Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Reviews

Name: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
Brand: Red Hat
Rating: 4.3 (68 reviews)

Vendor: Red Hat

4.3 out of 5

68 reviews
97% willing to recommend

2,224 followers

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What is Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform?

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is a powerful network automation solution that allows organizations to handle every aspect of their application launch process within a single product. It enables users to share their automations so that teams within an organization can collaborate on various projects with ease. Ansible Automation Platform is designed to be used by all employees involved in the network automation process.

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is the #1 ranked solution in top Configuration Management solutions, #1 ranked solution in top Network Automation solutions, and #3 ranked solution in top Release Automation solutions. PeerSpot users give Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is most commonly compared to Microsoft Intune: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Intune. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 48% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 33% of all views.

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

February 2025

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Featured Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform reviews

Shaul Mihlar

IT Specialist at Los Angeles County Internal Services Department

The benefit is in terms of time-saving. There is more time for our team to worry about and take care of other engineering work than worrying about installing endpoints. Also, our Oracle database team is working on Ansible Playbooks to automate patching, which takes a long time to plan and do, especially in the production workloads. We are working very closely with that group. We also work with the backup group to see how we can automate the day-to-day mundane processes. All these aspects bring us a lot of value. We are saving time, and we can also restructure and understand our necessity to have extra people on the team. We can cut down costs on that. We can reorganize ourselves to focus on much better technology, such as AI and things like that, instead of wasting time doing manual processes. It has helped us achieve our mission. It helps to reduce the workforce and manage the time of our existing workforce. They can be more involved in new technologies such as AI. Understanding them takes time. They save a lot of time with automation. We use other Red Hat products. We use OpenShift. When containers started taking off, which was about six to seven years ago, the government sector did not want to go into the cloud and use AWS containers. However, in our county, the customers were demanding that. They were saying that their applications are modernizing and we need to provide them with a container environment. That is when we decided to go for it. Because we were already Red Hat customers and we have been running Red Hat Enterprise Linux since 4.x, we decided to go for OpenShift. It was the same platform, and they were offering manageable containers. That is how we brought in the container platform. It is rock-solid. We had it on-prem. We have moved it to AWS, and it is great. The new thing is OpenShift Container Platform Plus which comes with a slew of additional tools. These tools help us provide the necessary application infrastructure for containers for customers. We have Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OCP running in AWS. It takes away a lot of work. For example, if you have five security products to install, you install the first one, test it, and make sure it works. You then install the second one, the third one, and the fourth one, and then something happens. Something breaks. All that is taken away because we have foolproof systems built into our playbooks. There is also a continuous workflow from the start until the end. With Ansible Tower, the automation methodology is simple. There is ease of learning. It definitely reduces the training required to learn how to automate things for technical folks. It is much easier than writing bash scripts. This reduced training affects our operations or business. For example, if security folks come and say that they need to write a bash script that will go into their workflow to install, uninstall, and upgrade agents, that is a lot easier to do with Ansible Playbooks. It helps to bring teams together. Black lines between the operations, security, and other teams are going away. Those lines are becoming more gray and light gray. There are DevOps and SecOps, and even finance is becoming FinOps. It definitely helps teams come together, and then we try our best to guide the teams, whether it is the Oracle team or security team, so that eventually they will learn to do their own playbooks. We can always be the guardrails. It increases productivity, saves time, and even saves the cost of people working after hours trying to get these things going. It is all in the workflow. It has definitely helped to reduce the time we spend on low-value or repetitive tasks. There is a huge difference. About 20% of my staff's time is saved. They do not have to worry about things. Once you set it, you can forget it unless there is a change or there is something different. For example, the security group comes and says that they have stopped using the Cisco product. They are using some other vendor's endpoint security. In such a case, all we have to do is change those variables, and we are done. Previously, we had to go back, use the Windows uninstall program and reinstall. This is much easier.

