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AWS Config vs AWS Systems Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
6.8
Number of Reviews
361
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
AWS Config
Ranking in Configuration Management
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
AWS Systems Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 5.4%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Config is 2.1%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Systems Manager is 5.1%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune5.4%
AWS Systems Manager5.1%
AWS Config2.1%
Other87.4%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
collaboration support engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Centralized device management has transformed security and streamlined remote provisioning
One area where Microsoft Intune can improve is the user interface. Sometimes the portal feels a bit complex and not very intuitive, especially for new users, and it can take time to find specific settings. Another point is troubleshooting. While logs are available, the diagnostic policies and sync issues can still be time-consuming and not very straightforward. I also feel that reporting could be more detailed and customizable. The built-in reports are helpful, but for deeper insights, I often need to rely on additional tools. Overall, it is a strong solution, but improving usability and troubleshooting experience would make it even better. While Microsoft Intune works very well within the Microsoft ecosystem, the integration of some third-party tools could be smoother and require less customization. Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected. In terms of features, I think more advanced automation and built-in remediation options would be helpful since common issues can be fixed automatically without manual intervention.
JV
IT Specialist
Cloud configuration has transformed our backups and user access while it reduces infrastructure costs
I consider carrying out all the configuration to be the best feature that AWS Config offers. The advantages include the manuals, though there are some things that are very detailed, which is a lot of information. I find the documentation for the configuration part especially useful, as it really supports us in bringing up our instances, generating automatic backups, and allowing us to grant certain information or a certain level of access to certain users.
GC
Senior Cloud Engineer at Prabhav Services
Efficient value synchronization across multiple accounts with good reliability
AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts. When you update the value, it's directly reflected across the system without needing manual editing. This is particularly effective for setting policies securely. The parameter store features are among the best aspects.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I can reach devices or computers over the internet. I don't need to worry about the network connectivity between the offices. I can manage any device. That is the most important part."
"Overall, the best features of Microsoft Intune are its ease of management and robust security protocols, which are what I value most about it and how it stands out."
"It is a very helpful solution."
"Microsoft Intune is a cloud solution and we can manage everything, including Azure AD, Intune, and not only mobile hand devices, such as iOS or Android, but with the main focus on workstations, which is what makes the solution powerful."
"I really appreciate the features in Microsoft Intune, including the Intune Suite Cloud PKI."
"Overall, my user experience with Microsoft Intune has been great."
"The user experience of Microsoft Intune is very friendly and the interface is very good."
"The policy and compliance monitoring of devices and the software deployment are most valuable."
"The tool protects its users' resources and data from unauthorized access, security breaches, and threats."
"The initial setup is super easy, it takes like two minutes. Literally a one-click deployment."
"The scalability is a ten out of ten."
"AWS Config has positively impacted my organization, and this is very useful for us since we use the entire cloud platform and our infrastructure is now at the cloud level."
"The solution is scalable and provides over 100 rules."
"The tracking, history logs, and security alert features are valuable because they are critical features that assist us."
"AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources."
"Installing the instances and performing upgrades is smooth and clean."
"With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems manually."
"Systems Manager has a feature where it analyzes the logs and gives us a performance overview in the form of a graph. We know when it's taking up more resources and when there are spikes, so we can predict the usability."
"Has a variety of automation options."
"I use AWS Systems Manager primarily for infrastructure management and automation. One of its key benefits is managing patches and updates for our EC2 instances, including both Windows and Linux workloads. It can perform compliance checks on all managed workloads, identifying which systems aren't compliant or haven't been patched."
"AWS provides Auto Scaling groups."
"Scalability is one of Services Manager's most valuable aspects, as it scales up along with demand."
"It is beginner-friendly with extensive features that can be learned gradually based on the user's needs and tasks."
"The store organizes parameters hierarchically, making it easier to configure and control versions. It also ensures scalability and high availability, automatically scaling to handle increasing workloads and providing reliable access to configuration data across multiple AWS availability zones."
 

