SaltStack vs VMware Aria Automation comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
168
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (3rd), Remote Access (4th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
SaltStack
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (14th), Network Automation (7th)
VMware Aria Automation
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
133
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2024, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 12.3%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SaltStack is 2.8%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation is 4.4%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management
Unique Categories:
Remote Access
4.5%
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
36.2%
Network Automation
3.4%
Cloud Management
13.7%
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
0.4%
 

Featured Reviews

TA
May 17, 2024
It solves many challenges we face in deploying and configuring devices
Intune's security features for Apple iOS and Mac OS are helpful. We can check enrollment, manage public and private settings, and manage the organization's data using security key features. Like the MCM interface, the Intune portal is flexible and easy to understand. The Cloud PKI feature helps us manage our complex certificate infrastructure across our cloud and on-prem Active Directories. We are using copilot. The settings are controlled by Intune and SCCM, so the copilot works the same regardless of the product we use. It simplifies IT operations and helps us manage both. We can use AD Connect to integrate our on-prem Active Directory, connect with hybrid devices, and manage every device in the organization.
BF
Oct 13, 2023
A strong and flexible solution that helps with configuration management
We use SaltStack for configuration management, where we maintain configurations of 150 servers. It also helps with file integrity monitoring.  We monitor the configurations against CIS standards. We run CIS benchmarks and maintain configurations with higher CIS values for each server.…
PN
Mar 20, 2023
Helps to customize the entire user frontend experience and is flexible, reliable, and scalable
As is the case with any other automation product, VMware Aria Automation also requires a journey. You will need to start slow, build the platform, and make sure you have good out-of-the-gate use cases. You can start with automating basic server requests. If you already have CICD tools in your environment, then you can integrate them and try a few playbooks. You will definitely need to train your staff so that they can keep moving forward with the tool. It is a complex product, and you will need at least one full-time employee who has experience with scripting and an interest in automation who can be dedicated to this solution. Overall, VMware Aria Automation is flexible, reliable, and scalable. With VMware Aria Automation as a cloud service, it is even easier to deploy and manage. Therefore, I would give this solution an overall rating of eight 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

"Intune's most valuable features are the device, compliance, and configuration policies."
"Great for software update needs, operating system version updates, and security policy enforcement."
"The solution is stable."
"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"This product offers an alternative solution to other UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) solutions."
"For the price, the features included with Microsoft are appealing."
"The most valuable feature for us is the security, including risk analysis and patch management."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The ability to programmatically describe the desired state of a single, or an entire fleet of servers, on-premises, and in a cloud environment."
"I want to build automation that is intelligent, part of the fabric of our environment, and is somewhat self-sustaining. I think SaltStack can help me do this."
"SaltStack has given us the ability to deal with systems at scale and rectify issues at scale."
"The automation functionality has been most valuable. With a click of a button, we are able to automate provisioning, the build of new hardware and apply patches. These are all extremely important and differentiated tasks that can be automated in SaltStack."
"The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to provide environmental security."
"It is a highly stable solution."
"We monitor the configurations against CIS standards. We run CIS benchmarks and maintain configurations with higher CIS values for each server."
"The product's most valuable features are ease of automation."
"The infrastructure has helped us to greatly increase our agility."
"Our QA department is able to spin up a new instance of Windows virtual machine and test whatever use case they have, then turn it back down whenever they are done."
"It's extremely convenient to be able to spin something up and be able to work on other things, because it's already done it, making my workload lighter."
"It is mostly for our tech support to test new versions, find bugs, and troubleshoot what is happening at customer sites."
"It is also intuitive and user-friendly... With vRealize, we can have a Help Desk individual, who might not be that techy, provision the different elements quite easily, with no almost training at all."
"We automated many tool deployments with the help of the product, cutting short manual deployments and eliminating the need for human interaction. Its most valuable features include integrating various tools and working with different products using plugins."
"Our speed of provisioning has improved. We used to build systems manually, which would take four hours or a day. Nowadays we're able to spin something up off a template... and it takes about 20 minutes."
 

