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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
2.9
Microsoft Configuration Manager enhances ROI and productivity with efficient software management, despite challenges in Mac support.
Sentiment score
3.2
Windows Server Update Services provides free, efficient patch management, automates updates, centralizes downloads, and reduces crashes and internet usage.
With Microsoft Configuration Manager, these processes are automated and managed, reducing the time required by roughly 40 to 50 percent.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
If they have some bundle options to pay less for more, we will get it and use it.
Senior Oracle DBA at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Configuration Manager support is effective but varies; some prefer premium options or using Microsoft's documentation for solutions.
Sentiment score
4.1
Users criticize Microsoft Windows Server Update Services support for slow responses and inconsistency, preferring online resources or premium support.
Their response time and first-level support quality need improvement.
Systems Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
For technical support from Microsoft, I would rate them a nine.
Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Update provides one of the worst support experiences among all tech companies that I have experienced.
Lead - Technical Services at Impetus
When you pay for the support, you are guaranteed resolution, and I don't think anybody else does that.
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.
I explain that I am unhappy because it takes too long for a reaction.
System Administrator at Waternet
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Configuration Manager is scalable, integrates with Intune, but can be costly compared to other solutions, effective for many.
Sentiment score
5.2
Windows Server Update Services is scalable and adaptable but may experience performance issues in large, stressed deployments.
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.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The product is suitable for our size, handling 800 devices.
IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government
Though there are options to use Microsoft MS SQL, it does not support more than 3,000 clients.
Lead - Technical Services at Impetus
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Configuration Manager is highly stable, reliable, and well-rated by users when infrastructure is properly managed and updated.
Sentiment score
5.3
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is stable and reliable, though minor issues may occur with specific updates or large environments.
There were misconfigurations by our team rather than issues with the product itself.
IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government
When we schedule our updates, it works, and that's it—nothing irregular or different than what was expected.
Senior Oracle DBA at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Enhancements in UI, performance, cloud integration, automation, and non-Windows support could significantly improve Microsoft Configuration Manager.
Windows Server Update Services requires UI enhancements, better integration, stability improvements, and efficient patch management for smoother operation.
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.
Systems Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Overall, Microsoft Configuration Manager is a powerful and reliable platform.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
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.
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.
I would like the updates to be less often and more rarely because they have a high impact on our team.
Senior Oracle DBA at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Configuration Manager offers integrated solutions with flexible pricing, justifying costs through automation and management features, enhancing ROI.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services has no licensing fees but can incur costs from storage, cloud deployment, and enterprise agreements.
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.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The setup cost is considered sufficient.
IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government
The pricing for Microsoft Configuration Manager is okay for me.
Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It's a free service.
Lead - Technical Services at Impetus
It's free.
Network Architect at a construction company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Configuration Manager streamlines deployment and management with automation, integration, inventory, and security, reducing manual effort and ensuring consistency.
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services offers centralized management, automated updates, and reporting, enhancing efficiency without extra licensing fees.
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.
Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features I find in Microsoft Configuration Manager are mostly patching, deploying software, deploying images, and running custom scripts.
Systems Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The ease of use and efficient reporting contribute significantly to my overall productivity.
Lead - Technical Services at Impetus
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is the update for Microsoft Windows Server.
Senior Oracle DBA at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
I confirm that they all get downloaded and installed simultaneously, and the new security patches are applied automatically.
System Administrator at Waternet
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Configuration Man...
Ranking in Patch Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Software Distribution (1st), Server Monitoring (6th), Configuration Management (3rd)
Microsoft Windows Server Up...
Ranking in Patch Management
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 7.8%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is 4.5%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Configuration Manager7.8%
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services4.5%
Other87.7%
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

NS
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Centralized endpoint control has streamlined deployments and improved security compliance
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. These features make endpoint management efficient and scalable. The feature I rely on the most day-to-day is software deployment and patch management. It keeps endpoints updated and secure with minimal manual effort. Inventory and compliance monitoring are also important, but daily deployments are critical. Microsoft Configuration Manager has had a significant positive impact on our organization in several ways: improved efficiency, enhanced security and compliance, standardization, scalability, and visibility reporting. Overall, Microsoft Configuration Manager has helped us save time, reduce risk, improve operational efficiency, and maintain strong control over our endpoints. One of the biggest impacts Microsoft Configuration Manager has had on efficiency is the reduced manual work for software deployment and patching. For example, deploying a new application or security updates to hundreds or thousands of devices previously required several days of manual effort, including running scripts, checking devices individually, and validating installation. With Microsoft Configuration Manager, these tasks are automated and managed, allowing deployments to complete in hours rather than days. We also have automated reporting for deployment success and compliance which saved the IT team significant time that used to be spent gathering and reconciling inventory data from multiple tools.
NN
IT Manager at Handi Quilter, Inc.
Experience with update service shows need for reliability, but support excels
I wouldn't say any of the update services have great features. The only real advantage I have for having Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is if I know or have been informed of a bad update that's causing software conflicts, I can stop it. But I do not depend on Microsoft Windows Server Update Services to keep my machines updated because the failure rates are too high. I have other tools for reporting and inventory capabilities. 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. So I had to stop using it because I need something that's reliable, therefore I use other tools for that information. In a pinch, you can use Microsoft Windows Server Update Services tools, but for the most part, they're not reliable enough. I don't believe I've seen any improvement on bandwidth optimization or deployment speed from Microsoft Windows Server Update Services. In fact, the only real improvement comes directly from Microsoft because they stagger the updates. So that helps, but having Microsoft Windows Server Update Services on-premise does not provide any real benefit. Its pricing is just all-inclusive. I don't think about it that way. If somebody tried to sell me Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, I would probably reject it. It's a tool that we have, so we use it, but if I were to pay extra for it, I would say it's not worth it. Some of the main differences between Microsoft Windows Server Update Services and the other tools are that WSUS's backend is based on IIS, which is not a very reliable host method. You're going to have problems getting Microsoft Windows Server Update Services to run when you have a large organization. The speed of it is quite painfully slow, so there's not a lot you can do to get Microsoft Windows Server Update Services to work under stress. The other tools just work. I can tell you what services are running on each of my machines and can stop or restart services. I can inventory the software they have on them with multiple tools, so I know what software is on our machines. I don't have to rely on a tool that works when it wants to and requires so much maintenance to keep it going. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is only to green check updates that I know are fine, but obviously, it could save me in a pinch if something went wrong.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise66
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
I don't know all details about pricing for Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, so I can't answer this question.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Windows Server Update Services?
I think nothing could be improved or enhanced in Microsoft Windows Server Update Services because it is doing precisely what it has to do. I do not see any minor enhancements or limitations to be o...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM ), Microsoft SMS
Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft WSUS, WSUS, Microsoft Software Update Services, Software Update Services, Microsoft SUS, SUS, MS Windows Server Update Services
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.