Microsoft Configuration Manager vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

Microsoft and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Server Monitoring category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while SolarWinds is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.3. Microsoft holds a 9.7% mindshare in SM, compared to SolarWinds’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Read 80 Microsoft Configuration Manager reviews

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2,229 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 40 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

1,294 Views
871 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Microsoft Configuration Man...

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

Microsoft Configuration Manager and SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor compete in the field of IT management solutions. Based on provided features, Configuration Manager has a slight advantage in integrated management within Microsoft ecosystems, while SolarWinds shines in diverse environments due to its real-time monitoring capabilities.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager specializes in application deployment, patch management, and reporting. It integrates well with existing Microsoft environments and offers comprehensive inventory tracking. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor focuses on server and application monitoring with robust diagnostics suited for diverse application setups. Its real-time monitoring and support for non-Microsoft platforms are standout features.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager could improve resource efficiency, broaden Linux support, and simplify its configuration process. It also needs enhanced cloud integration. SolarWinds can benefit from better performance, more seamless integration with cloud platforms, and improved reporting tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager offers flexible deployment options across on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid setups and has extensive documentation and a supportive community; however, support responsiveness varies. SolarWinds predominantly supports on-premisest with private cloud options and provides reliable customer service with extensive online resources.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Configuration Manager is higher-priced, especially for large enterprises due to feature breadth and integration options, but it offers cost savings through automation. SolarWinds is competitively priced for mid-size to large companies, offering good ROI through its monitoring tools despite potentially high initial costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Ranking in Server Monitoring

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (3rd), Patch Management (1st)

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Ranking in Server Monitoring

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (22nd), Active Directory Management (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 9.7%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 4.8%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Monitoring

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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Subhajit Nag

Senior Process Associate at Tata Consultancy Services

The component and cable monitoring features are good, but the interface is slow

SolarWinds' interface is slow, and this is a global concern. Every SolarWinds user complains about the sluggishness. The response is slow. If you browse from one page to another, you have to wait. Our company is a massive user with plenty of licenses, so the performance issues could be due to the load per license. Ten thousand components can be mapped under one license. So SolarWinds needs to take care of the speed problem. It cannot be this slow. That is a huge complaint. Otherwise, the tool is good. It should also be easier to upgrade SolarWinds. AppDynamics is harder to deploy but easier to upgrade. So AppDynamics takes a lot of time and effort to install, but you can upgrade it in minutes. SolarWinds is the opposite. It's easy to deploy, but upgrades take forever. To date, nobody can complete it on time, so the production environment is sitting idle. The upgrade time matters because you only install the solution once, but you'll need to upgrade the solution repeatedly over the life of the product. A complex installation isn't an issue, but I mind if the upgrade takes too long because it's already in production.

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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

"I have found the solution to be scalable. We have around 50,000 users using the solution."

"The major features of this product are the reporting tools. The most valuable features are package deployment and application deployment. Security management is also good because any vulnerability will be identified, and you can fix it. It's the best tool because you never know what kind of client you will have. For example, you may have your offices in low bandwidth remote areas. But it's achievable because it accommodates the bandwidth that you have available. Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is an excellent reporting tool for your environment. If you want to know the details about the hardware configuration, software configuration, what is causing a problem, or when a new feature update comes in for Windows, even that goes on SCCM itself. A lot of deployment stuff."

"The technical support is good."

"SCCM is a stable solution."

"Patching is the main feature because SCCM is made to control the entire environment without manually interpreting. So it is good to use for patching."

"It uses detailed descriptions of the workstations, and that is good for me."

"Software deployment and WSUS are most valuable."

"The initial setup is fairly straightforward."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

"I find it to be a strong product suite, particularly when you need a comprehensive monitoring tool."

"It's good at monitoring system-specific things like ports, services."

"It is simple to implement and can provide fairly decent Windows-based monitoring, beyond simple SNMP. It is great for monitoring newbies and smaller shops."

"AppInsight for SQL: Enables us to see the relevant error log entries on the same page as performance parameters."

"Identifying the problem statement is easy."

"Monitoring the components on your devices with out of the box monitors or the ability to create new ones (SAM)"

"The initial setup was relatively easy, and we didn't have to install anything. All we had to do was put on the devices we wanted to monitor."

