Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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Helped 845,040 peers since 2012

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

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNI...

Ranking in Patch Management

15th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Quest KACE Systems Manageme...

Ranking in Patch Management

10th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Client Desktop Management (6th), Endpoint Compliance (7th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac is 0.5%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 5.4%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Patch Management

Featured Reviews

Mario Del Toro

CyberSecurity Executive IAM Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Helps to manage the accesses for the users, provide specific permissions, and verify identities

I use the solution to manage the accesses for the users, provide specific permissions, and verify identities. The tool is a stable product. The tool needs to improve its visual system. I would rate the product's stability a ten out of ten. I would rate the solution's scalability a nine out…

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Scott Tweed

Windows Engineer at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Low maintenance, reliable, and easy to create packages

I like how when you click on the device, it shows you everything that has changed as well as the software versioning. I am really enjoying the inventory aspect of it. The deployment process for both deploying and creating a package is straightforward. I believe the inventory in KACE is superior to SCCM's. I know with SCCM I could do things like remote console into machines via the agent's remote console, but that is not a feature that is provided in KACE. I know that at least in the Systems Management Appliance, I can't get to it. I'm not sure how distribution works, with distribution points. I'm not sure if KACE has that feature. You could use an SCCM to set up distribution points at remote sites so that they don't have to download patches or software from across the country. If you have a DP or something similar, they could pull it down.

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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

"The tool is a stable product."

"The solution is easy to implement."

"Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date."

"The website development section is the most valuable feature of the solution."

"The scripting is a very valuable feature, as it saves us time on pushing certain things out to the users, such as software and patches."

"It is excellent in terms of updating and configuring everything the way we need. For anything more complex, we do professional service engagements, and they're exceptional. For anything less complex, we just need to ask questions. Their support division is extremely good too."

"The ability to build scripts right on the deployment center itself, as well as building groups that take those scripts/task chains has been absolutely invaluable and one of the most important parts of my whole environment."

"My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The tool helped us deploy custom software for specific departments. We also did Windows updates with the product."

"It also does patch management. At the moment, I'm rolling out a new feature update, 20.8.2, and it's a great challenge because we have to deploy it to 1,200 computers in the home office. We want to do it without interrupting production, but KACE is reliable and it's easy to adapt it to my needs for how and when to deploy the feature update."

"The Systems Deployment Appliance is magical when it comes to automating deployment... Not only can we have multiple images, specific to end-users' uses, but we have a plethora of post-installation tasks to install or configure the system, tasks that can be re-used for each system. You just have one basic base image, and then you use the post-install tasks to customize everything else. It is amazing."

"This product made the job easy to do without having to go put hands on the machines."

"The initial setup is relatively easy."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

Cons

"The solution can be quite expensive, compared to other options on the market."

"The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part."

"The tool needs to improve its visual system."

"When we have to do a rebuild on these machines, although it is rare, I would like to be able to do more than 10 at a time. With the current limit, it slows me down because I have to set up 10, then the next 10, and so forth."

"There should be a mini toolbox, like the competitors of KACE have, with the small features for KACE administrators. That would make their lives easier. If you are troubleshooting a specific endpoint, remote control is available as is Wake-on-LAN. But if you want to execute some commands, you have to use a third-party tool, the PS tool. If they would integrate those small things, it would make KACE more powerful."

"They could make the booting solution easier for different things, e.g., easier to insert drivers. They could make it easier to create a new image and put it onto the server. Those would be some nice solutions. They could make it so that somebody who has no knowledge at all can do it. That would be really nice. Because every time, until I get it memorized, I still need to go back to the training, the manual, or Google it to figure it out again. If they would make it a lot easier, to where a nine-year-old could do it, that would be really cool. If they made it easier, I could have more people managing the images on the server, instead of just one or two people."

"There may be a good reason why some things are not easily able to be done, yet it needs work to compete with some of the other ticketing systems out there now."

