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AWS CloudFormation vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
233
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
7.6
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Configuration Man...
Ranking in Configuration Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (3rd), Patch Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 12.0%, up from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS CloudFormation is 1.5%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 14.4%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Gaurav Chandola - PeerSpot reviewer
We can manage all aspects of our devices from a single console, easy to scale, and quick to deploy
Intune has many benefits from the Microsoft perspective. This solution can manage Windows 10 devices, app management, and provide security solutions. We don't need to worry about our network connection, and we'll be more secure with regular security patches and compliance. Since everything will be deployed through the internet and users will log in using the internet only, the risks have been mitigated. Security updates, security patching, and the application will be targeted from Intune. The location tracker will be available to track where the device is and the user's location. The user will be restricted from accessing certain applications using compliance policies. Conditional access policies will be based on the reason why the user needs access to the application. Microsoft Intune is one of the best products in the industry for managing Windows devices. The solution has more feature restrictions. The conditional access policies also eliminate the dependency on the on-prem network for the devices. The solution also manages our security settings and a lot of other beneficial features such as Microsoft Purview which gives us the compliance portion. We can manage all aspects of our device from a single console, including M365 services. This allows us to configure data classification types, such as public, private, internal, confidential, and highly confidential.
Subash Banala - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation boosts efficiency with parameter management and a cost-effective pricing model
Our primary use case involves using numerous AWS services, including EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, and all databases. We are focused on migrating our Oracle on-premises systems to AWS cloud to optimize costs. A dditionally, we are leveraging automation infrastructure as code practices using AWS…
Abul Fazal - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless system updates, useful integration, and reliable
The initial setup for Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is simple. However, the configuration and management are not simple. Most of my clients are using the on-premise configuration. Cloud deployment is cumbersome because It requires lots of system communication to open from the cloud, and every client has to communicate with the cloud. We follow the Microsoft best practices procedure and white papers for implementation. Which includes single and multiple server deployments. The time it takes for deployment depends on the client's environment, such as the configuration and customization needed. However, the process can typically take two to three weeks to complete.

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 easy to use, simple to understand for those new to using it, and combined with the other Microsoft products it makes for an overall good package."
"It has helped with compliance. It has helped to ensure that devices comply with the organization's policy. If they are not compliant and secure, they cannot access the resources."
"Intune makes our organization more secure and flexible. We can onboard new employees faster and more securely. We are a governmental organization with strict regulations, and Intune helps us comply with those requirements."
"Intune has automated the deployment of patches and applications, which is more efficient and easier."
"Configuration profiles, remediation, scripts, and auto-pilot features are very good."
"Its direct integration with all the other products that we have from Microsoft is valuable. We're using the E5 license, and we have a whole wealth of different products available. It just makes it easier to have everything from one provider."
"What I like the most about Microsoft Intune is its ability to manage mobile devices. Through integration with System Center, it can also manage desktops and laptops."
"It is a very stable and scalable cloud-only solution."
"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 is easy to work from the console and deploy new database services."
"It is really easy to make changes to your template and update it."
"CloudFormation has helped automate the infrastructure in AWS, making the process more efficient."
"Since AWS CloudFormation integrates well with the AWS platform, it facilitates faster deployment. Building templates for AWS services within the solution is also straightforward, making the process easier."
"The most valuable feature of AWS CloudFormation is the simple tracking of infrastructure."
"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."
"I appreciate the flexibility of infrastructure as code. With CloudFormation, we can define ground rules, control usage limits, and scale our infrastructure up or down programmatically. Having this level of control through code on infra is a major benefit. That's the beauty of CloudFormation."
"This solution has made life easy with respect to patching, compliance, and OSD."
"Technical support was helpful and responsive."
"This solution captures all the devices in our infrastructure."
"It is a good choice for deployment that performs very well."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability."
"Microsoft Configuration Manager gives different tools in one solution."
"The scalability to deploy the package."
"Offers good patching."
 

