SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor comparison

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

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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 Intune

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 6.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 2.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is 1.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	6.9%
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager	2.4%
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor	1.5%
Other	89.2%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble

Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24

Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license

The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.

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Alastair Brand

MD at Thembanet

Flexibility and reliability enable effective network monitoring with integrations and compliance reporting

The flexibility and reliability of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are particularly valuable. It allows for a significant amount of integrations, including with collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Telegram, as well as ServiceNow and Microsoft BI. The solution facilitates compliance reporting through an NCM module, effectively generating out-of-the-box reports on software vulnerabilities and outdated software versions. Additionally, the real-time change detection feature significantly reduces the time to resolve issues by allowing alerts to be tracked through to resolution. The use of templates helps in deploying configuration standards, preventing configuration errors.

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Akhil Reddy

Software Developer at NOESIS Portugal

Alerting has helped us detect server issues across our environment

The alert mechanism is the biggest advantage of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. The customizability of the alerting system is particularly valuable. Whatever devices are in the environment, whether EC2 servers or on-premises servers, all of them can be monitored using this service. I can easily find out what exactly is going wrong in the environment. The clear audit trail aids in troubleshooting and optimization. The tool is effective for detecting unauthorized changes across platforms.

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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

"It meets the basic security needs and management needs for most organizations."

"The solution’s most valuable feature is its ease of use."

"Its direct integration with all the other products that we have from Microsoft is valuable. We're using the E5 license, and we have a whole wealth of different products available. It just makes it easier to have everything from one provider."

"The biggest thing for us is enforcing logins only from devices that are managed by Intune."

"Its price is reasonable. It is a part of our M365 suite."

"Intune's integration with Defender and other security solutions is valuable because it offers a view into different security vulnerabilities and enables us to secure them more effectively."

"The biggest asset is the range of device management options available with Intune, whether it is a Windows device, a Linux device, a Mac device, or mobile devices."

"The ability to push applications on devices is valuable. You do not have to manually install applications one by one. If you like to use ten different applications, you do not have to manually go and download them one by one. Intune can compile a package for you, and then you can just push them from the admin center."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"It's a helpful tool and I really like it."

"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."

"Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network."

"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"

"SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager can be used for backing up network device configuration, which helps you be more secure because when you have a system failure, you can get the information back."

"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."

"Configuration pushing, upgrade capabilities, job backup, configuration backup, and real-time configuration change monitoring are highly beneficial features of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"Configuration refers to the specific settings and options that determine how a device or system behaves. It can include things, such as network settings, security settings, and other options that are specific to the device or system in question. One of the most valuable features of the solution was its ability to track and monitor changes to the configuration of devices on a network. This can be useful for troubleshooting and identifying potential issues. By keeping track of who made changes to the configuration and when it can be easier to determine the cause of any problems that may arise."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros

"The customizability of the alerting system is particularly valuable; whatever devices are in the environment, whether EC2 servers or on-premises servers, all of them can be monitored using this service."

"The product’s alert feature is good. We receive notifications whenever some failures occur in the configuration."

"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is a good-to-have solution for all customers who are under audit pressure, especially from regulatory authorities."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is version control. For example, if we began on the first of the month and we considered that as the configuration of the server, I could set that configuration as my baseline. On a daily basis, if there was the operations team that did, for example, server patching, the tool will maintain all levels of versions."

Cons

"It would be better if I could integrate it with my core group policy. I would like to have a group policy in my current environment, which has strict control, but those things are still missing. Although it has maximum compliance and security, it's not available on-premise."

"Areas for improvement in Intune include expanding support beyond Samsung devices to accommodate other Android manufacturers like Redmi and Motorola."

"The policies we had in SCCM and AD offered features that are missing from Microsoft Intune."

"I am not involved in the day-to-day with Intune, but we have gone with a different product for updating mobile device software. We do not integrate many of our mobile devices that are not Microsoft-based devices, such as Dell laptops, with Intune."

"There needs to be more support for Mac operating systems."

"There is always a noise when you are going to manage any endpoint devices, and noise is definitely there with this solution."

"There could be more wizard-driven policy development or creation. Some of the policies can get quite complex. If they have a wizard that assists the administrators in creating the policy, that will be a great job."

"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"Its customer service response could be faster."

"For each device, when you open the network performance monitor, it will give you all of the information about the device, but many of the natural configuration management features are not on that page."

"Improvements are needed in the automatic network mapping function."

"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."

"The interface of solar winds could be improved."

"The solution could improve by being more secure."

"When we run the SolarWinds NCM jobs at the cellular line, it runs in the morning. They're just not finishing. We're getting false processing."

"We had issues with the FailOver Engine module installation, due to the resources of each SolarWinds server."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons

"Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor."

"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."

"In a feature release, they could enhance the reporting. However, we have not evaluated this part of the solution extensively."

"The product’s support services and licensing models need improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."

"Microsoft Intune has been incorporated into our Microsoft E5 licenses."

"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."

"Cost is not my department, but the product is included in the E5 license that we already pay for every user, so no additional cost is incurred."

"I am satisfied with the pricing."

"The cost is somewhat on the higher side, particularly when considering certain price points, especially in markets like India."

"The price of Microsoft Intune is reasonable."

"As a partner, we always look for how we can generate more revenue from a consulting point of view, but I do not see any complaints from the customer side regarding pricing, so they are satisfied with it."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"With a minimal bundle, we pay about $3000 a year in licensing costs. If you have multiple devices in your network, you must buy the bundle, which is 100% identical for your infrastructure. If you have 15 devices, you need 15 licenses, for example. That's one bundle. You don't pay for anything over and above that."

"Available at a moderate price"

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."

"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

"I have a yearly subscription."

"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."

"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor has medium pricing compared to other solutions."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

University

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	124
Midsize Enterprise	53
Large Enterprise	167

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

No data available

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?

Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...

What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...

How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configu...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, featu...

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

NCM could benefit from enhanced automation capabilities — for instance, enabling workflow-based configuration automat...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?

In general, I think that licensing for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is acceptable, and the solution is qui...

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?

Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. The dashboard f...

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?

I work only with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. My major use case is the monitoring of environment servers ...

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Download SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report

Configuration Management

Download SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor product report

SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

SolarWinds NCM

SolarWinds SCM

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

Before you monitor your network, configure it! A reliable and secure network starts with carefully planned, executed, and monitored network configuration and change management. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) saves time and improves network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices from Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, Brocade, Aruba, Rukus, and more.

SolarWinds

Network compliance
Network automation
Configuration backup
Vulnerability assessment
Network Insight for Cisco and Palo Alto
Integration with Network Performance Monitor

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force

Information Not Available

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor