ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs. Symantec Client Management Suite

Patch management is a HUGE time saver. Simply being able to push patches out to devices without having to physically go around to each one save a ton of time. Inventory tracking has also helped us better manage equipment. We are all human and make mistakes, and this helps to eliminate or catch many of those mistakes. With ManageEngine Endpoint Central scans showing us who is using the device and what else is plugged into it, saves us from having to search for devices when they are being refreshed.

Incentivized

If you are looking for a client management suite to perform patch, software delivery, and inventory I think Symantec is great. I would recommend it without a doubt if it was in your budget. If you are a very small company and don't use these features to often then I think it would depend on your budget.

• It helps to facilitate the administration of a network of workstations and servers.
• The deployment of applications and updates is very easy to implement, and greatly facilitates keeping workstations and servers up to date.
• The commissioning of the solution is very simple, and with the help of the external gateway, it allows for the supervision of all equipment, as long as they have internet access.
• We can manage multiple mobile fleets, with user smartphones on one side and industrial smartphones with specific missions on the other. The possibility of applying a kiosk mode is not negligible.

Incentivized

• The best part is it provides you with the full view of your client life cycle of devices, along with the integration of other Symantec products like endpoint security.
• Creating an audit report and keeping it in a single dashboard is also easy. UI is simple.
• One of the best benefits of this tool is you can install it enterprise-wide along with onsite employees.
• Symantec is having great customer support.

Incentivized

• Better remote access, sometimes manage engine will not be running in services and I can't remote in.
• Pop-up when I'm trying to work, no I don't want to learn about a new feature while trying to solve an emergency.
• Hard to onboard a computer if it doesn't automatically go.

• CMS is quite clunky sometimes and the Silverlight interface is acceptable at best. Many improvements have been made in this area, particularly with performance, but the interface still needs a lot of work. When it becomes 100% HTML5 with proper compliance browser support I'll be happy!

Incentivized

Given these factors, organizations would individually assess their experience with Endpoint Central to determine its renewal likelihood. If you're considering renewal, it might be helpful to gather feedback from users within your organization, review performance metrics, and assess how well Endpoint Central aligns with your current and future endpoint management needs.

Incentivized

So far so good - no major issues with that technology.

Incentivized

The application itself is great. However, I have little insight to what the patches are doing. Being able to see patch download progress, not just the status, would be great. The user interface could also use an overhaul. The countless menus, sometimes containing similar if not duplicate tabs can be frustrating to navigate.

Incentivized

The immediate chat support is great and very helpful. However, if you need escalated support or have a deeper need that the chat tool can't help with, you will experience significant wait times and slow responses. The time zone difference becomes painful to the point of often just giving up.

Support at Symantec isn't that great. Client Management Suite isn't even listed on the Support Portal when trying to open a ticket. Your best bet for support is actually the user groups that Symantec hosts. The members of the groups are usually very responsive. With Broadcom buying Symantec, I've seen a huge jump in personnel leaving Symantec, so I'm assuming the support is just going to get worse. Recently for a simple question, I reached out to 5 people just to find out 4 of the 5 had left the company.

Incentivized

Kaseya's system of handling patch management was not as intuitive as Endpoint Central, however in some respects it was easier to set up. Kaseya VSA and ConnectWise are also more geared towards managed service providers that handle multiple organizations versus a single company's IT department, which Endpoint Central seems more designed for. Intune, while helpful for machine management, does not have the level of overall endpoint management and inventory management and is better used alongside another endpoint management tool

Incentivized

Currently, I can't take a position [on how Symantec compares] because when I took position at my job, Symantec Client Management Suite (CMS) was already implanted. We're currently looking to try Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager to see if it'd be a contender for CMS. The reason is that we have special support contract directly with Microsoft. So instead of managing multiple contracts, we would only have one. But for now, we're all set up with Symantec so it'd take something great from SCCM to make us switch from one to another.

Incentivized

• We have been able resolve and complete any requests which include things like software deployment or issues that include troubleshooting, much faster and more efficiently. This has had a sharp decrease in our response times and also time it takes to complete these requests or incidents.
• The mobile device management features have allowed us to be able to have a much tighter grip on security. This means we have dramtically decreased our device vulnerabilities and risk of data breaches. This has saved us lots of time and money.
• The remote features that are available have helped a lot with user's being able to work remotely and allow our organisation to sustain hybrid work. It means user's can still be as productive and IT support is as efficient no matter where the user is working.

• Better efficiency through image creation, deployment and EOL as single Hardware Independent Images can be created for a large number of devices and then all managed on the same pane of glass.
• Customer service is better because we can provide software across campus almost as fast as requested for one user or hundreds of users, all by a single technician without ever having to leave an office.

Incentivized