Microsoft Configuration Manager vs NinjaOne comparison

Microsoft Configuration Man...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

Microsoft Configuration Manager and NinjaOne compete in the IT management category. Microsoft Configuration Manager seems to have the upper hand for large enterprises due to its centralized control and extensive management capabilities, although NinjaOne is favored for its user-friendly interface and flexibility for smaller teams.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager provides application deployment, patch management, and compliance reporting, making it suitable for complex IT environments. It offers centralized control and supports standardized imaging, requiring significant administrative expertise. NinjaOne, on the other hand, focuses on flexibility with user-friendly monitoring, remote management, and SLA tracking. It is preferred for ease of use and offers effective automation.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager requires improvements in PowerShell integration, Linux support, and streamlined deployment. Its reporting features need enhancement for better accuracy and clarity. For NinjaOne, the reporting modules and third-party application integrations need enhancement, with users also desiring a more robust ticketing system and efficient task automation across multiple locations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager’s on-premises deployment can be complex, often requiring a dedicated team, with inconsistent support requiring reliance on community forums. NinjaOne offers flexible deployment options, including hybrid and cloud models, simplifying the setup process. It provides better customer service with responsive technical support, aiding smaller teams.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Configuration Manager has a high initial setup cost and complex licensing, proving expensive despite offering significant automation returns for large enterprises. Conversely, NinjaOne's subscription pricing is generally more affordable, especially for educational institutions. It proves cost-effective with a comprehensive toolset and negotiable prices based on scale, better fitting small to medium-sized businesses seeking a balanced ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. NinjaOne Report (Updated: November 2024).

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. NinjaOne

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Helped 823,795 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Ranking in Server Monitoring

3rd

Ranking in Patch Management

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (3rd)

NinjaOne

Ranking in Server Monitoring

9th

Ranking in Patch Management

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (23rd), IT Service Management (ITSM) (7th), Remote Access (11th), Mobile Device Management (MDM) (5th), IT Alerting and Incident Management (9th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (1st), MSP Backup (4th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (6th)

Featured Reviews

Abul Fazal

Service Delivery Manager at Almoayyed Computers

Seamless system updates, useful integration, and reliable

The initial setup for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is simple. However, the configuration and management are not simple. Most of my clients are using the on-premise configuration. Cloud deployment is cumbersome because It requires lots of system communication to open from the cloud, and every client has to communicate with the cloud. We follow the Microsoft best practices procedure and white papers for implementation. Which includes single and multiple server deployments. The time it takes for deployment depends on the client's environment, such as the configuration and customization needed. However, the process can typically take two to three weeks to complete.

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Aziz Lyazami

Manager, Information Technology at NYOS CHARTER SCHOOL

A tool that helps with a lot of configurations and creates automation processes that work perfectly

I had recently dealt with something that was frustrating in NinjaOne, but I don't remember what it was. I would love it if I could deploy automation processes for locations because, currently, at my workplace, we can't deploy automation processes for locations. In NinjaOne, there is a need to create groups. I already have 12 or 14 locations, where sometimes I just want to deploy some updates, software, or something for specific locations, but I can't do so since I have to go and create a group for that location, which is a lot more work, which I don't like. I would love it if the aforementioned area is considered for improvement. The ticketing system in NinjaOne is not the best. I think NinjaOne has been working on its ticketing system. I have seen how there has been a huge improvement in the tool recently, but it is still not as good as the ticket systems in the market. At my workplace, we don't use ticketing systems. I am waiting for NinjaOne to improve its ticketing system so that I can use it. There is a lot of room for growth and adding more features in NinjaOne. I love how NinjaOne gives its users the possibility to create a custom field, allowing them to create whatever they want. I haven't used NinjaOne a lot, so I don't have anything in mind as to what extra features it needs to have. If I just sit down and look at NinjaOne, I will get a list of things I would love to have in it.

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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 tool's most valuable features are easy patch management and software deployment."

"The main, clear valuable feature is updating the latest, patches and updates from Windows. This is the main feature we really utilize a lot."

"This has made the management of our environment easier."

"Microsoft Configuration Manager helps with patch management."

"The most valuable features are Remote Connect, SUP, Cloud functionality, Report, Query, and third-party patching."

"The most valuable feature of SCCM is the application distribution."

"Automation of operating system, application, and update deployments massively reduces IT operations effort."

"Valuable features include configurations enforcement, compliance data gathering, and deployment of a standardized OS."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

"We can use it for remote monitoring, and it also works great as a troubleshooting tool. We are able to open up a command line or a PowerShell session remotely without having to disrupt the user. They have a limited network device monitoring capability, but for workstation servers, we have the event logs. We can do performance monitoring, system changes, software deployment, and patch management. We can also push scripts. It has a very simple web interface. There are no additional things to do there. Security is also pretty good. It does the same things that the other competitor's tools do. One of the advantages of Ninja is that they have a more capable mobile app, which allows you to see the alerts immediately. I get alerted to major critical issues."

