Advantages:
- Professional, well-organized Interface:
Ensim provides an extremely professional, and well-organized user interface. The navigation is divided into sections based on the various components of web hosting management. This includes e-mail management, database management, and sub domain management. Ensim’s professionalism in it’s interface is unmatched - the interface is well organized, cleanly designed, and does not incorporate useless and unprofessional “eye candy.”
- Wide array of supported operating systems, including Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise and Windows:
Unlike cPanel, the Ensim control panel offers support for the Windows Web and Standard Operating Systems. In addition, Ensim also offers support for Linux-based Operating systems such as Fedora and RedHat Enterprise.
- Excellent spam filter:
Ensim offers an excellent and powerful built-in spam filter. This spam filter works extremely well with the preinstalled Squirrelmail system that is standard on all Ensim-based systems. This spam filter is distributed along with the Ensim installation pack, and is developed by Ensim themselves.
- Reseller control panel boasts same design as client-end panel, which allows for ease of use between panels:
The reseller control panel of the Ensim control panel uses the same basic design and interface of both the client-end management panel, as well as the root access panel. This allows for a greater sense of familiarity for users who use a combination of the root, client-end, reseller and e-mail/user control panels.
- Extremely detailed and useful bandwidth reporting tools built-in:
New versions of Ensim offer unmatched bandwidth reporting tools. These tools make use of charts and graphs, and provide extremely detailed information.
- Ensim Power Tools available. (cPanels equivalent of Fantastico):
Ensim distributes an Ensim Power Tools license free with all new Ensim license purchases. The Ensim Power Tools addon is cPanel’s equivalent of Fantastico, but is not a third-party software.
- Ensim Power Tools distributed by Ensim:
As stated above, the Ensim Power Tools addon is NOT a third-party application/software addon.
- Not as widely used as cPanel, which allows for a greater differentiation between other hosts:
The Ensim hosting market is not nearly as saturated as that of the cPanel market. This allows for a greater chance of a potential client interested in a host with the Ensim software to choose your company. Lower saturation equals larger margin of success.
- Windows version supports .NET based hosting plans:
The Windows version of the Ensim control panel software integrates seamlessly and supports .NET based webhosting plans/packages.
- Almost all releases are very stable, therefore frequent updates are not necessary:
Unlike cPanel, almost all of the Ensim releases are stable, and do not require any subsequent updates to make previous releases stable. This allows Ensim to focus on creating improved versions of their software with new and more up to date features.
Disadvantages:
- Extremely hard to skin the interface, though you can brand-in your logo extremely easily:
Like cPanel, Ensim offers a branding option that allows you to add your logo into the Ensim interface quite seamlessly. However, cPanel does offer a more extensive branding feature.
In addition, the Ensim interface is extremely difficult to skin, and thus, there are very few skins available for purchase for the Ensim control panel software.
- Not extremely well-known among potential webhosting clients:
As the Ensim market is not as saturated as the cPanel market, less potential clients know about the Ensim software. This is not an entirely bad thing, though it does reflect upon Ensim’s standing as the second most used control panel.
- Does not contain some of the features that the new cPanel PRO offers, such as a built-in help form:
cPanel’s new PRO addon offers several new features which Ensim does not currently support within their control panel software. It is unknown whether Ensim will add features like those seen in the cPanel PRO addon.
- Interface can sometimes be hard to navigate, even though it is well laid out:
Along with Ensim’s more professional appearance, comes a more professional navigational structure. Although this navigational structure is very professional and well laid out, it can be confusion to some users. However, Ensim does offer very useful help documentation that will talk users through the navigation of their control panel software.
Like cPanel, Ensim has and extremely low amount of drawbacks, though cPanel and Ensim do have a lot of features which set them apart. Normally, you would expect me to tell you the best choice for your business, but I simply cannot do that. You have to choose a control panel based on what features suit you the best, and what disadvantages do not affect you, or that you can deal with or without. As a webhost myself, I offer both control panels.
