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Microsoft System Center vs SolarWinds AppOptics comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

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 System Center
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
42nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (17th)
SolarWinds AppOptics
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
44th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (57th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (64th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Cloud Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds AppOptics is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft System Center0.8%
SolarWinds AppOptics1.1%
Other98.1%
Cloud Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Carl Palapal - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Sys. Server & Storage Egineer / Tech .Consultant at CANAR OFFICE SYSTEMS
Provides comprehensive system management with effective deployment and integration capabilities
The advantages of Microsoft System Center are significant, and I have seen other products as well. As far as advantages are concerned, they have PXE deployment, which is good for deploying operating systems, such as Windows client systems including Windows 10 and Windows 11. Since it is a Microsoft product, all the patches are proprietary, making it easier to deploy. In Microsoft System Center, all the features are integrated already, whereas in ManageEngine, you have to license each feature individually to access those features. The automated features of Virtual Machine Manager are very useful; it automates as long as the policy that I have created is in line with the objective, especially the templates when I'm going to deploy. Regarding endpoint management, Microsoft System Center is very helpful; it has integrated endpoint protection deployment, allowing me to handle endpoint configuration, system deployment, and patch deployment, making it an all-in-one stop shop for managing and configuring end clients. The impact of using Microsoft System Center is significant; it gives me a whole picture of my environment, making it easy to get inventory details regarding applications and hardware, providing full visibility of my setup within the organization.
John Yuko - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager ICT - Projects at I&M Bank Ltd
Unique features allow consolidating and combing metrics into a single dashboard, but don't monitor mobile solutions
I would like to see more granular information provided on Unix applications. Also, the integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward in terms having an agent to retrieve your credentials rather than having to enter or save them for SSH on SolarWinds. From the outset, we had to set some commands to log into the search console, and they are saved on the solution, which presents a challenge in terms of exposure. The solution is unable to monitor APK solutions completely because we'd then be forced to break down the APK and provide the APIs or go through the source code. They don't have a module that can analyze an application that is maybe under-used.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Many processes could be implemented out-of-the-box, and this helped to adopt processes in areas which we lacked."
"Management Packs for Microsoft-specific products, which help us implement the best practices for each product."
"This solution has helped us to have better visibility of what we have in our environment, the stages of access, and it allows me to see everything I need to better communicate with the business easily concerning the situations of our services."
"Good for managing and administering the infrastructure."
"If you're using only Microsoft products then this is a good solution because you're working in a unified environment."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"I like the automated features of it that let you schedule those updates and the ability of the product to focus on the specific updates, specific platforms, and products that we're interested in keeping up to date."
"It can generate KPIs and management reports with monthly presentations on activities and updating the environment (success and failure)."
"AppNeta provides a range of products, all based around intelligent network testing algorithms."
"I have found the most valuable feature is application performance management."
"Some of the most valuable features of SolarWinds are the topology discovery and network performance analysis."
"SolarWinds AppOptics does far more than what an individual may realize; it is not just a SIEM tool."
"The sum solution, NTA, and DPA."
"With minimal effort on our part, TraceView provides extraordinary visibility into the requests that flow through our SOA applications."
"Customer service is exceptional, as they are very much in tune with our service needs and are always in contact for both enhancement requests and overall satisfaction."
"Technical support is always live and they're supportive."
 

Cons

"Implementation and integration in the case of multi-tenant environments needs improvement."
"In Microsoft System Center, it is difficult to follow the steps to create dataflows at times."
"The disadvantage of Microsoft System Center is related to the many integrated services; if one service is failing, then all features will be affected."
"Less server consumption would help, as would better, more flexible reports."
"Installation is cumbersome and not much documentation available for best practices for installation."
"Something super important that we need is this integration via Intune Configuration Manager."
"We have, on occasion, experienced some crashes that have caused the application to break down."
"For me, the tool's UI seems to be too old."
"Because of its inability to monitor mobile solutions, I would rate this solution as a seven out of ten."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
"The integration with Unix services should be a bit more straightforward."
"I'd like to see the ability to use other internal instrumented applications as filters in the overview/aggregation screen."
"AppOptics would benefit from having a much more centralized view."
"The support is not too bad, but also not very good—it's quite standard."
"I would like to see more integration with other tools that are available on the market."
"We had a stability issue with a portion of the installation (Sequencer) when it was first introduced and have chosen not to install that specific function."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We maximized our license investment."
"I rate the product price as five to six on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is cheap and ten means it is expensive."
"It's rolled into our enterprise subscription. The entire subscription is around $25,000 a year, however, that covers all the products that we use."
"Microsoft System Center is quite expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"Microsoft System Center's licensing is costly."
"I know that sometimes there is some reduction in the prices of Microsoft System Center because of the costs of Microsoft SQL Server, which can be advantageous."
"Mostly, it's a perpetual license. We don't have any customers using the subscription right now—it's mostly a perpetual license that the customers purchase. The licensing is based on the number of elements, whereas other solutions are node-based."
"I believe the current licensing cost is reasonable."
"Since it's a negotiable rate, I would rate the pricing as a five out of five."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft System Center?
The disadvantage of Microsoft System Center is related to the many integrated services; if one service is failing, then all features will be affected. For example, with site configuration, when one...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft System Center?
I am using Microsoft System Center. I use Microsoft System Center for patch deployment and application deployment.
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft System Center?
The connection is not very stable. I rate Microsoft System Center a nine out of ten.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

MS System Center
AppOptics, SolarWinds TraceView, Librato
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Kassen_rztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein, Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Adeka, QualCare, Aeriandi, UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar, Allianz Australia Ltd., Grupo Familia
TraxoCovea Insurance BTE TechnologyDatarista
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center vs. SolarWinds AppOptics and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
919,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.