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Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Qualys Patch Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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

Microsoft Configuration Man...
Ranking in Patch Management
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (6th), Configuration Management (4th)
Qualys Patch Management
Ranking in Patch Management
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Patch Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 14.8%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys Patch Management is 4.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Patch Management
 

Featured Reviews

MikeNelson2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements
While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.
Revathi VeeraRaghavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a centralized platform for managing assets and vulnerabilities, enabling assessment, prioritization, and remediation
Qualys Patch Management system requires several improvements. Firstly, the inability to download asset patches and the lack of third-party application integration limit patch accessibility. Additionally, rollback options are unreliable, and pre-deployment patch testing is crucial. Reporting needs enhancement, particularly with group-based compliance percentages and clearer, VMDR-like reporting in the Patch Management module. Furthermore, detection speed should be improved, as patches are released 24 hours after QIDs are published. The user interface could be more functional, with dashboards for patch compliance visualization and simplified error code language. Finally, the Mac patch catalogue needs expansion, and automated workflows, policy enforcement, and testing procedures should be streamlined for seamless, user-independent operation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main, clear valuable feature is updating the latest, patches and updates from Windows. This is the main feature we really utilize a lot."
"It is easy to install, and quick to deploy."
"The solution is stable."
"It saves a lot of money when you can install things automatically and they are installed the exact same way on every computer."
"I like its ease of use. It does what you need it to do, and it's a one-stop-shop for the company and for all your deployments. If you incorporate Intune into it, you can have both. You can bring your own devices and corporate devices, and everything runs out of SCCM and Intune."
"The tool's most valuable features are easy patch management and software deployment."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ability to deploy patches to nearly all applications."
"The most valuable feature of SCCM is the application distribution."
"Qualys Patch Management is beneficial for addressing critical vulnerability alerts quickly, providing significant improvements in mitigating risk within our organization."
"We can update the registry with special features such as Registry Update. We can also run scripts via the Patch Management module. These features are very helpful in our operations."
"Patch Management supports various software lists when compared to Microsoft Intune. It is especially beneficial for non-Microsoft applications. I can create a schedule, and various patches can be automatically deployed."
"Qualys Patch Management offers valuable features like scheduling and on-demand patching, allowing us to conveniently push patches to our servers at designated times."
"Patch Management, if configured correctly, works effectively without requiring further action."
"Qualys Patch Management streamlines our vulnerability management process by providing a single source of truth to assess, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities across all assets."
"Qualys allows us to automate and fix patches through the tool, achieving a compliance rate of over 95%."
"The most valuable features of Qualys Patch Management include its ability to automate patch deployment for hundreds or thousands of assets, reducing our reliance on the IT team to perform these tasks manually."
 

Cons

"I currently need to increase my compliance level in the patching processes which this solution could improve on."
"I would like to see more automation."
"It does seem a bit buggy from time to time."
"SCCM should strive to enhance the accuracy of its reporting functions in order to avoid any issues with incorrect or inaccurate data."
"Troubleshooting in general needs improvement. There's just a ton of logs to go through, and so finding the error log that corresponds with that you're doing can sometimes be difficult."
"On some hardware, we'd like an easier way to get peripherals attached."
"The TSM component could be improved."
"It needs to be able to load faster during deployment."
"Not all patches are supported, so there are some restrictions. Some remediations require script-level changes which Qualys does not support."
"The patch status and patch completion information should be improved."
"There is room for improvement in the inclusion of more patches. Not all patches are available on Qualys, so they need to get licenses for other patches as well."
"In our environment, the application sometimes crashes, requiring improvement."
"Qualys Patch Management would benefit from enhanced integration to address its current limitations in patching new features."
"There is room for improvement in the detection logic. It sometimes detects open vulnerabilities that are not truly there, such as orphan files that are not really exploitable. It would be helpful if they were classified as information-only rather than Sev 4 or Sev 5."
"There is room for improvement in terms of adding more patches. Not all patches are available for deployment on Qualys Patch Management, so collaborating with various vendors to provide new patches would be beneficial."
"There are certain integration parts that could be improved. Sometimes, legacy operating systems are not supported by Qualys Patch Management, which is an issue."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."
"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."
"The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."
"SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free."
"Its licensing is quite complicated because we are getting the license not only for SCCM but for the full Microsoft package. We don't need to pay for a separate license. We need to have one license that includes everything we need, such as Windows, Microsoft 365, SCCM, encryption, and so on. So, we don't have a specific price for it. Perhaps, it is good that it includes the full suite of licensing of Microsoft. It is expensive, but we are getting a lot of features."
"I rate the price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager an eight out of ten."
"The price is competitive and reasonable."
"Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose."
"Qualys Patch Management's pricing could be more competitive, as it presents a significant obstacle for many companies who find it unaffordable."
"Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us."
"Pricing is on the higher side. We found it costly compared to other vendors."
"While the cost of Qualys Patch Management is slightly high compared to alternative tools, it is not excessively expensive."
"Qualys Patch Management's pricing is competitive."
"Qualys Patch Management offers a moderate price point, neither cheap nor expensive, considering its comprehensive functionality."
"The licensing cost is more than 2,000 for the whole Americas region"
"It is affordable, but they should provide features as per the rate they are charging. We have a big infrastructure with about 80,000 licenses. We expect better support from the Qualys team. So, it is affordable, but more features should be there, and the support should be better."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 Qualys Patch Management?
Qualys Patch Management comes as part of a bundled package with several modules, making it a cost-effective deal for us. I cannot speak to the separate cost, as we have always used it as part of th...
What needs improvement with Qualys Patch Management?
I deploy patches to endpoints and servers every month. However, despite a job showing as successful, I need to examine the job in detail. For instance, if I have deployed patches to 100 endpoints, ...
What is your primary use case for Qualys Patch Management?
I use Qualys Patch Management as a single platform for patch management. We have Microsoft, Adobe, and various other apps. I create a scheduled task to push all the required patches to the laptops ...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
No data available
 

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
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