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Kaseya VSA vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 27, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Kaseya VSA
Ranking in Patch Management
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (2nd)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Patch Management
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (14th), Endpoint Compliance (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Kaseya VSA is 4.5%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 7.1%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ben Blissett - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 4, 2024
Broken from the beginning and never functioned as anticipated
They had a major issue that resulted at one point (the straw that broke the camel's back for us, although we'd been fighting with support for months by that point in time) in which every Kaseya VSA customer was offline for two weeks. This vulnerability pushed us over the edge. It never functioned as intended. If it functioned as it was supposed to, it would've been fantastic. However, the previous solution we used just performed reliably and so much better. I can't say that there was anything positive about my experience. The intent of the software, other than integrations, is to be able to just make an anytime secure direct connection to an endpoint. However, whenever we would connect, at least half the time, it would not record keystrokes properly, no matter what system we connected from. So if you're trying to enter a password, there'd be 2-3 seconds' latency in the response and then it would just spew out a bunch of letters and numbers you didn't type in. You would just try, try, try again to type in something, and just half the time it worked, half the time it didn't. If you brought up more than three or four endpoints simultaneously, it never worked. It was a major point of contention for us. For us, at least, it just didn't work. It just was broken. Scripting didn't fire, reports didn't come back, and monitoring wasn't there. A server goes down or a router goes offline, no notification. Stuff like that. Bush league.
Fernando Cezario - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 25, 2024
Helpful for IT asset management and offer a good dashboard
I like the KACE software dashboard so much! It's convenient. I don't need to know technical details like file formats (PDF or whatever) for installation, even for applications like Adobe. Here's how I use it: Let's say I have a license for Adobe and I need to install it on a computer named Julian. I simply open a case, enter the name of the application (Adobe), open the dashboard, and search for the computer named Julian. Once I select the computer, it shows up in the dashboard. Now, in the same case, I can open a large batch of software, select the application (Adobe Acrobat again), and choose the computer named Julian. KACE then deploys the application with minimal errors, usually within one or two minutes. Julian even receives a notification on their computer that the installation process has begun. It's fantastic! Moreover, it helped so much streamline our IT asset management and inventory. Sometimes someone changes the computer assigned to someone else. For example, Juliano had a computer, and then Matos changed it to his own use. I wouldn't know about this change if it weren't for KACE. 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 through endless spreadsheets. I just search for "Juliano" in KACE. KACE also lists other details like the last login user. So, if I see "Juliano" on KACE but a different user is logged in, that tells me something might be wrong. I find this functionality very helpful for IT asset management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ease of access and ease of use was great."
"We can schedule the patching of the endpoints."
"I like the Live Connect module provided by Kaseya. It is a powerful module. I also like the Agent Procedure module. We work with it most of the time."
"The unique thing I like most about Kaseya VSA is the quick indicators that tell us if a machine is idle, in use, powered off, etc. This allows us to handle client tasks when their machine is idle."
"The product's support team is very quick to respond, especially because the tool's technical team operates in the same time zone where I am located."
"I like the remote control, audit, inventory, patch management, software management, and monitoring features."
"The most valuable part of this solution is the security features that it offers."
"The most valuable piece of the puzzle for me is what they call Live Connect. It is the piece that allows you to support an end-user without having to take the keyboard and mouse."
"We have our KACE agent deployed on all of our workstations and servers, and it provides us with reports on the hardware and software inventory for those."
"I am impressed by the service desk ticketing and asset management."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to monitor updates—the software versions—on machines so that we can keep everything compliant."
"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."
"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..."
"The most valuable feature of KACE is the mass package deployment. There are a lot of endpoint management solutions in the market. The way KACE responds is with the installation management feature, which is done in a very intelligent way, as well as scripting. It's wow. It's really wow. On top of that, there is a mass undeployment feature as well."
