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Microsoft System Center vs Windows Server AppFabric comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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 System Center
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Monitoring Software (29th)
Windows Server AppFabric
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center is 2.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 2.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Windows Server AppFabric2.7%
Microsoft System Center2.5%
Other94.8%
Application Infrastructure
 

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.
DN
Senior System Administrator at Kentainers
Improved on-premise performance has supported faster, secure apps and clearer server monitoring
One thing I appreciate most about Windows Server AppFabric is because it's widely used; it's easier to get solutions online from other communities when I am stuck. Because it is widely used, it's easier to get solutions and also easier to work with. Especially after I found 2019, I have worked with 2019 and I appreciate it. It's easier to get solutions. After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed. The functionality and speed are good. Earlier, when they added more people, I could see some lagging. But now, I have no issue even if I double the users, even if I add 30% of users or any applications, it will still be fast. It increased the speed and also security. I've noticed the new one I have is good and secure. I love the security. The monitoring capabilities of Windows Server AppFabric help me improve service visibility and troubleshooting. In a day, I have to go through a lot of the logs and also the utilization. There, I see the CPU. I have to do the utilization, and I can see what is utilizing the most. By doing this, I can be able to tell what, in case I need to do an upgrade, what I might need to provide the upgrade or maybe increase in users that will not affect the operations.

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."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the ease of configuration and the easy discovery of the environment."
"System Center 2012 SP1 is one hell of infrastructure management suite."
"I like the operation perspective that enables our team to carry out actions quickly."
"We like Microsoft System Center's Operations Manager. That is primarily why we use it."
"The availability performance matrix and the reporting capabilities are the solution's most valuable features."
"Good for managing and administering the infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft System Center is its GUI (graphical user interface)."
"After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed."
"This product works great for us and it's unfortunate that they're not going to support it anymore."
"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."
"It is very usable and easy to understand, and antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now, allowing my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."
"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."
"The product's deployment phase was very easy."
 

Cons

"System Center hasn't updated to keep up with the industry. It needs improvements in the user interface, ease of use, and overall product functionality, particularly the cloud-monitoring features. It needs more capabilities to monitor AWS and Azure infrastructure."
"Installation is cumbersome and not much documentation available for best practices for installation."
"I wouldn't describe the solution as scalable. That's not necessarily why you would use it."
"The platform's performance could be improved. Additionally, its UI needs to be well-upgraded and work faster."
"The most difficult area we faced was the requirement of having one central system center that deployed in one domain, capable of managing and controlling the end user devices."
"The problem is that when we do contact them they don't have a ready solution."
"We have, on occasion, experienced some crashes that have caused the application to break down."
"They should have some customized solutions or internal development, then maybe it could be easier to use different solutions or some self-developed solution."
"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."
"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."
"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."
"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft System Center is quite expensive."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We maximized our license investment."
"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."
"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."
"The product is affordable, in my opinion."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise10
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server AppFabric?
I am overall satisfied with the licensing cost of Windows Server AppFabric. It's a reasonable price because I run multiple servers, so we bought the bulk one. I can say the price was fair.
What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?
I do not utilize Windows Server AppFabric's workflow management for now because that's a project that we might be looking at in the coming year, in the first or second quarter.
What is your primary use case for Windows Server AppFabric?
All of our major applications are on-premise, so I think 90% of my software used by the employees is on-premise. We have the telephony, we have the ERP, we have some mobile apps. We run a mobile ap...
 

Also Known As

MS System Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Kassen_rztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein, Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Adeka, QualCare, Aeriandi, UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar, Allianz Australia Ltd., Grupo Familia
OSIsoft
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center vs. Windows Server AppFabric and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.