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reviewer2399148

Systems Anslyst VII - Infrastrusture at a government with 10,001+ employees

The main benefits are reducing server configuration drift and building new servers or updating software on servers in a very consistent way. My team manages all of the server platforms. We are the middleware team. We support EAP, OpenShift, and the whole gambit. Being able to consistently configure those machines and the software on those machines so that the applications run in a consistent way, good or bad, is key. Even if it is bad, at least it is done consistently. We can pinpoint the problem, make changes from the playbook, and reapply it. We can get it corrected in a very consistent manner, and we do not actively skip a host. If somebody is manually making changes, we know where that goes. I would rate Ansible Automation Platform very highly for helping to reduce the number of steps involved in automating things. After you develop your playbook, that playbook consistently runs, and the playbooks are not difficult at all. Once you understand how Ansible works, it is straightforward. Even on a Windows platform, it is not difficult at all. However, writing new roles is a different story. I have written a couple of those. I have about a dozen or so custom roles written in PowerShell to run on Windows. Even for that, the documentation was not bad. Ansible Automation Platform can help reduce the training required to learn how to automate things. I can give somebody a playbook, and if the author of that playbook follows our standards of documentation, it eases that quite a bit. However, we have some playbooks that are pretty complicated. In those cases, they have to understand what it is doing under the covers. Onboarding to Ansible is pretty straightforward once you get the handle on what tasks are there and what to do in the pretask and the roles. Once you grasp that concept, especially the concept that every task and every playbook will run concurrently on every host which is a hard one for people to grasp, it makes a lot of sense. This reduced training has affected our operations or business. We use the platform's collection of certified content. It is very good. We can find things easily for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If we find something for Red Hat Enterprise Linux but cannot find it for Windows, we will model the Red Hat Enterprise Linux version to create one for Windows. Ansible Automation Platform has helped to reduce the time we spend on low-value or repetitive tasks. I can give a good example of that. We are also a Dynatrace shop, so we have set up monitors for our certificates on our servers. Dynatrace is alerting us when certificates are 30 days out. We have not yet hooked it up to the automation platform, but the next step is to do that. It is going to run the playbooks that are already there to renew those certificates. After that, we are going to integrate it with ServiceNow to open a ticket when it does that and close the ticket once it succeeds. We are moving down that path, but we are not quite there yet. As an example, we have to renew every single certificate in about three months. I have one playbook that we can run across all of our servers. Regardless of the type of application that is on that server, that playbook will renew the certificate from our certificate server. We will download the certificate to the machine, implement it in Windows, export it from Windows, convert it to the format that the application needs, be it a key store or a PIM file, load it into the application store, and then restart the process of that target application. If you try to do that by hand, you can just forget it.

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reviewer2399208

System Administrator at a university with 10,001+ employees

We can easily remediate a lot of the routine tasks or even break-fix issues that keep coming up. It could be a simple break for which we do not have a root cause analysis for a proper solution, but it keeps coming up. We can easily remediate such issues and have those not impact workflows for our developers while we work on a full solution in the backend. It also helps with the general tasks of maintaining systems or correcting them when things get out of line. We are able to deploy things at scale versus having someone there. Their time is much more valuable. They do not have to spend five or ten minutes here or there throughout the day when they can be focused on a more dedicated effort elsewhere. It helps us achieve our mission because we want to enable our researchers and developers to have an ecosystem that allows them to do what they need but in a secure environment. We want to protect system information, data, and IPs. We want to be able to do that at scale, quickly roll out changes, and maintain systems as needed for compliance. We want to allow all that holistically for our groups to manage. It has helped us with workflows to help expedite that process. We also use other Red Hat products. We use Satellite and IDM, and we are moving towards AAP and EDA. We chose these products to help manage our infrastructure. Because we are managing Linux systems, we want everything to work and play with each other as well as they can. We are adopting the same ecosystem. Choosing Red Hat products allows us to do that with the most reliability, and we also get support from the experts who built the programs themselves. If anything were to go wrong, we have that backup of people who are dedicated to helping us find the solution for it. With multiple Red Hat products, we have interoperability. We are able to spread across different teams. If we standardize our process on the same products and the same technologies, it means we can train other departments and other groups to manage their own piece of the pie. If they have many different products, the only people who would know how to work with a product are the ones who are dedicated to working with that product, whereas if we standardize on the same kind of ecosystem, it is easier to cross-train on that. It does a good job because the whole syntax is human-readable, and it is YAML. While it has its quirks, it is pretty straightforward. Generating playbooks, tasks, modules, and other things is pretty easy. Even the plugins are Python-based, so it is an easy language and it is near readable for Python, whereas, trying to make scripts for something or code in different languages is very tedious. You need people who are experts in making that deployable and handling any unexpected outcomes or different conditions that may cause issues, so having something that is easy and straightforward to learn and that handles all of the guesswork on the backend makes it much easier to develop automation. It helps reduce the training required to learn how to automate things. It is a very easy language to learn, and it is not like learning an entire programming language. It helps connect teams, such as developers, operations, or security so that they can automate together. Developers and operations definitely work hand in hand. Introducing infrastructure as a code or security as a code when they have not adopted that mindset can be difficult. They definitely agree with the concept but getting them to work and manage their own playbooks is a little bit more difficult because not everyone is intrinsically interested in coding even if it is a simple language. However, being able to have the partnership to say that we can help them out and they have a readable syntax is helpful. They can clearly see what is going on. It helps them a lot in understanding what is going on in the backend. We are becoming more and more productive as we get more products involved and more people on board with developing and adopting their own respective departments as code, such as infrastructure, security, IT, and anything else that we may have in the pipeline. Its collection of certified content helps out a lot. We are able to pull certified content and then use it within whatever we are trying to deploy. Everything essentially works with whatever we are trying to deploy. If it does not work, we know that it is something on our end. It helps out with identifying known goods and then working from there. It helps to reduce the time we spend on low-value or repetitive tasks. It has taken off about 45% of my workload from tedious tasks.

