| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| aval |
Posted - 08/06/2010 : 4:55:25 PM
What about pricing? One review had it for 6400 pounds
http://www.itpro.co.uk/617038/kace-networks-kbox-1100-review
which seems like a lot.
I'd have just under 200 nodes to manage.
How does it compare to SMS/SCCM, concerning price and functionality?
Dell site claims its something like 70% cheaper. But it wouldn't give me exact pricing - or the means to price.
I imagine I'll be getting a call from a Dell rep though, having filled out the required information for no immediate answer. |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| joe_elway |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 2:50:22 PM
Folks who are using it day-day will always know more about ConfigMgr than me (I'm in tech sales these days) but I LOVE IT. 2012 is doing some very cool things. The integration with Endpoint Protection (real money saver for those with desktop core/e cals) is sweet. Reporting is based on SQL RS so is very extensible. The AppCatalog is a KILLER feature IMO - I wish I had it back years ago because it makes both the user and the helpdesk's job easier. Software Updates is much nicer - I'd actually consider it instead of WSUS now. OS Deployment with MDT 2012 continues to rock. Administration has gotten simpler for newbies - oldies will find it a struggle to find where things have moved - I have! For the big corporations, the site hierarchy has also been greatly simplified.
I'm actually doing my first production deployment of it now (licensing available since April 2). It's going like a dream so far. |
| JSCLMEDAVE |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 2:34:00 PM
I would also give SCCM 2012 a good look. I am sure Aidan can fill you in on anything and everything about it.
With the right configuration SCCM will run like a dream... |
| JSCLMEDAVE |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 2:18:53 PM
quote:
Originally posted by overmann
Hi, my company is "Being sold" on Dell KACE. We have SCCM now. We have 65 locations in the US and Canada. All networked via WAN. We have over 5500 PCs and another 400 servers. We also outsource to Dell for our server support for the most part. The Dell SCCM guy has never gotten any reporting or patching to work properly and they are telling us that if we spend $145,000 on KACE, all our problems will go away. That is just for the hardware and to set it up. My fear is that we want a lot of reporting out of kace. For instance we need to see serial #s for software by site and by user. I do not think this is even possible without a LOT of custom reporting and third party software. Can anyone comment as to if this product will truly make all our problems go away? Will it even be a good fit for our setup?
Help! Is the Dell machine going to run us over again?
I worked for a BIG BLUE company as an SCCM/SCOM Tech. We were always having issues with our clients mostly due to bad configurations. We received little support from OUR MGT and we found that our company was actively using every little issue to push their MGT Application...
Just something to consider. |
| lacrosseboy |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 2:08:49 PM
I use KACE both the management (K1000) and the deployment (K2000) devices. Overall, the devices have been pretty good.
Support have been all over the map. First level has been fine, second level, it has been a problem especially with patching and basically blame our network and not their devices even though I have found specific software "bugs" with the system which they have fixed with later releases.
As I posted last year, we can't complain based on the software or devices we had before. My general feeling is this is not for larger organizations but a good fit for small to medium size companies.
Reporting is the amount of time you want to spend on designing/writing reports and how good the information that you collect.
I would buy the appliance. |
| overmann |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 10:52:59 AM
Hi, my company is "Being sold" on Dell KACE. We have SCCM now. We have 65 locations in the US and Canada. All networked via WAN. We have over 5500 PCs and another 400 servers. We also outsource to Dell for our server support for the most part. The Dell SCCM guy has never gotten any reporting or patching to work properly and they are telling us that if we spend $145,000 on KACE, all our problems will go away. That is just for the hardware and to set it up. My fear is that we want a lot of reporting out of kace. For instance we need to see serial #s for software by site and by user. I do not think this is even possible without a LOT of custom reporting and third party software. Can anyone comment as to if this product will truly make all our problems go away? Will it even be a good fit for our setup?
Help! Is the Dell machine going to run us over again? |
| lacrosseboy |
Posted - 09/13/2010 : 07:23:17 AM
We have both KACE 1000 and 2000 boxes here and like them for the most part. Here are the things that bug me:
1) Patching - at this point, they only release the Microsoft patches they want to release. Example, the group policy extension patches for XP were not release. This really, really bugged me. I complained and they added them. I quickly added a WSUS server to do Microsoft patching and KACE to do all other patching. Patching could be better.
2) Deployment with 2000 boxes needs work. It's getting better but I have had mixed results. Support could be better.
3) I find the scripting stuff confusing and doesn't work all the time correctly or you need to have elevated privileges to make it work. This has been a problem with the "locked" call center computers.
4) Back to patching, diagnoses patching failures can the a challenge but then I find the same issues with WSUS. Patching sucks!
The good stuff, Help Desk work good and the reporting is acceptable and gotten better. Inventory of the computers is complete and useful. Macintosh support is strong and better than most Windows/Mac products I have found anywhere. iPhone support is great to have but we are only managing a very small number of iPhones.
