Best IT Management Software Shortlist
Here are the IT management tools I've shortlisted because they stood out to me in my evaluation, along with which scenario I found they excelled in:
- SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor - Best network monitoring features
- Malwarebytes - Best security features
- Rippling - Best for employee device management
- ShareGate - Best for migrating IT systems
- ISL Light - Best for remote desktop access
- SolarWinds Service Desk - Best incident management features
- PagerDuty - Best for companies in retail
- LogicMonitor - Best for finance companies
- PDQ Deploy - Best patch management features
- Jira Service Management - Best ITSM
- N-able - Best for small businesses
- Kandji - Best Apple Mobile Device Management
With the right tools for managing your networks and devices across areas such as configuration, access controls, and security, you can smooth out several obstacles you face in managing your organization’s IT stack.
That’s why I’ve evaluated several IT management tools to craft this list of the best available solutions. I’ve made a point to include each tool’s distinct features, so you have everything you need to make the right decision.
What Is IT Management Software?
IT management software refers to tools used to support IT systems such as computer networks, security systems, databases, and web services. They help you more efficiently design and deliver IT-related services to meet the needs of your customers and team members. You can perform tasks like incident management, change management, and provisioning new IT resources. Ultimately ITMS tools all serve the end goal of better aligning your systems with business goals.
Overviews of the 12 Best IT Management Software
Below are brief but detailed looks into the best tools I found during my tests, with information on their strengths, weaknesses, and pricing information to help you compare them.
1. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor - Best network monitoring features
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) provides network management solutions for cloud, hybrid, and on-premise systems.
Why I picked SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor: I liked SolarWinds NPM’s network availability monitoring, which displays key information related to uptime, including diagnostics, continuous monitoring, and alerting. With these features, I could more reliably ensure the network portion of my IT systems stayed online.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor standout features and integrations:
Features that made me recommend SolarWinds NPM for network monitoring included NetPath, a traceroute tool that visualizes network paths so I can track end-to-end service delivery.
I also liked PerfStack, a performance analysis tool that allowed me to overlay different sets of data so it was easier to compare them.
Integrations are native for the SolarWinds Platform and pre-built for Azure and ServiceNow.
Pricing: From $1,875
Trial:30-day free trial
Pros
- Strong network management features
- Provides prompt alerts
- Mapping and visualization features
Cons
- Caters more towards Cisco equipment
- Slows down when working with SQL
2. Malwarebytes - Best security features
Malwarebytes is a cybersecurity product for both individuals and businesses whose main selling point is its anti-malware features.
Why I picked Malwarebytes: I chose Malwarebytes specifically for its business plan, which provides endpoint detection and response features for cyber threats. Chief among these is ransomware protection, which creates caches on each device that last 72 hours, which you can roll back to in case of infection.
Malwarebytes standout features and integrations:
Features that make Malwarebytes ideal for businesses include the ability to isolate endpoint devices that get compromised, keeping them away from networks, stopping sensitive processes, and restricting user access.
I also found that it can automatically identify and address any effects that malware might have had on the system, making remediation processes easier at scale.
Integrations are pre-built for IBM QRadar, Slack, Splunk, Azure Sentinel, Datto RMM, Addigy, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR, Atera, ServiceNow, and Rapid7.
Pricing: From $49.99/device/year
Trial:60-day money-back guarantee
Pros
- Protects against most cyber threats
- Strong endpoint management features
- Automatic issue detection and remediation
Cons
- Sometimes prone to false positives
- Scans can be slow and resource-intensive
3. Rippling - Best for employee device management
Rippling is a workforce management platform with tools for finance, HR, and IT departments, including a module for app and device management.
Why I picked Rippling: Rippling provides several useful features for securing employees’ work devices and the data they handle. In my evaluation, I found I could encrypt drives, enforce updates, lock and wipe stolen or lost devices, and implement two-factor authentication.
Rippling standout features and integrations:
Features that made me recommend Rippling for employee device management include the ability to configure profiles based on factors such as location and role. The profiles could include custom installation packages as well as credentials for connecting to wireless networks, VPNs, and other devices.
Integrations are pre-built for Zoom, Slack, Dropbox, Apple Business, LastPass, Dashlane Business, Xero, Quickbooks Online, Stripe, and NetSuite.
