AWS CloudFormation vs Perforce Puppet comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Perforce are both solutions in the Configuration Management category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.8, while Perforce is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.7. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.9% mindshare in CM, compared to Perforce’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Perforce users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 8, 2025

Perforce Puppet and AWS CloudFormation compete in the automation and orchestration market. Puppet stands out for its affordable pricing and strong customer support, while CloudFormation is favored for its comprehensive feature set and integration with AWS services.

Features: Perforce Puppet offers configuration management, adaptability across environments, and automation that reduces manual tasks. It supports Linux, Windows, and UNIX and includes a big code repository via Puppet Forge. AWS CloudFormation provides Infrastructure as Code capabilities, seamless AWS integration, and ease of tracking infrastructure changes with version control, making complex deployments simpler.

Room for Improvement: Perforce Puppet could enhance its integration with cloud-native environments, improve real-time monitoring capabilities, and offer more comprehensive analytics. AWS CloudFormation would benefit from extensive documentation refinement, reducing overall complexity for new users, and expanding template automation capabilities to accommodate non-AWS infrastructures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS CloudFormation's use of the AWS ecosystem offers straightforward deployment and automation of infrastructure changes although it can be complex for new users. Perforce Puppet provides a flexible deployment model aided by robust customer support, ensuring excellent configuration management across multiple platforms.

Pricing and ROI: Perforce Puppet provides cost-effective solutions with significant ROI potential due to lower initial costs and efficient automation features. AWS CloudFormation, while requiring higher initial investment, delivers strong ROI through deep AWS integration and advanced capabilities. Its extensive feature set justifies the higher price for those within the AWS ecosystem.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS CloudFormation vs. Perforce Puppet Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudFormation vs. Perforce Puppet

July 2025

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.9%, up from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS CloudFormation is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 1.4%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble

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.

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Mbula Mboma

AWS Cloud Re-Start Program Specialist at Orange RDC (Congo)

Facilitates efficient infrastructure deployment with visibility into resource connections

I primarily use AWS CloudFormation for deploying infrastructure efficiently. For instance, if I want to create load balancers with target groups and EC2 instances, I find CloudFormation simplifies the process of deployment and configuration, reducing the possibility of errors AWS CloudFormation…

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Erik Ableson

Owner at Infrageeks

A stable solution that is more suited for larger companies with mature CI/CD structures and image management processes

Puppet Enterprise is more suitable for clients working up much more structured deployment images they manage internally. Before choosing Puppet Enterprise, users should think seriously about what they're trying to accomplish and ensure they put the right pieces in place. Overall, I rate Puppet Enterprise an eight out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune can wipe devices. For example, if a disgruntled employee wants to leak the data on their company phone, Intune can terminate their access and wipe the entire device with a click."

"The most useful features in Microsoft Intune are the policy enforcement and conditional access."

"I would rate the overall solution as a 10."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is patching-related capabilities."

"Microsoft Intune simplifies device management by replacing the traditional method of installing OS, joining a domain, and configuring everything manually."

"The reporting and analytics features in Microsoft Intune have been a lifesaver."

"It's easy to manage."

"I would rate the stability of Microsoft Intune nine out of ten."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The CloudFormation template can be reused to create multiple stacks, reducing duplications and improving our infrastructure."

"The most beneficial aspect lies in its capability to handle input acquisition and assessment."

"The nested stacks would be one of the more valuable features."

"The ability to quickly run up CloudFormation in AWS and the template validation function are the most valuable features."

"There is a cost-benefit to using CloudFormation that comes about because of the automation that it provides."

"The most valuable feature of AWS CloudFormation is the simple tracking of infrastructure."

"I appreciate the flexibility of infrastructure as code. With CloudFormation, we can define ground rules, control usage limits, and scale our infrastructure up or down programmatically. Having this level of control through code on infra is a major benefit. That's the beauty of CloudFormation."

"Automations make it pretty easy to provision AWS, development, or deployment environments."

More AWS CloudFormation pros

"The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features."

"Puppet3 and 4 series provides optimum deployment solutions for infrastructure and applications."

"I rate the stability of Puppet as ten out of ten."

"Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly."

"Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes."

"The main purpose for this automation tool would be: deploying, controlling, ordering change for the system and IT Infrastructure."

"Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution."

"Puppet Enterprise has good functionalities."