"We use the Systems Deployment appliance. It's our bread and butter. It is every machine that gets imaged here in this building and out through the whole state goes through the SDA. We rely on it completely. There is no manual process of getting a laptop out of a box, plugging it up, turning it on, and waiting for Windows to start. If you were to go to Best Buy and buy a brand new laptop, you spend the next two to three hours just setting it up. We don't do that. We get a laptop, plug it into the network, connect it to the SDA, and within about three clicks, we're done."
"It is excellent in terms of updating and configuring everything the way we need. For anything more complex, we do professional service engagements, and they're exceptional. For anything less complex, we just need to ask questions. Their support division is extremely good too."
 

Cons

"I believe we should include a VSA license to provide complete endpoint management."
"The technical support of the solution is an area with shortcomings that needs improvement."
"The way it is laid out can be improved. If it could be a little more intuitive, it might be a little bit easier. Sometimes, it is hard to find features because they're called something weird, or they're in an interesting location that you wouldn't have thought that they'd be in."
"We actually upgraded the solution due to the fact that we needed the support for Apple devices. We haven't had a chance to test that part of the product just yet, however, that was our biggest criticism of the product prior to this most recent update."
"The main difference would be the addition of audio transfer between the end-user and the remote connectivity software. That is the one critical piece that we are currently lacking."
"I would like to see improved virtual infrastructure management."
"It never functioned as intended."
"Sometimes, the product misinterprets the functionality of a machine."
"There should be a mini toolbox, like the competitors of KACE have, with the small features for KACE administrators. That would make their lives easier. If you are troubleshooting a specific endpoint, remote control is available as is Wake-on-LAN. But if you want to execute some commands, you have to use a third-party tool, the PS tool. If they would integrate those small things, it would make KACE more powerful."
"There may be a good reason why some things are not easily able to be done, yet it needs work to compete with some of the other ticketing systems out there now."
"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."
"I've had some issues with patch catalogue."
"The solution needs to have the ability to push out managed feature updates from Microsoft in a more seamless way."
"My biggest complaint is that almost every time they send out a new version, it fixes something and breaks another. Something that wasn't working in the last version now works, but something else stops; or they'll remove some dashboard that I really found to be nice and replace it with something totally different that I could care less about."
"The only hiccups we had were some power issues, where the box was a little under-powered early on."
"There is always room for improvement. However, the system does most of what we need at this moment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We were looking at a price of $22.50 cents per user."
"The dollar exchange rate in Brazil is very high, so the price should be better for our country."
"We pay a monthly fee, but it's a three-year contract divided by 36. They don't offer a true SaaS plan where you can add licenses monthly as you go. The cost is $7 per person per month, and we are paying about $1,700 a month."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"We use annual licensing, but we also have a special agreement."
"It is, in my opinion, competitive in the market. It is determined by the number of users and licenses needed. Depending on the license count of users, the price ranges from $10 to $80 USD."
"The solution is robust and the price is good for the features that are provided."
"With the on-prem, you buy the agent license. That's a one-time fee, and it varies depending on how many you have. You also pay annual maintenance on the number that you have. So, there are two fees involved: a one-time fee and a recurring fee."
"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 is fair."
"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 is expensive in Brazil."
"We pay annually for technical support."
"Licensing is done on a per device basis, so it's dependent on how many agents you've got installed."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Construction Company
6%
Non Profit
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kaseya VSA?
The most valuable feature of Kaseya VSA is the ability to control laptops remotely.
What needs improvement with Kaseya VSA?
One area that could be improved is the documentation, which often contains errors that prevent you from following along, especially during migrations.
What is your primary use case for Kaseya VSA?
We use the solution as a remote control tool to help clients.
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?
It is expensive in Brazil. Generally, it's considered expensive, especially compared to solutions like Spiceworks.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sage UK, MSP, CodeBlue Ltd, Connect Work Place Solutions, All Covered, 501cTech, Chairo Christian School, Green Duck
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Kaseya VSA vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,485 professionals have used our research since 2012.