Compare Microsoft System Center and SolarWinds Observability 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Enterprise (45.9% of reviews)
Enterprise (46.0% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Starting at $7.42 Per Month
Microsoft System Center
Star Rating
(587)4.1 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (45.9% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Microsoft System CenterSolarWinds Observability
Star Rating
(806)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (46.0% of reviews)
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $7.42 Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- G2 reviewers report that SolarWinds Observability excels in providing unified visibility across various environments, allowing users to monitor infrastructure, applications, and networks from a single dashboard. This feature simplifies troubleshooting and enhances overall efficiency, making it a favorite among users who appreciate clear insights into their systems.
- Users say that Microsoft System Center is particularly effective for managing remote updates, with one reviewer highlighting the ability to update all servers in remote locations without needing to travel. This capability is a significant advantage for organizations with distributed teams, although some users have expressed challenges with usability on older devices.
- Reviewers mention that SolarWinds Observability's dashboards are easy to customize, which allows users to tailor their monitoring experience to their specific needs. This flexibility is praised by users who value the ability to track metrics like CPU and memory usage without confusion.
- According to verified reviews, Microsoft System Center is often utilized within the ITIL framework, making it a solid choice for organizations focused on service management. However, some users have reported difficulties with the software's usability, particularly when it comes to writing and managing content on older laptops.
- G2 reviewers highlight that SolarWinds Observability offers comprehensive observability across both public cloud and on-premises environments, which is a significant advantage for businesses operating in hybrid settings. Users appreciate the platform's ability to provide insights into network latency and other critical metrics.
- Users report that while both products have strong support ratings, SolarWinds Observability edges out with slightly higher scores in quality of support and product direction. This suggests that users feel more confident in the ongoing development and support of SolarWinds, which can be crucial for long-term satisfaction.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Microsoft System Center
No pricing availableSolarWinds Observability
Self-Hosted Essentials
Starting at $7.42
Per Month
Price per node per month, multi-year contract billed annually. Includes:
- Network Performance Monitoring
- Server and Application Monitoring
- Monitoring AWS®, Microsoft Azure®, and GCP®
Free Trial
Microsoft System Center
No trial information availableSolarWinds Observability
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.6
480
8.7
648
Ease of Use
7.7
479
8.3
650
Ease of Setup
7.0
322
8.0
485
Ease of Admin
7.9
323
8.3
479
Quality of Support
8.0
445
8.2
592
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.1
298
8.3
447
Product Direction (% positive)
7.4
463
8.1
617
Features by Category
Configuration
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Network Automation Tools
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Network
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Logistics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Security - Network Automation
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Administration
8.7
62
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.6
63
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
65
|
Verified
Not enough data
Service Desk
8.7
58
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
59
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
59
|
Verified
Not enough data
Management
8.9
16
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
16
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.6
13
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
13
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.3
13
Not enough data
Functionality
8.6
13
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
14
Not enough data
9.0
16
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.8
15
|
Verified
Not enough data
Agentic AI - IT Service Management (ITSM) Tools
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
Not enough data
8.6
22
Not enough data
8.9
22
Not enough data
9.0
20
Not enough data
8.5
20
Not enough data
8.3
20
Not enough data
7.9
19
Agentic AI - Website Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Experience
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Management
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Performance
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Network Security Policy Management (NSPM)Hide 10 FeaturesShow 10 Features
Not enough data
Not enough data
Network Maintenance
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Network Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Functionality
Not enough data
8.7
10
Not enough data
8.3
10
Not enough data
8.8
10
Not enough data
8.0
10
Not enough data
7.8
9
Not enough data
8.5
10
Agentic AI - Database Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Scope
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Security
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Functionality
Not enough data
9.0
78
Not enough data
8.9
78
Not enough data
7.7
71
Not enough data
8.6
74
Monitoring - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
7.9
14
Not enough data
7.6
12
Not enough data
8.1
13
Management
Not enough data
8.4
74
Not enough data
8.6
76
Not enough data
8.2
73
Analytics - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
7.6
12
Not enough data
7.6
13
Security - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
7.9
13
Not enough data
7.2
12
Not enough data
6.9
12
Network Performance - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.5
12
AI Automation - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
6.7
12
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
6.8
12
Agentic AI - Network Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Monitoring
Not enough data
9.0
16
Not enough data
8.1
18
Not enough data
7.7
15
Not enough data
8.5
17
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Administration
Not enough data
8.5
16
Not enough data
7.6
14
Not enough data
8.1
15
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Analysis
Not enough data
8.6
19
Not enough data
9.1
21
Not enough data
7.9
14
Agentic AI - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
AI Automation - Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Automation
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
6.9
12
Not enough data
7.6
14
Functionality
Not enough data
8.0
14
Not enough data
7.6
13
Not enough data
9.0
17
Not enough data
8.1
18
Incident Management
Not enough data
7.6
16
Not enough data
8.2
16
Not enough data
8.3
17
Functionality
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Issue Resolution
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Generative AI
