--- title: "Microsoft System Center Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Microsoft System Center Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other ITSM products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/70929/System-Center/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-11-08" --- # Microsoft System Center Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on November 8, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Microsoft System Center ## What is Microsoft System Center? Data center management solution that monitors enterprise network resources through a centralized dashboard. ## What is Microsoft System Center used for? [IT Management](https://www.capterra.com/it-management-software/)[Data Center Management](https://www.capterra.com/data-center-management-software/)[Patch Management](https://www.capterra.com/patch-management-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 93 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 86% Neutral 12% Negative 2% Starting price $3607 Per User, Per Month Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Microsoft System Center?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-system-center/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Microsoft System Center 4.4 (93) VS. [4.6 (1,917)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170018/ManageEngine-Desktop-Central/reviews/) Starting Price $3607 Other Starting Price $104 Flat Rate, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 3.6 (93) Ease Of Use 4.5 (1,916) Value For Money 4.1 (73) Value For Money 4.5 (1,760) Customer Service 4.0 (71) Customer Service 4.5 (1,758) ## Microsoft System Center alternatives Highest Rated [4.9 (239)](https://www.capterra.com/p/180609/Action1-RMM/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 99% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.2 (253)](https://www.capterra.com/p/13803/N-central/reviews/) Starting price $1.75 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 85% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.5 (805)](https://www.capterra.com/p/132997/Freshservice/reviews/) Starting price $19.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 95% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.5 (461)](https://www.capterra.com/p/144309/Atera/reviews/) Starting price $129.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 93% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/70929/System-Center/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Microsoft System Center Overview ### What problems does System Center solve? System Center solves fragmented endpoint administration by centralizing device inventory, operating-system imaging, application delivery, patch scheduling, and compliance reporting. IT administrators, help desk teams, and enterprise infrastructure teams use it to deploy configured laptops, manage updates across servers and PCs, support remote users, and identify asset and licensing status without visiting each device. Answer based on 58 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from System Center? System Center is most used by systems administrators, systems engineers, and infrastructure managers who monitor servers, deploy updates, manage endpoints, and maintain on-premise and cloud environments. Network support teams use it to track device health and resolve incidents, while IT directors and project managers oversee service operations, compliance, and infrastructure planning. Answer based on 91 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is System Center built for? System Center is designed for businesses of all sizes, with enterprise organizations representing 54% of reviewers and Information Technology and Services accounting for 19%. It also serves small businesses (24%) and midsize companies (22%), particularly in Banking (12%) and Higher Education (9%), for IT management. Answer based on 93 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of System Center? System Center includes core endpoint management features such as operating system imaging, software deployment, patch management, and hardware and software inventory. Differentiating capabilities include network and server monitoring with alerts, remote access/control, compliance reporting, and a self-service portal for user-requested software installation. Answer based on 35 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does System Center integrate with? System Center integrates with Microsoft Azure for connecting on-premises infrastructure management with Azure services. This integration supports hybrid IT environments, allowing organizations to coordinate monitoring, configuration, virtualization, and operations across local systems and Microsoft’s cloud platform. Answer based on 11 reviews Getting Started and Support ### How easy is it to onboard and train a team on System Center? System Center takes time and technical expertise to onboard, particularly for administrators handling deployment, configuration, and ongoing maintenance. Documentation is available, and experienced systems administrators can build familiarity across suite components over time. Reviewers report that beginners and nontechnical users need more structured training, while skilled IT teams still face a steep initial learning curve. Answer based on 20 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does System Center offer? System Center provides Email/Help Desk, FAQ/Forum, Knowledge Base, 24/7 Live Rep, and Chat support. Users often rely on the knowledge base and forum for self-service, while live help can be useful, though some describe Microsoft support as slow and documentation as limited, making self-guided troubleshooting more common. Answer based on 6 reviews Security ### How does System Center handle data security and access control? System Center uses endpoint protection, security patch deployment, software updates, and compliance monitoring to help keep managed devices current and secure. It supports role-based access distinctions, delegated permissions, Active Directory integration, logs, and security enforcement. Reviewers also cite remote control and reporting, while noting that the interface can require time to learn. Answer based on 14 reviews Deployment ### How well does System Center handle software and OS deployment? System Center automates operating system imaging, application delivery, updates, and device configuration across large Windows environments. Enterprise IT teams value task sequences, driver packages, self-service software, and deployment status tracking. Initial