the custom software push install."

"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding asset tracking."

More GFI LanGuard cons

"It took a little bit of time to figure out how to use the KACE Service Desk. I like the way that I'm able to customize it. But when it comes to how our techs are able to use it, it's not as functional as our current solution, which is BMC FootPrints Service Desk."

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

"I think it should have the ability to have the applications automatically update. It would be really helpful if this would override what the user might choose to do."

"They could make the booting solution easier for different things, e.g., easier to insert drivers. They could make it easier to create a new image and put it onto the server. Those would be some nice solutions. They could make it so that somebody who has no knowledge at all can do it. That would be really nice. Because every time, until I get it memorized, I still need to go back to the training, the manual, or Google it to figure it out again. If they would make it a lot easier, to where a nine-year-old could do it, that would be really cool. If they made it easier, I could have more people managing the images on the server, instead of just one or two people."

"Imaging becomes a problem when you start to try to go beyond doing more than thirty or forty machines at a time. We initially tried to do that virtually and it just, it wouldn't work."

"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."

"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."

"Its dashboard needs improvement. Currently, there is no way to modify the dashboard. There should be more flexibility so that we can create views according to our use case."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are a gold partner and we receive favorable discounts. The price of GFI LanGuard is competitive. When you evaluate other solutions, such as ManageEngine."

"On a scale of one to five, with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate the price as a four."

"GFI LanGuard cost approximately $1,000 annually to use the solution."

"I rate the pricing of GFI LanGuard a four out of five."

"GFI LanGuard has very fair pricing compared to other similar solutions out there."

"GFI LanGuard isn't expensive."

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

"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."

"We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management."

"The pricing is great. It's billed annually and it's very reasonable."

"Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable."

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

"It may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for."

"The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair."

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

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849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Photography Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

University

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about GFI LanGuard?

The most valuable feature of GFI LanGuard is its email spam feature.

What needs improvement with GFI LanGuard?

The only drawback with GFI LanGuard is that you cannot directly integrate it from the Outlook email; instead, you have to first log in to the site to make changes. Instead of directly white listing...

What is your primary use case for GFI LanGuard?

Internally, as a user, I use GFI LanGuard for email and web monitoring.

What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?

My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The to...

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

The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.

What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?

The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface and lacks a manual configuration option.

ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus vs GFI LanGuard

Comparisons

Compared 36% of the time

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 22% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 15% of the time

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 15% of the time

NinjaOne vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 12% of the time

More GFI LanGuard Competitors

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 34% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 27% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 10% of the time

BigFix vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 5% of the time

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) Competitors

Product Reports

GFI LanGuard

Download GFI LanGuard product report

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Download Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Also Known As

LanGuard

Dell KACE Systems Management

Overview

GFI LanGuard enables complete patch management of security and non-security patches to Microsoft operating systems, Mac OS X, major Linux distributions and third-party applications. It can also automate patching for all major web browsers too.

GFI

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is a comprehensive tool for managing IT endpoints. It facilitates asset management, software distribution, and endpoint tracking while offering remote access capabilities and a centralized help desk.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is designed for organizations that need efficient endpoint management. It offers a range of features like inventory tracking, automated patch management, and ticketing. By integrating with remote access tools such as Bomgar, Quest KACE helps reduce manual tasks involved in managing software updates and system deployments. Although it faces challenges in scalability and requires improvements in integration and reporting, it remains a versatile choice for asset tracking and endpoint administration.

What are Quest KACE SMA's key features?

Asset Management: Streamline the organization and tracking of physical and virtual assets.
Remote Access: Integrates with Bomgar for secure, remote troubleshooting and management.
Software Distribution: Deploy applications across devices efficiently without physical intervention.
Centralized Endpoint Management: Manage endpoints from a centralized console to ensure compliance and optimization.
Automated Patch Management: Schedule and deploy patches to maintain system security and performance.
Help Desk: Integrated ticketing system for tracking and resolving user issues.
Scripting and Reporting: Enhance administrative tasks through automated scripts and detailed reports.

What benefits should users consider?

Improved Productivity: Reduces manual interference with automated deployments and updates.
Labor Savings: Minimizes labor requirements with efficient remote management tools.
Integrated Reporting: Provides actionable insights through comprehensive reports to optimize IT operation.
User-Friendly Interface: Boosts effectiveness due to its intuitive, easy-to-navigate design.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is implemented across industries for managing IT assets and endpoints, particularly where remote management and compliance are critical. It's employed in healthcare, education, and government sectors for efficient patch management, inventory control, and software deployment, aiding organizations in managing security accreditations and centralizing help desk operations.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

BayView Medical Clinic, FrugalBrothers Software, Zaw, National Theatre, American Red Cross

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

GFI LanGuard vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)