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform mindshare

Product category:

As of March 2025, the mindshare of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform in the Configuration Management category stands at 18.3%, down from 18.4% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

PeerAnalyst reports based on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Configuration Management	Mar 3, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Mar 3, 2025	Download
Comparison	Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Intune	Mar 3, 2025	Download
Comparison	Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager	Mar 3, 2025	Download
Comparison	Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Red Hat Satellite	Mar 3, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Microsoft Intune	4.1	10.1%	93%	240 interviews Add to research
Microsoft Configuration Manager	4.1	13.2%	90%	81 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform's most valuable features include its agentless architecture, ease of use with YAML syntax, strong community support, extensive modules, and role-based access control. Organizations appreciate the platform's scalability, quick deployment, and central management capabilities. The intuitive UI, efficient automation of tasks, and seamless integration with cloud providers and systems are highly regarded. Users value the ability to centralize operations and quickly apply reliable configuration changes.

"The automation capabilities streamline deployment processes, providing reliability and reducing manual intervention and errors."
"The automation capabilities streamline deployment processes, providing reliability and reducing manual intervention and errors."
"The capacity to install products on the operating system is very valuable."

Room for Improvement

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform needs improvements in scalability and speed due to SSH limitations. Users suggest enhancements in GUI, orchestration, and documentation. Many face challenges with credential types and integration with other tools. More modules and features for better usability, especially for non-coders, are needed. Compatibility with different Python versions and better error code descriptions are ongoing issues. Users desire improved network support, better dashboards, and a more user-friendly interface for broader adoption.

"Ansible can face scalability issues, such as limitations when trying to scale up infrastructure. It might struggle with connection dropping or spawning additional VMs under certain conditions."
"More library support for microservices architecture and Kubernetes would be helpful."
"In modern infrastructure, there are more than just servers. The initial server-centric approach in Ansible is a bit strange."

ROI

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform streamlines server provisioning and hardening, reducing the process from a week to less than a day. It efficiently saves time and effort, enabling automation of complex tasks with ease. Users report a reduction in resources needed and thousands of man-hours saved. It offers scalability across various environments and enhances maintainability. Although licensing can be costly, as more users adopt the platform, its affordability improves.

Pricing

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform offers a mix of free and paid options, attracting enterprise users for its flexibility and open-source nature. The free command-line version is widely utilized, but the more feature-rich graphical interface requires a license based on managed nodes or endpoints, which can be costly. Users express satisfaction with its ROI despite pricing concerns. The open-source AWX serves as an alternative for budget-conscious users, although it requires more complex installation efforts.

"Ansible is a lot more competitive than any of the others. Its setup was also straightforward. In fact, we just implemented Ansible on OpenShift, so that is how we are running the Ansible Automation Platform now."
"We have to be mindful of how we use Ansible because of the licensing model. I am not saying that it is unfair or we do not find value in it. Because we are trying to automate so many different things, we have to be mindful of what we are doing and how we are doing it because we are trying to stay in compliance with it."
"It is a little pricey but it is affordable. It is not that bad."

