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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Qualys Patch Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

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

Microsoft Configuration Man...
Ranking in Patch Management
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (3rd), Configuration Management (3rd)
Qualys Patch Management
Ranking in Patch Management
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 16.2%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Patch Management is 3.4%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

MikeNelson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements
While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.
Revathi VeeraRaghavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a centralized platform for managing assets and vulnerabilities, enabling assessment, prioritization, and remediation
Qualys Patch Management system requires several improvements. Firstly, the inability to download asset patches and the lack of third-party application integration limit patch accessibility. Additionally, rollback options are unreliable, and pre-deployment patch testing is crucial. Reporting needs enhancement, particularly with group-based compliance percentages and clearer, VMDR-like reporting in the Patch Management module. Furthermore, detection speed should be improved, as patches are released 24 hours after QIDs are published. The user interface could be more functional, with dashboards for patch compliance visualization and simplified error code language. Finally, the Mac patch catalogue needs expansion, and automated workflows, policy enforcement, and testing procedures should be streamlined for seamless, user-independent operation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support was helpful and responsive."
"Microsoft has done a good job with authentication solutions, such as single sign-on, or open authentication."
"The technical support is good."
"This has made the management of our environment easier."
"The cloud account management is a valuable feature."
"The solution doesn't require any maintenance from our end because it is a cloud-based solution and Microsoft takes care of everything."
"We have found the scalability to be quite good."
"You can remote control or RDP. That has been the most valuable because we can go into one console and can get to anything we want. Instead of going to all these different consoles, we centralized everything."
"The most valuable feature in Patch Management is the Qualys query language for set-it-and-forget-it patching for our preapproved patches, and our preapproved schedules, That is extremely helpful compared to the old days of patching."
"Qualys Patch Management excels with its user-friendly interface and comprehensive reporting features."
"Patch Management's most valuable feature is the ability to search for vulnerabilities using their QID."
"Patch management provides more clarity from the dashboard and console, which is very helpful for our team to prioritize and take prior action."
"Patch Management offers pre-action and post-action features, which provide the ability to execute scripts during the installation or uninstallation of software. This helps me make changes from Qualys itself."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys Patch Management is the support and service provided by Qualys."
"The integration of Qualys Gateway Scanner is my favorite feature. The patches our downloaded to QGS in our environment and deployed, saving bandwidth. The patch logging and policies have been helpful. The dashboard shows you when the patch has been applied to your assets."
"Compared to other tools, Qualys is better due to its automation capabilities, which allow us to achieve high compliance rates."
 

Cons

"In terms of the monitoring, the timeframe it takes to actually report back on the compliance of a device after it has been patched is a bit too long."
"The tool's deployment can be cumbersome."
"They need to improve the support for the Mac operating system."
"Initial setup was complex. There's a lot that goes into it."
"It is a bit of an old and outdated product."
"I currently need to increase my compliance level in the patching processes which this solution could improve on."
"This solution should be simpler, and more consistent across modules/sections."
"The product needs to improve scalability."
"It would be beneficial to have more efficiently scheduled task deployments that are tailored to specific asset types or deployment needs."
"One of the challenges that we have faced with the Patch Management tool is that you cannot patch all the things. There are some limitations, whereas, in SCCM, we can create a package and just deploy that through it. Anything is deployable through SCCM, whereas Patch Management is very selective."
"One area for improvement in Qualys Patch Management is knowing whether patches have been completely downloaded in a particular QGS appliance."
"Qualys could improve its randomized download feature and provide more detailed information about patch failures, including the reason for failure."
"Customer support for Qualys Patch Management is lacking. The support cases we've raised often resulted in us finding the solution independently."
"In our environment, the application sometimes crashes, requiring improvement."
"Qualys could improve its capacity to fix vulnerabilities on VMware and other virtualized environments. The reporting could also be enhanced to make it more user-friendly. It's difficult for beginners to learn."
"The pricing of the solution is slightly high compared to other tools in our field."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use the tool's free license. It is expensive."
"Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose."
"Presently, I am using a free trial version."
"Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it."
"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."
"The price model is different for every client."
"The license price could be reduced for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager They should make the price more affordable for smaller companies, most companies would be able to use the solution if it was priced better. There are more people on this cloud because you don't have to have either a server room or an on-premise server. You can have one IT person handle this without any local infrastructure."
"Along with buying a license for MECM, we also have to buy a service called CMG (Cloud Management Gateway) which is a virtual machine in the cloud with which you can link your MECM to the Azure tenant so as to manage teleworkers."
"Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us."
"Qualys Patch Management's pricing could be more competitive, as it presents a significant obstacle for many companies who find it unaffordable."
"From what I have heard, Qualys Patch Management is pricey, which is a main barrier to entry. Another aspect that I do not like about Qualys is that they do not add new patch management functionalities to the existing package. It is a separate SKU, so you have to pay more money."
"While the cost of Qualys Patch Management is slightly high compared to alternative tools, it is not excessively expensive."
"Qualys Patch Management's pricing is competitive."
"I'm unaware of Qualys' exact price, but it's more expensive than Nessus. With technological products, you need to pay to get the best."
"Qualys is fairly priced."
"The licensing cost is more than 2,000 for the whole Americas region"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
21%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys Patch Management?
Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us. I cannot speak to the separate cost, as we have always used it as part of th...
What needs improvement with Qualys Patch Management?
Some patches require OEM consent or must be released by OEM. For example, if an outdated version of a tool like Falcon is detected, Qualys flags it as a vulnerability, but cannot automate the patch...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Patch Management?
Our primary use case for Qualys Patch Management is vulnerability remediation and running scripts. It helps us detect vulnerabilities in our environment and identify specific patches that are requi...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Information Not Available
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