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F5 BIG-IQ vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

F5 and VMware are both solutions in the Process Automation category. F5 is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.0, while VMware is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.1. F5 holds a 0.2% mindshare in PA, compared to VMware’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of VMware users who would recommend it.
F5 BIG-IQ
Read 13 F5 BIG-IQ reviews
  • 246 Views
  • 91 Comparison Views
77% willing to recommend
vCenter Orchestrator
Read 50 vCenter Orchestrator reviews
  • 165 Views
  • 127 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

vCenter Orchestrator and F5 BIG-IQ are part of the automation and management category, with vCenter Orchestrator thriving in VMware environments, whereas F5 BIG-IQ excels in managing F5 Networks appliances. F5 BIG-IQ is considered superior due to its comprehensive features, while vCenter Orchestrator stands out for its cost-effectiveness and support.

Features: vCenter Orchestrator offers workflow automation, scalable solutions, and seamless integration within VMware environments, with features like Distributed Resource Scheduler and efficient VM management. It simplifies management activities significantly. F5 BIG-IQ provides centralized management for F5 BIG-IP devices, notable for its load balancing capabilities, web application firewall (WAF), and streamlined operations management via a singular dashboard.

Room for Improvement: vCenter Orchestrator could enhance mobile administration, cross-platform compatibility, and workflow simplicity. Better integration with third-party systems and improved support response times are also recommended. F5 BIG-IQ users suggest enhancing integration with third-party products and easing interface complexity for those less versed in networking, alongside considering pricing adjustments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions typically see on-premises deployments, with vCenter Orchestrator often utilized in hybrid settings. Users generally appreciate technical support for both products, but some note speed issues in response times for vCenter Orchestrator, with VMware support gaining higher regard overall while suggesting faster issue escalation.

Pricing and ROI: vCenter Orchestrator is often viewed as expensive but can offer significant ROI within larger VMware ecosystems due to its virtualization benefits. In contrast, F5 BIG-IQ is seen as more affordable, with its inclusive licensing offering all necessary features in a single fee, often resulting in good ROI for larger setups.

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To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator
March 2025
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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

F5 BIG-IQ
Ranking in Process Automation
27th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
vCenter Orchestrator
Ranking in Process Automation
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IQ is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.2%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Ravindra-Mali - PeerSpot reviewer
Key features like SSL uploading strengthen file handling
From the study material point of view, there are multiple certifications available. The challenge is there is hardly any study material available that can be referred to or used as a study material. Of course, from the knowledge perspective, multiple courses and details are available. However, from a hands-on experience perspective, more resources should be available on the Internet, like labs and lab preparations.
Read full review
David Villota - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides automatic monitoring capabilities that save time for users
In my company's IT environment, we use the tool to deploy production environments for products, including live manufacturing systems. The product improves my company's IT automation processes since we can use fewer resources currently. In my company, we need to spend less time considering that vCenter Orchestrator monitors everything. In general, we don't have to be present in our company to do active monitoring. Automatic monitoring is available for everything with vCenter Orchestrator, so we have proactive alerts in our company. The most valuable feature of the product in streamlining our company's workflow stems from the fact that we need to spend fewer resources and less time in general. Our company can spend time on more effective tasks like working with the plans to improve processes and so on, instead of taking care of the systems. The benefits of the product's integration capabilities were useful for HPE. My company has HPE infrastructure, and we are keen to integrate everything into the host, VMware ESXi. It is really important to have an easy integration method that allows for everything to be installed easily in a matter of minutes. I was not involved in the product's setup process. My colleague took care of the product's setup process. From what I know, I can say that the product's setup phase was straightforward. Some custom setups were to be done manually in the tool, but everything was well documented. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. One of the benefits of the product is that it is a low-cost and stable solution that offers a lot of resources. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The reporting feature is quite good."
"Scalability: To move from larger boxes to smaller boxes, along with virtualization. So, we are not locked into a particular size."
"We use this solution on a daily basis, and it is very stable."
"It is quite good in a large environment where I have multiple devices; it is easy to manage the devices."
"The customer service is great."
"F5 BIG-IQ reduces the propensity for error."
"The most valuable features are load balancing and WAF."
"F5 BIG-IQ has always provided us with great support."
More F5 BIG-IQ pros
"We have excellent technical support. They have always been helpful when we have needed them."
"We can manage and relocate resources easily."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The most valuable features are the graphical UI for designing the workflows and the interfaces that come out of the box."
"What I like best about vCenter Orchestrator is that it makes life easier through automation. People can request to automate all processes with vCenter Orchestrator, such as adding storage, creating VMs, removing VMs, and extending VMs."
"vCenter Orchestrator is very reliable and stable."
"The solution is stable."
More vCenter Orchestrator pros
 

