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ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune vs Symantec Client Management Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

Client Desktop Management
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

Abbasi Poonawala - PeerSpot reviewer
Patch and upgrade many devices simultaneously in a DevSecOps pipeline which is effective but demanding on resources
The product has several places where there is room for improvement. Although it is on the cloud, sometimes the performance is slower than it should be. One of the reasons could be that it is tightly integrated and tight coupled with the rest of the modules and all of them have to be in sync. This syncing takes time and resources. When I go to our Desktop Central console, sometimes it runs slowly. So performance is one place where it could have room for improvement. In terms of patching, which is a major benefit of the package, patch management can work even better as well. The vulnerabilities are obvious. Every day we get reports on a lot of new vulnerabilities. It is clear that ManageEngine is doing the patching and the package is easily deployed once they are developed and available. The incident management, the root cause, the planning of the resolution, the service management — all these things are known and available. The team at ManageEngine is good at that. But they do not provide reports to user admins on the development and delivery which is information they already have and admins could use. Once the patch is added to the repository the defense against vulnerabilities improves. But the information about developments and vulnerabilities would be good to have and could be shared more candidly.
Pratik Dave - PeerSpot reviewer
A user-friendly UI, comprehensive visibility, and a seamless experience
We package Win32 applications and import existing packages using solutions like SCCM or third-party tools. While Intune doesn't currently offer third-party application patching, we rely on third-party solutions for that functionality. A new Intune feature - Enterprise App management allows to deploy Microsoft and Third party apps and keep them up to date but it incurs additional licensing costs. Ideally, this feature should be included in the base license. Similarly, the privilege endpoint management feature also requires additional licensing. Intune would benefit from offering some core features at no extra cost. The most valuable improvement, in my experience, would be the ability to identify inactive devices through reports. Customizable reporting capabilities within Intune would simplify overall management and allow us to track device activity and inactivity more effectively.
Sathish-Holla - PeerSpot reviewer
Knowledgeable support, easy client management, and straightforward agent installation
Symantec Client Management Suite is used for Microsoft Windows patches and inventory management. The solution can be deployed on-premise and on the cloud Yes it helped to update systems remotely  The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and…

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 in Desktop Central is the way it is tightly coupled with the rest of the modules and the entire gamut of ManageEngine."
"We use the product to know about our assets and manage remote support."
"ManageEngine Endpoint Central is straightforward to use and implement."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central automatically alerts you if there are newer releases or updates. You do not have to go to their website and check."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central is stable."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Desktop Central has improved these organizations and this is why it has been repeated multiple times at multiple organizations. If something works and is getting better it is worth repeating."
"Has good functionality and is user-friendly."
"With on-premises Active Directory, the main challenge was that we had no control when a user was working from home. We didn't know what exactly a user was doing and whether the AV was up to date or not. Intune provides better control of their machines."
"Autopilot is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune."
"Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow."
"The features I found most valuable in Intune are its user visibility and troubleshooting options."
"The tool's most valuable feature is Autopilot."
"Intune has automated the deployment of patches and applications, which is more efficient and easier. It allows us to deploy applications, packages, Windows updates, and security updates like BitLocker encryption more efficiently and easily."
"We can securely manage both company-owned devices and personal devices enrolled in our BYOD program."
"I like that we can implement conditional access."
"The most important thing for us is that it is very easy to use, as well as the availability of it in our support centers."
"The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and agent installation."
"We can track the incidents, we can track the changes, we can track the assets from cradle to grave and give some kind of accounting as they get older."
 