"The tool's most valuable feature is third-party application updates."

"NinjaOne has a feature where we can create custom scripts that we can run on devices remotely."

"The most important aspect of this tool is the security it provides our company."

"The solution's most valuable feature is related to its remote access...I know that NinjaOne's technical support is good."

"It just works as advertised and serves the purpose for which we got it."

"The software's automation tools have solved critical deployment problems for small businesses."

"It helps us to be able to have visibility into the overall performance of the servers, laptops, and desktops that we are managing currently."

More NinjaOne pros

Cons

"The configuration of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager could be improved, it is a bit complicated."

"Microsoft should extend support for additional platforms."

"The ability to integrate MDM would be great."

"On some hardware, we'd like an easier way to get peripherals attached."

"SCCM does not scale well, which is one of the reasons we are not going to continue to use it."

"The main thing is that SCCM has to become an appliance instead of a server. When I say appliance, it has to come preconfigured so that it is drop-shipped into the enterprise and then you activate the feature sets that you want. It should pull down all the latest binaries. Once that is all there, it should have a discovery tool which goes out and discovers the assets within an enterprise. If the server, workstation, and applications are all coming from the same vendor, why not have the vendor do this work for us and automate it as much as it possibly can?"

"Troubleshooting in general needs improvement. There's just a ton of logs to go through, and so finding the error log that corresponds with that you're doing can sometimes be difficult."

"I would like to see an agentless version of the solution."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

"NinjaOne's dashboard could be easier to use."

"I would like to see the software reduced to focus on inventory or remote help tools since many of its current functionalities are not needed."

"The remote connectivity could be better. It works most of the time, but sometimes, there are issues."

"NinjaOne's reporting module is cumbersome."

"I would like to see more scripts for PowerShell commands."

"Lacks sufficient integrations with other PSAs."

"I wish that they integrated it with more antivirus solutions. Currently, they only push Defender, but it doesn't really have integration with SentinelOne. It also didn't integrate with Trend Micro, which we were using previously. I would also like to have more control from the mobile app. As of now, I am able to see some performance values, but I can't see, for example, disk activity or disk performance values. If they can improve their app a little bit, it would help greatly. They can also improve the tech interface. If I assign certain techs to a bunch of specific machines, they only get those alerts that they're assigned to."

"It can have more integrations with third-party providers, such as Deep Instinct. They do partner with certain antivirus or remote access tool partners, but they can increase their portfolio to have more choices."

More NinjaOne cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is competitive and reasonable."

"The price could be better."

"Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers."

"We use the tool's free license. It is expensive."

"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."

"Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing."

"The solution is expensive. Microsoft Configuration Manager would likely be considered high-priced for small businesses because they may not fully utilize all of its features and capabilities."

"We have to pay for a license."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

"The product's pricing depends on the number of PCs or devices."

"We currently pay $1.20 per device on a monthly basis."

"I rate the solution’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive."

"NinjaOne's price is fine since my workplace is an educational institution, so we get the product at a really good price considering that we do not pay taxes, making the prices very fair and worth the product."

"Its pricing is great."

"We got a pretty good deal. It was fairly affordable."

"NinjaOne is a little expensive but is still cheaper than competitors like Acronis or Veeam."

"The pricing is reasonable and cheaper than ConnectWise."

More NinjaOne pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Retailer

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the set up will take depends on the kind of technical architecture that your org...

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 SCCM?

One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages efficiently and deploy them to specific groups within our network. This streamlined ...

What do you like most about NinjaOne?

NinjaOne helps us view the status of software patching, whether the PC is locked or unlocked.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NinjaOne?

The pricing for NinjaOne is appropriate for small companies. Customers feel that the cost is not too high for the features they need but might be unwilling to pay more for additional features such ...

What needs improvement with NinjaOne?

Improvements could be made to reduce NinjaOne's functionalities to focus more on inventory or remote help tools. Many features are not needed for our purposes currently. Security and reporting, inc...

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

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Product Reports

Microsoft Configuration Manager

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Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )

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Microsoft

Overview

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

NinjaOne automates the hardest parts of IT, delivering visibility, security, and control over all endpoints for more than 20,000 customers.The NinjaOne automated endpoint management platform is proven to increase productivity, reduce security risk, and lower costs for IT teams and managed service providers. The company seamlessly integrates with a wide range of IT and security technologies. NinjaOne is obsessed with customer success and provides free and unlimited onboarding, training, and support. - Learn more here: https://www.ninjaone.com/

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Status Pros, Mitchell and Company

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. NinjaOne