Manage Engine Desktop Central

I recommend a lot of products to small businesses.

Why ME Desktop Central?

Keeps Windows, Mac, iOS, Android phones patched.
Have a central database of who has what device, model#, Serial#, does it still get updates.
Push software to devices, like VPN software, Chrome browser etc

Make an allow or block list for software
Push configuration like firewall state, force lock screens
Remote control Windows even when offsite (haven’t tried on other OS)
Wake on LAN as long as another managed PC is awake on the same LAN (can’t wake a pc using wireless)
BitLocker HDD encryption is in a separate Add-on
Chat and Announcement functions
Lots of dashboard and reports
When growing beyond 25 PC’s, the license cost is still very reasonable

Tools, System Manager

I’ve been holding off writing this review until my trial expired. Manage Engine promises that this software is free for 25 PC’s and 25 cell phones. When i got to the end of my trial i got this message

When we click on Free Edition they even let us choose WHICH 25 PC’s to keep. I intentionally left 1 PC in the left column and it still remained in my database, but I only had 9 PCs in my test group.

Compromises:
The free version has only 1 admin user, so your tech-support person will need to share the admin account with whoever is their backup.
This is a traditional server, not a cloud service, it needs to be installed onsite, Firewall ports need to be opened to allow remote computers to check-in. There is a gateway server to keep this all secure. Setup is complicated. A good firewall will allow you to GeoFilter, many Cloud solutions charge extra for this.
You will need to source your own digital certificate, medium difficulty but time consuming. Use ZeroSSL if port 80 and 443 are already in use as it allows confirmation via email. (LetsEncrypt does not)
Many businesses these days don’t have an on-site, so rackspace will need to be rented or the system installed in someone’s basement.
Linux has few options, does not include ARM such as Raspberry Pi (they say its coming)

With everyone working from home a Remote Management solution is a security must-have, but most are not affordable to small-medium businesses. Desktop Central breaks that mold. I have been looking for a while and haven’t found a $0 system that does anything near this.