"One of the most valuable features are the reports. They're pretty good. Also, the ease of installation and customization for the client is another feature that we value. SolarWinds has a lot of features but these are the ones I like the most. We also like that the KPIs have the ability to be preset."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Cons

"They should improve their anti-malware policies like the SCEP policies. For instance, you can't have different policies for different servers, there is only one policy in all the servers, and everything is covered under that. For example, say you want to scan one group of servers on Saturday, and then you want to scan another group of servers on Sunday, you can't do that. You have to scan all your servers, a regular scan or a full scan, on the same day and at the same time. That's definitely one thing they need to resolve. In the next release, it would actually be nice if they included Apple products. It will also help if you can use Intune again. Their compliance reporting feature could also be better. They can maybe work a bit on that for patching now. It would be better if SCCM came with the functions of Right Click Tools built-in. If SCCM would have all those functions already built-in, we won't have to go and spend $5,000, just as an add-in from another company to get those functions."

"Based on my experience with SCCM 2016, the main, big issue is not having a good user-friendly environment. It needs much better GUI."

"They need to improve the support for the Mac operating system."

"The solution can be improved with the addition of a mobile device manager."

"I would like to see some improvements in WSUS and control of other, non-Microsoft, product updates."

"In terms of scalability, I believe there's room for improvement. While SCCM is capable of handling our current needs effectively, scalability could be enhanced to accommodate future growth and larger deployments."

"The analysis is something that can be integrated. Their report analysis can be improved a little bit due to the fact that most of the time complaints policies are saved by the admins. It's something that we need to look into and search for."

"Regarding this, I'd like to mention the agent situation. When the agent on an end-user device is not functioning correctly, it can be quite problematic. It would be highly beneficial if there were a self-healing mechanism in place. Essentially, if the agent becomes corrupted or encounters issues, it should be able to rectify itself autonomously. This is particularly critical because, in order to utilize a tool like MECM (assuming you're referring to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager), we need to deploy agents, known as AsMs, on all the devices we use, such as Windows 10 or Windows Server. Sometimes, when we deploy configurations or updates, they don't apply properly due to agent issues. This issue has been present since we began using MECM around 23 years ago. Unfortunately, there is currently no built-in mechanism for the agent to detect its own problems and initiate self-repair. Microsoft doesn’t have any feature to scan vulnerabilities and hence, they could include those."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

"Reporting is the only thing with which we currently have challenges. They have this in two ways. There is the report writer, which is the backend, and we also have web reports, which are on the console. So, they have removed the report writer for the backend reports, and we are making use of the web console, but most of the users are not finding it very interesting to use the frontend reports. I would like them to bring back the report writer. That's the key area within it to improve on the reporting. If they can bring back the report writer, then most users will actually be comfortable. I have some customers who are trying to export their report to an Excel format, but it is not possible because they said any report that has been done from the web console cannot be exported to Excel, but most of the customers need to export their reports to Excel. That's one area they need to work on."

"It should also be easier to upgrade SolarWinds. AppDynamics is harder to deploy but easier to upgrade. So AppDynamics takes a lot of time and effort to install, but you can upgrade it in minutes. SolarWinds is the opposite. It's easy to deploy, but upgrades take forever. To date, nobody can complete it on time, so the production environment is sitting idle."

"Support for the IBM Mainframe is needed."

"One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules"

"SAM's software-defined network monitoring capability is also low and could be improved."

"The tool's AppStack needs to improve in the storage monitoring part. It should also include an analytics and recommendation approach. If I have found a fault in a server or application, I would like to know what caused it and how do I recover from it."

"The tool’s report feature created issues for us. We needed to gain skills to use that feature. The tool’s customization is not easy since you have to reconfigure the whole system."

"I believe that some of the trends, environmental maps, and items like those found in Orion would be very beneficial."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free."

"The price of SCCM depends on the size of the organization. The price is competitive."

"Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose."

"I rate the price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager an eight out of ten."

"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 price is competitive and reasonable."

"The price model is different for every client."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

"The solution's price is reasonable. Though it's on the higher side, the tool is worth the money."

"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."

"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."

"I would advise potential buyers to wait until the end of the quarter, end of year, or other time to place orders. There are actually great deals to be had at those times if your budget cycle can match up."

"We pay around $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 yearly for the solution."

"I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."

"I like the pricing for this SolarWinds product."

"Pricing and licensing is fair for what you get. It does have a great bang-for-the-buck appeal."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

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824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

45%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

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...

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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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

Identifying the problem statement is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The product is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules. The misalignment of licensing terms can present commercial challenges when...

See all answers

Comparisons

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 8% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 6% of the time

AWS Systems Manager vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

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Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 19% of the time

Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 18% of the time

AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 14% of the time

Prometheus vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

Nagios XI vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

December 2024

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

November 2024

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

Also Known As

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

SolarWinds SAM

Learn More

Microsoft

SolarWinds

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.

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers powerful application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros, enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues faster. Do not let slow applications and downtime impact your end-users and business services. Pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack. SolarWinds SAM is affordable and easy to deploy, use, and customize. You can automatically discover your system's environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.

Sample Customers

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

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

December 2024

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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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