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IBM MaaS360 vs IBM MobileFirst comparison

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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
319
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) (6th)
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) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM MaaS3606.1%
Microsoft Intune28.3%
Workspace ONE UEM11.3%
Other54.3%
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
Mobile App Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM MobileFirst6.5%
Android SDK10.1%
SAP Mobile Platform7.2%
Other76.2%
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

"It's easy to manage and easy to configure."
"Agile and easy to deploy MDM solution that covers the maximum number of policies. Stable, scalable, and with knowledgeable technical support."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is having all our devices compliant with our policies."
"What I appreciate most about Microsoft Intune is that we can manage multiple devices simultaneously in a single frame of time, and I can manage everything remotely from anywhere."
"We are a remote company, and the product helps us manage the global endpoints. It helps us natively manage the endpoints in the cloud from anywhere."
"The security posture is very good. It's very customizable."
"The ability to switch between Affinity and non-Affinity enrollment is great."
"It's very informative when there is an error. It allows us to backtrace where the error is and resolve that ourselves. It's a bit of a Swiss Army penknife. We find that it fixes most issues."
"The most valuable feature is that it's comprehensive - it covers mobile devices and laptops in one package."
"Using this solution has made things more convenient. Earlier, we had to depend a lot more on IT to find and resolve our issues."
"My customers value the ability to control all their devices from a central point in IBM MaaS360."
"Remote enablement feature and access to internal resources on the VPN."
"Mobile Device Configuration with policy applying: This significantly reduces time of device configuration."
"Asset management is the most valuable feature and integral for device inventory."
"We've found the scalability to be very good."
"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

"For migrations, sometimes we experience some issues with OS deployment and the user experience side."
"One thing that could be better in Microsoft Intune is the file size, as it is quite large at times."
"Some customers have reported experiencing slowness when using lower versions of the Android system."
"The interface is not as modern as some competitors in terms of single pane of glass visibility across the entire landscape. It has a very Azure vibe and may not be as graphically appealing as other products."
"While no specific feature requires immediate improvement, the ongoing expansion of reporting and inventory capabilities promises to enhance its utility."
"If you wish to block any App Store application, there is no way to do so."
"Reporting needs to be better. Sometimes, it is way too slow, and it is not even accurate."
"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."
"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."
"The look needs to be updated and it could be simpler to use."
"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."
"Configuring policies is difficult in IBM MaaS360. It also needs to improve usability."
"The reporting and alerting could be improved."
"The interface is clunky and the layout is a bit outdated. Also, I don't think MaaS360 has as many features as Intune. It doesn't integrate with Office as seamlessly as Intune does, which isn't surprising, given that Intune and Office are Microsoft products."
"The user experience really isn't so good."
"IBM MaaS360’s threat management feature needs improvement. It could identify even more malicious attacks."
"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

"The purchase of the product was handled by someone else."
"Pricing depends on the features. Microsoft offers special packages if there are more than 10,000 users, and you may be able to get a reduced rate."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The product is expensive."
"My team members bundled it together with their Microsoft solutions, including Microsoft 365 and related products."
"Intune is moderately expensive. You can get the license bundled with Office 365 E3 or E5 licenses. The E5s are a bit expensive, but you get some cheaper solutions with Intune."
"We spend a lot of money on Intune licensing, and some of our users have to be double licensed just because of how our dev and corporate environments are segmented."
"IBM MaaS360 is cheaper compared to other alternatives. Others are at least three to six times costlier."
"IBM products are expensive compared to the tools offered by its competitors. IBM MaaS360 is an expensive tool."
"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."
"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."
"IBM products are a little pricey."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"There are other solutions cheaper than IBM MaaS360, such as Microsoft Intune."
"The solution is expensive."
"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
10%
Manufacturing 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 Business122
Midsize Enterprise48
Large Enterprise160
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise12
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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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: February 2026.
882,637 professionals have used our research since 2012.