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IBM MaaS360 vs IBM MobileFirst comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
310
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
IBM MaaS360
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (13th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (8th)
IBM MobileFirst
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Mobile App Platforms (6th), Mobile Development Platforms (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM MaaS3605.4%
Microsoft Intune28.7%
Workspace ONE UEM11.5%
Other54.4%
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
Mobile App Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM MobileFirst6.4%
Android SDK10.3%
Apple iOS SDK8.4%
Other74.9%
Mobile App Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
reviewer2173776 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at a wholesaler/distributor with 11-50 employees
Bulk phone setup has become more efficient while content distribution remains manageable
The main benefit of IBM MaaS360 is phone control and rollout. I acquired it because I was onboarding 15 new people, and it was more efficient to manage 15 phones from a computer than to handle each phone individually. I was able to manage what apps people were downloading with IBM MaaS360, ensuring they had what they needed. I could monitor their downloads and remove applications if necessary.
MT
Senior Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Streamlines development of hybrid applications, and has ability to integrate device-native code
It was a cakewalk for us to develop mobile apps for three different platforms using IBM MobileFirst. Since it was a consumer application built for large-scale events, it was very crucial for us to manage application compatibility with all sort of devices. With MobielFirst, we could actually achieve this with very little trouble. With help of this product, we have been able to develop mobile applications without having complete knowledge of each mobile OS's native programming. App development, delivery, and code management have been very efficient using this product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is having all our devices compliant with our policies."
"The feature I find most valuable in Microsoft Intune is being able to configure policies and push them directly to mobile phones."
"The initial setup is not complex."
"The navigation, the keys, and the settings are easy to find. It is easy to understand."
"EAM is a godsend."
"Intune makes our organization more secure and flexible."
"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."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate most are its centralized features."
"It is a stable solution that functions twenty-four hours and seven days a week."
"It helped us reduce the number of support incidents by limiting users' access to device configurations."
"Mobile Device Configuration with policy applying: This significantly reduces time of device configuration."
"My customers value the ability to control all their devices from a central point in IBM MaaS360."
"The solution is quite stable."
"We've found the scalability to be very good."
"Maas360 uses distribution groups to deploy apps, which makes it a bit easier than, for example, Intune."
"MaaS can force people to lock their phones. Not everyone likes having a PIN and other security features on their phones, but this sets a requirement that you can't get your emails unless you have a PIN on your phone. That was a good feature, and we were able to easily increase the PIN from four digits to six digits. Overall, it was pretty user-friendly."
"I like Its capability for developing hybrid applications, with an ability to integrate device-native code as well"
"With help of this product, we have been able to develop mobile applications without having complete knowledge of each mobile OS's native programming technology. App development, delivery, and code management have been very efficient using this product."
"IBM MobileFirst has one of the most feature-rich admin panels."
 

Cons

"I have not been satisfied with it, and I am planning to change it soon. There are a lot of updates coming from Microsoft that suddenly affect our security policies."
"The pricing can be expensive if you are not combining it with other products."
"While the ability to deploy applications at startup is reliable, the policy-based application deployment method has not reached the same level of consistency."
"There are a lot of small use cases where we realized that some technical solution was missing in Microsoft in comparison to other products. For example, it lacks something similar to sensing or location-based rules and configurations."
"I, as such, do not have any specific inputs or needs. However, there is always room for improvement when it comes to scalability."
"When we implemented Intune, it would have been helpful if Microsoft had provided some videos or data about Intune."
"A major challenge is making all the products work within device management solutions like Intune. It would be beneficial if Microsoft removed support for older products much earlier in the process."
"From an end-user perspective of Microsoft Intune, I haven't experienced any challenges since installation. However, some customers have reported experiencing slowness when using lower versions of the Android system."
"Sometimes IBM MaaS360 seems buggy...The solution's technical support team is sometimes slow to respond and not competent enough."
"It would be ideal to add support for the distribution of windows.exe applications."
"The user experience really isn't so good."
"User interface is basic and not very intuitive."
"It's difficult for someone like me to set up a phone that doesn't require a SIM card, like Apple's new phones."
"We had a problem with Microsoft computers. If you downloaded emails on a Microsoft Windows Surface PC, that would also require a license. The Outlook application didn't look great for us on a PC."
"IBM MaaS360’s threat management feature needs improvement. It could identify even more malicious attacks."
"When we have MaaS360 installed on smartphones, it consumes the battery of the device at a much faster pace. This is one of the areas of improvement that I would like to highlight. We have also observed that in the contact list, a lot of duplication is happening. A single contact is duplicated three or four times, which also consumes more memory resources. If they can work on improving it for these aspects, it will have a more positive impact not only on the way the application is being consumed by the user but also on user satisfaction. A lot of new features are being deployed or rolled out by companies that are competitors of IBM MaaS360. IBM will have to ensure that all those features are on board so that we have a complete suite of features in the platform, rather than deploying multiple diverse solutions to cater to the requirements of our customers."
"There are issues with push notifications, especially for Windows mobile apps. JSONStore also crashes abruptly at times."
"I would like to see improved support for native device functions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune has been incorporated into our Microsoft E5 licenses."
"It is cheap, but as compared to Google, it is costly. Google is cheaper, but quality-wise, Microsoft Intune is better."
"The product is offered as part of a Microsoft standard bundle. The pricing can be competitive to Airwatch, and Maas360."
"Microsoft Intune is not cost-effective as a standalone product."
"No one can compete with Microsoft when it comes to price, and the features it is offering."
"Intune is cost-effective as it is included in some of the Office 365 packages."
"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"
"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."
"IBM products are a little pricey."
"Price is something for which we are always under pressure. If we have to look at the MaaS deployment, the price definitely has to come down. This is clearly one of the areas that we will have to work on, not only as a provider to our customers but also as a consumer of this service."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"IBM products are expensive compared to the tools offered by its competitors. IBM MaaS360 is an expensive tool."
"MaaS360 is priced at a balance. It is not as expensive as AirWatch or Jamf and is not a cheap solution like a few of the local products."
"The licensing structure is broken down into levels, each with different functionalities available. Depending on your license, there may be additional fees for extra features."
"I rate IBM MaaS360's pricing a six out of ten."
"IBM MaaS360 is cheaper compared to other alternatives. Others are at least three to six times costlier."
"Cost depends upon various factors. Size of the overall application and product usage matter a lot. For an enterprise-grade application, this certainly comes out as an economical solution. However, for small-scale applications, it can turn out to be on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business120
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise153
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise12
No data available
 

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM MaaS360?
The pricing and licensing experience with IBM MaaS360 was satisfactory and not expensive.
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Fiberlink MaaS360, MaaS360
MobileFirst, Worklight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bancroft, Garuda Indonesia
UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions, Gruppo Unipol, Raymond James Financial, Toshiba GCS, CST, ABK-Systeme GmbH, BNP Paribas
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Omnissa, ManageEngine and others in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM). Updated: January 2026.
880,315 professionals have used our research since 2012.