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ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs N-able N-central 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

ManageEngine Endpoint Central
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (4th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
N-able N-central
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. ManageEngine Endpoint Central is designed for Client Desktop Management and holds a mindshare of 42.4%, up 38.9% compared to last year.
N-able N-central, on the other hand, focuses on Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), holds 12.3% mindshare, up 10.4% since last year.
Client Desktop Management
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
 

Featured Reviews

Gabriel Clement - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for patch server management
For Endpoint Central, as an end-user system, we set automatic deployment from Friday. If, for any reason, there are instances that are missed, we check every day from 07:00 AM to 05:00 PM. We don't need to submit automatic deployment, so it's still part of my deployment process. We set up a test server. Once we are okay with the patch that they need to test, they approve it, and then it applies to production. We used Microsoft. So, for asset processing reports and things like that, we had to move to ManageEngine. They changed the name to Endpoint Central. So, it's like that in terms of being much better and having more functionality as a product.
Jallad Ahmad - PeerSpot reviewer
Optimizes device management and has an easy deployment
Customers that we manage do not have IT, but they still want to manage the PCs if they have any issues or any patches. They want to keep the operating system up to the latest version.  They need support for their employees on the device itself. We use N-central to get access to the device, and we…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The GUI of Endpoint Central is very user-friendly, which simplifies the process of training new users."
"What I like best about this product is that I can log on to every PC, very easily, and chat with the user via the chat feature."
"The solution's stability is better than the other solutions in the market."
"Page management and ADA integrations are the most valuable features of ManageEngine Endpoint Central."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"We can scale the product."
"ManageEngine has improved my organization because right now we can actually monitor and find out which software products are installed on each desktop. We can then figure out which ones have to get patched and so forth."
"The initial setup process is good."
"The support is at a good level. So normally, we can always get to a solution when we are stuck with some monitoring problems that we encounter."
"I like the remote connectivity, reporting suite, and patch management module."
"The most valuable features of N-central are its ease of deployment and ease of use."
"N-able N-central is an easy tool to implement with customers."
"N-able N-central has numerous good features. The asset tracking capability is powerful, allowing you to track hardware and software on devices connected to your network. The remote control is smooth, securely enabling remote access to servers and routers. It can be integrated with ticketing systems and other tools like CrowdStrike and N-able EDR for comprehensive network monitoring and security. The automation feature is handy, allowing you to schedule tasks, respond to system triggers, and automate problem resolution, such as handling disk space issues automatically."
"It's a very robust product. They're continuing to invest and put new enhancements into the product. They're very open about what their roadmap is, which is very good for us because then as a business, we can plan."
"The most valuable feature of N-able N-central is the many options it has."
"N-able N-central is very scalable."
 

Cons

"I really feel like asset explorer should be a component of desktop central. That would make it the ultimate desktop management tool. This would also simplify the asset management role since an agent is already being deployed and assets could be added at the same time."
"The performance sometimes lags a bit because the solution is demanding on system resources."
"There are times when we have a particular software installed in our system, however, we do not receive patches for it from Endpoint Central."
"I would like to see them come out with a SaaS version of the product in the future."
"The main issue that needs improvement is the pricing."
"Tech support is mediocre at best."
"We are looking for a complete solution for patch management with central management and the cloud which ManageEngine Endpoint Central does not provide."
"ManageEngine Desktop Central should keep up with some of the features that other major vendors are providing, such as Microsoft."
"At this moment, we encounter stability issues with N-able N-central from time to time."
"The integration with other applications could be better."
"There is room for improvement in the development of custom monitoring services."
"The industry has moved towards Redfish for out-of-band and in-band monitoring, yet N-able N-central still relies on older protocols like SNMP."
"N-able N-central could improve the remote access, my technicians have complained about it. They have used other free tools instead to compensate, such as TeamViewer. Additionally, when using remote access on the web, it is lacking reports."
"N-central has limited mobile device management (MDM) support, specifically for Android devices. This limitation affected a deal with a client who had numerous Android devices to manage. It would be beneficial if N-central could expand its MDM support to include Android devices."
"The support from our direct team is very good, but the support from their day-to-day ongoing help desk isn't that good. They have still got some work to do on that, but they have been focusing on that a lot over the last number of years. So, it has gotten a lot better than it was."
"Involving AI in the platform could improve it further."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are multiple flavors of the app. They have a distributed version for enterprises. It depends on your size. They price it on a per machine basis. 250 or 500 is probably their least amount."
"The initial purchase was around $6,000 or $7,000. We most probably are not on an annual subscription. We bought it, and then we pay for the maintenance. I'm not 100% sure how that's working out."
"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 licensing is very easy to understand and pricing is right for what you get."
"I have been using the free version and am in the stage where I have to decide if I will proceed with the paid license, or instead choose another product."
"Affordable for any customer."
"The solution is very affordable."
"The price is moderate."
"The pricing and licensing are average, almost six out of ten."
"N-able N-central is not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
45%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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. What I like most about ManageEngine is that I can log on to every PC very easily a...
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 there were some features as the tenant on the earliest version. Now it's it's almos...
What needs improvement with N-able N-central?
One of my personal challenges with N-able N-central is the monitoring of services for server hardware. The industry has moved towards Redfish for out-of-band and in-band monitoring, yet N-able N-ce...
What is your primary use case for N-able N-central?
Our primary use case for N-able N-central is monitoring. As an administrator, I frequently work with N-able N-central for monitoring, spending approximately fifty percent of my time on it.
 

Also Known As

ManageEngine Desktop Central, Desktop Central, ManageEngine Desktop Management MSP
SolarWinds N-central, SolarWinds MSP N-central
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Strathallan School, BMI Healthcare, Comercial Kywi, First Priority Federal Credit Union, Gerab National Enterprises
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