Microsoft Configuration Manager Reviews

We primarily use the solution for client and server deployments, and software deployments, as well as software metering.

The entire solution, from end to end is excellent. It's doing essential work for us at our company.

The initial setup is straightforward and not too complicated.

I can't think of any features that are lacking in the solution. It's quite complete, and a rather standard setup.

If you want the best support, you need to pay for it. Otherwise, you may get less technical help.

We've been using the solution since its inception. It's been maybe ten years or more at this point.

The solution is very stable. It's reliable. You don't have to work about bugs or glitches. There aren't any crashes. It doesn't freeze.

The solution is very scalable. If an organization needs to scale up, the can do so easily using this product.

Right now, we have about 4,000 users on the solution.

We have Microsoft Premier Support.

With Microsoft Premier Support, you get what you pay for. There's Third Tier Support that you pay for. If you pay for that, you get excellent support, and if you don't pay for that, then you get the less experienced staff. There are products where we do have Third Tier Support, and there are products that are not so mission-critical, where we don't pay that much.

At Microsoft, if we wanted to, we can get the level of that kind of super support, super fast. It's not that they leave a void open that we would like more. If we want more, faster, we can pay for it.

If the company did use a different solution, that would have been about 15 years ago and before my time. I couldn't say what it might have been. Right now we're System Center 2012, before that it was 2007. Then before that was 2003, and then 2004. Before, the product was called SMS, so it's been around for a while. The previous product might have been a solution called Altaris. Again, that's about at least 15 years ago.

The initial setup, for the most part, is not complex. It depends on the company's individual setup, however, it's quite straightforward if you know what you are doing.

Deployment typically takes about three months.

You only need about four staff members for deployment and maintenance. They are all systems specialists and engineers.

We used to use sellers or consultants. However, we are moving away from that and attempting to implement the solution ourselves internally. We want to have the knowledge completely in-house.

We have a basic enterprise agreement with Microsoft which isn't cheap, per se.

I can't get into the exact cost structure.

The question of pricing is a bit relative. The enterprise-level that we use is always a negotiation. I don't want to use the word monopoly, however, there's no alternative enterprise vendor that covers all bases, from server storage and backup and everything else in between. Pricing is just a matter of negotiation every time the contract renewal period comes up.

Right now we are starting a POC for Azure and Office 365. The idea is that it depends on the government and if data privacy and compliance rules allow any change. If we can use Azure's public cloud, and Office 365, then the usage utility of the on-prem requirements would go down. 

Microsoft Cloud has integration with Intune, which is the cloud version of SCCM in the center. As far as I can see, there is good integration.

We're a Microsoft customer.

It's a very good product. The basic question is the size of the company itself that may want to implement the solution. the point is if you're big enough to afford an enterprise agreement, with Microsoft, then I would highly recommend it. It's a suite of products. If you're a small to medium business, which does not have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft, I would recommend that you look around for third party products. Simply from a cost perspective, you might be better off, but if you have the money and the size and the revenue, then definitely, Microsoft is the way to go, because it includes everything.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

We use it for deployment purposes, for all managing all the devices and patching. It has performed very well.

The benefits of SCCM is that in the deployment, we can deploy one like machine with it without an alias, it also gets the management capability of all devices that are dispatched or not.

It deploys all the bare metals using PXE and it gathers all of the information of the device using a discovery, whatever it is in the domain and we can schedule the deployment according to our need. It's a flexible tool. 

It has many features. It generates our reports as well, provides compliance reports, monitors the dashboard and now it has the Cloud Management Gateway. It's awesome! 

In addition, there are improvements. There are new features like App-V and Core Management. The Core Management allows us to move to the cloud as well as with our own premises infrastructure. It can manage the Internet Appliance without exposing the infrastructure to the cloud.

Sometimes it does not update the log files. It gives an error code, rather than giving the actual problem.

The stability is good. 

The scalability is good.

We only use SCCM and MDT. I really do not have experience with anything else.

The setup was complex and I faced a lot of problems initially because I was new to the solution.

If you need only deployment purposes, and no management capability, then use MDT also. And if you want to deploy many devices and manage those devices, then go for SCCM.

I am a system administrator and I use the System Center Configuration Manager for test deployment and Windows update.

The most valuable feature is the scalability.