Cons

"The performance sometimes lags a bit because the solution is demanding on system resources."
"ManageEngine Endpoint Central’s scalability could be improved."
"The solution lacks some configuration."
"ManageEngine could be improved by giving customers an option to perform certain actions proactively. Since I was a consultant, I worked on different products and some had advantages over ManageEngine. For example, proactive remediation—you want to proactively check something on the computers and run the script. In ManageEngine, you have the option to run the script, but Intune has the option to do so proactively. ManageEngine doesn't have this. You should have the option to act proactively, not just going ahead and fixing it once it's done. Proactive remediation should be a feature."
"The team should work on improving the stability, particularly with massive patches deployment, clients are not 100% getting patches and the information provided by the system does not help; more detailed report would be very useful."
"Many features in Desktop Central are licensed separately. It would be more convenient if they could organize these tools into a single package."
"Its licensing should be improved."
"The main issue that needs improvement is the pricing."
"It should be simplified. I've worked with many different mobile device management solutions, and Intune is one of the more complex ones. It could be more simplified, and some of it is related to the wording that is being used, such as a configuration profile versus a policy. They really should have had different names to make it less confusing."
"It would really be helpful to have the option to manage server operating systems as well, like Windows Server, at least. That way, we could scrap the use of SCCM, which requires a lot of on-premises infrastructure."
"One issue that Inutune can improve is password integration with the BitLocker key option. Another issue is assigning licenses. We can assign the licenses for some users on the BPM side, and our BPS users work on Outlook 365 but cannot access it there. A BPS person can go to the company portal and download Outlook 2016. They could improve the NDIS part to assign a license directly to the BPS person that allows them to install the Intune device manager directly on our system."
"Microsoft Intune has a latency response time issue. The latency has room for improvement."
"The current Intune reporting functionality could benefit from some improvements."
"One area for improvement is app deployment. Another is the Windows update rollout. If you're rolling out an object to a device that's offline, Intune stops trying to reach this device after it sits idle for a bit. We are forced to find a workaround that could help manage that."
"Sometimes, updating a client policy is very difficult. This needs to be improved."
"Technical support is not that great."
"The technical support is in need of improvement."
"Symantec Client Management Suite can improve by adding more network devices."
"Some parts are working okay, some of the other components aren't. Workflow isn't working properly. Different people accepting changes and being able to close it has some issues. Putting hot fixes and installing it usually breaks the system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a freeware version of the solution available as long as you do not breach the number of licenses and users that are dictated."
"The product is cheap."
"The pricing of the product is not bad compared to the other similar solutions in the market."
"The solution is very affordable."
"The licensing is very easy to understand and pricing is right for what you get."
"The pricing is very low, compared to other products. Compared to Intune or SCCM, it's much less. I can say it's a good product for less of a price."
"Affordable for any customer."
"Compared to other products, ManageEngine Endpoint Central is a very cheap solution."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"Intune is included in the Microsoft 365 licensing package that we have."
"There is a license needed to use the solution and we are on an annual license."
"Its price is fair. It's a normal price. It isn't too expensive or too cheap."
"Any bundle package, such as Security E3, covers multiple things, such as AAP, BitLocker, etc. If you go for them individually, they would be more expensive. Bundling makes the price more attractive and competitive."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"It's reasonable. They're not giving it away, but it's reasonable."
"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."
"The price of the solution is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
45%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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. Wh...
What do you like most about ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
Well, what we like is that it catch actually a lot of features constantly upgrading. So all the three maybe there the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ManageEngine Endpoint Central?
I am not aware of the pricing and costs. I might know more when we renew our contract.
How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
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Also Known As

ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Alghanim Industries, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd, Barnabas Health, Berry Plastics Corporation, BNY Mellon, Borealis, British American Tobacco Italia S.p.A, Cabela's Inc., Carrington Holding Company, College of Science, Technology, and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), Comparex, Cybercom Plenware Oy, DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Dickinson Dees LLP, Farmington Area Public Schools, Fazer Group, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, ForceTEC Co. Ltd., Frucor Beverages Ltd, Hadassah University Hospital, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Hutchison Whampoa (China) Commerce Limited, Indian River School District, Johnson County Community College, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Kier Group plc, Kwizda Holdings GmbH, Lake Health, Lansky Ganzger & Partner, Mobilezone, Molina Healthcare Inc., Nanyang Technological University, NASDAQ OMX Group Inc., Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pima Community College, Regional council of Franche-Comt_, Shanghai Pudong International Container Terminals Co. Ltd., Siemens Professional Education, Symantec Corporation (Endpoint Security 12.1), TIVIT, Travelport, University of Oxford
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs. Symantec Client Management Suite and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
830,596 professionals have used our research since 2012.