Microsoft System Center Suite is a family of IT management software for network monitoring, updating and patching, endpoint protection with anti-malware, data protection and backup, ITIL- structured IT service management, remote administration and more.
It is available in two editions: standard and datacenter. Datacenter provides unlimited virtualization for high density private clouds, while standard is for lightly or non-virtualized private cloud workloads.
$1,323
Nexthink
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Nexthink Workplace Experience is a cloud-native platform allowing IT teams to manage the Digital Employee Experience (DEX) by providing insights across devices, applications, users, operating systems, locations and organizational units.
We used a product before that was designed to prevent users making changes and saving files to the desktop computer. This required a renewal of the license. By using SCCM in our environment we were able to discontinue using that product because SCCM allows us to completely restore a machine back to the original configuration. We have taught our users to save their individual work on either a network drive or a cloud drive. By doing this, if we do a re-image of their machine they have lost no data, and it makes for a faster resolution. In some instances having a computer in our SCCM environment it can become cumbersome when creating new users for very specific purposes. It can be done by creating new organizational units and applying new policies but when in a pinch it can be frustrating. For the most part we have tried to make "new" purpose images and groups to at least accommodate a quick install.
I've been managing desktops for 20+ years and Nexthink was the missing tool out of my toolbox. Just to give some perspective, if you were building and maintaining a house, Nexthink would be comparable to switching up from a hammer and nails and to full blown using a nailgun. Nexthink is a solution accelerator and a well thought out toolset to give you the customer experience at a glance. It allows for so much more visibility just with the default set of data points the Collector (agent) gathers, which is A LOT, and grants you the ability to gather even more data with remote actions. All of this evidence cuts how the "it could possibly be this" and "maybe it's that" discussions when you're troubleshooting an issue. It may not provide the exact answer all the time, but it gives you a "compass point" on where you need to start looking to resolve the issue. Also the service monitoring, activity monitoring, and critical event thresholds really empower the teams to know when a problem is happening and they can get ahead of it before the first call even reaches the Help Desk. Nexthink is a cornerstone tool in our environment for end user experience and I'm excited to see where the go next.
Provides our users the ability to deploy and manage our own datacenter based on defined software with understandable solutions for storage, compute, networking and security.
We are able to update at once all the computers from all departments without having to install the OS on every computer.
It allows us to have everything in one place for database management and datacenter inspection as well.
Needs web based storefront for requesting new software
Needs ability to manage the packaging work flow better
Sometimes is slow to download and there is no indication the entire catalog is being loaded, resulting in confused users not being able to find common software in the available list.
Sometimes it's a bit of a task when we spot an issue and need to provide machine logs for Nexthink to investigate. I believe this isn't the case when you go and use Nexthink cloud.
I think the documentation can be improved. It can be very hard to follow and lacks detail.
No matter our issues with the software, its ability to centrally manage systems, patch, image, and remote help users has far exceeded our timeliness to help staff. Its ability to keep current, enable us to keep the network secure, and standardize our end-user experience has saved us many hours, dollars, and time every day.
If I had to dislike something about the system it would be how much it changes once you upgrade. This could be more of a problem of mine since I get used to one way and don't like it when it changes so much. I am enjoying the newest update, but it is a mess when you are actually going through the upgrades.
None. We are a Microsoft business, and this is THE tool for imaging, packaging, remote support, and antivirus management. Microsoft's tool is the best for managing its software, systems, and antivirus clients. I will say that Microsoft Intune, the cloud platform, can be used for those with heavy 365 usage, but for us, that does not meet our current company needs.
We have explored using other end-user experience management tools but Nexthink stood out to us as the best option. It is very easy to get started with Nexthink using their "Nexthink Learn" platform. From there the integration of the different product offerings was seamless. Nexthink provides a wide variety of library packs that come ready to use out the box, simply import them and start using them. The customisable dashboards have given our product and service owners more visibility than they've ever had before. The Nexthink community is one of the best I have been a part of, everyone is actively sharing ideas and promoting innovation. Nexthink regularly hosts user groups that bring their clients together to discuss use cases and the value they have generated using the tool. They are also very transparent with their roadmap and what they are working on, ensuring the focus is aligned to the needs of the customer.
We have been able to automate our patch management, firmware and other security concerns.
We have a standardized "image" ensuring our setup is consistent across the enterprise. This alone has saved us in time to support and time to understand how to use our desktops.
The biggest ROI has been how Nexthink has helped us is with regards to time. Due to Nexthink, we are able to find/resolve issues much faster due to the great detail that Nexthink shows regarding a device history.
Nexthink allows us to be proactive in our troubleshooting. This is a huge ROI, as it provides a summary of our users issues they are facing, and we can then prioritize our time with reaching out to the end users to solve issues before they become major problems for the end user later.
