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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Symantec Client Management Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Configuration Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (2nd), Configuration Management (3rd), Patch Management (1st)
Symantec Client Management ...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Client Desktop Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Systems Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Configuration Manager is designed for Server Monitoring and holds a mindshare of 9.5%, down 11.4% compared to last year.
Symantec Client Management Suite, on the other hand, focuses on Client Desktop Management, holds 26.4% mindshare, up 23.3% since last year.
Server Monitoring
Client Desktop Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
We can specialize the policies related to each device group which ensures that each group has access to the applications they need for their work and non-work hours
I give the solution a nine out of ten. Maintenance is required for some client requests because a few of our cases involve clients reporting issues with their applications. We need to maintain their laptops because they usually run into issues while running other applications. However, in the case of personal computers, there is no problem. We can maintain them with only 20% of the typical maintenance requirements. I would recommend that everyone try out the Endpoint Manager solution from Microsoft. It is a great product because it integrates well with Microsoft products, which most organizations use. This reduces the number of integration and troubleshooting problems. Even if Microsoft products are not used in an organization, I still recommend this product. Other solutions are available but there may be some integration and troubleshooting problems.
Sathish-Holla - PeerSpot reviewer
Knowledgeable support, easy client management, and straightforward agent installation
Symantec Client Management Suite is used for Microsoft Windows patches and inventory management. The solution can be deployed on-premise and on the cloud Yes it helped to update systems remotely  The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The most valuable feature of SCCM is the application distribution."
"The initial setup is straightforward and not too complicated."
"I like Mircosoft's technical support. Microsoft has a few updates, like some of the critical KBs. They are published within the interval time, and in case of an escalation on the client missions, we will raise a ticket with the Microsoft team. They will create a hotfix or a critical update. They will chat with us, and that is one thing I like about Microsoft. Whenever any issues occur at my organization, they will help you out soon as possible within the SLA."
"Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is very scalable."
"It is a good choice for deployment that performs very well."
"Technical support was helpful and responsive."
"The most valuable features are Remote Connect, SUP, Cloud functionality, Report, Query, and third-party patching."
"The most important thing for us is that it is very easy to use, as well as the availability of it in our support centers."
"We can track the incidents, we can track the changes, we can track the assets from cradle to grave and give some kind of accounting as they get older."
"The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and agent installation."
 

Cons

"The deployment process is lengthy and should be quicker to complete."
"There's no way to say, "I want this maintenance window to be on the second Tuesday of the month." It's strict. This window is this and that's it. You can't fluctuate."
"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."
"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."
"Could do with some cosmetic improvements on the user interface."
"This solution needs to be supported on all Operating systems."
"There is a reboot issue with the patching. Sometimes, if patching runs into any issue whatsoever, it doesn't reboot but it doesn't tell you it errored out. It just sits there and we don't find out until the next day whether it patched or not. That was a big issue for us. We're working through that. They added some stuff in there now where you can actually tell reboot is pending. But we still need some kind of notification that if something fails or is pending, we know. We shouldn't have to go in and look. They don't have anything for that right now."
"Management of Linux devices could be improved."
"Symantec Client Management Suite can improve by adding more network devices."
"The technical support is in need of improvement."
"Some parts are working okay, some of the other components aren't. Workflow isn't working properly. Different people accepting changes and being able to close it has some issues. Putting hot fixes and installing it usually breaks the system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing."
"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."
"We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is 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."
"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."
"When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."
"We have to pay for a license."
"The price of the solution is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Government
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 ...
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Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Alghanim Industries, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd, Barnabas Health, Berry Plastics Corporation, BNY Mellon, Borealis, British American Tobacco Italia S.p.A, Cabela's Inc., Carrington Holding Company, College of Science, Technology, and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), Comparex, Cybercom Plenware Oy, DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Dickinson Dees LLP, Farmington Area Public Schools, Fazer Group, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, ForceTEC Co. Ltd., Frucor Beverages Ltd, Hadassah University Hospital, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Hutchison Whampoa (China) Commerce Limited, Indian River School District, Johnson County Community College, JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, Kier Group plc, Kwizda Holdings GmbH, Lake Health, Lansky Ganzger & Partner, Mobilezone, Molina Healthcare Inc., Nanyang Technological University, NASDAQ OMX Group Inc., Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pima Community College, Regional council of Franche-Comt_, Shanghai Pudong International Container Terminals Co. Ltd., Siemens Professional Education, Symantec Corporation (Endpoint Security 12.1), TIVIT, Travelport, University of Oxford
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