setup, component configuration, and troubleshooting require experienced administrators, and lightweight one-off tasks can involve more steps than expected. Answer based on 35 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 5,645 ITSM reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of IT Management software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Patch Management** (**56%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Real-Time Monitoring** (**47%**) - **Remote Monitoring & Management** (**47%**) System Center supports **Real-Time Monitoring**, which gives teams current visibility into system status and performance. However, it does not include **Patch Management** or **Remote Monitoring & Management**. Instead, it offers **Access Controls/Permissions** (**39%**) and **Remote Access/Control** (**48%**), which can still help IT teams manage user access and connect to devices when direct intervention is needed, helping businesses maintain oversight, improve response times, and keep day-to-day IT operations running efficiently. Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.5 (93) 4.5 Based on 93 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.1 (73) [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/70929/System-Center/pricing/) Datacenter Edition $3,607 Other, It includes: - Configuration Manager - Data Protection Manager - Operations Manager - Orchestrator - Service Manager - Unlimited Operating System Environments / Hyper-V Containers - Unlimited Windows Server Containers - Virtual Machine Manager Standard Edition $1,323 Other, It includes: - 2 Operating System Environments / Hyper-V Containers - Configuration Manager - Data Protection Manager - Operations Manager - Orchestrator - Service Manager - Unlimited Windows Server Containers - Virtual Machine Manager Value for money 4.1 (73) 4.1 Based on 73 reviews ## Integrations [ Patch My PC](https://www.capterra.com/p/241733/Patch-My-PC/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.0 (71) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.0 (71) 4.0 Based on 71 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.4 Based on 93 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(49) 4(31) 3(11) 2(1) 1(1) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful Craig M. IT Infrastructure Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Powerful Enterprise Management Platform for Large-Scale Infrastructure Environments" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 June 8, 2026 I've used System Center extensively in enterprise environments and have found it to be a powerful and comprehensive management platform. In a large zoo environment with diverse operational requirements, it has helped us standardise endpoint management, improve patch compliance, monitor critical infrastructure, and streamline administrative tasks. While it requires investment in both infrastructure and technical knowledge, the capabilities it provides for large-scale environments are significant. For organisations heavily invested in Microsoft technologies, System Center remains a robust and reliable solution. Pros As an Infrastructure Engineer working in a large zoo environment, System Center has been an invaluable tool for managing and maintaining a complex enterprise infrastructure. The biggest advantage is the breadth of functionality available within a single suite. Components such as Configuration Manager (SCCM/MECM), Operations Manager, and Virtual Machine Manager provide strong capabilities for software deployment, patch management, monitoring, asset management, and virtualisation administration. It integrates well with Microsoft technologies and gives excellent visibility and control across large numbers of servers, endpoints, and services. Cons he main drawback is the complexity involved in deployment, configuration, and ongoing administration. Getting the most value from System Center often requires significant expertise and dedicated resources. The learning curve can be steep, and troubleshooting issues between different components can sometimes be challenging. Compared to newer cloud-native management platforms, some areas of the suite can feel dated and require substantial infrastructure to support. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Technical Analyst Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "System Center by Microsoft" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 July 5, 2021 For big companies and organizations this is one of the best for deploying and managing. Incident management and deploying systems over the network is very easy to monitor. Must have for any enterprise organization which have hundreds of services to manage. Deployment of systems and laptops is very easy handled through it. Pros One of the best network management system which help my organization to grow and manage the network problem. There are lots of built-in reports to monitor. Great security features and easy to define roles. Top of the cherry is remote control and management. If you are able to learn UI then it is very easy to manage all products. Cons There are some glitches while remote support. It is not a cheap one, products are expensive as compare to competitors. Bit slow as well in performance. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer On-Premise and Cloud Infrastructure Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "System Center allows you to have a good vision of the IT equipment" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 August 9, 2024 it is difficult to keep software up to date without a dedicated product person Pros System Center (now MECM) allows us to have machine compliance, and to keep our machines up to date Cons System Center (now MECM) is a complete product, training will be required in order to master the product and deployment Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Information Security Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "System Center allows for end-to-end device management and provides a wealth of actionable data." 