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KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) vs SUSE Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
378
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
KACE Systems Deployment App...
Ranking in Configuration Management
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) is 1.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Manager is 2.8%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.9%
SUSE Manager2.8%
KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA)1.4%
Other90.9%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies
Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.
MH
Server Administrator III at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
User interface and deployment efficiency save time and reduce staff needs
The best features KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) offers include the ease of operation and the ability to create images for deployment. When I say ease of operation, the user interface is easy to create the images, and the people deploying do not have to have access to the appliance in order to deploy images. KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) has positively impacted our organization by allowing us to keep labs with over 300 machines all up to the exact same image for every semester. This has saved our team hundreds of man hours and reduced it down to just a few people doing the deployment compared to how things were done before SDA.
DK
Unix Administrator at emaratech
Supports a wide range of operating systems but integration challenges persist
From an integration perspective, it is difficult to integrate with Jira or any ticketing tool, which is challenging. We didn't try that, but we opened a case with SUSE support, and they said that it requires consultation for this new use case. In terms of support, both response time and knowledge-wise, they need to improve.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I particularly appreciate the administration and security features, which can be deployed easily."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate the most are the strong security, encryption, and operating system version."
"Intune simplifies compliance. The ability to manage software updates and policies on endpoints has helped us meet contract requirements."
"I appreciate how easy it is to deploy certificates to end users to get control over their device with Microsoft Intune; that's what Microsoft Intune is known for, and that's what we use them for."
"Overall, Microsoft Intune is genuinely built for growth, catering well to both small teams and large enterprises with the same foundation and scaling smoothly without requiring a significant overhaul."
"This is a great solution for anyone wanting a modern endpoint device management solution."
"The main advantage is that Intune performs its intended functions effectively."
"Microsoft Intune is a good solution and it is purely based on Azure cloud, so I can use all the benefits of Azure cloud in Microsoft Intune and several good features in Microsoft Intune to manage devices."
"I'm just an end-user; I'd recommend the solution to others as it has a good balance between pricing and functionality."
"Its ticketing is pretty good."
"KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) has positively impacted our organization by allowing us to keep labs with over 300 machines all up to the exact same image for every semester, saving our team hundreds of man hours and reducing it down to just a few people doing the deployment compared to how things were done before SDA."
"Regarding SUSE Manager, one of the most valuable features is the logical volume manager and file management, which allows for expanding files whenever we need more space on disk for the files and HANA."
"For those with a Linux environment, it's a good solution, and I would recommend it."
"The setup is straightforward."
"SUSE Manager allows you to control Red Hat servers, SUSE Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Open SUSE, and Ubuntu, which is something new that other tools do not support."
"One of the most powerful things that I noticed when I arrived was that it was underutilized, and there are all of these automation capabilities that SUSE Manager has, which have saved just so much time for me."
"When it comes to managing both Red Hat and SUSE environments, it provides the support for live patching, which is something I really, really appreciate."
"What I appreciate best about SUSE Manager is that it supports most of the Linux flavors."
"SUSE Manager is valuable for managing systems, patching, and utilizing SaltStack connectivity for various installations and other routines."
 

Cons

"I would say the interface and dashboard summarizing the devices' status and compliance could be improved."
"The current Intune reporting functionality could benefit from some improvements."
"There could be more features added. For me, as I mentioned, one area is the reporting. If the reporting became better, I think you would not need to use more RMMs."
"It's only good for a Microsoft environment. While it works very well for Microsoft users but if you have other kinds of operating systems, it's very painful to use."
"The reports that are generated aren't so great. They don't give a lot of meaning so far, but that could be down to user knowledge than the actual reporting side of things. I'm not a big user of it, but I was a bigger user of MaaS360, and we used to be able to run weekly and monthly reports. In the case of any deviations. we'd get a warning immediately. That's not so easy to do or to get in place for Intune. This could be just a user issue, but when I compare both, that's the only thing that's lacking for me."
"Reliability is something that I feel there is a tad bit of concern. The only point is that we need to sync multiple times to get something pushed through."
"There were several bugs with stability."
"Intune could be enhanced by automating application upgrades, similar to how it automates operating system upgrades."
"I have heard feedback that the imaging is slow. It takes somewhere around an hour to image one PC."
"KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) works well, but it would be nice if it were org based like the SMA, allowing one SDA to service several different departments."
"We sometimes have server issues and need to restart the service."
"I really would like to have a broader library of VCP's or playbooks that I can deploy."
"The initial setup of SUSE Manager is quite complex."
"The initial stage is a bit complex, but after that, everything runs seamlessly."
"It can be complex and difficult for users who are new to Linux and don't have any technical expertise."
"From an integration perspective, it is difficult to integrate with Jira or any ticketing tool, which is challenging."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."
"The price of Microsoft Intune is reasonable."
"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"The pricing is good because customers are not complaining about it."
"It's affordable. In comparison to the competitors, the price depends on what features you need from Intune, but it's affordable. There are no hidden costs, but there are some features that go for a premium price. Those are the add-ons for which you have to pay extra."
"The product is offered as part of a Microsoft standard bundle. The pricing can be competitive to Airwatch, and Maas360."
"Intune is linked with Microsoft. We can deploy the Microsoft E365 license to users by Intune. There are different types of licenses, such as device administrator licenses, E5 licenses for device enrollment manually, and P1 and p2 licenses for device enrollment automatically. These are the licenses required for the administration."
"The pricing is not cheap, especially with inflation. They've had to increase their prices. It's not excessive, but alright."
Information not available
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
University
25%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
University
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise185
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kace Systems Deployment Appliance?
The pricing for KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) is straightforward, and the setup was easy.
What needs improvement with Kace Systems Deployment Appliance?
KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) works well, but it would be nice if it were org based like the SMA, allowing ...
What is your primary use case for Kace Systems Deployment Appliance?
Our main use case for KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) is to deploy workstations as well as lab machines. We u...
What needs improvement with SUSE Manager?
The integration of some functions on cybersecurity could be improved if possible, along with features that can be hel...
What is your primary use case for SUSE Manager?
The use case for SUSE Manager is for several tasks such as bringing up the instances for SAP HANA, bringing them down...
What advice do you have for others considering SUSE Manager?
I have experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I mostly work with SUSE Linux, but we have a couple of servers with ...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Day & Zimmermann, Cisco, CEMEX, L.B. Foster, Adient, Istanbul Technical University, 7Pixel, University of Maine System, Guerbet
Find out what your peers are saying about KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) vs. SUSE Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.