Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IBM MaaS360 vs IBM MobileFirst comparison

Sponsored
 

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
323
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

"Comparing this to having an endpoint management solution, the efficiency gain may be up to 80%."
"The cloud base is perfect for me."
"The aspects I find most valuable are the managing the data and applications. I can also restrict the users to install any applications. I can also wipe the data if the phone was missplaced or stolen. These are the basics for me."
"Intune's most valuable feature is its centralized management capability."
"The thing I appreciate most about Microsoft Intune is that the management of the devices was very simplified. We have all machines connected to it at all times, whether they are in the office or working from home."
"It's easy to manage."
"The dashboards, the security, and the customization capabilities work very well for us."
"Application deployment and keeping the devices secure no matter where they are, by having this cloud solution — that has been great."
"The best feature is the ability to control mobile phones, wipe and containerize the data, and keep employees' work data separate from personal data."
"The product’s most valuable feature is email, browser, and application security."
"Mobile Device Configuration with policy applying: This significantly reduces time of device configuration."
"The solution is quite stable."
"The implementation phase of IBM MaaS360 was pretty easy."
"The ability to send an iPad out to someone and have them auto-provision it when they are out in the field is fantastic. We don't have to have it all configured before we ship it. This is probably the biggest value add."
"All features that we have deployed are useful. We do access office emails on our smartphones, and we have complete sync with Active Directory. Our calendar also gets synced in the MaaS360 application. We also ensure that the data from these official applications is not being misused by any of the employees. We have disabled cut, copy, paste, and all such features. It ensures that all the official data that our employees have on their smartphones is secure. Security is the paramount feature that we value in this product."
"I like the way mobile device management works in terms of how the data is segregated, as well as the office and personal data."
"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

"The technical support could be improved."
"The Mac integration has room for improvement."
"The backend of Microsoft Intune needs to be improved. We have seen a little bit of delay as compared to other MDM solutions. That needs to be improved. A little bit more granularity should also be added"
"They need to add more group policies. Intune currently does not have many group policies that you can deploy. Its reporting, which is very limited at the moment, also needs improvement. It will be great if they can add report customization. Its stability needs to be improved. Sometimes, when you register a device in Intune, it doesn't show up instantly on the engine portal on the admin side. They need to provide better support for complicated issues. They also have a long turnaround time."
"The security aspect could be more effective."
"There could be more features added. For me, as I mentioned, one area is the reporting. If the reporting became better, I think you would not need to use more RMMs."
"I switched away from Microsoft Intune because it cannot manage the MacBook very well."
"The documentation about the custom image setup could be better. Although Microsoft provides the steps to configure Intune or set up or deploy Intune, it doesn't have much information related to custom images. If you ask, "how can we deploy the custom image?" There is no information. The steps they mention ask you to connect to your on-premises environment or create your own image on the cloud itself once there is connectivity. But I needed to go to multiple websites to get all this information. I had to figure out how to upload the custom image if you want to use the on-premise custom image for Cloud PC. If you have the proper subscription, you must have the right access, like global admin or owner. Then you can add your custom image to that. There are no steps mentioned over there. Microsoft Intune doesn't have Chrome browser support. I would like to have that support because they will want it if we pitch the product to clients."
"Configuring policies is difficult in IBM MaaS360. It also needs to improve usability."
"The reporting and alerting could be improved."
"The solution needs to offer live technical support. Right now, it's just a chat window and it's rather unhelpful."
"The user experience really isn't so good."
"IBM MaaS360 needs to have stronger points when it comes to the area of BYOD."
"It would be ideal to add support for the distribution of windows.exe applications."
"They should allow for the building of custom reports with graphics."
"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."
"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 are partners, so we receive some discount. However, from the customer's perspective, Microsoft Intune's pricing is competitive with non-Microsoft technology, and the price is good compared to other market competitors."
"The cost is handled through our Office 365 license, so I have yet to be able to compare it directly with other tools in its class."
"We work in the charity sector, so a lot of our clients get Microsoft Premium licenses or Business Premium for free. They get ten licenses free, and a lot of our clients do not have more than ten staff members. They are getting the tool for free, so its cost is not an issue."
"I am not that aware of the pricing, but as compared to other MDM solutions, Microsoft is providing a lot of things at the organizational level. So, it is quite reasonable as compared to other MDM solutions."
"No one can compete with Microsoft when it comes to price, and the features it is offering."
"The pricing is good because customers are not complaining about it."
"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."
"The cost is somewhat on the higher side, particularly when considering certain price points, especially in markets like India."
"​It requires zero investment in infrastructure since it is 100% cloud.​"
"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."
"Fees are monthly and it's approximately $8 per user."
"IBM MaaS360 is cheaper compared to other alternatives. Others are at least three to six times costlier."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"IBM products are expensive compared to the tools offered by its competitors. IBM MaaS360 is an expensive tool."
"I feel the pricing to be very high."
"There are other solutions cheaper than IBM MaaS360, such as Microsoft Intune."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solutions are best for your needs.
884,012 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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 Enterprise49
Large Enterprise161
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise12
No data available
 

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 ...
Microsoft Intune vs IBM MaaS360 - which to choose?
Our organization researched both Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360 when considering the type of endpoint security tool...
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?
We have some challenges. If we look at the challenges we face in the market, there are a few products like Sophos, wh...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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: February 2026.
884,012 professionals have used our research since 2012.