Pricing: From $8/month/user
Trial:Free demo available
Pros
- Easy to get started with
- Provides other solutions such as HR and finance tools
- The company can manage the hardware on your behalf
Cons
- Its all-encompassing features aren’t as robust as dedicated options
- The app often has fewer features than are available via the website
4. ShareGate - Best for migrating IT systems
ShareGate is a management solution for Microsoft 365 that handles functions such as migration, provisioning, reporting, automation, and permissions.
Why I picked ShareGate: I chose ShareGate because it makes it easy for teams to move their IT systems over to a different platform. You can move IT systems between Microsoft 365, Office 365, Teams, SharePoint, Google Drive, and Box. You can also start with a file share and move on to one of several supported platforms.
ShareGate standout features and integrations:
Features that make ShareGate ideal for IT migrations include automatically mapping users at the target destination to make sure that everyone still has the same permissions and access as before.
You can also choose whether you just want to move specific teams or the entire organization, which was something I found helpful for staggering transitions by priority and preparedness, so one group didn’t hold up the entire process.
Integrations are pre-built for Teams, SharePoint, and Power Apps.
Pricing: From $5,995/year.
Trial:15-day free trial
Pros
- Strong IT migration features
- Automatic user mapping smoothens transitions
- Provides detailed reports on jobs
Cons
- Leans heavily towards Microsoft products (365 and SharePoint)
- Migration speeds can be slow
5. ISL Light - Best for remote desktop access
ISL Light is a remote desktop software that you can use for one-time or ongoing support on customers’ devices as part of your service delivery strategy.
Why I picked ISL Light: I assessed ISL Light primarily on its remote desktop access functions and found that it performed very well, especially with the multi-monitor view. With this feature, I could display the monitors of the computers I was accessing remotely in windows on a single screen, with the ability to drag and drop items between them.
ISL Light standout features and integrations:
Features in ISL Light that stood out to me include the administrative mode, which communicates directly with User Access Control (UAC) on Windows computers to elevate your rights whenever you need more access on a remote desktop.
If you don’t want to access a computer remotely, you can also just share your screen. This feature is useful if you want to walk someone through steps so they learn something for themselves.
Integrations are pre-built for BMC Remedy and ConnectBox.
Pricing: From $0.25/minute
Trial:15-day free trial
Pros
- Allows you to manage multiple computers at once
- Screen sharing capabilities
- Supports dragging and dropping items between desktops
Cons
- Doesn’t work as well on macOS as it does on Windows
- Limited customization options
6. SolarWinds Service Desk - Best incident management features
SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) platform that deals with service requests, configuration, and issue resolution.
Why I picked SolarWinds Service Desk: As part of its ITSM suite of features for incident management, SolarWinds Service Desk provides a ticketing system that I found to be robust. As soon as tickets made their way into the system, I could manage my responses through a variety of avenues, including email, app, phone call, chat, or the service portal.
SolarWinds Service Desk standout features and integrations:
Features that I liked about incident management in SolarWinds Service include automation capabilities that you can use to speed up resolution on repetitive and low-level tickets.
It also provides several functions for building and managing a knowledge base so you can develop effective self-service systems over time and reduce ticket backlogs.
Integrations are pre-built for VMware vCenter, Microsoft Teams, Zendesk, AWS, Azure, Google Analytics, Slack, Jira, Jamf, and TeamViewer.
Pricing: From $39/technician/month
Trial:30-day free trial
Pros
- Strong ticket management
- Decent knowledge base management features
- Supports the ITIL framework
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Interface isn’t user friendly
7. PagerDuty - Best for companies in retail
PagerDuty is a real-time incident response platform that provides observability, automation, and analytical functions across different spheres of IT.
Why I picked PagerDuty: When I stumbled across the Service Standards feature in PagerDuty, I knew I was going to recommend it to e-commerce companies. You can use this function to determine hard thresholds for service and ensure that the entire team stays above it so you’re certain customers get the best experience possible.
PagerDuty standout features and integrations:
Features that I believe retail companies will love in PagerDuty included the automated diagnosis function. I tested it on a relatively busy e-commerce platform and was able to pinpoint issues faster and resolve them before they impacted the customer experience.
I also liked the status update notifications, which helps stakeholders keep each other in the loop. With this feature, you can communicate things like delivery delays in a timely manner.
Integrations are pre-built for AWS, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Jira, Datadog, GitHub, GitLab, Kubernetes, Zendesk, and Docker.
Pricing: From $21/user/month
Trial:Free plan available
Pros
- Service standards support quality control
- Strong incident management
- Handles alerts and updates well
Cons
- Limited customization
- Takes a while to learn
8. LogicMonitor - Best for finance companies
LogicMonitor is a cloud-based monitoring platform that provides visibility for systems such as networks, servers, applications, and databases.
