VMware Aria Automation and AWS CloudFormation compete in the cloud automation and management category. VMware Aria Automation has an edge with enterprises needing comprehensive integration and automation, while AWS CloudFormation stands out for its simplicity and scalability within AWS environments.
Features: VMware Aria Automation is noted for its orchestration capabilities, self-service portals, and hybrid cloud setups, making it suitable for complex, multi-cloud environments. It offers extensive automation features and integration capabilities ideal for enterprises deeply invested in VMware's ecosystem. AWS CloudFormation excels with its infrastructure as code approach, allowing users to manage AWS services with predefined templates. Its strength lies in its simplicity and scalability, offering seamless integration within AWS, making it ideal for organizations primarily operating within AWS.
Room for Improvement: VMware Aria Automation could enhance its integration with non-VMware systems and improve its user interface and support documentation. The steep learning curve also demands a more user-friendly interface. AWS CloudFormation could benefit from expanding support beyond AWS and improving complex scenario handling such as cross-account references. Enhanced template creation tools and faster service updates would also address user needs better.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware Aria Automation is generally deployed on-premises, catering to private cloud strategies. It is praised for its robust customer service, though complexity and customization needs may delay support responses. AWS CloudFormation, designed for public cloud deployment, benefits from AWS's strong global support but lacks the personalized service VMware may offer. Its detailed documentation and active community support assist users, although beginners might face challenges during initial setups without a coding background.
Pricing and ROI: VMware Aria Automation is costly, with bundled licensing structures. Users justify its price by the ROI gained from advanced integration and automation capabilities. On the other hand, AWS CloudFormation is free, with charges applied only to deployed AWS resources, offering a more cost-effective model for AWS environments. Both enable significant ROI by reducing manual processes; however, VMware's upfront investment provides long-term benefits, while AWS CloudFormation offers immediate cost savings depending on usage.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
Applications are deployed through Intune, and we see fewer tickets for common issues because we can resolve them through the solution.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
While this might be acceptable for some, it can be lengthy depending on the urgency of the issue.
Free support for AWS CloudFormation is not provided, and while some support is understandable due to its complexity, assistance for service-related issues should be accessible without a cost.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
Splitting CloudFormation into multiple formations results in changes to resources like API gateway URLs and Cognito pools, which causes issues, especially when trying to maintain consistency across resources.
Adjusting capacity and functionality is a fundamental use.
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
A couple of years ago, the performance was not as good as it is now, but there are noticeable backend improvements.
We've encountered problems with other services like Exchange, Intune has remained unaffected.
It has been reliable and efficient in all my deployments.
Data loss can occur when splitting or scaling applications due to changes in resources.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
It presents challenges for users unfamiliar with coding, posing as a barrier to fully utilizing CloudFormation.
Creating microservices and connecting multiple APIs into a single API gateway can be challenging; documentation should address specific needs.
It operates for both of my products, however, as a product, it is complicated to integrate and automate with other products.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
We get Intune bundled with our Microsoft agreement.
AWS CloudFormation is free.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
I can see the entire infrastructure and its connections through code.
Managing, maintaining, and deploying become easier as it allows the creation of the same resources on multiple accounts, making it efficient for infrastructure management.
It helps us automate the workflow of creating many VMs and the TensorFlow key method.
Microsoft Intune provides centralized management of mobile devices and applications, ensuring security, compliance, and productivity through integration with Microsoft services like Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory.
Organizations use Intune for managing mobile devices and applications, enhancing security and compliance across platforms. With features like single sign-on, conditional access, and zero-touch deployment via Autopilot, it facilitates efficient operations. Intune's scalability, easy enrollment, and capabilities such as remote wipe support diverse device management, offering robust data protection and efficient operation. Despite its features, improvement areas include reporting, compatibility with non-Microsoft devices, and better support for macOS and Linux devices.
What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?
What benefits should users look for in reviews?
In industries such as finance, healthcare, and education, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure secure and compliant device management. Companies leverage its capabilities to deploy security policies and manage both corporate-owned and BYOD environments, facilitating a unified approach to data protection and compliance.
AWS CloudFormation provides a common language for you to model and provision AWS and third party application resources in your cloud environment. AWS CloudFormation allows you to use programming languages or a simple text file to model and provision, in an automated and secure manner, all the resources needed for your applications across all regions and accounts. This gives you a single source of truth for your AWS and third party resources.
VMware Aria Automation is a cloud management tool that allows companies to simplify their cloud experience through a modern automation platform. The solution is designed to deliver self-service clouds, multi-cloud automation with governance, and DevOps-based security and infrastructure management. It helps organizations improve IT agility, efficiency, and productivity through its various features.
VMware Aria Automation has multiple use cases that include the following:
VMware Aria Automation Features
VMware Aria Automation has various features that allow users to easily perform operations. Some of the solution's capacities include:
VMware Aria Automation Benefits
VMware Aria Automation offers its users various benefits. Some of the biggest advantages that the solution brings to companies that utilize it include:
Reviews from Real Users
Awais J., CTO/CEO at a tech services company, likes VMware Aria Automation because it saves a lot of time, provides more visibility, and has extensive automation capabilities.
An IT consultant at a government rates VMware Aria Automation highly because the product gives you flexibility to analyze and consume resources.
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