More Perforce Puppet pros

Cons

"We haven't really gone through all the features of Intune. We are just discovering them. Every day, we see a new feature that we want to apply, but what will be great for Intune is to be able to deploy apps in a simple fashion. We should be able to easily install various apps on the Windows platform, iOS, and Android. Currently, we have to write some scripts. It's not as straightforward as we would like it to be. It should be simplified so that we can do it just with three clicks—next, next, finish—without needing to write a script."

"Intune's reporting and logging could be improved. When troubleshooting, it's difficult to collect the logs and determine what's happening. If I want to filter out the compliant devices, I can see it from the logs, but I would like the option to drill down further."

"China blocks Google and Google Play Store, which makes installation challenging. Microsoft Intune is a company software, which has to be installed to the app portal or Microsoft Software Center."

"In terms of the admin experience, it is straightforward, but the Windows enrollment experience could be improved. Sometimes, for enrollment, we have to reset devices and re-enroll them. Just configuring Windows, Azure, or Active Directory doesn't enroll the devices. We need easy enrollment for Windows."

"I would like to see better integration with Microsoft."

"Reporting can be better. Only global administrators can see detailed reports at the moment, and I don't want to use the global admin."

"The time we have to wait to deploy policies has room for improvement."

"I rate Microsoft customer service six out of 10. While some technicians go above and beyond, there is inconsistency, and connecting with the most helpful representatives is occasionally challenging."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"This tool is not intuitive and there are others that are easier to understand."

"There could be more tools for conditional outputs in CloudFormation. Although YAML syntax is structured and AWS has CDK, perhaps more validations could be added to make the work easier."

"There could be better error handling. It would be a good way to improve the solution."

"For improvement, it's crucial that AWS provides options in terms of computing services, DB related services, and machine learning solutions. If I'm not hands-on with a particular service, like machine learning applications, I struggle to write the CloudFormation code."

"One area where AWS CloudFormation could improve is by offering more flexibility in creating custom templates."

"It would help all users if AWS improved the auto-generation of the CloudFormation file."

"For a beginner, it's kind of difficult to set up. So, the user does need some knowledge in order to do it."

"Improving the quality of support would be helpful."

More AWS CloudFormation cons

"Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."

"We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications."

"There's a lot of scope for enhancement on the DevSecOps side. They should definitely include features for compliance, for both the Linux and Windows side of the devices, as well as for network devices. Compliance is something they need to work on."

"It's a bit of a pain point to make sure that everything works once we've upgraded it because Puppet has been evolving pretty fast."

"Clients with less technical expertise may find Puppet complex to configure. Our team may struggle if technical team members leave the organization, leaving others uncertain about using the tool."

"Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."

"At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex."

"The solution has really complex code, you have to understand the Ruby language. However, once you know the code then you can move ahead without any problems."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."

"Intune's pricing is competitive. For example, the license of Blackberry's Enterprise Mobility Suite was costly, but Intune is affordable. It is included as an additional feature when you buy security enhancements for your organization. For example, let's say I have fifty users in my organization and all of them are using Microsoft cloud services, like Teams, Office 365, and OneDrive."

"There is a cost benefit of using Microsoft Intune because of the packaging with other Microsoft products."

"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."

"The product is relatively pricey, but considering its benefits, I'd say it's fair. The benefits outweigh the expensive licensing fees, especially for large organizations, but medium-sized and smaller businesses may be unable to afford it."

"Intune is cost-effective as it is included in some of the Office 365 packages."

"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."

"I have no comment on pricing of the solution."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"The tool is free for the AWS environment."

"The product is free."

"There's no cost for launching any template using CloudFormation."

"This solution is free to use and does not require a license."

"The solution's cost is normal, neither cheap nor expensive."

"AWS CloudFormation's pricing is cheaper than that of other cloud providers."

"If you compared serverless and container-based, serverless is less expensive. If you use certain instances the price can increase and become too expensive."

"The tool's pricing depends on the page model."

More AWS CloudFormation pricing and cost advice

"The main thing that we noticed when we switched from the enterprise version to the community version was the difference in cost — the infrastructure is pretty expensive."

"Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."

"Puppet Enterprise’s pricing is competitive."

"Depending on the size of the organization there is a point when the price of Puppet Enterprise should be lower. However, they provide really good functionality, features, and capabilities."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Retailer

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

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 ...

See all answers

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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about AWS CloudFormation?

AWS Cloud automation reduces the time needed to create AWS resources.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CloudFormation?

