A product selection guide
PDQ Connect
Network & system requirements | Internet connection |
Deployment model | Agent-based |
Suitable for | Remote/off-network, hybrid, or on-prem environments |
Supports | Windows, macOS devices |
Key features | Device inventory |
Single pane of glass | Yes |
Licensing | Per endpoint. Discounts available for existing PDQ Deploy & Inventory customers, nonprofits, schools, and volume and multiyear purchases. |
PDQ Deploy & Inventory
Network & system requirements | Windows 10, 11, Server 2016 or higher |
Deployment model | Agent-less |
Suitable for | On-prem and air-gapped environments |
Supports | Windows devices only |
Key features | Device inventory |
Single pane of glass | No, PDQ Deploy & Inventory are installed separately |
Licensing | Per admin, no license sharing |
For remote, distributed, or hybrid environments
PDQ Connect has everything you need and more
Manage devices anywhere, VPN-free
Want to support and secure devices no matter where they are? PDQ Connect is cloud-native and agent-based, so you can quickly deploy software and updates to endpoints anywhere — no VPN needed.
Do more from a single pane of glass
Provide remote support, manage critical vulnerabilities, and keep devices patched and up to date — with one tool. Build on your tech stack with Entra ID and secure REST API integrations.
Automate patching from the get-go
PDQ Connect comes with a library of 200+ popular apps, tested and ready to go. Schedule deployments and automate patching, so devices get what they need when they need it.
Set up role-based access
Use PDQ Connect to easily create custom roles and manage permissions across your team. Improve collaboration by giving admins the access that they need.
See how PDQ Connect works
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For on-prem or air-gapped environments
Fan favorite PDQ Deploy & Inventory is the solution for you
A self-hosted dynamic duo
PDQ Deploy & Inventory’s robust, self-hosted solution lets you update software, run custom scripts, and schedule automatic deployments to your on-prem or VPN-connected Windows devices.
FAQs
Will PDQ Deploy & Inventory eventually be replaced by PDQ Connect?
PDQ Deploy & Inventory aren’t going anywhere! We know that they are much beloved products and continue to be the right fit for many organizations. We love them, too, and are continuing to invest in them.
How do these products integrate?
PDQ Deploy & Inventory are designed and sold as integrated products. While installed separately, they work together — target Inventory-created collections straight from Deploy, and vice versa.
PDQ Connect is a separate product and doesn’t integrate with PDQ Deploy & Inventory.
What are the feature differences between PDQ Connect and PDQ Deploy & Inventory?
Both PDQ Connect and PDQ Deploy & Inventory can easily manage your endpoints — but they’re built differently with their own features and functionalities. Refer to this table for more details.
How can I use PDQ Connect or PDQ Deploy & Inventory to manage endpoints across multiple locations?
PDQ Connect is built to easily manage endpoints no matter where they’re located. It uses an agent, so no VPN connection is required to access those remote or hard-to-reach devices.
However, you can also manage a distributed fleet using PDQ Deploy & Inventory as long as off-prem devices regularly connect via VPN.
Can I control who has access to certain features?
PDQ Connect includes role-based access control (RBAC) out of the box, so you can manage which users have access to which features.
PDQ Deploy & Inventory don’t have RBAC, but they have a LAPS integration secure credential management. You can also assign multiple credentials for different tasks — this helps avoid risky workarounds like scanning the network to find admin access.
Which product is better for vulnerability management?
PDQ Connect has built-in vulnerability management. It can scan for vulnerabilities, share CVSS and PDQ risk scoring, run reports, and deploy the relevant patches in a few clicks. And if a device is offline, it’ll get updated the next time it comes online.
In contrast, PDQ Deploy & Inventory can’t scan for vulnerabilities, but they can remediate them and automate patching to help prevent them.
Both PDQ Connect and PDQ Deploy & Inventory also have a convenient Package Library with ready-to-deploy patches.
Which product better manages mixed-OS environments?
PDQ Connect supports Windows and macOS devices, while PDQ Deploy & Inventory focus exclusively on Windows devices. For environments with a wider array of Apple devices, such as iPhones and iPads, SimpleMDM has you covered.
Can I use Entra ID with PDQ Connect or PDQ Deploy & Inventory?
Connect has an Entra ID integration that lets you pull things like security groups and tenant information from Entra. PDQ Deploy & Inventory work with Active Directory instead of Entra because of their on-prem focus.
Can I migrate my custom packages/collections from PDQ Deploy & Inventory into PDQ Connect?
You can import custom packages and collections from Deploy and Inventory into Connect using our migration tool, PDQ Migrate.