Cons

"I want more secure, reliable, and efficient security policies."
"It would be better if they can reduce the cost of the license."
"There could be more wizard-driven policy development or creation. Some of the policies can get quite complex. If they have a wizard that assists the administrators in creating the policy, that will be a great job."
"We would like to see the ability to use multiple personas on a device, similar to Samsung Knox, included in future updates."
"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."
"There is improvement needed in integrating with the installed Office solutions versions, such as Office 2019. The Office 365 integrates without a problem."
"I would like some integration with the Microsoft reporting platform Power BI."
"Possibly, in future releases, it could be more enhanced."
"Improving the quality of support would be helpful."
"As soon as they manage to parametrize the whole thing and to implement parameters at all levels, it will become automatically a lot more flexible."
"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 solution needs to offer better support to other cloud vendors."
"This tool is not intuitive and there are others that are easier to understand."
"The Infrastructure Composer is not fully complete, making it necessary to tweak the code manually after generating it, which could be improved."
"If you are a developer or a more technical person, it's very difficult to learn the complete syntax or because CloudFormation includes a new way to write infrastructure code."
"There is less support for on-premise environments."
"The main room for improvement is the on-screen display. I think it would be good if some improvements were made."
"SCCM can improve on third-party application support."
"The solution could improve the functionality for automating, license management. Additionally, more and better-looking reports are needed."
"The tool's deployment can be cumbersome."
"With Microsoft Premier Support, you get what you pay for. There's Third Tier Support that you pay for. If you pay for that, you get excellent support, and if you don't pay for that, then you get the less experienced staff."
"They should improve their anti-malware policies like the SCEP policies. For instance, you can't have different policies for different servers, there is only one policy in all the servers, and everything is covered under that. For example, say you want to scan one group of servers on Saturday, and then you want to scan another group of servers on Sunday, you can't do that. You have to scan all your servers, a regular scan or a full scan, on the same day and at the same time. That's definitely one thing they need to resolve. In the next release, it would actually be nice if they included Apple products. It will also help if you can use Intune again. Their compliance reporting feature could also be better. They can maybe work a bit on that for patching now. It would be better if SCCM came with the functions of Right Click Tools built-in. If SCCM would have all those functions already built-in, we won't have to go and spend $5,000, just as an add-in from another company to get those functions."
"The database should be made to be more stable and robust, but not so much the configuration."
"There should probably be better remote support. They should also continue to improve on patch management, patching, and creating or turning products in software into deployable apps."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for Microsoft Intune is reasonable. Our clients are satisfied."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"It is cheap, but as compared to Google, it is costly. Google is cheaper, but quality-wise, Microsoft Intune is better."
"Microsoft Intune is not cost-effective as a standalone product."
"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."
"I would rate the price a four out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"I recently got to know that the AD P1 license is compulsory to use Intune Autopilot, which was surprising for me. Earlier, this was not the case. It is the wrong thing to do. We now need to purchase AD P1 licenses for us and for our customers. I would rate it a seven out of ten for pricing."
"Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value."
"If you compared serverless and container-based, serverless is less expensive. If you use certain instances the price can increase and become too expensive."
"In general, pricing within AWS is relatively affordable."
"The product is free."
"The pricing is not notably high."
"The tool is free for the AWS environment."
"The solution's cost is normal, neither cheap nor expensive."
"AWS CloudFormation doesn't have any cost because it's only the resources that you deploy with the solution that'll incur costs."
"This solution is free to use and does not require a license."
"The price could be better."
"The price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is expensive."
"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."
"Along with buying a license for MECM, we also have to buy a service called CMG (Cloud Management Gateway) which is a virtual machine in the cloud with which you can link your MECM to the Azure tenant so as to manage teleworkers."
"Presently, I am using a free trial version."
"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."
"We have to pay for a license."
"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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?
I am not concerned about the pricing or setup costs for AWS CloudFormation, as my account is funded and I haven’t nee...
What needs improvement with AWS CloudFormation?
The Infrastructure Composer is not fully complete, making it necessary to tweak the code manually after generating it...
How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that ...
How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?
ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. Wh...
What do you like most about SCCM?
One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages effi...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
CloudFormation
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS CloudFormation vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.