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

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

Download the complete report

Helped 831,791 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

GFI LanGuard

Ranking in Patch Management

13th

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

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

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

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of GFI LanGuard is 4.0%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 7.5%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

Ted Mbugua

Security Manager at CRAG

Scalable, light on resources, and useful visibility

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.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

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 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."

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

"It is helpful to patch and scan vulnerabilities."

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

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

"The initial setup was easy."

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

More GFI LanGuard pros

"The scripting is a very valuable feature, as it saves us time on pushing certain things out to the users, such as software and patches."

"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."

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

"The ability to build scripts right on the deployment center itself, as well as building groups that take those scripts/task chains has been absolutely invaluable and one of the most important parts of my whole environment."

"When vulnerabilities are exploited so much, it is nice to be able to quickly detect or deploy what is needed within our off-work hours or during work hours without a reboot."

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

"Patching is definitely the most valuable feature. It gives us good, centralized software, which comes in very handy since we are doing 400 servers at a time. It enables us to manage all the servers, and to deal with the application team regarding reboots and scheduling."

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

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"GFI LanGuard has some technical limitations with machines."

"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."

"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."

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

"The version we are using only allows one person to use it at a time and does not allow multi-users."

"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."

"GFI LanGuard can improve by adding asset tracking."

More GFI LanGuard cons

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

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

"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."

"The initial setup was complex. It is a Linux-based virtual server, where the customer cannot get into the back-end, so you can only follow their prompts. Then, there are specific things that have to be done in their implementation and upgrade phases that have to be done in a certain order or steps. If you don't get those steps right, the system doesn't work. I think that either simplifying that process or providing really good step-by-step documentation would be helpful."

"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."

"I've had some issues with patch catalogue."

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

"It could be designed a little bit more intuitively in terms of administration."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"GFI LanGuard isn't expensive."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

"Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license... The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while."

"It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price."

"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 cost of KACE has been relatively low compared to other systems. Even if those systems have the same cost, they do not do as much of the third-party patching that KACE natively does."

"We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it."

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

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Patch Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

831,791 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Photography Company

Computer Software Company

12%

University

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

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?

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...

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 38% of the time

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 21% of the time

Ivanti Patch for Endpoint Manager vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 16% of the time

NinjaOne vs GFI LanGuard

Compared 7% of the time

More GFI LanGuard Competitors

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

Compared 30% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 28% 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 9% of the time

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

Compared 7% 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 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.

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)