Why I picked LogicMonitor: LogicMonitor provides several security features that would be valuable in any financial institution. In my tests, I found that it encrypts data both in transit and at rest, and it stores the bare minimum, so you’re less at risk in the event of a breach.
LogicMonitor standout features and integrations:
Features I believe make LogicMonitor ideal for fintech settings include the ability to implement financial rewards programs that motivate users to share their data from different areas of a banking system, like apps or portals.
If you’re still on legacy financial IT systems, you can use LogicMonitor to gain visibility and reduce friction during cloud migration, and you can leverage the cost control feature to manage your spending during and after the process.
Integrations are pre-built for NGINX, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, PagerDuty, Zoom, ServiceNow, Puppet, Terraform, and Fortinet.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Trial:14-day free trial
Pros
- Strong security features
- Scalable
- Improves system observability
Cons
- Not beginner-friendly
- Customization is difficult
9. PDQ Deploy - Best patch management features
PDQ Deploy is a patch management tool from PDQ, a company that focuses on software deployment and management.
Why I picked PDQ Deploy: As a patch management tool, I needed to know that PDQ Deploy could work with some of the most common workplace software, and I found that it does. In my evaluation, I successfully handled updates with packages for Visual Studio Code, but it supports more than 100 other applications.
PDQ Deploy standout features and integrations:
Features that made me recommend PDQ Deploy include the ability to deploy almost anything you’d need for patch management processes, including messages, files, scripts, and even reboots.
I was also able to remotely execute scripts from batch files, Visual Basic, PowerShell, and registry files for automation.
Integrations are pre-built as packages you can install for popular programs such as Google Chrome Enterprise, Adobe Reader, FileZilla, Blender, GIMP, Microsoft Edge for Business, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Visual Studio Code, and Mozilla Firefox.
Pricing: From $1,275/admin/year
Trial:14-day free trial
Pros
- Supports automation via scripting
- Strong remote patch management features
- Easy to get started with
Cons
- Package library is still small
- Conflicts with devices using a VPN
10. Jira Service Management - Best ITSM
Jira Service Management is an ITSM from Atlassian, the company that also makes issue tracking and project management software Jira.
Why I picked Jira Service Management: I picked Jira Service Management because of its smart forms feature. Using this function, you can build dynamic forms to manage service requests and surveys that change based on user activity, all without code.
Jira Service Management standout features and integrations:
Features that I liked while using Jira Service Management for ITSM include the asset management functions that I used to log and track the status of IT devices with data such as ownership and lifecycle.
I also liked its change management feature, which provides detailed contextual information so each team working on requests knows everything they need to address them without causing conflicts with each other.
Integrations are native for other Atlassian products such as Jira, Confluence, Trello, and Bitbucket.
Pricing: From $21/agent/month
Trial:Free plan available
Pros
- REST API for custom integrations
- Strong change management features
- Robust request management and tracking features
Cons
- Not beginner friendly
- Can be slow at scale
11. N-able - Best for small businesses
N-able provides IT products and services for IT teams and managed service providers (MSPs) for monitoring, security, and data protection.
Why I picked N-able: N-able’s N-sight remote monitoring and management (RMM) caught my attention as something that small business owners can use to unify IT operations so they don’t spread their team too thin. I specifically liked the drag-and-drop automation, which comes with over 400 premade scripts for common functions.
N-able standout features and integrations:
Features that I think small business owners will like in N-able include Cove, a cloud-based disaster recovery solution that stores backups off-site so you can rebuild your systems after an attack.
N-able also provides tools you can use to protect your IT infrastructure from attacks, including a managed antivirus, DNS filtering, and cloud-based email protection.
Integrations are pre-built for Microsoft Intune, Xero, Liongard, Datto RMM, Auvik, Kaspersky, TOPdesk, Acronis, Zomentum, and Sophos.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Trial:14-day free trial
Pros
- Good for disaster recovery
- Provides an antivirus
- Patch management features
Cons
- Works best on Windows
- Customer support could be better
12. Kandji - Best Apple Mobile Device Management
Kandji is a mobile device management (MDM) platform that caters primarily to teams that use Apple devices for work.
Why I picked Kandji: Kandji focuses on managing Apple devices in companies’ IT systems, and I found the zero-touch deployment feature to be very good at accomplishing this. I used it to configure onboarding protocols that automatically set up devices remotely with all the necessary apps and settings.
