Jamf equivalent for Windows

[chelsea_carl]

I heard this community was amazing so I thought I would try my luck.

We currently have 200 employees and most of them use Macs and we are going to be using JAMF for all of them. We have about 20 users that use Windows and Linux and I was wondering if this wonderful community knew an equivalent that I could use for those operating systems. Linux is not as import because right now we don't have many of those users but we have an audit coming up that needs a system in place like this for Windows machines.

[blackholemac]

SCCM + intune

[tsossong]

As far as I know Sophos has an MDM-Solution. There is also Absolute Manage on the Windows side. But its by far not like Jamf because of the different architecutre.

[sbrennan]

I think Filewave may be something you should look at.

[easyedc]

+1 for SCCM

[mackenziemeier]

Hello,
If you only have around 20 machines, I would recommend using MDT. SCCM is a large product and works best with larger environments. MDT has very similar functionality. You can also use both in virtual environments if you ever get to the point that you want to run Windows on Macs. VDI or parallels for example.

[miregan]

I would not use SCCM with only 20 workstations. I would either use intune or MDT.

[RobertBasil]

SCCM is WAY overkill for 20 computers. We use Desktop Central and it can handle both Windows and Linux.

https://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/

[rquigley]

PDQ Inventory & Deploy might be up your alley for your size.

[chelsea_carl]

Thank you for all your replies. It looks like we are going with Desktop Central from Manage Engine.

[Danishar]

Does Desktop Central from Manage Engine requires an on-premises Domain controller and Active directory?

[edward_baird]

SCCM, BigFix, and (Windows something?) are the leaders. But just like with JAMF, there's a bunch of smaller second tier options that might be a better choice for only twenty machines.

[prl]

Intune

[brayg]

SCCM is powerful but keep in mind it has a steep learning curve. I'd recommend putting together a list of your Windows management needs and then start comparing them against options mentioned in this thread. No need to buy a Ferrari when a Honda will get you to work and back :)

Google has a great guide on strategies and tools they use to manage their enormous fleet (page 9 shows open source options for Linux and Windows):

https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/fleet_management_at_scale_white_paper.pdf

[jhuls]

Like some others have said SCCM can be considered overkill for 20 Windows systems and there are other solutions that are either easier or less costly. Some of that cost for SCCM can be in labor and consultant fees. It can be a monster to maintain and to be honest I think it can be argued that there are better and less costly systems out there although it is considered by many to be the standard. We previously were using Novell Zenworks. It was "okay" but felt like a dying breed. We were about to move to Filewave which didn't look too bad until someone realized that SCCM was already included in our software contract.

I'm just glad I'm able to use Jamf for the Apple devices but it has been hinted more than once that SCCM might need to be on my radar.

[donmontalvo]

Missing LANrev...

[Nandy]

Kace might be a good solution
I've seen a demo, but haven't got a chance to test it yet, it looks very comprehensive, yet quite intuitive, unlike SCCM...
https://www.quest.com/kace/

Manage Engine also offers a cloud solution (completely free up to 25 machines) - https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/windows-phone-management.html

the solution states it can also manage Windows 10 laptops/desktops as well as Windows 10 Surface Pro tablets, so disregard the title.

[rlowry]

@chelsea.carl In the off chance you are getting notifications on this, How did Manage Engine work out for you?

[john_sherrod]

We use Desktop Central Manage Engine + MDT for our Windows management.

[pairjal]

Desktop central manage engine

[Emmert]

Is Intune free for education like O365?

[osxgroup]

We have 200 Windows laptops and use only Intune to manage them.

[rlowry]

@john.sherrod Desktop Central Manage Engine is on prem only, correct?

[imagnone]

We have 35 Windows devices and find that Desktop Central works well enough for us as we're on GSuite. Their imaging tools leave some things to be desired in my opinion based on past experience with MDT/SCCM/Kace K2000. I'll probably end up setting up an MDT for our needs.

[faizal_kamarudd]

Desktop Central is good. In a way "JAMF" for Windows

[T_Armstrong]

Overkill in many ways, but VMWare's Workspace one was our choice in a similar situation.

[glennmiller]

We use Intune but this is for a reasonably large deployment.
I would look at some of the Business type Office 365 licenses that come with Mobile Device Management.

[ParisR]

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