Microsoft Intune alternative for small network

[Ian]

I'd love to be able to centrally manage multiple computers and users across a home or small business network, in a way that I can manage patching, deploy software, roll out NAS/WiFi credentials etc... However, I'm not aware of a low cost way to do this without over-complicating things.

For example, setting up a Windows Server just for AD is a bit overkill for 5/6 PCs. Microsoft Intune is great in that it doesn't need any additional local hardware, but it is overly complicated for small networks. I really like how I can log in to Azure AD with it, but it gets expensive quickly and requires a lot of management.

Has anyone got a suggestion for an alternative that may work? I'm reading up on "Manage Engine" at the moment, but I'd be interested to see what else is out there. I can't find many products that fit the bill.

 

[Wolfie]

Hi Ian,

a few tips here but I don't do it myself:

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366262,00.asp

There is also this but I've no idea how good it is?:

https://www.spiceworks.com/network-management/

 

[Ian]

Thanks Wolfie. Spiceworks does a reasonable portion of what we're after and it is free for small networks (hurrah!), but it doesn't look like it can deploy software or provision things.

However... it looks like it works with PDQ Deploy, so perhaps the combination will do the trick. I'll fire up a VM and test it out .

 

[Wolfie]

Hi Ian,

if you are doing a bar-b-q on your VM, can I pop over with a 6-pack and watch!.