Cons

"The solution's rSeries has been made free, and iSeries should be made free as well."
"From a hands-on experience perspective, more resources should be available on the Internet, like labs and lab preparations."
"The solution should improve pricing. It's expensive in comparison to other American solutions."
"The shell, kernel, or Linux has something like a delay, especially with the Virtual Edition, when you are trying to implement it in the cloud and you want to access it remotely with web management. It would be great if they could improve their kernel. It was difficult for me, especially when I got started with BIG-IP. I was struggling to find which commands work with it. If you want to work with it, you have to be a Linux guy."
"There are a lot of scripts available on the internet for people who know how to use them, but with a graphical interface, it would be easier for new users."
"A bug caused me to lose all the configuration."
"F5 BIG-IQ is a complex solution, and it cannot manage everything related to BIG-IPs."
"F5 BIG-IQ should improve by being a complete certificate management solution because currently, it is only for Venafi. Other automation platforms, should be added."
More F5 BIG-IQ cons
"There are some update-related issues with the product."
"It could be integrated with third-party hypervisors."
"I would like to see, from within the Web Console, being able to define the project and custom templates per user; almost like how CloudSpec has approached the solution."
"Mainly VMware integrates with other products, but there is no easy way to link with other products from a different vendor. We can integrate with other products from the same vendors fairly well, but if they could make it so integration is easier with other vendors, that would really help."
"The interface could be improved to bring greater user-friendliness and ease of use."
"When the SSO certificate needs to be renewed, the upgrading and testing are quite complicated."
"The solution's price could be cheaper."
"The snapshot technology of VMware is not good compared to other solutions in the market, like Nutanix."
More vCenter Orchestrator cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay an annual subscription fee for the solution's iSeries."
"F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution."
"I would like the product to be cheaper."
"There is only one licensing fee for F5 BIG-IQ and everything is included in the price."
"My company needs to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"We provide the VMware solution to our clients, for which they pay a perpetual license."
"The product is expensive."
"This solution is expensive and the licensing is more attractive for Haveri."
"We renew the solution's license every one or two years."
"The concept of hyper-convergence is smart. I don't know if it can be applied with less cost to be more affordable for small or medium-sized companies. The cost is a very important factor for it. We are currently depending on SAN storage. However, the hyper-converged solutions are depending on the storage within the hosts, such as vSAN in the VMware. It is a smart solution."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. We pay for the license and then we pay the support every year."
"My organization didn't have to pay extra for vCenter Orchestrator. It was already included, so it's basically free. Even VMware regular support is included."
More vCenter Orchestrator pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IQ?
F5 BIG-IQ is a central management system for the BIG-IP.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IQ?
F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution.
See all answers
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IQ?
From the study material point of view, there are multiple certifications available. The challenge is there is hardly any study material available that can be referred to or used as a study material...
See all answers
What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?
The stability of the product is very good.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?
We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.
See all answers
What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?
After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed. We are considering alternatives since we lost the perpetual aspect, and support is changing.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator Logo
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Compared 11% of the time
More vCenter Orchestrator Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IQ
March 2025
F5 BIG-IQ reportDownload F5 BIG-IQ product report
Buyer's Guide
vCenter Orchestrator
March 2025
vCenter Orchestrator reportDownload vCenter Orchestrator product report
 

Overview

F5® BIG-IQ® Centralized Management provides a unified point of visibility and control for the entire F5 portfolio, ensuring administrators remain aware on the pulse of F5 devices, modules, and licenses and enabling them to deliver optimal application availability, performance, and security.

BIG-IQ manages policies,licenses, SSL certificates, BIG-IP images, and configurations for F5 appliances and for the following BIG-IP moduals across hardware and virtual editions:

  • BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager™ (LTM)
  • F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall™ (WAF)
  • BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager™ (AFM)
  • F5 SSL Orchestrator®
  • F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender®
  • BIG-IP Access Policy Manager® (APM)
  • F5 Secure Web Gateway Services
  • BIG-IP DNS
F5
VMware vCenter Orchestrator simplifies the automation of complex IT tasks and integrates with VMware vCloud Suite components to adapt and extend service delivery and operational management, effectively working with existing infrastructure, tools and processes.
VMware
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Beiersdorf Shared Services
Buyer's Guide
F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator
March 2025
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