

Microsoft Configuration Manager and Microsoft Windows Server Update Services compete in IT infrastructure management. Configuration Manager often holds the upper hand due to its comprehensive enterprise capabilities.
Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager provides application deployment, patch management, and inventory management. Its centralized console and automation are highly valued. WSUS focuses on Microsoft updates, offering good centralized update management for smaller environments.
Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager could improve application package deployment, performance optimization, and reporting. Users desire better support for non-Microsoft updates and multiple Intune subscriptions. WSUS users suggest simplifying the user interface, integrating better with non-Microsoft systems, and enhancing patch reporting.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Configuration Manager's deployment is complex, requiring IT resources, while WSUS benefits from a simpler setup with Windows Server integration. Configuration Manager users experience mixed technical support, appreciating documentation but finding direct support lacking. WSUS support could improve in direct technical assistance.
Pricing and ROI: Configuration Manager has higher costs, justified by its feature breadth and ROI in large enterprises, whereas WSUS is more economical, with no additional licensing fees beyond Windows Server, making it suitable for basic update management.
With Microsoft Configuration Manager, these processes are automated and managed, reducing the time required by roughly 40 to 50 percent.
If they have some bundle options to pay less for more, we will get it and use it.
Their response time and first-level support quality need improvement.
For technical support from Microsoft, I would rate them a nine.
Microsoft Update provides one of the worst support experiences among all tech companies that I have experienced.
When you pay for the support, you are guaranteed resolution, and I don't think anybody else does that.
I explain that I am unhappy because it takes too long for a reaction.
In our organization, which has grown by adding more endpoints, remote users, and hybrid devices, Microsoft Configuration Manager has managed to handle the increased workload without requiring major changes on our side.
The product is suitable for our size, handling 800 devices.
Though there are options to use Microsoft MS SQL, it does not support more than 3,000 clients.
There were misconfigurations by our team rather than issues with the product itself.
When we schedule our updates, it works, and that's it—nothing irregular or different than what was expected.
A better command line interface for Microsoft Configuration Manager would be an additional feature I would to see in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
I can suggest that Microsoft Configuration Manager should get the Autopilot feature because Autopilot is the main part of Intune, and nowadays everybody is using Autopilot.
Overall, Microsoft Configuration Manager is a powerful and reliable platform.
The inventory tool and the entire backend of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is poorly coded. It's not very reliable, so you can tell when dealing with bad code, and it may work one day but may not work another.
I would like the updates to be less often and more rarely because they have a high impact on our team.
The cost is reasonable considering the enterprise-level features, but it scales depending on the number of managed devices and the inclusion of Intune for co-management.
The setup cost is considered sufficient.
The pricing for Microsoft Configuration Manager is okay for me.
It's a free service.
It's free.
If I want to get a fetch report for anything, such as hardware-related issues or group policy-related issues, I need to fetch the report by using SCCM's scripting language and remediation part.
The most valuable features I find in Microsoft Configuration Manager are mostly patching, deploying software, deploying images, and running custom scripts.
In my experience, the best features of Microsoft Configuration Manager are software deployments and updates, OSD, hardware and software inventory, compliance and configuration baseline, reporting and monitoring, and integration with Intune hybrid management.
The ease of use and efficient reporting contribute significantly to my overall productivity.
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is the update for Microsoft Windows Server.
I confirm that they all get downloaded and installed simultaneously, and the new security patches are applied automatically.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Configuration Manager | 7.8% |
| Microsoft Windows Server Update Services | 4.5% |
| Other | 87.7% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 20 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 13 |
| Large Enterprise | 66 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 23 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 24 |
Microsoft Configuration Manager streamlines IT management with features such as software deployment, patch management, and automation, centralizing operations for Windows environments. Integration with Microsoft products allows efficient oversight of workstations and servers.
Microsoft Configuration Manager provides comprehensive IT management, offering software deployment, patch management, and application pushing. Automation reduces manual tasks, ensuring consistency across systems. Centralized management enables standardized OS deployments, application updates, and configuration integrity. Integration with Microsoft products facilitates seamless operations, while hardware and software inventory, compliance reporting, and remote control functions enhance IT management. Users seek improvements in application deployment for those without deep scripting knowledge and desire better WSUS control, PowerShell and Intune integration, Linux compatibility, and user interface enhancements. Performance improvements are requested for remote user management and third-party application support.
What features enhance Microsoft Configuration Manager?Microsoft Configuration Manager is widely implemented in organizations to manage Windows workstations and servers. It is essential for deploying operating systems and applications, managing software updates, and conducting hardware and software inventories. The tool is crucial for endpoint and configuration management, ensuring compliance, and automating processes like patching and vulnerability management. Industries such as finance, healthcare, and education rely on Microsoft Configuration Manager to keep systems secure and operational, adapting it to address their specific needs and challenges in maintaining diversified IT environments.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is a patch management tool that simplifies the administrator’s task of deploying the latest Microsoft updates. Administrators use WSUS to manage the distribution of updates released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.
WSUS has features you can use to manage and distribute updates from a management console. The WSUS server can also be a source of updates to other servers within the organization, acting as an upstream server.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Use Cases
The four main use cases that WSUS adds value to businesses are:
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Features
This built-in server includes the following features:
Requirements
In order to be able to use WSUS to manage and deploy updates, it is important to use a supported WSUS version, such as:
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Benefits
Different Types of WSUS Deployments
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