"The K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB. There are some issues with getting things to image correctly because they rely on SMB, and SMB is a protocol that is being removed due to security reasons. Organizations are trying to rely less and less on SMB. I know Quest is aware of it. They've talked about having a new version that wouldn't rely on SMB for connection to the clients, but they haven't gotten there yet."

"It took a little bit of time to figure out how to use the KACE Service Desk. I like the way that I'm able to customize it. But when it comes to how our techs are able to use it, it's not as functional as our current solution, which is BMC FootPrints Service Desk."

"What could be improved is the possibility to use replicas in a secure way outside our network in order to maintain the machines that never connect to our corporate network."

"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing."

"We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management."

"n terms of pricing and licensing, my advice is that you need to assess what you need and then look at what they offer. It's easy to get caught up in the things that you want, but don't really need."

"Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license... The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while."

"The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair."

"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"We are also saving on the licensing fee, compared to other endpoint management solutions."

"The pricing is great. It's billed annually and it's very reasonable."

"We buy consulting fees from Software Factory, then we pay extra for it."

More Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

12%

University

10%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, and Mac helps to ensure that everything is up to date.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

The solution is not expensive. It is cheaper than other solutions. The solution is open-source, so we do not need any licensing.

What needs improvement with Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac?

The better way to improve the solution is by working on an area where it lacks, which includes the migration part. Currently, on Amazon AWS, we have hosted all the websites. It is fine to migrate f...

What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?

My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The to...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?

The pricing is in the middle range of the market, not too expensive but not the cheapest either.

What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?

The user interface needs improvement as customers have mentioned they do not like the interface since it is not an SMA-based interface and lacks a manual configuration option.

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Comparisons

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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BigFix vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

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Microsoft Windows Server Update Services vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Patch Management

Download Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac product report

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac report

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

Download Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Also Known As

HEAT Patch, PatchLink

Dell KACE Systems Management

Overview

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac, powered by Heat, swiftly detects vulnerabilities in today’s environment, from workstation to data center. And it deploys expertly pretested patches automatically, helping organizations to patch with more efficiency and efficacy.

Ivanti

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is a comprehensive tool for managing IT endpoints. It facilitates asset management, software distribution, and endpoint tracking while offering remote access capabilities and a centralized help desk.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is designed for organizations that need efficient endpoint management. It offers a range of features like inventory tracking, automated patch management, and ticketing. By integrating with remote access tools such as Bomgar, Quest KACE helps reduce manual tasks involved in managing software updates and system deployments. Although it faces challenges in scalability and requires improvements in integration and reporting, it remains a versatile choice for asset tracking and endpoint administration.

What are Quest KACE SMA's key features?

Asset Management: Streamline the organization and tracking of physical and virtual assets.
Remote Access: Integrates with Bomgar for secure, remote troubleshooting and management.
Software Distribution: Deploy applications across devices efficiently without physical intervention.
Centralized Endpoint Management: Manage endpoints from a centralized console to ensure compliance and optimization.
Automated Patch Management: Schedule and deploy patches to maintain system security and performance.
Help Desk: Integrated ticketing system for tracking and resolving user issues.
Scripting and Reporting: Enhance administrative tasks through automated scripts and detailed reports.

What benefits should users consider?

Improved Productivity: Reduces manual interference with automated deployments and updates.
Labor Savings: Minimizes labor requirements with efficient remote management tools.
Integrated Reporting: Provides actionable insights through comprehensive reports to optimize IT operation.
User-Friendly Interface: Boosts effectiveness due to its intuitive, easy-to-navigate design.

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance is implemented across industries for managing IT assets and endpoints, particularly where remote management and compliance are critical. It's employed in healthcare, education, and government sectors for efficient patch management, inventory control, and software deployment, aiding organizations in managing security accreditations and centralizing help desk operations.

Quest Software

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King

Ivanti Patch for Linux, UNIX, Mac vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)