Cons

"In terms of the admin experience, it is straightforward, but the Windows enrollment experience could be improved. Sometimes, for enrollment, we have to reset devices and re-enroll them. Just configuring Windows, Azure, or Active Directory doesn't enroll the devices. We need easy enrollment for Windows."
"There's a significant discrepancy in Intune pricing between tenants."
"Unfortunately, Intune’s management extension does not provide the same level of logging, and I lack the visibility in Intune that I had with SCCM."
"Sometimes, customers compare it with AirWatch, but the concept of Intune is different from other solutions. It's an application management app. It gets a bit difficult to explain it to customers, but it's not a product limitation. It takes a presale document or presentation to explain it to customers."
"Cost is the biggest factor for us right now. Microsoft Intune and AD P1 together in a bundle is a good thing to have, but it is very costly compared to other products in the market. Otherwise, Microsoft Intune is the best."
"There is room for improvement in server patch management and allowing direct uploads of EXE applications instead of needing to convert them to Intune format, which would save time."
"We faced issues with macOS support. The product should have better inventory and asset management."
"From a new user's perspective, it may be a little overwhelming because there are quite a few things to look at in the console, however, once you are sort of acclimated and are familiar with your core functions, it's fairly simple and straightforward."
"The solution is missing a configuration that can assist us when writing our programming languages."
"Improvements are needed as per customer requirements."
"There is room for improvement in built-in tools, they are not up to the mark."
"AWS Config could be improved if they could generate some training as support because it is a gigantic platform with many solutions and a lot of information, which would help us significantly."
"The reboot process for AWS instances could be improved. Microsoft Azure does not have this problem, so AWS could consider making their instances more robust. You would not need to reboot your instances frequently to replace the hardware and stuff. They can look for a better approach or mechanism to improve in the future. The concern is that you need to plan for the outage when you reboot an instance. You need to have a maintenance window where you can properly reboot the instance without affecting your application. When Amazon announces that you need to reboot an instance and are not ready, this becomes a problem."
"The solution is missing a configuration that can assist us when writing our programming languages."
"The cost is a very important factor to keep in mind because the cost of cloud services, not just AWS cloud, can be substantial if not controlled."
"Price is one of the biggest pain points with Services Manager. The pricing shoots up if there's a surge in demand."
"We formerly used third-party products to analyze the log, give us information, and find bottlenecks. Systems Manager could provide more tools that conduct this analysis, so we don't have to do it ourselves."
"Additional features can be added as per customer requirements."
"I'd like to see more automation for monitoring and managing things like AWS CloudWatch and AWS Config. It would be a significant improvement if it could automatically handle these tasks and address issues as they arise."
"AWS does not have EKS cluster backup."
"It could be agentless if there's room for improvement in the AWS Systems Manager. Currently, you have to install agents, although, for most of the latest EC2 images, the agents come preinstalled. If it could be at the level of Ansible, which is agentless, that would be fantastic. When you compare the solution to Ansible, one of the most widely accepted tools, the agentless feature stands out. So, if the AWS Systems Manager could become agentless, that would be a significant improvement."
"The AWS UIs are not the most intuitive. Also, the usability needs room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Intune is available as an individual product, but it also comes with Office 365 Premium or an Enterprise license, and the price varies for each version."
"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"Microsoft Intune is expensive."
"The price for Intune is fair."
"Every customer used to purchase licenses based on their needs."
"If you're subscribing to Premium or E3, there are no additional costs for Intune, it's included."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"I would rate the price a four out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"It is a very expensive tool. AWS pricing for Config is not fixed and depends on your organization's size and complexity."
"The solution charges us per hour. There's no license."
"As we were doing a government project so the government got the project at a very nominal cost."
"Most of the features are free. I'm not entirely certain, but I believe the pricing is generally very low. Some services that are part of Ops Manager might have associated costs."
"An AWS cloud engineer can bring down the costs."
"The platform provides excellent value for the capabilities it offers when compared to third-party tools for similar tasks."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business159
Midsize Enterprise60
Large Enterprise182
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise7
 

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 needs improvement with AWS Config?
Improvements are needed as per customer requirements.
What is your primary use case for AWS Config?
I use the solution in my company to check the vulnerabilities for all the resources, including tools like S3, EC2 Ins...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Config?
AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources. AWS ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Systems Manager?
Every AWS service comes with some associated costs. While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimi...
What needs improvement with AWS Systems Manager?
I do not use the automation feature in this product.
What is your primary use case for AWS Systems Manager?
We use various AWS services including database services such as Elastic, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and other different flavo...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
Amazon Elastic Container Registry
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Flatiron, Prezi, iZettle, British Gas, Burt, Autodesk, FanDuel
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Config vs. AWS Systems Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,998 professionals have used our research since 2012.