AWS CloudFormation is free. However, there may be unexpected costs if developers deploy services incorrectly without ...

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What needs improvement with AWS CloudFormation?

Improvements are needed for sharing resources between template files, especially when using AWS ( /products/amazon-aw...

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What do you like most about Puppet Enterprise?

Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Puppet Enterprise?

Regarding the cost, I find it expensive, always. I don't know how much the license would cost per year or per user ap...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Puppet Enterprise?

I don't know what could be improved in Perforce Puppet to make this tool better for the next release. I can't think o...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 8% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 6% of the time

Samsung Knox vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 4% of the time

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AWS Systems Manager vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 26% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 13% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 11% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 11% of the time

More AWS CloudFormation Competitors

AWS Systems Manager vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 31% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 26% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 19% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 13% of the time

More Perforce Puppet Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Intune

August 2025

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudFormation

August 2025

Download AWS CloudFormation product report

Buyer's Guide

Perforce Puppet

August 2025

Download Perforce Puppet product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

CloudFormation

Puppet

Overview

Microsoft Intune provides centralized management of mobile devices and applications, ensuring security, compliance, and productivity through integration with Microsoft services like Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory.

Organizations use Intune for managing mobile devices and applications, enhancing security and compliance across platforms. With features like single sign-on, conditional access, and zero-touch deployment via Autopilot, it facilitates efficient operations. Intune's scalability, easy enrollment, and capabilities such as remote wipe support diverse device management, offering robust data protection and efficient operation. Despite its features, improvement areas include reporting, compatibility with non-Microsoft devices, and better support for macOS and Linux devices.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Seamless Integration: Works with Microsoft 365, Azure Active Directory, and System Center for streamlined management.
Conditional Access: Enhances security with policies that restrict access based on conditions.
Autopilot: Provides zero-touch deployment for setting up new devices efficiently.
Mobile Device Management: Enables control over both personal and corporate devices.
Application Deployment: Facilitates app delivery across a range of devices.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Centralized Management: Reduces complexity by managing devices and applications in one place.
Security Enhancement: Protects data with features like remote wipe and compliance monitoring.
Improved Productivity: Enhances efficiency with seamless integration and automation features.
Device Scalability: Supports diverse device management for growing business needs.

In industries such as finance, healthcare, and education, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure secure and compliant device management. Companies leverage its capabilities to deploy security policies and manage both corporate-owned and BYOD environments, facilitating a unified approach to data protection and compliance.

Microsoft

AWS CloudFormation provides a common language for you to model and provision AWS and third party application resources in your cloud environment. AWS CloudFormation allows you to use programming languages or a simple text file to model and provision, in an automated and secure manner, all the resources needed for your applications across all regions and accounts. This gives you a single source of truth for your AWS and third party resources.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Perforce Puppet provides robust features for configuration management, compatible with Linux, Windows, and UNIX. It simplifies infrastructure management with automation and role-based access control, though it requires mastering command-line operations due to limited GUI.

Perforce Puppet utilizes a hub-spoke architecture to enhance automation across production environments, excelling in provisioning and configuration management for on-prem servers. Its infrastructure as code approach eases deployment and maintenance, supported by community resources for stabilization. Support for diverse devices makes it adaptable for complex configurations, but pricing and integration gaps, especially with Infosec tools, pose challenges for some.

What are the key features of Perforce Puppet?

Remote Package Installation: Centralized server management for remote installations
File Management: Streamlined file operations from a single point
Infrastructure as Code: Simplifies infrastructure maintenance
Scalability: Grows with organizational demands
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures secure user management
Device State Control: Efficient device integration and configuration

What benefits should users expect?

Automation Efficiency: Reduces manual tasks with hub-spoke architecture
Versatility: Supports multiple operating systems
Community Support: Backed by a stable and organized community
Configuration Simplicity: Simplifies and streamlines setup processes

Puppet is implemented across industries for managing production servers, especially in regulated environments. Its security compliance checks ensure adherence to required standards, while public configurations assist in device network integration. Industries benefit from its ability to streamline Linux server automation and explore expansion into Windows systems to meet cross-platform requirements.

Perforce

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia

Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudFormation vs. Perforce Puppet

July 2025

Free Report: AWS CloudFormation vs. Perforce Puppet

Find out what your peers are saying about AWS CloudFormation vs. Perforce Puppet and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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