Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Pulseway comparison

Microsoft Configuration Man...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

In the realm of IT management, Microsoft Configuration Manager and Pulseway offer distinct solutions. Microsoft Configuration Manager holds an advantage in enterprise-level deployment features, while Pulseway excels in remote monitoring.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager is known for its comprehensive deployment capabilities, including software distribution, patch management, and compliance reporting. It is particularly efficient in managing large enterprise environments with centralized administration. Pulseway, on the other hand, is celebrated for its remote monitoring features, immediate notifications, and mobile access, bringing ease of remote management and effective server monitoring.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager could benefit from more automation integration, a less complex logging system, and improved Linux support. Its performance demands somewhat higher CPU/memory usage. Pulseway could enhance its remote speed and needs VOIP call monitoring improvements; customizing scripts for individual clients would also add value. Both systems would gain from a more simplified user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager is mainly deployed on-premises, with users appreciating its feature set despite its complexity. Support responsiveness varies by tier. Pulseway offers hybrid deployment with both on-premises and cloud options, appealing to diverse IT environments, and garners praise for its informative and responsive support team.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Configuration Manager is typically seen as expensive due to licensing structures, often requiring an additional SQL Server license unless on the same hardware, though its extensive feature set promises a strong ROI. Pulseway is recognized for competitive pricing, especially compared to Kaseya and SolarWinds, making it a cost-effective choice for small to medium-sized enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Pulseway Report (Updated: January 2026).

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Pulseway

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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

Microsoft Configuration Man...

Ranking in Server Monitoring

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Distribution (1st), Configuration Management (3rd), Patch Management (2nd)

Pulseway

Ranking in Server Monitoring

17th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (55th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 4.4%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pulseway is 1.2%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Monitoring Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Configuration Manager	4.4%
Pulseway	1.2%
Other	94.4%

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

JunedBedrekar

Expert at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Have effectively deployed patches and applications while integrating with cloud solutions

The features I find most valuable in Microsoft Configuration Manager are replication and scripting. 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 inventory collection features of Microsoft Configuration Manager are good because we always prefer the inventory. We do it by using the script language. We use remote management capabilities in Microsoft Configuration Manager. Remote management capabilities are useful if the user is not providing access; we can use the backend users to update the group policy and sync the devices. These are the main features we require.

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reviewer2132892

Owner at Hogan's Systems Consulting, LLC

Great notifications, a wide variety of features, and excellent monitoring capabilities

It would be nice if it also had a desktop application, similar to the phone app, which would allow me to monitor and control computers from my desktop. It's nice to be able to do things remotely using my phone; however, in many cases, it would be very helpful to be able to do things from a desktop or laptop computer. This would be especially useful for things like remote access to computers. It's too hard to do much on a Windows computer using a tiny phone screen. Being able to do things from a desktop or laptop computer would be much more productive.

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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

"Overall, I believe Microsoft Configuration Manager is definitely a good product."

"Microsoft Configuration Manager is integrated with other Microsoft products."

"This has made the management of our environment easier."

"I manage software updates and operating systems for devices, and within seconds, we can remotely deploy a system for, say, 2,000 devices. Not only that, but we can also deploy scripts and create comprehensive compliance rules."

"The most valuable feature of SCCM is the application distribution."

"The most valuable features I find in Microsoft Configuration Manager are mostly patching, deploying software, deploying images, and running custom scripts."

"The initial setup is fairly straightforward."

"Patching is very effective and reporting is very good."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

"It has been very helpful to get notifications about various issues with my servers and network to help me take action to resolve problems before they become major issues."

"It gives you remote control and has a mobile app."

"The solution has great workflow and server modules."

"We like the patching of the window updates in the client's systems. You can automatically do updates with a single click."

"The setup is simple."

Cons

"The downside of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is it's an on-premise-based solution. With the pandemic coming on board the need to support users across the globe has increased. For a while, we would use the in-built Microsoft Teams screen sharing feature but the disadvantage of that is you cannot perform privileged access. Microsoft does not give you access to that. That's where you need cloud-based tools, such as BeyondTrust or Freshservice."

"The tool's deployment is complex and depends on the architecture you want to implement."

"I would like to see more automation."

"It should provide the ability to remotely connect to mobile devices. There are some solutions that are doing that, but with Microsoft Intune, the only way to remotely connect to devices outside the organization and mobile devices is by using TeamViewer. It is pretty strange for a big company like Microsoft to not have something for that."

"It needs to be able to load faster during deployment."

"This solution should be simpler, and more consistent across modules/sections."

"Servers are still not getting it properly, so we could add the servers in Microsoft Configuration Manager for things such as OS deployment and Autopilot as well."

"The availability of technical support could improve."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

"There are some bugs or glitches."

"It would be nice if it also had a desktop application, similar to the phone app, which would allow me to monitor and control computers from my desktop."

"GUI needs to be improved and the solution lacks a process for monitoring VOIP calls."

"They have good technical support but it's not excellent."

