KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs Symantec Client Management Suite comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Quest Software and Broadcom are both solutions in the Client Desktop Management category. Quest Software is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #3. Quest Software holds a 11.6% mindshare in CDM, compared to Broadcom’s 13.4% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

KACE Systems Management App...

Read 40 KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) reviews

5,937 Views
416 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Symantec Client Management ...

Read 3 Symantec Client Management Suite reviews

774 Views
464 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

KACE Systems Management App...

Symantec Client Management ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Symantec Client Management Suite and KACE Systems Management Appliance compete in systems management, with Symantec offering strong security management and KACE focusing on asset and inventory management. Symantec is favorable for security-focused environments, while KACE is preferred for comprehensive asset management.

Features: Symantec Client Management Suite provides integrated lifecycle management, seamless patch management, and robust software distribution. KACE Systems Management Appliance offers exceptional asset management, precise inventory tracking, and comprehensive endpoint control.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec Client Management Suite is straightforward to deploy, suiting environments with existing infrastructures and offering quicker setup. KACE Systems Management Appliance involves a more detailed setup but benefits from strong customer support, appealing to those needing guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Client Management Suite has competitive pricing and provides a solid ROI, particularly for integrated security management priorities. KACE Systems Management Appliance may incur higher setup costs but offers strong ROI through its asset management, justifying the investment for environments requiring asset oversight.

To learn more, read our detailed KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Symantec Client Management Suite Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Symantec Client Management Suite

September 2026

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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

KACE Systems Management App...

Ranking in Client Desktop Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Compliance (6th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (11th), Patch Management (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (12th)

Symantec Client Management ...

Ranking in Client Desktop Management

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Client Desktop Management category, the mindshare of KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 11.6%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Client Management Suite is 13.4%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Client Desktop Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)	11.6%
Symantec Client Management Suite	13.4%
Other	75.0%

Client Desktop Management

Featured Reviews

AdityaJain

Security Administrator at EbixCash

Centralized software deployment has simplified endpoint control but needs stronger security alerts

What I like best about KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is that it allows pushing custom-made applications to all computers that have KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) endpoint installed. This makes it easier for the organization to push patches and updates. If I need to push EDR updates, I can use KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), as it automatically updates the EDR on that endpoint, and that is a great feature. Overall, KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) helps streamline my processes by allowing me to check the uptime and downtime of machines, whether they are connected to the internet or not, and how long a machine has been switched off. I can also gather hardware details and software inventory from it. I can show a live demonstration if a video conference can be arranged. Incident resolution capabilities with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) have improved operational efficiency for system administrators, as it makes it easier to track machines with KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), gather their IP addresses, and push several updates, patches, or software deployments at once. I can design compliances as per my requirements, such as ensuring passwords are reset after 45 days.

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Sathish-Holla

IT Consultant at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees

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…

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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

"K1000 just works - plain and simple."

"Overall, this is a good solution that saves us time and effort."

"I am impressed by the service desk ticketing and asset management."

"You don't have to be an advanced user. Rather, in terms of ease of use, this product is right where it needs to be."

"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."

"Pretty much all of the features are valuable. The inventory is very helpful to be able to keep track of our devices. The deployments make it easy to deploy new software packages or upgrade packages. The help desk is also a great tool for tracking problems and problem tickets."

"We use the Systems Deployment appliance. It's our bread and butter. It is every machine that gets imaged here in this building and out through the whole state goes through the SDA. We rely on it completely. There is no manual process of getting a laptop out of a box, plugging it up, turning it on, and waiting for Windows to start. If you were to go to Best Buy and buy a brand new laptop, you spend the next two to three hours just setting it up. We don't do that. We get a laptop, plug it into the network, connect it to the SDA, and within about three clicks, we're done."

"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."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) pros

"This is a very strong solution, and 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."

"The most valuable feature of Symantec Client Management Suite is the ease of client management and agent installation."

"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."

Cons

"There isn't a lot they need to improve with the solution itself at this point. It is pretty close to providing a single pane of glass for everything that we need for endpoint management specifically on all devices. There is very little that it doesn't provide for us, and for those, we have to go to other methods. There are some of the patching solutions that it doesn't take care of for us. So, we have to do those manually on the devices, and that's really the biggest thing. It doesn't do patching really well for non-Microsoft applications. The major application updates, particularly Windows updates, don't function nearly as well, but, for the vast majority of things, it does just fine. If they could improve in this aspect, that'd be great, but I don't know if they're going to be able to do that."

"The KACE Go Mobile App crashes a lot, and it always has. I would love to see that get fixed because it's very convenient when it does work properly, but most of the time it does not."

"The customization of the interface needs improvement for things like end user tickets. While the functionality is good, some of that UI stuff does need improvement."

"We had issues with the tool's support. We are a Dutch firm and everything has to be in Dutch. We were not able to do the alerts. You were required to tweak them a lot to get them in the language that you preferred. The solution's support depended on the person that you got online. Sometimes, the response was fast and other times you needed to wait a long time. The support also depended on the levels of support that you had requested."