If you need to reboot the system during Windows Update, it can take a long time.

The deployment process is lengthy and should be quicker to complete.

I have three years of experience with SCCM.

I haven't had any problems with stability.

This is a scalable product. We have approximately 1,000 users and we plan to continue using it into the future.

The technical support from Microsoft is fast,

We did not use another solution prior to this one.

The initial setup was not easy. It takes about half an hour to install, and then it has to be configured. The deployment will take approximately six hours in total.

I deployed it myself.

In summary, this product works well and I recommend it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

The primary uses are PC imaging, application deployment and updates, Windows patching, and baselining.

Using SCCM has sped up PC deployment, made it much more consistent through automation, and provided a self-service application portal that users can go to and install software themselves without admin rights.

The most valuable features are application deployment and task-sequenced imaging.

The operations could be faster and you need some patience with this tool. I  wish that sending media to remote distribution points was faster.

I have been using SCCM for 15 years.

Primary use case is for Windows Desktop Operating System configuration management, primarily for fully automated operating system deployment. We use it for additional Microsoft operating system and application update delivery and malware reporting for 300 laptops/desktops distributed across eight international locations. We also use it for configuration management and update management for Windows Server operating systems.

Configuration Manager has standardised updating and application delivery across the organisation.

• Automation of operating system, application, and update deployments - Massively reduces IT operations effort.
• Desired configuration management – Enables identifying undesirable changes to corporate computer equipment and desktop applications.
• Configuration reporting - Reduces the effort involved in annual software inventory and meets any ad-hoc computer reporting needs.

It would be of benefit if Configuration Manager could be connected/integrated with multiple Microsoft Intune subscriptions rather than just one (the current limit).

I cannot think of any other improvements, as the product has been full-featured for any use we need to put it to, especially since the Current Branch releases.

My primary use case is for the product is mainly for helping with competitive analysis. It is not my main solution but it is one of the components.  

The most valuable part of the solution in my case is patch management.  

I would like to see Microsoft extend the coverage of the product to integrate better with other platforms beyond Windows.  

I have been using SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) for about eight years now.  

The stability of the product is good.  

We do not have any issues with scalability.  

I have not had the need to contact technical support for any reason so I have no real experience with them.  

I also use BigFix by HCL Technologies (Hindustan Computers Limited). I use these products to check between SCCM and BigFix to see if they agree.  

On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate System Center as an eight-out-of-ten.  

SCCM does everything from A to Z for a Windows operating system. It provides a full-featured deployment for Windows-based systems from the setup screen.

It has reduced a lot of burden from external and internal IT teams, where they have to build systems individually.

There are many features that are useful, I will mention a few of the primary ones. You have a tool that enables you to build an operating system image and deploy it to a number of devices, system patching, application deployment, compliance checking, thorough documentation for installation and it has the ability for easy policy assignment management.

SCCM supports the Windows operating system well: however, there is minimal support for Mac and none for mobile devices. Organizations that do not just go with a single operating system, having the flexibility to support more operating systems and devices would be an added advantage. This would allow them to stand out from other products on the market.

I have been using the product for approximately two years.

The solution is stable enough to manage your Windows operating system.

We use the solution for a user base of approximately 500. It is scalable.

I would say it's a bit complex. There are prerequisites which you have to install first before installing SCCM. You need a server in place, a SQL database and some other software installed separately, for example, Management Studio.

We had experienced before allowing us to install the solution ourselves by following the documents provided. It usually takes five to six hours. The time is all depending on the hardware configuration on the server and if there are good hardware installed. It could take much more time if the setup is not good or if you are new to installing these type of solutions.

We have had a lot of issues with Mac application deployment support. They need to improve the support for the Mac operating system.

There are a few licensing required. When you purchase the SCCM licence the SQL server license is included. 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.

Compared to other tools I would recommend SCCM as a good solution for Windows systems only for managing your systems because it provides support for server operating system as well, rather than only for the client's operating systems.

I would rate SCCM a nine out of ten but since their support for other operating systems other than Windows is limited, I rate them overall, a six out of ten.

We have an environment of eight thousand machines and eleven thousand users.

This solution helps to ease the day-to-day system operations and standardization of the organization.

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

The cost of the product can be improved.

I have been using this solution for two years.