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AWS CloudFormation vs BigFix comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
250
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
AWS CloudFormation
Ranking in Configuration Management
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
BigFix
Ranking in Configuration Management
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (22nd), Patch Management (2nd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 10.2%, up from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS CloudFormation is 1.1%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BigFix is 9.1%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
Mbula Mboma - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates efficient infrastructure deployment with visibility into resource connections
I primarily use AWS CloudFormation for deploying infrastructure efficiently. For instance, if I want to create load balancers with target groups and EC2 instances, I find CloudFormation simplifies the process of deployment and configuration, reducing the possibility of errors AWS CloudFormation…
Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is fully integrated with the Microsoft platform and the Autopilot feature, which is a unique feature."
"The policy and compliance monitoring of devices and the software deployment are most valuable."
"What I like most about the tool is that it's now very easy to set up a device for someone to use. It also helps us tremendously in managing security. Before, we used on-premise management with a domain controller. It was difficult to manage security comprehensively. For example, it was hard to know which computers were updated. We weren't able to do that easily with our previous solution."
"The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult."
"The solution appears to be stable and scalable."
"Easy to use."
"We have found the solution is capable of scaling."
"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"Automations make it pretty easy to provision AWS, development, or deployment environments."
"The ability to quickly run up CloudFormation in AWS and the template validation function are the most valuable features."
"What I found most valuable in AWS CloudFormation is its configurability. The solution is easy to configure. I also like its change management configuration because that's also good."
"The most beneficial aspect lies in its capability to handle input acquisition and assessment."
"Its ability to treat infrastructure's code is valuable. It makes things automatable and reproducible."
"The nested stacks would be one of the more valuable features."
"The product uses a simple JSON file format, so it's easy for a beginner to start. But you can use Terraform once you get good hands-on experience and know the infrastructure and resources well."
"AWS CloudFormation has automated the resource-building process, thereby removing the scope of human errors. We can tag the resources which help the billing process."
"It has improved my organization because we can automate a lot of tasks. We went from manually patching machines or doing our best and having very little visibility into it to us being able to set it and forget it and getting really good results on first-pass patching."
"The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory."
"I’ve found patching to be the most valuable feature of the solution."
"It enables us to patch our systems quickly and within expectations and to increase our volume as needed. It has also helped us compress our patch sites. We used to do it monthly but now we do it weekly."
"The tool's most valuable features are patching and integration with vulnerability scanners."
"It's easy to use, not complicated."
"It is for multiple use cases. A lot of people are looking at it just for security, and that's really endpoint security. The endpoint management part of it in terms of being able to constantly do patching for Windows, Unix, macOS, Cloud, Raspberry, VMware, and all Linux flavors is important, and they are very good at that. They have support for virtually every OS on the market."
"Software distribution and patch management are the most valuable."
 

Cons

"I, as such, do not have any specific inputs or needs. However, there is always room for improvement when it comes to scalability."
"If you wish to block any App Store application, there is no way to do so."
"Onboarding of endpoint devices is not straightforward. The onboarding process was a little heavier than I thought it would be. That's the key improvement area. Obviously, the more control you have over the devices, the better it is."
"Microsoft Intune could enhance its patch management for various devices, ensuring regular updates and tracking of device privileges."
"One issue that Inutune can improve is password integration with the BitLocker key option. Another issue is assigning licenses. We can assign the licenses for some users on the BPM side, and our BPS users work on Outlook 365 but cannot access it there. A BPS person can go to the company portal and download Outlook 2016. They could improve the NDIS part to assign a license directly to the BPS person that allows them to install the Intune device manager directly on our system."
"There is room for improvement in the reporting capabilities, specifically app reporting. It is challenging to report which apps are installed on which device."
"The security aspect could be more effective. We are using other applications to manage network devices and groups, so if Microsoft Intune could improve in this area, especially on a network level, it would be a real advantage."
"Additional application deployment options e.g. MSI deployment with more complex parameters or additional side-by-side files, and non-MSI deployment options."
"Improving the quality of support would be helpful."
"I prefer Terraform over AWS CloudFormation because AWS CloudFormation is specific to just AWS. But if I want to use a multi-cloud or hybrid setup, then Terraform works better. It uses a simple language, HCL. So, if you learn HCL, you can manage your infrastructures across different cloud providers. You don't need to be specific to one cloud provider."
"The Infrastructure Composer is not fully complete, making it necessary to tweak the code manually after generating it, which could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in the optimization of AWS CloudFormation."
"This tool is not intuitive and there are others that are easier to understand."
"The conditions that can be added in AWS CloudFormation are not as powerful as any programming language."
"AWS CloudFormation allows you to use the code templates written in JSON and YAML, but not directly in Python. Adding this feature would be beneficial."
"For a beginner, it's kind of difficult to set up. So, the user does need some knowledge in order to do it."
"I would like to see more custom content."
"IBM has not focused on the Web Reports capabilities."
"The product is quite buggy and complicated to use."
"I'm looking for them to make big web UI improvements."
"We need a much better multi-tenant option."
"I remember doing restarts a few times. So, making sure that it is rock solid from an executable perspective is important."
"Maybe the online help could be improved. It'd be nice if you would have a lot more phrases and keywords that you could search for and find answers with the help."
"The reporting and dashboard parts have room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"It comes as a bundle, so you do not really know what the prices are. Microsoft does not break it down to the user cost for us. It is just bundled with our E5 license."
"The purchase of the product was handled by someone else."
"It is not expensive."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"The pricing for Microsoft Intune is reasonable. Our clients are satisfied."
"The cost is somewhat on the higher side, particularly when considering certain price points, especially in markets like India."
"Intune is cost-effective as it is included in some of the Office 365 packages."
"AWS CloudFormation doesn't have any cost because it's only the resources that you deploy with the solution that'll incur costs."
"The tool is free for the AWS environment."
"AWS CloudFormation's pricing is cheaper than that of other cloud providers."
"If you compared serverless and container-based, serverless is less expensive. If you use certain instances the price can increase and become too expensive."
"The pricing is not notably high."
"In general, pricing within AWS is relatively affordable."
"The product is free."
"The tool's pricing depends on the page model."
"I can estimate the reduced cost of servers maintenance to approximatively $500,000."
"The tool's price continues to go up. The cost per endpoint can vary, ranging from approximately 30 to 80 dollars per year. Compared to other products, pricing is in the middle. You need to buy an additional database license, but most users already have it."
"We have a subscription-based contract with BigFix."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing one out of ten."
"The cost is slightly high."
"Compliance, inventory, and licensing are really pricey. They should lower the price. It discourages users from getting onboard."
"The price of BigFix is better than the solutions. You are able to pay monthly or annually. There are not any hidden costs with BigFix. There is an additional cost for the SQL database."
"Its price is very reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
49%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
How does Google Cloud Identity compare with Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also ...
What do you like most about AWS CloudFormation?
AWS Cloud automation reduces the time needed to create AWS resources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CloudFormation?
AWS CloudFormation is free. However, there may be unexpected costs if developers deploy services incorrectly without ...
What needs improvement with AWS CloudFormation?
Improvements are needed for sharing resources between template files, especially when using AWS ( /products/amazon-aw...
What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
Implementing a business solution with BigFix has some issues, primarily concerning the time required for distribution...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
CloudFormation
Tivoli Endpoint Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia
US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS CloudFormation vs. BigFix and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,207 professionals have used our research since 2012.