BMC Helix ITSM replaces Remedy. It is a broad suite of ITSM, tools with strong integrations to other BMC tools and in-built ITAM. The product is used mainly by global brands and is offered in on-premise and SaaS configurations.
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KACE Systems Management Appliance
Score 10.0 out of 10
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Quest now offers the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) as an IT Asset tracking and management appliance (also available as a virtual deployment if hardware requirements are met). Beyond discovery, inventory tracking and license management, KACE emphasizes automating software upgrade distribution with minimal end-user disruption, featuring remote replication for multi-site upgrades and rollouts. KACE SMA may be bundled with KACE Cloud Mobile Device Management (MDM) to form a complete UEM…
BMC is the obvious choice for medium—to large companies. With all the functionality included, most of it will be used by more prominent companies. The cost vs. use makes sense for them. For smaller companies, the high cost of license implementation and running costs usually make BMC too expensive. Having a light version for them could increase BMC's market share.
I think it has added value for any organization. It reduced our Tech Support cost by: -Supporting users anywhere -Reducing users downtime as well keep them informed with the status of their tickets -Managing software and hardware actively -Processing automation -deploy mass software installs, patching or updates - Provide approved software's to users to install without IT help
Remedy is great for housing much of the ITIL process in one System: if you want a complete package with every bell and every whistle, Remedy is for you
Remedy breaks down the functions of ITIL into "consoles": separate areas of the System, that allow one to focus on Changes, Incidents, Assets, etc
The interface is VERY compatible with legacy web browser tech: The last surviving member of the browser wars is still the favorite for remedy users: IE 11
Helpdesk ticketing, the software allows not only the building of a portal that the users can log into to submit the tickets, but it also allows them to generate a ticket via email, which is a huge successful implementation that we have had.
Live inventory tracking. With an agent installed on a PC, as long as we maintain the data, it can report back information that is crucial to the machine.
Web portal makes for easy maintenance and implementation of the software and updates.
Administrative interface can be slow at times, and does require some decent PC specifications to run adequately.
The cost of the KACE solution can be very expensive depending on how many agents you plan to deploy
There is a learning curve in order to master KACE's capabilities - however Quest does provide lots of resources to dig into. It is not as intuitive as it could be.
At least Remedy is all contained in a single platform, so the interface is consistent. Also, the most heavily performed functions are generally usable. However, to use some of the more advanced modules can be a bit more cumbersome (such as Change Management and CMDB (Not Including ADDM)). So, overall BMC Remedy ITSM is better than some applications like CA SDM or HP SM, but not quite on par with ServiceNow.
Overall, the software is simple to understand and use. That said, most vendors have been slowly updating their user interfaces to HTML5 so that they have a clean updated look and feel. This is where KACE falls short in that the UI is great for a packaged software 10 years ago. This isn't a major limitation as the software is really meant primarily for technology users.
Their tech support is top notch. They respond and get back to us, even on lower level incidents and issues, very quickly. It is rare that we deal with a support technician who does not know what they are doing.
KACE does exactly what you need it to do, it maintains your computer environment. You can set patch schedules, inventory computers, setup software catalogs; basically everything you need to ensure the computers on your network are being actively managed. This is all with little need for constant configuration or updating the setup.
the trainers dont have so much practical experiences. its mostly follow up and reading existing documentation withou own input. of course experiences people are on shore or have no free time. sad truth
As I mentioned, as an MSP we are exposed to most ITSM products on the marketplace. On completeness of offering, we find BMC ahead of the rest. The only other comparable product is ServiceNow, and functionality is neck and neck with BMC ahead in ITOM, and with ServiceNow pricing is premium for the branding and marketing
For our size organization, KACE offered a more complete solution that was easier to understand and deploy when compared to Ivanti. It was also more affordable to get the features we wanted. Ivanti might be more appropriate in a larger environment. You would definitely need someone that was primarily dedicated to run behind Ivanti.
The time savings on Windows patching through the KACE SMA alone has helped us in saving hundreds of technician hours.
Ticket tracking through the KACE SMA has reduced the amount of calls to our helpdesk asking about the status of a ticket.
The tracking of licensed software through the KACE SMA has kept us in compliance and saved time from having to run around and look to see where the software is installed.
