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Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Jamf Pro
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Device Management (MDM) (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (2nd)
Microsoft Configuration Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (7th), Configuration Management (4th), Patch Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Jamf Pro and Microsoft Configuration Manager aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Jamf Pro is designed for Mobile Device Management (MDM) and holds a mindshare of 25.4%, down 28.4% compared to last year.
Microsoft Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Server Monitoring, holds 5.3% mindshare, down 8.0% since last year.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Arunachalam S. - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplifies device management, making performing various administrative tasks easier
Sometimes, the server gets slow. The dashboard is only getting loaded. Jamf Pro offers many features, but some improvements could make it even more user-friendly. For example, streamlining authentication controls would enhance its security value. Too many complex settings on the dashboard make it hard for users to navigate. Simplifying the settings would make it easier to use. Adding a more interactive and cleaner UI design would also improve the user experience. Additionally, automatically categorizing policies and configurations by type would be helpful, making the dashboard more organized. Introducing auto-filtering based on categories would streamline configuration management. On the security side, enabling two-factor authentication for console login would provide better protection than single sign-on. Only authorized users can access sensitive data, like the asset inventory stored in the console. 2FA would help keep the system secure, preventing unauthorized access even if login credentials are compromised. Device management needs automation, and Jamf is likely to integrate Apple's Apple Intelligence into its framework once it's available. This integration is expected to be a significant enhancement for the Jamf console, potentially transforming the way device management is handled.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Jamf Pro is the only product we can use at the moment because they are ahead of their competitors in zero-touch deployment for the end-user. Jamf Pro has a self-service feature that has helped us minimize our support cases. That's a feature the customers like very much."
"Jamf Pro is primarily a device management solution designed to manage and configure devices."
"The Smart Groups have been very beneficial for quick reporting when a critical, out of cycle patch is required."
"It is a great tool. Its ease of use is fantastic. It is very simple, and you don't really have a high learning curve with this."
"The time that we save in hours for new deployments, redeployments, application upgrades and OS upgrades more than makes up for the cost of the product."
"Patch management and associated policies help us manage and update our fleet's software."
"We have been able to successfully manage applications and inventory within our machines."
"I found that automated enrollment is very powerful because you can bring standardization to the environment."
"This solution helps us by automating the patching of our system."
"It works well for the endpoints for the customer I'm consulting. It has a bunch of knobs, and you can tune it to do lots of things."
"It has the ability to perform mass distribution."
"It is a good choice for deployment that performs very well."
"The solution effectively handles inventory management, deployment, and reporting."
"The ease of usability is the most valuable feature. It's user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is the availability of being able to manage the Microsoft estate. It handles many areas, such as asset management and tracking."
"I find the product valuable for deployment recovery and it has done much more than that."
 

Cons

"We would like to have some of the extension attributes configured so that those extension attributes can be part of the core structure. They can make some of the extension attributes the actual attributes. They shouldn't be like add-ons."
"This solution would benefit from more focus on Self Service, such as Office 365 and GSuite integration."
"Some improvement can be made in the customer service realm, while also making additional training level courses available for online study and exam-taking."
"The reporting needs to be improved so that generating them is more user-friendly."
"The list of applications for patch management isn't sufficient."
"Jamf needs to get an inbuilt remote support tool to allow the admin to remote into machines. At present, you can use third-party remote apps, however, a Jamf one would be better."
"Jamf Pro currently is only used on Mac computers and could improve by having compatibility with other operating systems. We have to use other tools to manage our Windows and Android devices. There could be other improvements but I am still exploring and learning more about the features."
"The upgrade process of this solutions could be improved. It is not possible to use Jamf Pro to upgrade devices."
"It would be better if automation options were available. For example, in Nexthink or SysTrack, there is an analytical tool. Creating dashboards would be very easy if you implement the same thing in Microsoft. That report will be a daily cost to the customers and good revenue for our organization. The price also could be better. In the next release, we need to include some features like tables, dashboards, surveys, services, and metrics in the dashboard. Whatever we are implementing will be downloaded by a report. Apart from the report, we will telecast from the dashboard. It's very easy to compare, and it will be easy to telecast to the end-users."
"It would be better if reporting were more user-friendly. I would like to see an upgrade in the reporting structure in the next release. At the moment, you have to use an SQL query or configure it to pull reports through the graphical user interface. Their updates could be more regular. I think Mircosoft updates it every six months. They are also moving many things to Intune, and Microsoft decided to move the deployment solution there. I think SCCM is getting old, and Intune is new."
"The operations could be faster and you need some patience with this tool."
"Its client interface should be more accessible, and the notifications should be more customizable from the console. It should be more user friendly and have some kind of customized notifications so that we can use it on the client side. These are the reasons why we restricted its use only for the server environment and didn't use it on the client side."
"The availability of technical support could improve."
"It would be nice to have everything in one place. Now they have Intune for the desktops and SCCM to handle their servers."
"It should provide the ability to remotely connect to mobile devices. There are some solutions that are doing that, but with Microsoft Intune, the only way to remotely connect to devices outside the organization and mobile devices is by using TeamViewer. It is pretty strange for a big company like Microsoft to not have something for that."
"It does seem a bit buggy from time to time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With respect to pricing, Jamf Pro is the better bet."
"Jamf is quite up there. It wasn't the cheapest solution, but it's reasonable. Apigee was cheaper than Jamf."
"JumpStart is available at an additional cost."
"The setup is pricey upfront for support and setup."
"If you have the in-house capability to support Jamf, then paying for onboarding / JumpStart training is a no brainer."
"We have signed a licensing contract for three years. There is an option to buy an annual license subscription, but we opted for three years as it came with a 25% or 30% discount."
"It would be beneficial if it could be reduced slightly."
"The cost of Jamf is certainly worth the investment."
"The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive."
"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."
"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."
"Its price is okay because it is part of our licensing."
"The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."
"Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers."
"Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing."
"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Jamf Pro?
The most valuable features of Jamf Pro for me are the device locator, which helps find missing iPads, and the ability to remotely manage and disable devices.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jamf Pro?
The pricing structure is one of the cons. However, the licensing model is simple and easy to manage from an MSP perspective. Licenses are annual, and any changes are communicated effectively.
What needs improvement with Jamf Pro?
The biggest area for improvement is the price and the structure of Jamf's onboarding process, especially the mandatory JumpStart consultation, which can be costly for small organizations. The solut...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

JAMF Software Casper Suite
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Xero, National Geographic, Oxford University, Via, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Fallon, Cabela's
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Find out what your peers are saying about JAMF, Microsoft, Cisco and others in Mobile Device Management (MDM). Updated: May 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.