Microsoft System Center
Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software
Enterprise IT management software
IT service management tools
Endpoint management software
Patch management software
Endpoint protection software
Vulnerability management software
Data center management software
System information software
System management software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$1,455 per server
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What is Microsoft System Center
Microsoft System Center is a suite of on-premises IT management products used to monitor, configure, and operate Windows- and Microsoft-centric server and client environments. It is commonly used by enterprise IT operations teams for infrastructure monitoring, configuration management, software deployment, and backup in data centers and private clouds. The suite is composed of multiple components (for example, Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Data Protection Manager, and Service Manager) that can be deployed separately or together. It integrates closely with Windows Server, Active Directory, and Microsoft virtualization and management tooling.
Broad suite of IT tools
System Center covers multiple operational domains through separate products, including monitoring, configuration/patching, virtualization management, backup, and IT service management. This breadth can reduce the number of standalone tools needed for core Microsoft infrastructure operations. Organizations can adopt only the components they need while maintaining a consistent Microsoft management stack.
Strong Microsoft ecosystem integration
System Center integrates tightly with Windows Server, Active Directory, and Microsoft virtualization and management technologies. This typically simplifies identity, policy, and agent deployment in Microsoft-heavy environments. It also supports Microsoft management packs and connectors that extend monitoring and operational workflows for common enterprise applications.
Mature monitoring and configuration
Operations Manager and Configuration Manager provide established capabilities for health monitoring, alerting, inventory, software distribution, and patch orchestration at enterprise scale. The products support role-based administration, reporting, and automation hooks that fit common IT operations processes. This maturity can be valuable for organizations with long-lived on-premises estates and change-control requirements.
Complex deployment and upkeep
System Center components are separate products with their own infrastructure requirements (databases, management servers, agents, and integration points). Designing, implementing, and maintaining the environment can require specialized skills and ongoing operational effort. Upgrades and cross-component integrations can add additional planning and testing overhead.
Limited DCIM depth
While it supports data center and virtualization operations, System Center is not a purpose-built DCIM platform for rack-level asset modeling, power/thermal telemetry, and facilities workflows. Organizations needing detailed capacity planning tied to physical power and cooling often require additional tooling. Its strengths are stronger in IT operations management than facilities-oriented data center management.
Mixed fit for modern cloud-first
System Center is primarily oriented toward on-premises and private-cloud management, and some organizations prefer cloud-native management approaches for endpoints and infrastructure. Hybrid environments may require combining System Center with other Microsoft services and third-party tools to cover cloud governance, modern endpoint management, and newer security workflows. This can increase toolchain complexity in cloud-first operating models.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | USD $1,455 (Suggested Retail Price / MSRP — assumes a 16-core, 2-processor server) | Includes Configuration Manager, Data Protection Manager, Endpoint Manager, Operations Manager, Orchestrator, Service Manager, Virtual Machine Manager. Licenses up to 2 operating system environments (OSEs) per fully licensed server. Core-based licensing (sold in 2-core packs). Purchase via Microsoft solution provider or account representative. cite |
| Datacenter | USD $3,968 (Suggested Retail Price / MSRP — assumes a 16-core, 2-processor server) | Includes same components as Standard. Allows unlimited operating system environments (OSEs) when server is fully licensed. Core-based licensing (sold in 2-core packs); minimums apply (8 cores per physical processor; 16 cores per server minimum). Purchase via Microsoft solution provider or account representative. cite |
Seller details
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, Washington, United States
1975
Public
https://www.microsoft.com/
https://x.com/Microsoft
https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/
