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Microsoft System Center Service Manager vs. VMware vCenter

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft System Center Service Manager

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft System Center Service Manager is an integrated platform that is designed for automating and adapting IT Service Management best practices to an organization’s requirements. The platform includes built-in processes for incident and problem resolution, change control and asset lifecycle management.N/A

    VMware vCenter

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AVMware vCenter is an advanced server management software that provides a centralized platform for controlling vSphere environments for visibility across hybrid clouds. VMware vCenter is no longer sold as a standalone product and is now available as a part of VMware Cloud Foundation.

    $6,044

    per year

    Pricing
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Basic
    6,044
    per year
    Production
    6,244
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    18 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    18 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Incident and problem management
    Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Microsoft System Center Service Manager and VMware vCenter
    Feature
    Microsoft System Center Service Manager
    7.8
    7 Ratings
    4% below category average
    VMware vCenter
    -
    Ratings
    Organize and prioritize service tickets8.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expert directory7.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Service restoration7.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service tools8.75 Ratings00 Ratings
    Subscription-based notifications7.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    ITSM collaboration and documentation9.76 Ratings00 Ratings
    ITSM reports and dashboards7.16 Ratings00 Ratings
    ITSM asset management
    Comparison of ITSM asset management features of Microsoft System Center Service Manager and VMware vCenter
    Feature
    Microsoft System Center Service Manager
    8.2
    7 Ratings
    0% below category average
    VMware vCenter
    -
    Ratings
    Configuration mangement9.86 Ratings00 Ratings
    Asset management dashboard8.77 Ratings00 Ratings
    Policy and contract enforcement6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Change management
    Comparison of Change management features of Microsoft System Center Service Manager and VMware vCenter
    Feature
    Microsoft System Center Service Manager
    6.7
    6 Ratings
    22% below category average
    VMware vCenter
    -
    Ratings
    Change requests repository6.16 Ratings00 Ratings
    Change calendar6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Service-level management8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
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    Agiloft Service Desk (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    cPanel
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
    Score9.2 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Ivanti Neurons for ITSM
    Score4.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (7 ratings)
    8.4
    (54 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.7
    (6 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft System Center Service ManagerVMware vCenter
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    I think any organization that runs windows on their computers that is size over 50 workstations and looking for a complete package to manage their windows machines must have Microsoft System Center Service Manager, especially if they have Windows servers and VMs. The capability of managing multiple devices at ones can save a lot of time for the IT jobs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    The VMware vCenter server is very useful in maintaining the CPU/RAM/datastore resources are balanced when there are multiple ESX/ESXi host servers. It is clear what resources are being used, and it is easy to migrate VMs to different ESX/ESXi hosts. Being able to remotely connect to the VM servers in vCenter when you cannot have other remote connections helps in maintenance and troubleshooting.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • This tool is used to track support requests among our IT staff.
    • We use this tool to automate some more routine tasks.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    • VSAN storage management and redundancy - high performance IO with built in fault tolerance across the cluster, not reliant on a single hardware item
    • VM fault tolerance. The ability to relocate a running VM and restart VMs from failed or isolated nodes
    • Resource management and alerting. Tracking load across physical systems and allowing us to rebalance for better utilisation
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Kind of clunky.
    • Takes a lot a lot a lot of configuration.
    • There is a lot of jargon to learn to be able to use it to its full ability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    • Currently, the HTML 5-based vSphere Client lets you manage the essential functions of vSphere from any browser, however, it would be nice if they would port all management functions over to the HTML 5-based Client.
    • Performing updates and upgrades to the infrastructure is a bit challenging for someone that may not be as intimate with vSphere. I think the updates/upgrades should be more integrated into the UI and provide the ability to push to the hosts, etc...
    • It would also be nice to have a more robust snapshot management tool to prevent snapshot overgrowth. It would be nice to be able to set a lifespan for the snapshot(s)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    We are very dependent on this software, it has become a much needed tool to perform the daily tasks that are required to maintain the virtual server environment. VMware has become very pricey over the years, so we are looking for alternatives for cost savings strategy, but nothing has been found to be on par to what we are currently using
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    I work with vCenter for 10+ years and i love it. I can find my way around and can help building and expanding the platform. It is easy to use and there are a lot good communities for the extra support when needed. Even the Homelab community is of great value.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    The customer support service is excellent. They help from start/deployment through to any time later on. They responded quickly and resolved our issues professionally and in no time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    VMware support has always been fantastic and they have been invaluable in solving tougher issues that have been run into. Most of the time, any oddities encountered are fixed by available updates. This can be deduced by support quickly with logs within vCenter. We have not run into something yet that support was unable to help with. They either have a solution already, or they are able to find one quickly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    Since moving away from the Windows Server hosting the vCenter application and instead using a virtual appliance, it has become much easier to implement and deploy the new versions. We can easily create a snapshot or clone of the vCenter vApp to ensure any problems encountered during the upgrade can be mitigated with a fall back to the old version to prevent unscheduled downtime.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    We selected MCSM because it is a solid product that we could use very quickly, compared to other tools there is a lot more effort for integration into the infrastructure, costing time and money. We implemented the tool very quickly and since it integrates with other Microsoft products, it was very easy to get up and running.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    Citrix Xen Server.... Great Hypervisor but very limited in terms of functionality
    MS Hyper-V... [VMware vCenter Server] is better for almost everything and appliance form makes a clear winner for security and ease of deployment
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Save a world of time when imaging
    • Save a world of time with patch management
    • Provides decent reports to get a snapshot quickly
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VMware by Broadcom
    • The positive impact of vcenter is definitely felt in larger organisations in terms of being able to manage multiple servers all in one environment
    • It will decrease the amount of time your server engineers will have to spend in the server room or datacenter.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots