What Is the Difference Between Microsoft SCCM and Microsoft SCOM?

Microsoft’s products “SCCM” and “SCOM” sound like confusingly-named twins, but try to get past your first impression of them as a set in identical dresses posing for a portrait. It is true that they are in the same Microsoft system center family, but each has its own distinctive traits and roles.

What Is System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), or “Configuration Manager,” as her friends call her, is a tool that provides administrators with a way to manage all of aspects of an organization’s Windows-based desktops, servers, and devices from a single hub.

Configuration Manager’s unified infrastructure pulls all of the organization’s physical, virtual, and mobile clients under one large umbrella. Its included tools and resources give administrators the ability to control access within the cloud and on-site. Administrators can grant end users access to the devices and applications they need without the worry of compromised security.
 

Why Get to Know System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Configuration Manager’s unified design can help you do several important jobs within one platform:

• Deploy software
• Protect data
• Manage updates
• Monitor system health
• Enforce organizational compliance

It can automate associated tasks so you can be sure that they happen on the schedule you set and within your organization’s policies and standards.
 

What Is System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)?

Microsoft’s System Center Operations Manager (SCOM), or “Operations Manager,” is as useful as her sister. A monitoring tool, it allows a look at the health and performance of all your IT services in one spot.

Operations Manager can monitor performance of both server and client applications, and it can give you information about the health of your services across both datacenter and cloud infrastructures.
 

Why Get to Know System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)?

In a single interface, Operations Manager shows administrators a view of the vital pieces of your IT environment all at once:

• Status
• Health
• Security
• Performance
• Configuration

Little pieces of software called agents can be placed on each computer in your organization to monitor activity. Within Operations Manager, you control what events or alerts you would like the agents to report back. The central SCOM server will then store and organize the information. You can ask that notifications be forwarded to humans to address as necessary.

Operations Manager’s tight integration with other Microsoft servers and applications have made it a popular and smart choice for administrative professionals lately. It is easy to find management packs (sets of monitoring instructions) for most current Microsoft server applications and operating systems, as well as third party software.
 

The System Center Family

SCCM and SCOM are just two components in a larger family of products that help administrators manage the vast array of applications and services that can be found in an organization. Configuration Manager can assist you with the ongoing tasks related to keeping your infrastructure secure and up-to-date. Operations Manager will monitor your devices and services and then share information about them that you need. They are distinct but complementary pieces of a productive and safe IT landscape.