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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
6.6
Number of Reviews
331
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) (12th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (5th)
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 (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM MaaS3606.5%
Microsoft Intune27.5%
Workspace ONE UEM11.4%
Other54.6%
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
Mobile App Platforms Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM MobileFirst7.0%
Android SDK9.9%
Temenos Quantum7.7%
Other75.4%
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

"Stable solution at a good price."
"It works well if you have a Microsoft environment."
"It is a very stable and scalable cloud-only solution."
"The most valuable features in Microsoft Intune for me are application deployment, Defender deployment, and asset management."
"I really appreciate the features in Microsoft Intune, including the Intune Suite Cloud PKI."
"It is quite policy-enabled, so you can build pretty much any policy to manage remote endpoints."
"We have not experienced any bugs or glitches with this solution."
"I would recommend Microsoft Intune to others; it is a very good and scalable solution."
"Asset management is the most valuable feature and integral for device inventory."
"It is a stable solution that functions twenty-four hours and seven days a week."
"We've found the scalability to be very good."
"The tool's most valuable features are application, distribution, and security. It helps to block user access."
"The most valuable feature is the fact that we can find a lost device or shut the device down and wipe it is good for HIPAA."
"The solution is easy to implement."
"The most valuable feature is that it's comprehensive - it covers mobile devices and laptops in one package."
"It helped us reduce the number of support incidents by limiting users' access to device configurations."
"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."
"I like Its capability for developing hybrid applications, with an ability to integrate device-native code as well"
"IBM MobileFirst has one of the most feature-rich admin panels."
 

Cons

"I'd like some more reporting so that I don't have to delve into PowerShell and I can pull more of the local device information such as memory, apps installed, etc. It would be nice to be able to see the apps that are present there but might not be managed. For example, if they installed 7Zip, it could report that back via an installed program or feature to see what was currently installed."
"It should be simplified. I've worked with many different mobile device management solutions, and Intune is one of the more complex ones. It could be more simplified, and some of it is related to the wording that is being used, such as a configuration profile versus a policy. They really should have had different names to make it less confusing."
"If we could remote into a device, it would be great. Currently, we cannot directly connect to the user device. We have to use other tools such as VMware for connecting to devices."
"The platform is incredibly slow and could be more responsive. Specifically, when making changes to security policies, I would like to see those changes take effect more quickly."
"The product needs to upgrade itself when the server is overloaded."
"The worst aspect is the reporting."
"The closest Microsoft Intune can be to GPOs, the better. There needs to be more granularity on application deployments. However, they have done better recently with the application deployments."
"It needs certificate provisioning for S/MIME purposes."
"An area for improvement would be handshaking with Microsoft in terms of trying to get a DLP on Microsoft OS."
"The solution needs to offer live technical support. Right now, it's just a chat window and it's rather unhelpful."
"MaaS360 definitely caters to a few of the requirements, but when someone is going for a solution, all the features are not available in MaaS360."
"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."
"Sometimes IBM MaaS360 seems buggy...The solution's technical support team is sometimes slow to respond and not competent enough."
"We opted to go with Microsoft Intune because it just seemed to be a more mature and comprehensive enterprise solution, whereas IBM MaaS360 didn't seem to have the necessary breadth to manage all of our equipment. Along with laptops, I've had some BYODs. IBM MaaS360 just didn't seem as mature in our assessment."
"The price could be lower."
"It would be ideal to add support for the distribution of windows.exe applications."
"I would like to see improved support for native device functions."
"There are issues with push notifications, especially for Windows mobile apps. JSONStore also crashes abruptly at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We work with the subscription rather than a server license. I think it's economical this way because we don't have to have a server license for that, and I think that works in our favor."
"It is not expensive."
"The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."
"I don't have any problem as far as cost is concerned. It is bundled with our license."
"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."
"Every customer used to purchase licenses based on their needs."
"Microsoft Intune has a user-based subscription model. You can go for a monthly or a yearly payment."
"There is a license required to use this solution. However, it was part of a bundle package. Microsoft Intune is far less expensive than other solutions, such as Workspace ONE."
"There are other solutions cheaper than IBM MaaS360, such as Microsoft Intune."
"​It requires zero investment in infrastructure since it is 100% cloud.​"
"The solution is expensive."
"IBM MaaS360 is cheaper compared to other alternatives. Others are at least three to six times costlier."
"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."
"Fees are monthly and it's approximately $8 per user."
"I rate IBM MaaS360's pricing a six out of ten."
"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
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
University
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business123
Midsize Enterprise53
Large Enterprise167
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise12
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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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.
What needs improvement with IBM MaaS360?
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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, ManageEngine, JAMF and others in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM). Updated: March 2026.
884,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.