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

Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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 System Center Orc...
Ranking in Process Automation
26th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
vCenter Orchestrator
Ranking in Process Automation
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center Orchestrator is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.2%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Dan Campeanu - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates tasks and manages multiple servers from a central location
The initial setup was quite complex. It required careful preparation of installation steps, as many tasks were not automated as expected. Special attention was needed to prepare groups, users, and permissions at each step to ensure a smooth setup process. Please do so accurately to avoid having to start over. Challenges encountered during deployment included issues with installation and configuration and difficulties detecting machines and executing tasks as expected. Some solutions were found through trial and error during installation, while others were discovered through recommendations from other users. Despite these challenges, the deployment and rollout of Orchestrator took approximately one and a half months to ensure proper functionality.
David Villota - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides automatic monitoring capabilities that save time for users
In my company's IT environment, we use the tool to deploy production environments for products, including live manufacturing systems. The product improves my company's IT automation processes since we can use fewer resources currently. In my company, we need to spend less time considering that vCenter Orchestrator monitors everything. In general, we don't have to be present in our company to do active monitoring. Automatic monitoring is available for everything with vCenter Orchestrator, so we have proactive alerts in our company. The most valuable feature of the product in streamlining our company's workflow stems from the fact that we need to spend fewer resources and less time in general. Our company can spend time on more effective tasks like working with the plans to improve processes and so on, instead of taking care of the systems. The benefits of the product's integration capabilities were useful for HPE. My company has HPE infrastructure, and we are keen to integrate everything into the host, VMware ESXi. It is really important to have an easy integration method that allows for everything to be installed easily in a matter of minutes. I was not involved in the product's setup process. My colleague took care of the product's setup process. From what I know, I can say that the product's setup phase was straightforward. Some custom setups were to be done manually in the tool, but everything was well documented. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. One of the benefits of the product is that it is a low-cost and stable solution that offers a lot of resources. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location."
"Automation is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"vCenter Orchestrator's best features are the workflows, integration with third-party applications, and the workflow library."
"The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"Snapshots and similar features were managed well."
"The most valuable feature is that this solution is complete, and you don't need any add-ons."
"The DRS feature from VMware is very valuable to us because it balances workloads."
"In regards to the workflows, the fact that we can actually have a full dashboard library of all the existing workflows on this is great. We can see all the workflows and what all the actions do and can work with scripts."
"It has the best workflow feature."
"I am impressed with the tool's easiness to work with VMware solutions."
 

Cons

"I find the Orchestrator UI to be problematic."
"The product's management aspect needs enhancement."
"The custom workflows are very difficult and confusing."
"The solution needs to integrate with Cloud facilities like AWS and Azure."
"The product lacks GUIs. The tool should have more GUIs available, along with easier product documentation."
"I did not do the initial setup. However, it was complex at the beginning."
"There can be compatibility issues."
"vCenter Orchestrator's debugging capacity could be improved."
"I would like to see a greater ability to do mobile administration."
"VMware tools would benefit from more automation. When installing our devices and servers, we often need to install the VMware tools manually. This process should be automated during the VM installation process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I give the cost of the solution a five out of ten."
"We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost."
"We pay a yearly fee, based on our entries."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. We pay for the license and then we pay the support every year."
"The concept of hyper-convergence is smart. I don't know if it can be applied with less cost to be more affordable for small or medium-sized companies. The cost is a very important factor for it. We are currently depending on SAN storage. However, the hyper-converged solutions are depending on the storage within the hosts, such as vSAN in the VMware. It is a smart solution."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"We renew the solution's license every one or two years."
"I rate the product price a seven to eight out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"vCenter Orchestrator could be more affordable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Process Automation solutions are best for your needs.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
The platform was almost free of cost for us. We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost.
What needs improvement with Microsoft System Center Orchestrator?
The product's management aspect needs enhancement. It affects the visibility of powerful scripts that were previously accessible. Furthermore, the focus is shifting towards cloud-based features, sp...
What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?
The stability of the product is very good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?
We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.
What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?
After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed. We are considering alternatives since we lost the perpetual aspect, and support is changing.
 

Also Known As

MS System Center Orchestrator
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Beiersdorf Shared Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs. vCenter Orchestrator and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.