Cons

"The current Intune reporting functionality could benefit from some improvements."
"Intune does not provide real-time visibility."
"They should make it easier to order it, however, that's generally true for everything from Microsoft."
"There are a couple of issues with stability."
"The installation could be improved to be simplified."
"There are items that require improvements. One is the controls from iOS."
"Its configuration is fairly complicated. You have to do quite a bit of discovery to be able to deploy it for a customer. You have to ask them a lot of questions. So, its initial deployment is the biggest challenge. They should make it easier to deploy with the use of Wizards or something else. During the deployment stage, there could be profiles for the customers who are particularly wanting to use certain feature sets of Intune."
"It just doesn't handle software updates well at all by itself. You need to be a scripting wizard to make those happen properly, or you use third-party tools. The Windows feature updates are very difficult to implement. I would like to see a proprietary built-in remote control tool. I know that they have Team Viewer integrated, but it is not seamless. It would be nice if they had a seamless remote desktop capability directly from the Intune console."
"A hardened set of tests would be much appreciated."
"It is difficult to set up."
"Web UI."
"This solution could be integrated with more hardware for an improved offering."
"Its configuration process could be better."
"SaltStack's features are minimal."
"There is a little bit of pain when it comes to libraries and what is needed to run the product."
"Deploying and configuring the solution takes a lot of time."
"We upgraded twice. The last upgrade was a bit problematic."
"For the administrator, it can be a little challenging. For the administrator, there are a lot of moving parts. It is fine once you figure out where the knobs are you need to twiddle, but it can be a challenge to get it up and running."
"The product's features for hybrid cloud integration could be better."
"The back-end has a steep learning curve."
"The stability on the 6.2 version is very bad. It crashes. VMware tech support knows the IIS component is a bit buggy."
"It's not cheap."
"vRealize Automation on the back-end is still a little complicated. It has a lot of moving pieces, simplifying that from a pure infrastructure point of view would be a good thing. I would then like to have more out-of-the-box functionality and integrations with VMware components."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I liked the tool's pricing until P2 came into effect. I am unsure about the current value versus the cost of the new licensing model."
"It is not expensive."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"The licensing costs we leave up to the customer and these vary from one to another."
"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"We don't get Intune as a separate module. Most of the time, we use it within an enterprise agreement like E3 or E5. Those licenses are at a good price, but what is annoying is that every single year they go higher."
"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."
"For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
"So much can be done with the Open Source side, and especially for smaller shops. I personally think the pricing for Enterprise is hard to justify."
"SaltStack is an open-source product."
"The pricing for this solution is roughly 20% lower than the competitive products in the market."
"The solution is free of cost."
"It is an open-source product."
"A simplified version for small businesses would be good."
"It is pricey for what you get."
"There is confusion between licensing levels. There are three different licensed versions of vRealize Automation, and there are different things which can happen in each of them."
"We have seen significant ROI. We used to have physical servers, it took 90 days to get a server, order it, buy it, and get it in. We have it down to 10 minutes, building a server with virtualization, and now that's too slow. So, we let the customer do it at their speed. Therefore, it is pretty much up in a couple of minutes and they have a server."
"The tool is expensive since it is an enterprise product."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being very expensive."
"As far as value is concerned, it has been essential to our environment. We have been able to deploy VMs quickly and the developers have their own sandbox, so they can spin up and destroy VMs at their own will."
"Customers say this solution is costlier compared to its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
What do you like most about SaltStack?
We monitor the configurations against CIS standards. We run CIS benchmarks and maintain configurations with higher CI...
What is your primary use case for SaltStack?
We use SaltStack for configuration management, where we maintain configurations of 150 servers. It also helps with fi...
What's the difference between VMware vRA (automation) and vROps (operations)?
vROP is a virtualization management solution from VMWare. It is efficient and easy to manage. You can find anything y...
Is there any way to try VMware Aria Automation for free?
When it comes to VMware Aria Automation, you have three choices for free runs: Hands-on Lab (HOL) Advanced lab A fre...
Which sectors can benefit the most from VMware Aria Automation?
I was looking at VMware Aria Automation case studies recently and I got the impression that three main kinds of compa...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
IBM CloudTD BankScotiaBankLinkedIneBayLiberty MutualTargetHyattCyxteraNetAppFacebookLyft
Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Microsoft, HCLTech and others in Configuration Management. Updated: June 2024.
787,817 professionals have used our research since 2012.