"The solution does not allow you to make a script for just one customer."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It comes free with the Microsoft account. We have a yearly agreement, and all products are covered under it."

"We use the tool's free license. It is expensive."

"Along with buying a license for MECM, we also have to buy a service called CMG (Cloud Management Gateway) which is a virtual machine in the cloud with which you can link your MECM to the Azure tenant so as to manage teleworkers."

"I would rate the cost as eight out of ten."

"Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM. It's super-duper expensive but it works. The acquisition cost is expensive, it's labor-intensive. But it works."

"Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it."

"The price model is different for every client."

"The license price could be reduced for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager They should make the price more affordable for smaller companies, most companies would be able to use the solution if it was priced better. There are more people on this cloud because you don't have to have either a server room or an on-premise server. You can have one IT person handle this without any local infrastructure."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

Government

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	64

No data available

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...

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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...

See all answers

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 ...

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Comparisons

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 9% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

PDQ Deploy vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

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Kaseya VSA vs Pulseway

Compared 18% of the time

Zabbix vs Pulseway

Compared 16% of the time

Datto Remote Monitoring and Management vs Pulseway

Compared 13% of the time

Checkmk vs Pulseway

Compared 8% of the time

Icinga vs Pulseway

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Configuration Manager

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Download Pulseway product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM ), Microsoft SMS

No data available

Overview

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?

Software Deployment: Efficiently distribute software across large networks.
Patch Management: Automate and streamline update processes for security and functionality.
Automation Capabilities: Reduce manual effort and enhance consistency in IT tasks.
Centralized Management: Standardize OS deployments and application updates.
Integration with Microsoft Products: Seamless operation with existing Microsoft infrastructure.
Hardware and Software Inventory: Comprehensive tracking for assets and resources.
Compliance Reporting: Ensure compliance with internal and external standards.
Remote Control Functions: Enhance support and troubleshooting capabilities.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Microsoft Configuration Manager?

Decreased Manual Work: Automation reduces time spent on repetitive tasks.
Enhanced Security: Automated patch management keeps systems secure.
Consistent Configurations: Centralized updates ensure uniformity across systems.
Improved Integration: Seamless operation within Microsoft ecosystems boosts productivity.
Comprehensive Oversight: Detailed inventory and reporting tools aid in strategic planning.
Streamlined Support: Remote capabilities improve IT support and user satisfaction.

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

Pulseway is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform designed to help MSPs and IT teams manage modern IT networks, reduce downtime, and achieve efficiency through automation, while increasing end-user satisfaction.

Pulseway’s intuitive interface provides real-time actionable detailed information on servers, workstations, and network devices. Using Pulseway’s customizable alerts, you can quickly identify problems, communicate with users, and automatically resolve issues with built-in commands and scripts.

Some of Pulseway’s benefits and features include:

Comprehensive monitoring: Pulseway’s remote monitoring feature provides a complete view of your entire network. Gain visibility into operational data for workstations, servers, virtual machines, network devices, and more. If necessary, resolve issues directly from the same interface.

Remote access: Get a real-time view across your network, receive alerts, and remedy problems from anywhere with any mobile device using Pulseway’s full feature mobile app.

Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and design auto-remediation workflows, ensuring that critical patches are automatically applied.

Quick setup: Get your team up and running in minutes with Pulseway’s simplified deployment and auto-discovery engine. See all the IT endpoints and then rapidly mass deploy Pulseway with pre-configured built-in policies and out-of-the-box scripts.

Patch management: Pulseway automates the discovery and application of operating systems and third-party patches to ensure all your applications are kept up to date.

Reporting: Use custom or ready-made templates to create reports on system status and events. Reports can be sent manually or emailed automatically on schedule.

Backup and recovery: Protect your users’ data wherever it is stored and restore it to anywhere. Pulseway Cloud Backup’s intuitive interface enables you to easily schedule and deploy backups, recover data, and check up on backup status from both the Pulseway web application and the Pulseway mobile application. Quickly deploy backup agents.

Vulnerability scanning: Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner is easy to use and alerts for vulnerabilities in real time. With Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner, organizations can easily perform standard vulnerability scans that are regarded as international best practice.

Eliminate data loss: Prevent data loss and downtime from ransomware attacks with built-in detection and safeguards that allow for fast recovery after an attack.

Service ticket management: Pulseway’s complete help desk and ticketing solution allows you to respond quickly and professionally to user issues.

CRM: Get the information and resources you need to focus on your customers and increase opportunities.

Project management: Receive real-time project status with details on resource usage and tasks.

Finance and billing: Automatically create and post invoices imported from timesheets and expense reports.

Time tracking: Log precise information on time and expenses by company, project, tasks, and employees. Automatically record how much time is spent on a ticket for accurate billing.

Integrations: Integrate with leading solutions, including:

Pulseway PSA
ConnectWise Manage
Autotask
Zendesk
Slack
IT Glue
Kasepersky
Bitdefender
WarrantyMaster

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Dell, Canon, Siemens, Harvard University, Northwestern University

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Pulseway