"The only pain point I have is with their salespeople. They call too often. They're too aggressive in trying to upsell. We know what we need, and we know if we want to expand. I don't mind quarterly calls from them, but sometimes, it is weekly. They need to get their sales team under control. The main goal of their support people and professional services is to make sure they deliver the service, and they deliver it well, whereas their salespeople are so interested in making a sale that they're wasting my time."

"I would like for there to be improvement when it comes to Microsoft and Windows updates. It has the ability to do it but the control of it is not there like I have in the Windows Server Update Services. The way KACE does it is still very granular. You don't really see the process like it is in the Windows Server Update Services. I think that would be one of the biggest things that I would like to see KACE really put some work into and really make that a big enhancement."

"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."

"Paying for the product should come with full and extended training anytime it is needed."

More KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) cons

"Some parts are working okay, some of the other components aren't. Workflow isn't working properly."

"Symantec Client Management Suite can improve by adding more network devices."

"The technical support is in need of improvement."

"The technical support has been troubling for me. I would rate them a six out of ten."

"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

"Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable."

"The pricing and licensing are absolutely fair."

"It was a very attractive price. This is a huge feature of this product. If you would "credit score" this product versus others out there on the market, this one has a very attractive price."

"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."

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

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

"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."

"The pricing is fair."

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

"The price of the solution is competitive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

13%

Construction Company

10%

University

Financial Services Firm

Government

13%

Outsourcing Company

11%

University

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

Questions from the Community

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

In terms of cost-effectiveness, considering a situation where I want to deploy KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) for just pushing updates, it is completely fine. However, apart from that, I d...

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What needs improvement with Quest KACE Systems Management?

For improvements in KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), I would want to see it become a standalone software agent. I am curious about why it does not offer EDR functionality. Additionally, the...

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What is your primary use case for Quest KACE Systems Management?

I have deployed KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) around 230 plus PCs, and I use it to push Windows updates and scripts. I have designed various scripts for tasks such as password resets afte...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA)

September 2026

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) report

Download KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) product report

Buyer's Guide

Client Desktop Management

September 2026

Download Symantec Client Management Suite product report

Also Known As

Dell KACE Systems Management

Symantec Altiris Client Management Suite

Overview

KACE Systems Management Appliance offers integration capabilities, efficient image deployment, and comprehensive asset management. It supports centralized management across diverse devices and locations, simplifying IT processes and enhancing security.

KACE Systems Management Appliance provides single-pane visibility for endpoint management, mass software deployment, automated patch management, robust scripting, and detailed inventory tracking. It streamlines IT management and improves cyber-security compliance through remote software updates and centralized IT request handling. Despite struggles with scalability and the need for interface improvements, it enables efficient device imaging, script automation, and network management through detailed reporting. Organizations find it effective for software deployment, asset management, and endpoint monitoring, serving thousands of IoT devices and desktops.

What are the key features of KACE Systems Management Appliance?

Integration capabilities: Seamlessly connects with existing IT systems.
Efficient image deployment: Facilitates quick and effective distribution of system images.
Comprehensive asset management: Provides detailed tracking and management of IT assets.
User-friendly helpdesk: Simplifies handling IT requests and issues.
Automated patch management: Ensures devices are up-to-date with security patches.
Robust scripting: Allows for automation of complex IT tasks.
Detailed inventory tracking: Maintains accurate records of all IT assets.

What benefits should users expect from KACE Systems Management Appliance?

Simplified IT processes: Centralized management enhances operational efficiency.
Improved security: Streamlines cyber-security compliance through automated updates.
Flexibility in customizations: Adapts to specific IT environment needs.
Increased productivity: Efficient ticketing and reporting ease organizational operations.
Remote software updates: Ensures all devices are current, reducing security risks.

In healthcare, KACE Systems Management Appliance is used for maintaining device compliance and security standards. Educational institutions benefit from its capabilities to manage large numbers of endpoints across campuses. In finance, it aids in strict compliance requirements through automated patch management and detailed reporting. Retail sectors leverage its asset management features to streamline operations across numerous locations.

Quest Software

Symantec Client Management Suite provides organizations with comprehensive tools to securely and efficiently manage client devices. This solution is ideal for enterprises seeking robust device management, inventory, and deployment capabilities.

Symantec Client Management Suite simplifies device management through a range of features that address core IT needs. Users benefit from integrated asset management, application deployment, and comprehensive security tools. With centralized control, IT departments can enhance operational efficiency and support compliance requirements. Symantec Client Management Suite is designed for scalability, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.

What are the key features of Symantec Client Management Suite?

Asset Management: Offers detailed visibility into hardware and software assets.
Application Deployment: Facilitates easy and effective software installations across devices.
Patch Management: Ensures systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches.
Remote Control: Provides IT teams with the ability to troubleshoot devices remotely.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Increased Efficiency: Streamlines repetitive IT tasks for better productivity.
Cost Reduction: Lowers overall IT maintenance costs with automated management tools.
Improved Security: Enhances device security through frequent updates and patches.
Scalability: Adapts to growing IT infrastructure needs without compromising performance.

Industries such as healthcare, finance, and education implement Symantec Client Management Suite due to its reliability and comprehensive security benefits. These sectors prioritize safeguarding sensitive information while maintaining operational efficiency, making Symantec Client Management Suite an ideal choice.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

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

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

Buyer's Guide

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs. Symantec Client Management Suite

September 2026

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