Popular Use Cases

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is primarily used for automating infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment. It supports network automation, security compliance tasks, and the orchestration of virtual machines in both on-premises and cloud environments. Users utilize it for patching, managing multi-cloud platforms, and DevOps integration. The platform enables efficient handling of tasks like software updates, server builds, and configuration changes, ensuring a streamlined deployment process across diverse ecosystems.

Service and Support

Users find Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform's customer service helpful and technical support knowledgeable. Many rely on community resources, documentation, and third-party channels for assistance. Some prefer community interaction and note direct support is unnecessary. Those who contacted technical support express satisfaction, although response times and ticket escalation vary. The support quality rates highly, with improvements noticed, but users indicate some room for better ticket handling and expertise alignment. Community engagement remains a valuable resource.

Deployment

The initial setup of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is generally straightforward, with users highlighting its ease of installation via package managers or Python pip. SSH familiarity is beneficial. While some encountered complexity with dependencies and integration, most appreciated its simplicity and agentless nature. Deployment varies based on infrastructure, with cloud setups and customization influencing duration. Documentation and community roles often facilitate the process, making it accessible for users with Linux experience.

Scalability

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is generally scalable, handling environments from a few servers to thousands effectively. Users faced challenges scaling beyond 500 nodes, encountering increased failures or needing to manage provisioning in smaller groups. Performance improvements are suggested, especially for higher node counts. Positive experiences with enterprise-scale deployments highlight its flexibility and modularity. Implementations report successful scalability for various needs, though some encountered issues with large-scale configurations and specific setup conditions.

Stability

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is considered highly stable with minimal issues. Users find it reliable, with updates addressing any bugs. Stability rates range from eight to ten out of ten, indicating strong performance. Any disruptions are usually user-induced or due to external factors like network inconsistency. Stability improves over time, and users appreciate its robust automation capabilities. Complexities may arise with specific new modules or syntax changes, but these are quickly resolved.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

33%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Energy/Utilities Company

University

Retailer

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Real Estate/Law Firm

Hospitality Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Media Company

Transportation Company

Non Profit

Pharma/Biotech Company

Logistics Company

Outsourcing Company

Legal Firm

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Performing Arts

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform include:

Maximum benefit for reduced overhead. Ansible Automation Platform is an all-in-one solution that can enable users to do the jobs of multiple products with one. Users do not need to purchase multiple products to handle their network automation and application development needs. It is equipped with prefabricated content from more than one hundred companies that are partnered with it.

Scalable. Ansible Automation Platform is a highly scalable solution. It can easily be scaled up so that automations can be extended across the various devices that make up an organization’s network.

Flexibility. Ansible Automation Platform is highly flexible. It enables users to tackle any and all automation-related tasks.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Features

Automation analytics. Ansible Automation Platform comes equipped with an automation analytics feature. This feature enables organizations to measure the effects of their automations and plan how they are going to implement automations moving forward. It makes it easy for administrators to spot anomalies in their automations and resolve them before they can escalate and become major issues.

Integration suite. Ansible Automation Platform gives organizations access to a wide variety of integrations that enable them to connect to Ansible’s partners. Now users can augment their capabilities without needing to purchase additional solutions that will enable them to run features that are not normally a part of Ansible’s array of tools. The Ansible environment is built to handle the wide variety of integrations that their partners offer. In order to accomplish this it includes the APIs that users need in order to fully benefit from the integrations.

Centralized interface. Ansible Automation Platform comes with a centralized GUI interface that enables users to manage all of their network automation and application creation activities from a single location. Businesses can guarantee that their operations are going to be handled efficiently and according to a single standard. The management process is greatly simplified. All of the tools that users need are located in one place.

Reviews from Real Users

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is a highly effective solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its automation manager and its comprehensive centralized GUI-based management interface.

MD J., a solution architect at STBL, says, “The automation manager is very good and makes things easier for customers with multi-cloud platforms.”

Aankit G., a Consultant at Pi DATACENTERS, writes, “We like the GUI-based interface for the tower. Before, we only had a command-line interface to run all the Ansible tasks. Now, the Ansible tower provides the complete GUI functionality to run, manage, and create the templates and the Ansible jobs. This includes the code and YAML file we can create. The GUI interface is the added advantage of this solution, including some integration with the different plugins.”

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform was previously known as Ansible.