We performed a comparison between Bigfix and Microsoft Windows Server Update Services based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: BigFix wins out in this comparison. The main difference between the two solutions is that Microsoft Windows Server Update Services users say deployment is complicated and that the product could benefit from better reporting.
"It is user-friendly."
"BigFix has always been easier to use when managing servers, especially when you deal with so many servers. We have 7,000. That's a lot of services to manage, and it's convenient to patch them all at once."
"I would advise someone considering this product to go for it. It's easy to use, cheaper than the value, and there is tons and tons of support from the BigFix community. With almost every challenge we have someone who has encountered it, and you will have a solution right away."
"It allows for visibility into the OT, the industrial environments, that didn't exist before which is a big piece and has benefited my organization. Second, the speed at which people can patch is night and day versus SCCM scan or another similar solution."
"It has plugins development options, which are great."
"BigFix is easy to use."
"We rely on BigFix as part of our consulting engagements. It's more efficient from a visibility and discovery standpoint on the initial phase, the consulting engagement. It also increases our efficiencies on the remediation phase of our engagements."
"One of the biggest benefits BigFix has had for our organization is the ease and efficiency to perform many different tasks, across pillars and platforms, all from one pane of glass."
"The reporting capabilities that help maintain compliance and security are good."
"The platform provides good value in terms of time and effort by eliminating the need for manual patch management."
"It ensures we get the necessary updates and features from the servers."
"The interface is easy to use."
"Provides the ability to create multiple downstream servers."
"PowerShell is a valuable feature."
"The noteworthy aspect is the system's capability to handle an extensive range of services and workloads, with the potential for almost unlimited scalability."
"It provides central management interface for deployment."
"Needs to improve Network Access Protection (NAP) technologies to prevent computers with vulnerabilities from gaining access to networks."
"We would like to see a different license plan, e.g. to include features from lifecycle with Patch Management, as an example."
"I'm looking for them to make big web UI improvements."
"Sometimes there is a lag time for our users."
"I would like to see different types of reporting and the ability to integrate closer with the cloud."
"The product is quite buggy and complicated to use."
"Around the scalability concern, I would like to see the ability to run teamed, clustered, or hierarchical root servers, in order to provide a more robust, high availability system. The single monolithic root server model does somewhat bother me."
"I would like better support on the backend."
"Microsoft Windows Server Update Services could improve the ease of use."
"Microsoft should improve their support for the product. A lot of guys are installing their products, especially Xero. If you have a real problem, though, it's quite difficult to find someone who you can support you."
"The challenges exist according to the planning. For example, if you plan to implement and apply updates to your infrastructure, including servers and clients, you must provide storage information and have a clear plan for that from start to end."
"The solution must provide the issue description of the patches."
"The only complex part was the solution’s tricky setup phase."
"The product needs to improve its user interface."
"The approval process must be improved."
"More integration with different platforms would be an improvement."
More Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Pricing and Cost Advice →
BigFix is ranked 2nd in Patch Management with 91 reviews while Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is ranked 3rd in Patch Management with 41 reviews. BigFix is rated 8.6, while Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of BigFix writes "Very stable and easy to deploy with excellent patch compliance". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Windows Server Update Services writes "Lets us manage all our organization's updates from a single management console". BigFix is most compared with Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, Tanium and ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus, whereas Microsoft Windows Server Update Services is most compared with ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Quest KACE Systems Management, GFI LanGuard and Kaseya VSA. See our BigFix vs. Microsoft Windows Server Update Services report.
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We monitor all Patch Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.