Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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Helped 847,862 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

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNI...

Ranking in Patch Management

15th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

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 Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac is 0.5%, down from 0.6% 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

Mario Del Toro

CyberSecurity Executive IAM Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Helps to manage the accesses for the users, provide specific permissions, and verify identities

I use the solution to manage the accesses for the users, provide specific permissions, and verify identities. The tool is a stable product. The tool needs to improve its visual system. I would rate the product's stability a ten out of ten. I would rate the solution's scalability a nine out…

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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 website development section is the most valuable feature of the solution."

"Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date."

"The tool is a stable product."

"The solution is easy to implement."

"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."

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

"The ability to push an image to a machine, wake that image up, and just blast a new image to a computer without even having to touch it, and then push the software to that machine. This just made things so much more convenient for us and so much more efficient."

"The scripting part increases IT productivity because of the specialized software in our environments for students' courses. You need to use software which is not programmed by developers. A lot of software for building houses or other things is developed by normal guys, who do not have much skill in programming. When you need to install this type of software, it is very difficult. You have to install registry keys, etc. For that, it is very good to use the scripting part of this solution. So, you can automate this part as well."

"The initial setup is relatively easy."

"The big pros of Quest KACE Systems Management are its simple interface, and simple, direct management. It's very easy to maintain and manage the device, and it's easy to get it up and running. You can have it up and running in an hour..."

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

"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."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part."

"The solution can be quite expensive, compared to other options on the market."

"The tool needs to improve its visual system."

"The K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB. There are some issues with getting things to image correctly because they rely on SMB, and SMB is a protocol that is being removed due to security reasons. Organizations are trying to rely less and less on SMB. I know Quest is aware of it. They've talked about having a new version that wouldn't rely on SMB for connection to the clients, but they haven't gotten there yet."

"We'd love to see support for larger dependencies in the scripting feature."

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

"We had issues with the tool's support. We are a Dutch firm and everything has to be in Dutch. We were not able to do the alerts. You were required to tweak them a lot to get them in the language that you preferred. The solution's support depended on the person that you got online. Sometimes, the response was fast and other times you needed to wait a long time. The support also depended on the levels of support that you had requested."

"Paying for the product should come with full and extended training anytime it is needed."

"The KACE Go Mobile App crashes a lot, and it always has. I would love to see that get fixed because it's very convenient when it does work properly, but most of the time it does not."

"I still need better communication about which processes are really due and which processes are currently being processed. According to the initial setup service provider, there is still no real management or overview on KACE where you can really see 100 percent of what is going on as well as what is going to be processed next and whether I can influence the overall process. It could really help me if I knew, e.g. exactly in 10 minutes my colleague will be supplied with this or that software. I haven't found this yet. If they could add this, that would be cool. It is still missing and I haven't yet found something like this."

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

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing."

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

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

"The pricing is fair."

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

"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."

"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."

"We need it, so we have to pay the price. It is what it is. If you need a gallon of milk, then you have to pay the price for it. You don't want to buy the cheap stuff. You want to buy the stuff that is organic and good for your body, which doesn't have all this other junk in it. You want it clean for your body. Quest has done that for our deployment and management systems."

"Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

10%

University

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

The solution is not expensive. It is cheaper than other solutions. The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing.

What needs improvement with Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part. Currently, on Amazon AWS, we have hosted all the websites. It is fine to migrate f...

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.

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

Comparisons

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BigFix vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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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

Patch Management

Download Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac product report

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac 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

HEAT Patch, PatchLink

Dell KACE Systems Management

Overview

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac, powered by Heat, swiftly detects vulnerabilities in today’s environment, from workstation to data center. And it deploys expertly pretested patches automatically, helping organizations to patch with more efficiency and efficacy.

Ivanti

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

Information Not Available

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

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)