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Microsoft MDS vs Workspace ONE UEM comparison

 

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 MDS
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Master Data Management (MDM) Software (3rd)
Workspace ONE UEM
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (5th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (7th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (3rd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Microsoft MDS and Workspace ONE UEM aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Microsoft MDS is designed for Master Data Management (MDM) Software and holds a mindshare of 13.3%, up 13.0% compared to last year.
Workspace ONE UEM, on the other hand, focuses on Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), holds 14.6% mindshare, down 17.3% since last year.
Master Data Management (MDM) Software
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Satyam Saxena - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced data management and cost effective with flexible integration capabilities
If Microsoft MDS were part of Azure, it would be significantly more helpful. Additionally, integrating fuzzy duplication within MDS itself, rather than relying on SSIS, would streamline operations. The current requirement to store data in Azure tables after processing it in MDS, due to its lack of direct Azure integration, is a drawback.
Ajit Pratap Kundan - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that needs to improve scalability but is useful to manage user
There is a need for better user lifecycle management within VMware Identity Manager, along with better user governance, including the separation of duties of the users. In my company, we are not able to create a policy for the separation of duties of the users, so it is an area where improvement is required. The official authentication and fingerprint authentication should be part of VMware Identity Manager, and I feel these areas are currently missing. The scalability of the product needs to improve. The product should be tightly integrated with the third-party products because it's not like a customer is going to purchase all the VMware products, as they might have different solutions for different purposes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Enables non-technical people to directly interact with the BI system."
"It is very easy to deploy and provision a machine."
"It has been a long-standing tool in our organization since it was free."
"It's very easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft MDS is its management."
"One of the main features I have found useful is the integration with Azure active directory."
"It has a very good feature called Excel plug-in. You just have to install the plug-in, and then it directly connects to the MDS instance where you can maintain and manage your data and publish it right through Excel. You don't need to go to the front end to make any changes. It has easy integration with SQL Server, and you can use SSIS to do the ETLs. It is a part of the Microsoft stack. It works with most of the Microsoft stuff."
"More generic related things can be included in the services."
"VMware Workspace ONE is scalable."
"The most valuable feature depends on the use case of the clients. However, one feature I like is the Kiosk Mode. In the Kiosk Mode in most cases, the clients only can make available one application developed by the solution and permit the employee or the final client to use only this one application for interaction. This provides a security control layer limiting only one application functionally."
"The feature with the highest rating for me is its employee management. I can also praise how versatile it is in terms of operating systems. It has good support for multiple operating systems and can easily manage them all. Not just that, but it can also support any kind of tool that can be run on all these operating systems."
"The platform makes the mobile device management process straightforward to handle."
"The initial setup is easy and the deployment doesn't take too long."
"We've configured single sign-on for two or three enterprise customers, and it works very well."
"VMware Workspace ONE has been stable so far."
"The most valuable feature is that it will use my credentials to access various parts of the infrastructure or other solutions, such as vRealize."
 

Cons

"The only drawback is that it does not have the matching, merging, and all true MDM components. For these, you have to use another competent called Data Quality Services (DQS). You need to plug it in and use it along with MDS for true MDM. Both of these are integrated together, but you have to do them separately, whereas, in Profisee, there are a couple of screens where you can configure the matching process, create matching rules, and other things, and everything is in one product, which is not the case with MDS. In order to implement a true MDM, you need MDS, DQS, and SSIS. You have to use MDS to store your golden records, DQS to configure and standardize all your rules and matching percentages, and SSIS to load the data to DQS and MDS. At the same time, you also need Melissa Data to clean up your addresses to validate and standardize the addresses. That's the main component of true MDM. It would be good if they can create a true matching component inside MDS and merge MDS and DQS."
"I do not like using Silverlight and Internet Explorer. The new 2019 version gets rid of that, which is one of the reasons why we are looking to switch."
"The Microsoft license cost could be lower."
"The stability could be improved."
"JMD repositories have records that come in thousands and millions, which takes a long time to process."
"It would be a better option to have an on-cloud version."
"In the next version, I would like to see integration with Azure."
"The program's navigation tools could be improved."
"I'd like to see expanded device support, particularly for IoT things like SCADA devices."
"The solution's pre-stage enrollment could be improved."
"We'd like the customization to be better."
"The app installer is something that they should really change. It creates a lot of confusion for the user."
"VMware Workspace ONE for the new users or the new clients that they try to procure and learn it, there can have difficulties. It does not have user-friendly portals. The portal seems to be more user-friendly in Microsoft solutions."
"VMware Workspace ONE sometimes has bugs that prevent it from working as intended or expected. Generally, these bugs can lead to unexpected results and hinder effectiveness."
"The portal is not user-friendly."
"I tried to use the tool on an encrypted disk, but it was inconvenient."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With Microsoft, we buy everything though an agreement, so we purchase volume licensing every year."
"I would like to see better pricing."
"The solution does require a license and we have enterprise licenses."
"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."
"The pricing of this solution is good."
"MDS is a part of the SQL Server enterprise license. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."
"Product licensing is very complicated. It would be helpful to have an online calculator to estimate the cost of a license."
"Depending on the requirements of users, there is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"I think the pricing of the product needs advisement. It would be great to bundle the VM products together. I think the actual box itself should be included in the license. At present, it is not paired with the mobile device."
"While the platform offers comprehensive solutions, it can be expensive, especially if you only need it for occasional testing and deployment."
"The pricing currently is higher than the competition."
"We are paying about $145,000 a year on a three-year subscription with no ability to scale up or scale down within that class model."
"The price of the solution is costly for the number of users I am using it for."
"AirWatch would benefit from reducing the license pricing per user per month. Microsoft bundles everything, and then that bundling makes the product free for the customers."
"It's an expensive tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft MDS?
More generic related things can be included in the services.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft MDS?
Microsoft MDS is free. Currently, there is no pricing concern with the tool.
What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?
Microsoft MDS is outdated and lacks modern capabilities. It is too slow and does not support automated mapping or AI-based functionalities. Although I created Python scripts for some machine learni...
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 it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Master Data Services, Microsoft MDM, Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services, MS MDS
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ETA a.s., Apeejay Surrendra Group, Blue Star Infotech, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, New Belgium Brewing
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, TIBCO, Microsoft and others in Master Data Management (MDM) Software. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.