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Agentic AI - AIOps Platforms
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Visibility
Not enough data
8.7
5
Not enough data
8.9
6
Not enough data
8.3
6
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
8.9
6
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
8.9
6
Agentic AI - Hardware Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Visibility
Not enough data
8.6
11
Not enough data
8.8
11
Not enough data
8.5
10
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.8
10
Not enough data
8.9
11
Agentic AI - Log Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Visibility
Not enough data
8.7
30
Not enough data
8.8
30
Not enough data
8.5
30
Monitoring and Management
Not enough data
8.5
30
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.4
30
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.9
23
Not enough data
8.4
21
Cloud environment support
Not enough data
7.8
23
Not enough data
7.5
23
Agentic AI - Server Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Functionality
Not enough data
7.9
7
Not enough data
8.3
6
Not enough data
7.9
7
Not enough data
7.7
5
Management
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Not enough data
8.3
6
Not enough data
8.6
6
Agentic AI - Enterprise Monitoring
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Data Preparation
Not enough data
8.8
8
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
7.4
9
Not enough data
7.9
8
Analysis
Not enough data
7.3
8
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.0
9
Not enough data
8.6
11
Not enough data
8.8
11
Not enough data
8.8
8
Visualization
Not enough data
9.1
9
Not enough data
8.7
9
Agentic AI - Log Analysis
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Performance Management
9.4
9
Not enough data
9.0
8
Not enough data
9.3
9
Not enough data
Monitoring
8.8
8
Not enough data
8.3
7
Not enough data
8.1
6
Not enough data
Monitoring
Not enough data
8.7
25
Not enough data
8.5
24
Not enough data
8.6
25
Not enough data
7.2
23
Not enough data
8.5
25
Response
Not enough data
8.5
25
Not enough data
8.6
25
Not enough data
7.5
23
Agentic AI - Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Performance
Not enough data
7.6
25
Not enough data
8.0
21
Functionality
Not enough data
6.9
24
Not enough data
7.2
23
Not enough data
7.2
23
Not enough data
7.5
24
Alerts management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Automation
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Analysis
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Issue Resolution
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Administration
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Configuration
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Security
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
7.7
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
7.7
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Monitoring
Not enough data
9.2
6
Not enough data
8.0
5
Not enough data
5.7
5
Support
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
6.7
5
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Network Management Tools
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Generative AI
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Agentic AI - IT Alerting
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Data Management - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Performance - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Compliance - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Observability Pipeline
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Telemetry Collection & Ingestion - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Observability Software
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Visualization & Dashboards - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Correlation & Root Cause Analysis - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Scalability & Ecosystem Integration - Observability
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
AI Features - Observability
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Mobile Application Management
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
System Control
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Vulnerability Prevention
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Security Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Platform - Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Operating System
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Management
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Security
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Agentic AI - Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Analysis
8.6
12
Not enough data
Platform
9.0
8
Feature Not Available
8.8
13
Feature Not Available
9.2
6
Feature Not Available
8.3
13
Feature Not Available
8.3
10
Not enough data
Security
8.6
14
Feature Not Available
9.0
14
Feature Not Available
8.3
8
Feature Not Available
9.3
7
Not enough data
9.1
9
Not enough data
Agentic AI - Enterprise IT Management
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Microsoft System Center and SolarWinds Observability are categorized as Enterprise IT Management
Unique Categories
Microsoft System Center is categorized as IT Service Management (ITSM) Tools, Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM), Endpoint Management, and Patch Management
SolarWinds Observability is categorized as DDI Management Platform, Observability Software, Enterprise Monitoring, Server Monitoring, Log Monitoring, Hardware Monitoring, AIOps Platforms, Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), Database Monitoring, Network Security Policy Management (NSPM), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM), Website Monitoring, Cloud Infrastructure Monitoring, Network Automation Tools, Network Management Tools, IT Alerting, Container Monitoring, Log Analysis, Mobile Application Management, Configuration Management, Application Performance Monitoring (APM), Mobile Device Management (MDM), Network Monitoring, and Observability Pipeline
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Microsoft System Center
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
SolarWinds Observability
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Information Technology and Services
19.2%
Education Management
6.2%
Government Administration
5.5%
Computer Software
5.1%
Hospital & Health Care
3.8%
Other
60.1%
Information Technology and Services
22.5%
Hospital & Health Care
6.1%
Computer Software
5.6%
Telecommunications
4.9%
Financial Services
3.8%
Other
57.0%
Alternatives
Discussions
What does Microsoft System Center do?
2 Comments
SC
Microsoft System Center is a suite of management tools for IT infrastructure. Components include SCCM for software deployment, SCOM for monitoring, VMM for...Read more
Microsoft System Center has no more discussions with answers
What is the next version and when it is getting released?
2 Comments
SI
2020.2.6 seems to have fixed a few major bugs and is pretty stable. Released in July 2021Read more
Where can I find custom monitoring templates to import into Server & Application Monitor?
2 Comments
SI
Thwack sites are helpful Read more
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