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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
7.2
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Master Data Management (MDM) Software (4th)
Workspace ONE UEM
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (6th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (7th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (2nd), 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 9.7%, down 11.5% compared to last year.
Workspace ONE UEM, on the other hand, focuses on Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), holds 12.2% mindshare, down 15.5% since last year.
Master Data Management (MDM) Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft MDS9.7%
SAP Master Data Governance14.3%
TIBCO EBX9.6%
Other66.4%
Master Data Management (MDM) Software
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Workspace ONE UEM12.2%
Microsoft Intune29.5%
ManageEngine Endpoint Central10.1%
Other48.199999999999996%
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Senior Data Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Outdated capabilities hinder data mapping efficiency but facilitate cost-free data standardization
Microsoft MDS is outdated and lacks modern capabilities.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 learning libraries, we seek tools that offer AI-enabled automated mapping without custom coding. Microsoft support for MDS is also going away.
Vishal Bhatia - PeerSpot reviewer
Trainer/Consultant at Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Effective product tracking and monitoring enhances daily operations despite needing documentation improvement
The documentation part of Workspace ONE UEM can be confusing. The documentation is not comprehensive compared to other VMware solutions or Microsoft documentation. Most people struggle to connect the dots when looking at the documentation. Even the training material and PowerPoint slide decks that trainers use are sometimes too confusing or overwhelming, with too much content but not enough clarity. The support side has recently become weaker compared to what it used to be with VMware. This is another area that needs improvement. Since working with Workspace ONE UEM from when it was AirWatch, it has improved significantly over the last five years. However, there are still some gray areas and scope for improvement, especially in documentation and workflow between different aspects of the solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft MDS is its management."
"It is very easy to deploy and provision a machine."
"It's very easy to use."
"The solution is easy to install."
"The backup and restore functionality are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"Enables non-technical people to directly interact with the BI system."
"Compared to other databases, it is easier to manage and administer."
"You can upgrade and migrate the existing group policies that we use for VMware Workspace ONE for the active directory. We can push the policies and group policies. We can migrate it and manage it from VMware Workspace ONE."
"We find it to be reliable."
"The solution has very good documentation."
"The solution's single plane of glass approach is beneficial. The endpoint management is very good and specific. One of their competitors is Intune, and you have leaks from other services within the Microsoft ecosystem."
"The location and remote management services are the most valuable."
"The product enables us to access our internal applications from anywhere in the world."
"AirWatch has one of the best User Interfaces and it's quite easy to figure out where particular items are within the menu system."
"We've found the solution to be easy to use."
 

Cons

"The solution could be better integrated into Microsoft's other products."
"Stability can be fragile at times. If you are not attentive or make a mistake, it can cause problems."
"The program's navigation tools could be improved."
"JMD repositories have records that come in thousands and millions, which takes a long time to process."
"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."
"It would be a better option to have an on-cloud version."
"The Microsoft license cost could be lower."
"Most of the Microsoft partners, especially digitally, are separate. Personnel are business people, and they do not have technical expertise, so you end up as a company spending a lot of money training your staff and your engineers."
"The pricing could always be better."
"The reverse proxy is not intuitive and it takes time to get it right, so this is something that can be improved."
"It's not accurate enough when it comes to sending items to end-users."
"I'd like to see expanded device support, particularly for IoT things like SCADA devices."
"I prefer to work with Jamf Pro because it is more specific to working with the iPad features."
"The bigger vendors like VMware, Insight, and MobileIron can assign engineers to customers. You can work with them to develop the right competency to use the product."
"We'd like to see a better connection to Microsoft Azure and a better connection with Check Point."
"The mobile SSO doesn't work as well on Android."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."
"The pricing of this solution is good."
"Product licensing is very complicated. It would be helpful to have an online calculator to estimate the cost of a license."
"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."
"With Microsoft, we buy everything though an agreement, so we purchase volume licensing every year."
"MDS is a part of the SQL Server enterprise license. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"The solution does require a license and we have enterprise licenses."
"I would like to see better pricing."
"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 tool is expensive."
"You should take out a dedicated license agreement of your MDM fleet and invest heavily in innovating in this space."
"Depending on the requirements of users, there is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"Our customers are concerned about the costs. The solution is higher than they want it to be."
"The price of VMware Workspace ONE is expensive. However, for the features that are provided, the price is reasonable. There is a subscription to use the solution."
"A person should pay towards the licensing costs of VMware Identity Manager on a yearly or monthly basis, but government and public sector units cannot for a perpetual licensing model."
"Pricing is an area that could be improved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Media Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise58
 

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 was pretty affordable. We implemented the solution without a problem.
What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?
I cannot really give specifics about disadvantages. From what we have seen, speaking to customers, Microsoft MDS was sometimes a bit slow. The frustration they had was just around usability and use...
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, Qlik and others in Master Data Management (MDM) Software. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.