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 April 14, 2021 System Center offers any business, regardless of its size and complexity a platform to manage endpoints consistently. For me, where it really shines is in the consolidation of various operational processes and the wealth of underlying data you get, which can easily be turned in useful and actionable information for not only technology teams, but the business. Pros System Center gives us the ability to consistently deploy and manage both servers and workstations, as well as continuously monitor key indicators for executive reporting, like patch compliance, software deployment and inventory information, supporting risk and cost management decisions and empowering project teams to have a wealth of information about the environment at hand. Cons System Center is very much a suite of components and adoption, as well as operational running, requires expertise, however this is a small price to pay for the capability of its integration of functionality and the data/useful information it provides. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VR Verified Reviewer Systems Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "This is one of the best software and OS deployment systems out there" 5.0 October 30, 2019 Literally couldn't do my job without this application. Pros I love how easy this product is to use. It is very intuitive and doesn't require any unnecessary steps to create a beautiful working operating system image. Cons I wish there were more new features being added with the new versions. There is a very active and very large UserVoice out there for this app and it seems like their team only works on 1 or 2 at a time and there are HUNDREDS of requests out there for changes/adds/etc/ Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Yagneshkumar P. Software Engineer Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "System Center by Microsoft Review" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 2.0 2.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 June 20, 2018 This product is great for companies and organizations that want to quick apply the fix, patches, and updates throughout thier server environment so they can maintain thier web traffic effectively and other business related issue they may want to revolve or enhance. Pros One of the reasons why I tend use Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manage (SCCM) at ProfitSword is the ability to track network inventory, application installation and deploying updates and security patches across all of our Organization. what i like about SCCM is that it gives me the ability to take over our Microsoft SQL servers to implement security patches, and updates to our QA environment servers so we can quickly apply updates to our BI software and deploy the updates to production. Next best feature of system center is the ability to integrate with other Microsoft products to give us a fast and flexible updates to our servers at all times. Cons One of the downside of SCCM is the average cost to run and maintain SCCM, which is usually not sold as bundle within Microsoft product, but it is a larger separate suite from Microsoft and it is primarily expensive since it is not a Enterprise product. I hope Microsoft to create an enterprise version of SCCM . Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer IT Consultant Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "It's a great product and using it's full potential no doubt it´s a great Investment. " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 10, 2017 Peace of mind. Fantastic features and it's on the top of it's category. Pros It's a great product and using it's full potential no doubt it´s a great Investment. I love the software delivery. Operative System deployment and software inventory. Super powerful and it worth the investment. Cons One thing I specially don't like and I believe that is the reason why most of the companies buy this, it's how the software inventory is handled. When you scan a computer and set the scan to be repeated every day, obviously you need an exact number of equipment at any time. But when you change the name of a computer, you see two instead of one. There should be a better way to recycle computers without missing information. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Mark F. Director of Customer Care - Office of Information Technology Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Massive product that does much more than most people know" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 2.0 2.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 November 28, 2017 We are able to automate and keep track of so many processes. It really helps lower the number of employees we need. Pros We use this tool for managing our desktop computing environment as well as our ITSM ticket tracking. It is all there and is powerful. Cons The interface is circa 1999. It really needs to be moved to a web interface and streamlined. It is slow and clunky and as a result the team often feels lost. Unfortunately this leads them to be gun shy - with good right. We want them to have the confidence in making a change before committing something potentially to the entire environment. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Joshua D. Application Support Engineer II Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "A one stop solution to enterprise device management" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 October 5, 2018 Pros The features of System Center are comprehensive. Remote support, remote management, asset tracking, software deployment, compliance monitoring and alerts, security enforcement, comprehensive reporting. The list goes on.. if you in anyway support an enterprise environment with thousands of deployed devices, System Center is the primary tool you should be using. Cons There's been a host of bugs that caused some issues with remote support among other things. However, Microsoft is very good about correcting and patching issues quickly once they're aware of them. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Moises F. DevSecOps Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "System Center Virtual Machine Manager" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 5/10 November 17, 2022 Pros The integration between windows and a hyper-v infrastructure that can scale the compute, storage and networking by using Microsoft technologies and not third party which reduces the overall licensing costs from other vendors like VMWare or Nutanix. Cons The powershell module to automate builds and management lacks features and needs fixes and better error checking. There are no popular modules to pick from the Powershell gallery so you have to install it from their ISO and it is very challenging to move the module to another machine for remote management. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/70929/System-Center/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft System Center](https://www.capterra.com/compare/70929-170018/System-Center-vs-ManageEngine-Desktop-Central)