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ManageEngine AssetExplorer vs System Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

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

ManageEngine AssetExplorer
Ranking in Software Asset Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
System Center
Ranking in Software Asset Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Software Asset Management category, the mindshare of ManageEngine AssetExplorer is 11.9%, down from 35.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of System Center is 23.8%, down from 35.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Asset Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
System Center23.8%
ManageEngine AssetExplorer11.9%
Other64.3%
Software Asset Management
 

Featured Reviews

KS
System Administrator at Agility
Have successfully managed asset lifecycle and license compliance through deep visibility and structured ownership
Improvements do not have to be drastic; minor optimizations and increased flexibility can enhance usability. Customizations can be done through ManageEngine AssetExplorer support but may incur additional charges. As a server management manager, requirements for improvements have not been raised because everything needed is integrated with the mail server and organization Active Directory, including security through single sign-on and Duo authentication. We utilize domain, network, and distributed asset scanning, supported once the agent is installed. We also handle purchase, recovery, and contract reports efficiently. Continuous improvement is reflected in ManageEngine AssetExplorer with ongoing advanced updates; however, our requirements are already met with the existing product features, so we don't need the latest updates for vendor management or other enhancements.
Ted Mbugua - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Have faced challenges managing cloud endpoints and support response has been slow
System Center alone just being able to handle cloud endpoints has always been a challenge, even from Microsoft's end. Just looking at how best can you do it without Intune on System Center when it comes to cloud, it becomes a challenge. You'll find that for System Center, it purely looks at on-premise solutions; if maybe you have an Azure or an AWS virtual machine, it might become a challenge when looking at how you're able to manage that. On the reporting capability of System Center, there are some reports that you really need, but sometimes they are a bit shallow or sometimes they are not even there, so maybe on the reporting capability, more improvement is needed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The first valuable feature of ManageEngine AssetExplorer is its user-friendliness, and another valuable aspect is the CMDB, which makes it easy to configure each asset from the bottom to the top level, such as assigning departments and owners."
"The function of AssetExplorer meets the expectation from acquisitions and the decommissioning of assets. Everything has been covered by this solution that needs to be."
"It assists us in tracking software details, including software replacements, licensing information, and software renewal."
"System Center is easy to configure."
"Everything, from patches to deployments, can be done remotely."
"System Center helps us manage everything in the company."
"Time is money, so saving on time means you're also saving on costs, especially when looking at how quickly you're able to patch endpoints and servers when it comes to updates, the whole System Center family, if you're able to integrate the whole SCCM functionalities, you're able to harness more."
"The most valuable feature of the System Center is the easy management of everything."
"The most valuable feature of System Center is remote deployment."
 

Cons

"ManageEngine AssetExplorer has a lot to improve. However, the vendor of this solution has many solutions that are made for certain use cases."
"Technical support takes longer to resolve issues than expected, often two to four days."
"It would be beneficial if the software could retain the original asset while updating the information for the new product."
"The support experience rates at a five; you really struggle to get support, and by the time you're getting support, they have to take you through their collecting logs before they can actually give you the technical assistance."
"SCCM is expensive for me personally."
"The security of the System Center can be enhanced."
"The way the backups can be done could be easier."
"System Center should make its interface and console easy to understand and operate."
"The integration could improve in the future. Additionally, a single reporting feature for databases would be useful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It offers a reasonable pricing structure for its annual licensing model."
"ManageEngine AssetExplorer is priced well compared to other solutions and the pricing is available online and you can easily see the upfront cost. They have different editions and a very straightforward licensing scheme. Other solutions are typically based on proposals or quotations, sometimes two sets of customers may have different proposals."
"I rate the price System Center a six out of ten."
"The licensing fee is yearly."
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Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ManageEngine AssetExplorer?
Improvements do not have to be drastic; minor optimizations and increased flexibility can enhance usability. Customizations can be done through ManageEngine AssetExplorer support but may incur addi...
What is your primary use case for ManageEngine AssetExplorer?
Our usual use cases for ManageEngine AssetExplorer include contract management and managing all IT assets, alongside service catalogs and purchase inventories. We are managing purchase and inventor...
What advice do you have for others considering ManageEngine AssetExplorer?
We create reports as required; there are inbuilt and customized reports available that we use. We are creating reports based on asset auditing features and sending them to management for decision-m...
What needs improvement with System Center?
System Center alone just being able to handle cloud endpoints has always been a challenge, even from Microsoft's end. Just looking at how best can you do it without Intune on System Center when it ...
What is your primary use case for System Center?
When it comes to device management, I am working heavily with Intune and System Center in terms of the co-management functionality. We have implemented it and it works wonders, especially when look...
What advice do you have for others considering System Center?
We are using other Microsoft solutions including the Defenders. We started off with on-prem, but with the co-management functionality with Intune, now we are able to do the hybrid, where we can mon...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

AssetExplorer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Gerab National Enterprise
PKP Energetyka S.A., Florida Atlantic University, Bank Alfalah Ltd., Dimension Data, Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H
Find out what your peers are saying about ManageEngine AssetExplorer vs. System Center and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.