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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

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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 Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
234
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Microsoft Configuration Man...
Ranking in Configuration Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (3rd), Patch Management (1st)
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Ranking in Configuration Management
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Network Automation (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 11.9%, up from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 14.6%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
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.
Manish Ved - PeerSpot reviewer
Network configuration is done well; great pricing
Our model of deployment is on-premises. I would advise other people looking into this solution to read its documentation and better understand what it does before they start using it. I would rate this solution as a whole a 10, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune's most valuable feature is its centralized management capability."
"The tool's most valuable feature is Autopilot."
"I like that we can implement conditional access."
"Microsoft Intune helps us avoid issuing everyone company-owned devices. We provide a stipend, allowing users to bring their own devices. This approach gives us leverage against other MSPs. It also enhances collaboration because clients already covered by specific licensing can optimize their usage of Microsoft Intune."
"The solution has reduced the risk of security breaches by 30%."
"Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow."
"I like the fact that it's integrated with the rest of the Microsoft products, so customers can manage it from their Office 365 portal or Azure portal."
"I haven't used other mobile device management solutions, but compared to SCCM, we eliminate a lot of on-premises infrastructure and maintenance by using Intune."
"Microsoft is being very competitive right now, and they are really investing in a lot of new features to be more competitive in the marketplace."
"It is easy to install, and quick to deploy."
"It's helped us solve problems surrounding patching, installing, and reporting different patches, etc., on the virtual machines."
"The scalability to deploy the package."
"Endpoint Manager is valuable to our organization because it allows us to connect to our enterprise from remote locations securely. The most useful feature is its robustness and scalability. It is highly scalable and flexible, allowing us to use it in various environments. Additionally, we can specialize the policies related to each device group. This ensures that each group has access to the applications they need for their work and non-work hours."
"SCCM does everything from A to Z for a Windows operating system."
"It does the job and meets our needs. With everybody working remotely these days, we are using this solution to deploy everything. The deployment of PCs is easy."
"The solution is highly scalable."
"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to store all the device configurations for the various network devices in NCM and making it easy for us to retrieve and look them over."
"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."
"The installation is straightforward."
"Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network."
"It's perfect for network configuration management. It's easy to use."
"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."
"Configuration refers to the specific settings and options that determine how a device or system behaves. It can include things, such as network settings, security settings, and other options that are specific to the device or system in question. One of the most valuable features of the solution was its ability to track and monitor changes to the configuration of devices on a network. This can be useful for troubleshooting and identifying potential issues. By keeping track of who made changes to the configuration and when it can be easier to determine the cause of any problems that may arise."
"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."
 

Cons

"I would like to see better integration with Microsoft."
"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."
"The configuration and pricing can be improved."
"There are a lot of updates happening on Microsoft."
"Additional application deployment options e.g. MSI deployment with more complex parameters or additional side-by-side files, and non-MSI deployment options."
"The product needs to upgrade itself when the server is overloaded."
"Microsoft Intune could enhance its patch management for various devices, ensuring regular updates and tracking of device privileges."
"Regarding mobile devices, Intune is good, but there are other services that I would say are ahead of Intune from an administration and reporting point of view."
"The solution is on-premises. The cloud version of the product, if a person needs to be on the cloud, would be InTune, which already exists as an option. SCCM doesn't need to offer cloud features for this reason."
"The time the solution takes for updating systems could be quicker. For example, the system information status is not updating as it should. Additionally, the database synchronization querying is slow and could be improved."
"On some hardware, we'd like an easier way to get peripherals attached."
"The deployment process is lengthy and should be quicker to complete."
"In spite of us being a premier customer we find the support unsatisfactory."
"The solution is a bit heavy on the sources such as RAM or CPU and the software needs to be a bit lighter."
"The ability to integrate MDM would be great."
"They need to improve the support for the Mac operating system."
"Our experience has shown that most of the problems we've had with SolarWinds NCM are related to software issues."
"The solution could have better integration."
"When we run the SolarWinds NCM jobs at the cellular line, it runs in the morning. They're just not finishing. We're getting false processing."
"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"It would be great if they include a network service manager, network performance manager, or a privileged assessment in the next release."
"The interface of solar winds could be improved."
"I'd like to see additional features like support for devices that don't use CLI for configuration backups, expanded inventory support for other vendors beyond Cisco, and compatibility with newer SD WAN devices. These enhancements would further improve the product's versatility and utility for users. we hope for future enhancements, especially in supporting security devices that lack CLI backup options."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is quite okay. I wish they provide certain additional features with the same license."
"The pricing is not cheap, especially with inflation. They've had to increase their prices. It's not excessive, but alright."
"Intune is included with our F3 and E5 licenses."
"Intune's pricing is reasonable considering its benefits and the high costs it helps avoid."
"For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario."
"I would rate the price a four out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."
"The price model is different for every client."
"There is not a license needed to use the solution."
"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."
"The price is competitive and reasonable."
"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."
"Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers."
"Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM. It's super-duper expensive but it works. The acquisition cost is expensive, it's labor-intensive. But it works."
"I have a yearly subscription."
"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"The pricing is good."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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 ...
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 SCCM?
One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages effi...
What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The pricing is okay. Overall, I would rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, with ten being most expensiv...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The vendor recently introduced AI features to detect alerts. The AI features do not work well. It would be good if th...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.