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AWS Systems Manager vs HashiCorp Terraform 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
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 Systems Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HashiCorp Terraform
Ranking in Configuration Management
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Systems Manager is 10.7%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HashiCorp Terraform is 3.4%, down from 3.7% 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.
Ambe Frankline - PeerSpot reviewer
Tracks every action on AWS accounts in a centralized way
Setting up AWS Systems Manager to monitor and control other services is easy. You need to link the services you want to observe and track. The time it takes to deploy depends on factors like connectivity, latency, and the complexity of the services. For example, setting up a simple application is faster than setting up a more complicated three-tier or multi-tier system. Using the solution for batch updates varies depending on the number of servers involved and the commands needed. Personally, when I do small projects at home, deploying a few servers doesn't take long. But at work, where we handle larger deployments with hundreds of servers, it's faster due to better connectivity and resources.
Eugene Paden - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures consistency and security in deployments while adapting to resource availability
The most valuable feature is predictability. When I need to put something, it is repeatable. I can deploy it in one environment, change the parameter, and it will work in another. If changes are needed, I track who did what because my Terraform scripts are version-controlled. This reduces guesswork and trial and error from the UI, replacing it with code, which enhances maintainability. In cloud environments, manual configurations can be forgotten or misunderstood if the original person leaves, but Terraform ensures documentation and consistent configurations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Intune has been a time saver and reduces the time and effort IT admins have to invest."
"The Mobile Device Management in Intune is a valuable feature."
"The Microsoft Windows Autopilot and Defender policies are the most valuable features of this solution."
"I like how Microsoft Intune lets me lock down the email profile and make it accessible only on certain devices."
"The best features include the management, which is quite good, and endpoints."
"Intune's integration with Defender and other security solutions is valuable because it offers a view into different security vulnerabilities and enables us to secure them more effectively."
"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."
"It is a comprehensive security solution that not only controls access to enterprise resources but also tracks and prevents unauthorized access, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and preventing potential data loss scenarios."
"AWS provides Auto Scaling groups."
"AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The solution's ability to scale is good."
"Has a variety of automation options."
"With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems manually."
"We frequently need to create and replicate infrastructure from various environments like dev and QA. The QA resources need to be identical to those in the dev environment. With a Terraform script, we can replicate the same 50 in the dev environment to the testing environment. This is tedious to do manually, and Terraform speeds up the process."
"The most valuable feature is predictability."
"What I like best is how easy the tool is to use. The HashiCorp Terraform language syntax is simple to learn. The Terraform.io registry feature is very useful - we can refer to our code and use pre-created modules posted there."
"It is a stable solution."
"This solution is a fast and secure way to provision infrastructure."
"The valuable features of HashiCorp Terraform are the infrastructure can be written, shared, and collaborated on using code, which speeds up deployment. Additionally, bugs and issues can be fixed in the code and redeployed, making it less risky. It is a more efficient method compared to the traditional approach of writing scripts to set up infrastructure."
"I like the function that shows me a preview of what is happening in the infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of HashiCorp Terraform is the custom modules."
 

Cons

"The biggest problem we ever have is when something goes out of date after 30 days when nobody has logged into it. We do have a problem trying to get those back online. We've been working with Microsoft to resolve that problem, but that's been the only issue that we've had in the last few years."
"In an upcoming release, I would like to see some kind of analytics report."
"Microsoft Intune's app deployment presents challenges for non-MSI and non-store apps, particularly EXEs, requiring the use of a Win32 wrapper tool and adding overhead to the process."
"The UI is not user-friendly and has room for improvement."
"The time we have to wait to deploy policies has room for improvement."
"I would like to see better integration with Microsoft. There are a few things I can still do with Jamf that I am unable to do with Intune yet."
"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."
"Microsoft Intune is not user-friendly to manage and has room for improvement."
"The AWS UIs are not the most intuitive. Also, the usability needs room for improvement."
"Every AWS service comes with some associated costs."
"AWS does not have EKS cluster backup."
"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."
"Ensuring broader OS coverage in patch management could be beneficial for the product."
"The fact that AWS Systems Manager takes time to complete the patching process, makes it an area where improvements are required."
"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."
"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."
"The price of the solution could improve."
"Terraform should monitor the backend storage more closely. You can handle it within Azure, but HashiCorp should release a dedicated tool to protect those secrets and ensure they're fully encrypted."
"HashiCorp Terraform could improve the integration with the VCloud Director. When we manage the VCloud Director we end up wasting our time when creating virtual machines. HashiCorp Terraform knows about these issues and I think there might be a workaround but they should incorporate the fix in an upcoming release."
"The product can integrate and utilize more services from different competitors. Currently, their commands are quite similar to Kubernetes, which we use in our CI/CD pipeline. Also, they should consider incorporating Windows command line, like PowerShell."
"From a user's perspective, it would be great if a UI tool is made available in the open source version as well, but I don't think it may be introduced because of the high costs for it announced by HashiCorp in its licensed version...HashiCorp Terraform can improve backward compatibility."
"I still struggle a bit when configuring VPNs when we have multiple rules. If we have five or six virtual private clouds and we have to give rights between those multiple VPCs, we can have big problems. I think it was a learning curve and then we improved it."
"They have added a feature that helps us to import existing resources to our workspace, but if they can help us to create the code for the import, as well, then it would be a great addition."
"One area for improvement could be the inclusion of more dedicated Terraform providers developed by the companies themselves, rather than relying on third-party developers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have categorized the licenses according to the size of the business. So, if it's a smaller organization, we can choose the license accordingly. If it's a big organization, then we can choose accordingly. Everything is clearly mentioned, and we can decide. It's suitable for all kinds of infrastructure, and that's very goo"
"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"We have a limited budget for security investments, so Microsoft should consider reducing pricing in our region. This would make investment more viable, especially since larger businesses in other countries can afford it easily."
"Pricing can be improved."
"The pricing for Intune and the competitor products are all within the same range, there is no true advantage when it comes to cost."
"The pricing is good because customers are not complaining about it."
"I would rate the price a four out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"The product is relatively pricey, but considering its benefits, I'd say it's fair. The benefits outweigh the expensive licensing fees, especially for large organizations, but medium-sized and smaller businesses may be unable to afford it."
"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."
"As we were doing a government project so the government got the project at a very nominal cost."
"There are free and paid versions of the solution. We use the free version."
"The solution is open-source."
"I rate the price of HashiCorp Terraform a seven out of ten."
"You can do everything with the free license of this solution."
"Terraform is a little expensive."
"The solution is fairly priced."
"We use the solution's free version."
"HashiCorp Terraform is a cost-effective solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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 Systems Manager?
With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems m...
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?
There isn't anything specific I remember at the moment.
What do you like most about HashiCorp Terraform?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the modules it offers.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HashiCorp Terraform?
I use the open-source version of Terraform, so there is no cost for me. There is a paid version available for clients...
What needs improvement with HashiCorp Terraform?
The area for improvement is the speed at which resources become available. When a new resource is introduced in AWS o...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Amazon Elastic Container Registry
Terraform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Systems Manager vs. HashiCorp Terraform and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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