Kandji standout features and integrations:
Features that make Kandji ideal for Apple MDM operations, in my opinion, include Passports, which allow you to set up a single sign-on system on a device so users don’t need to keep track of multiple credentials.
Kandji also provides one-click compliance for applying templated industry standards on all devices, and the ability to automate evidence collection and grant auditor access. I was able to implement security controls like deactivating cameras and restricting access to third-party cloud storage platforms.
Integrations are pre-built for Apple Business Manager, Slack, Azure AD, Google Workspace, Okta, Microsoft Teams, JupiterOne, Tugboat Logic, Cloudflare, and Secureframe.
Pricing: Pricing upon request
Trial:Free demo available
Pros
- Passport makes user access easier to manage and more secure
- Simplifies on and offboarding
- One-click compliance
Cons
- Apple-centric
- No free trial or plan
Other Options
Here’s a collection of tools that didn’t make the main list but might contain the features you’re looking for in a specific situation:
- Datto RMM - Best customer base management features
- EZOfficeInventory - Best for cloud-based asset management
- Spiceworks - Best free monitoring tool
- Atera - Best customization options
- Datadog - Best for DevSecOps teams
- Sunbird DCIM - Best for data center management
- Tanaza - Best WiFi access point manager
- StatusCast - Best for scheduled maintenance
- IT Glue - Best for IT documentation
- GoodAccess - Best identity-based access controls
- OTRS ITSM - Best for modular IT service management
- Lansweeper - Best for comprehensive asset discovery
- SysAid - Best for integrated incident and request management
- Ivanti Service Manager - Best for adaptive service management
- Cherwell Service Management - Best for codeless customization
- BMC Helix ITSM - Best for AI-driven service experiences
- ITarian - Best for role-based access control
- InvGate - Best for visual workflow builder
- Freshservice - Best for gamified service desk experience
- Jamf Pro - Best for comprehensive Apple device management
- ConnectWise PSA - Best for streamlined IT business operations
- Microsoft Endpoint Manager - Best for centralized device management across platforms
- IBM Maximo Application Suite - Best for asset lifecycle and maintenance management
- Kaseya VSA - Best for remote monitoring and endpoint management
- Nagios - Best for infrastructure monitoring and alerts
- AWS Systems Manager - Best for AWS infrastructure insights and actions
- AWS Service Catalog - Best for AWS service provisioning with templates
- AWS Management Console - Best for centralized AWS service access and management
- ManageEngine Endpoint Central - Best for unified endpoint management and security
Selection Criteria for IT Management Software
Here’s a short summary of what I was considering when examining the tools for this list.
Core Functionality
Some of the things I needed each tool to let me do include:
- Control IT resources, including creating, allocating, and deleting them
- Configure user access to various IT systems with authorization and authentication functions.
- Secure IT systems more effectively with functions such as encryption and continuous monitoring.
Key Features
The features I had my eye out for that would facilitate the functions I’ve listed above include:
- Threat intelligence: This would protect me against emergent threats that I wasn’t previously aware of.
- Patch management: With this, I could roll out updates to IT systems periodically to boost their security levels.
- Device management: A good endpoint solution would allow me to keep tabs on all the devices used by company members, from on to offboarding.
- Team management: This includes things such as identity and access management by role and seniority.
Usability
I prioritized tools with clean, easily navigable interfaces that would require minimal training for the user to get up to speed with. Because IT systems can make or break a business’s operations, I needed tools that helped me maintain a grip on everything with little to no resistance.
Reporting and Analytics
Being able to effectively manage IT systems requires having insights into their state even when you’re not actively monitoring them. For this reason, I prioritized tools that provided detailed statistics and metrics on IT infrastructure.
People Also Ask
Need more information about IT management software before making your pick? Here are the answers to a couple of questions you might have.
How do you manage IT systems?
What does IT management include?
Why is IT management necessary?
Final Thoughts
Companies are spending more money on IT than ever, with the figure predicted to hit $4.6 trillion this year. That’s a pretty substantial investment, so building the right approach for safeguarding it should be at the forefront of any business’s strategies.
Finding the ideal IT management solution depends on what kind of systems you have and what you anticipate you’ll grow into. In addition to scalability, other key features you should keep an eye out for are security, integrations, and support availability.
Hopefully, the information in this article should set you down the right path; if so, consider subscribing to the CTO Club newsletter for the latest insights from multidisciplinary tech experts.