Our total cost was $43,000 USD for both boxes, support, training and other fun stuff. We added asset management after the fact and this has taken time to setup.
Aval, contact me offline for additional info. |
| mikepiet |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 01:21:57 AM
Can someone ban this "deskcenter" account!?!?! It looks like he is deleting then recreating the same post every other day just to keep it at the top of the list.
Thanks,
Michael |
| Deskcenter |
Posted - 09/08/2010 : 11:15:55 AM
If you are in the market for an IT Mgmt tool you may also look at the Deskcenter Management suite, an all inclusive tools set of 19 applications which sells for 200 nodes for around $ 10k with helpdesk, and $ 9k without. This Tool is a full featured IT megmt tool (no slice and dice), has a small footprint, installs in hours, is agentless, and very cost effective. With today's budgetary limitations, as well as legal and complience issues, all businesses must protect themselves, especially in the SMB market, and tools of this nature are a must.
I wish you good luck in your deliberations, regards, hans |
| aval |
Posted - 08/12/2010 : 10:26:02 AM
BTW, concerning the KACE KBOX, the rep told me it was $12000 for the 1000 series box (EDU pricing) and $7000 for the 2000 series box (apparently they perform different tasks?) but I could get both for just over $15500.
After he said $12000 (EDU price) I knew it was not for us.
But I suppose it would be cheaper than hiring a second admin to help out with the updates? |
| mikepiet |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 11:43:42 AM
It has no ability to work with WSUS. The company did just release the PDQ Deploy product which has more advanced software deployment tools which can be used for deploying things like patches and SP's.
But you should download the eval and give it a shot.
Regards,
Michael |
| aval |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 10:12:56 AM
Miguel,
How does Admin Arsenal interact with something like WSUS?
Does it work along side it?
Does it replace it?
Also, just glancing at the site, I see the price tag is $499. That's not bad. License per administrator? Well, there's only one here, so... $499. |
| JSCLMEDAVE |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 10:08:40 AM
Yeah the reporting was huge for a couple clients. Why pay this high price tag when you cannot custom reports for what YOU need for YOUR shop... That may change in the future, not sure... |
| aval |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 10:05:20 AM
Looks like SCCM might have an advantage over SCE:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/systemcenter/thread/7dda2d80-6079-4ec7-b013-9f522e7afbba
But I imagine that is reflected in the price? |
| mikepiet |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 09:33:19 AM
I'm a big "no agent\client" guy so System Center Essentials was a no for me.
Admin Arsenal does everything for me that I need with running about 250 machines.
Michael |
| JSCLMEDAVE |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 09:04:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by aval
Also - 1 domain so SCE OK in this respect.
Look hard at both... If you are in a shop that loves nice looking reports then I would make sure they both can provide what you want. Also being able to push updates for 3rd party products and imaging.
This is one of those where the right answer really depends on what you want out of the product. |
| aval |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 08:56:33 AM
Also - 1 domain so SCE OK in this respect. |
| aval |
Posted - 08/09/2010 : 08:54:46 AM
OK, so you think SCCM might be the better option?
I see there is also "SCE".
As I said, we have under 200 nodes to manage (actually just under 180 if you don't count the Macs).
We currently use WSUS which is fine for MS updates but nothing else, i.e. Flash, Java, Quicktime.
Googling around, it looks like SCE does not do OS deployment but we could use Ghost or possibly WDS for that.
I'll call for pricing on both but if anyone could tell me (roughly) what they are paying, that would be helpful (let me know if I'm getting a good deal). |
| mikepiet |
Posted - 08/08/2010 : 10:01:04 PM
Hi Tim,
Apologies if my post was confusing. To clarify, I've been using the Admin Arsenal product for over four years now.
I looked at the KACE product and just wasn't that impressed.
Michael |
| JSCLMEDAVE |
Posted - 08/08/2010 : 07:49:07 AM
Michael,,, you have been using KACE or Admin Arsenal..? Just wanted to clarify.
Also, how many nodes is your shop? < 200 ? Just curious... |
| mikepiet |
Posted - 08/08/2010 : 01:21:33 AM
The guys trying to sell KACE are quite comical. They are claiming companies across the world are spending 100K plus in order to save money. I don't really buy it. I liked some aspects of the product but some aspects I didn't...web based, uses a client, runs only in VMware if you don't buy their appliance.
What are you looking for out of a product. I've been using this product for over four years now and love it. It's agentless and does a great job of doing everything I need. I just used it to remove all our Adobe Reader installs from machines and install an alternate reader.
http://www.adminarsenal.com/admin-arsenal/main
But you might also want to look at SpiceWorks, its free. GoverLan is a cool product but uses an agent.
You might also want to look at MS's System Center Essentials. It's basically SCCM for small business.
Good luck!
Regards,
Michael |
