Chef InSpec vs Symantec IT Management Suite
Chef InSpec
docs.chef.io
Symantec IT Management Suite
broadcom.comSide by side
| Figure | Chef InSpec | Symantec IT Management Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.92/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 2 |
| Spec score · Security Configuration Management Software | 9.4 (#1) | 7.8 (#12) |
| Acquisition | Progress announced completion of its Chef Software acquisition on October 6, 2020, paying $220 million in cash. | Broadcom completed its $10.7 billion acquisition of Symantec's Enterprise Security business on November 4, 2019, creating the Symantec Enterprise division of Broadcom. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation includes installation, supported platforms, profiles, resource packs, reporters, plugins, licensing and Test Kitchen integration guides. | Broadcom publishes planning, installation and upgrade, administration, platform-support, deployment, inventory, patch, real-time management, software-management and software-portal guides. |
| Integrations | The kitchen-inspec verifier lets users run InSpec profiles through Test Kitchen. | In ITMS 8.8.1 and later, Data Connector supports direct REST API communication for exchanging data with external platforms. |
| Purpose | Chef InSpec tests and audits applications and infrastructure by comparing their actual state with a desired state expressed in InSpec code. | IT Management Suite manages, patches, and remediates application and operating system configurations on desktops, laptops, and servers. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 105 reviews | 4.0 out of 5 from 14 reviews |
| Rating on TrustRadius | 6.5 out of 10 from 49 reviews and ratings | 2.4 out of 10 from 48 reviews |
| Support | The licensing page lists community Slack support for Free and Trial tiers and contract support for Commercial licenses. | Broadcom provides technical support, product documentation, community forums, training, and partner services for the suite. |
| What it does | Chef InSpec is a framework and rule language that tests applications and infrastructure against desired security, compliance and policy states, reporting violations for users to remediate. | IT Management Suite centrally manages, patches, deploys and remediates desktops, laptops and servers across their lifecycle. |
Plans
Chef InSpec
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- TrialFree
- TrialFree
- Business$59 a year
- Enterprise$189 a year
- CommercialPriced on request
- Enterprise PlusPriced on request
Symantec IT Management Suite
- Symantec IT Management SuitePriced on request
- Symantec IT Management SuitePriced on request
In their own words
Chef InSpec
Chef InSpec tests and audits applications and infrastructure against a desired state described in InSpec code. Its runtime framework and rule language express compliance, security and policy requirements. Reusable profiles group controls and can include versioning, platform requirements and dependencies. Resources support testing AWS, Azure, AliCloud and GCP infrastructure, and users can create custom resources. Tests can run locally or against cloud services and infrastructure such as Linux in Docker containers. Results can be exported as JSON, HTML or plain text, or sent to Chef Automate. The kitchen-inspec verifier also runs profiles through Test Kitchen. Chef offers premium CIS- and STIG-based profiles for compliance scanning. The free tier is for non-production workloads and personal, non-commercial use; the 30-day trial is for product evaluation under non-production conditions. Commercial licensing covers production and non-production workloads, with entitlements based on purchase order. Chef InSpec 7 requires EULA acceptance, and license-key requirements depend on the distribution source. Telemetry is enabled for free and trial tiers, but not commercial users.
Symantec IT Management Suite
Symantec IT Management Suite manages application and operating-system configurations across desktops, laptops, and servers. It combines Asset Management Suite, Client Management Suite, and Server Management Suite, which can be licensed together or separately. Management features include automated patching, on-demand assessments, Patch Now actions, and CVE-based reporting. Deployment supports operating-system rollout, bare-metal provisioning, hardware-independent imaging, and software distribution. CMDB-backed discovery tracks hardware, software, virtual assets, contracts, warranties, and license usage. Cloud-Enabled Management collects inventory and delivers patches or software updates to Windows and Mac devices outside the corporate network without VPN. Users can request approved software through a self-service portal. The suite supports Microsoft, Red Hat, CentOS, and SUSE updates, plus Windows and Mac workstations. ITMS 8.8.1 and later provide REST API data exchange. Microsoft SQL Server is required for ITMS 8.7.x and 8.8.x; other listed database platforms are unsupported. Pricing is on request.