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AWS Config vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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 Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
296
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
AWS Config
Ranking in Configuration Management
16th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Ranking in Configuration Management
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Network Automation (6th)
 

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 Config is 2.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Dineshkumar Thulasiraman - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for vulnerability scanning and data encryption
AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources. AWS Config integrates with the existing security infrastructure of our company, and it is an easy process that is not at all complicated. AWS Config is a security product. The tool protects its users' resources and data from unauthorized access, security breaches, and threats. The product helps with data encryption. You can have your data on AWS KMS, which helps with data encryption. For areas like SSL/TLS encryption, the tool offers data protection between AWS services and endpoints. As I need to learn the components of the product, I rate the overall tool a seven out of ten.
RajeshB - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers additional functionality, including warranty management
Setting up a solution involves configuring a server and a web console, which is straightforward. Network team coordination is necessary when applying it to devices. This involves creating device connection profiles and ensuring SNMP is enabled. Initially, there were challenges involved in this process, but once the setup was complete, operations proceeded smoothly. All network devices are automatically added to NPM during auto-discovery in SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, including Network Configuration Manager features. Once configuration profile credentials are established in NCM, they are automatically deployed to all network devices. The solution is easy to use and deploy, although initial setup may require coordination and overcoming challenges.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I mainly use Microsoft Intune analytics for taking that data that exists and bringing it into Power BI dashboards to make it visible to our clients, showing them all the operating systems in their environment and where the latest patches are, and then from there creating plans."
"We can securely manage both company-owned devices and personal devices enrolled in our BYOD program."
"The solution has significantly improved managing a diverse range of devices. We have observed enhancements across Android, iOS, and Windows devices."
"It's really easy to access."
"The many policies available in Microsoft Intune for managing our devices are valuable."
"The stability is good."
"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"I appreciate Intune's autopilot feature, which allows us to enroll devices and install applications to meet corporate requirements seamlessly."
"The solution is scalable and provides over 100 rules."
"The initial setup is super easy, it takes like two minutes. Literally a one-click deployment."
"The scalability is a ten out of ten."
"AWS Config's dashboard improved our company's security as it helps with the vulnerability scanning of resources."
"Installing the instances and performing upgrades is smooth and clean."
"The tool protects its users' resources and data from unauthorized access, security breaches, and threats."
"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."
"It is pretty straightforward to set up."
"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to store all the device configurations for the various network devices in NCM and making it easy for us to retrieve and look them over."
"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."
"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."
"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."
"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."
"SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager improves the mean time to repair significantly, bringing measurable benefits to customers."
 

Cons

"We are facing issues with Apple products. With macOS and iOS, there are some difficulties with the updates because we cannot get full control of Apple products. In the case of Windows, it is fine, but in the case of Apple, we have some difficulties. We cannot control everything through Intune."
"Every time we call, we get bounced to a new team... there is no cohesive end-to-end support, which is very frustrating and time-consuming."
"For additional functionality, I suggest that Microsoft could expand on asset management. Since the platform is there, they could develop it into a full-fledged asset management system."
"We only have major classifications for iOS and Android, but there are different brands that have different cycles of updates. If they can fine-tune it to make it more brand-specific, that would be even better."
"There is room for improvement in server patch management and allowing direct uploads of EXE applications instead of needing to convert them to Intune format, which would save time."
"Lacks the ability to deploy more ways of management, managing devices and processing the policies."
"It's the granularity: 'Is your firewall on? Is BitLocker on?' It's not amazing granularity. But I've looked into other products, like Duo, and they're all similar."
"A major challenge is making all the products work within device management solutions like Intune. It would be beneficial if Microsoft removed support for older products much earlier in the process."
"There is room for improvement in built-in tools, they are not up to the mark."
"The reboot process for AWS instances could be improved. Microsoft Azure does not have this problem, so AWS could consider making their instances more robust. You would not need to reboot your instances frequently to replace the hardware and stuff. They can look for a better approach or mechanism to improve in the future. The concern is that you need to plan for the outage when you reboot an instance. You need to have a maintenance window where you can properly reboot the instance without affecting your application. When Amazon announces that you need to reboot an instance and are not ready, this becomes a problem."
"Improvements are needed as per customer requirements."
"The solution is missing a configuration that can assist us when writing our programming languages."
"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."
"It would be great if they include a network service manager, network performance manager, or a privileged assessment in the next release."
"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"The AI features do not work well."
"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."
"I would like to see more features in terms of wireless reporting and more historical information for client connectivity in SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"When we run the SolarWinds NCM jobs at the cellular line, it runs in the morning. They're just not finishing. We're getting false processing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing depends on how you are providing support to your enterprise, whether it's device-based or user-based."
"There is a license needed for this solution and it is either included in one of the enterprise license agreements. Microsoft licensing is a mathematical institute, it could be quite complex. We tend to ask specialized organizations to research what the most profitable way it would be for us to use licenses in the organizations."
"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"The price for Intune is fair."
"Its price is fair. It's a normal price. It isn't too expensive or too cheap."
"It is cheap, but as compared to Google, it is costly. Google is cheaper, but quality-wise, Microsoft Intune is better."
"It is reasonable. When you have Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license, it is already licensed in that license. So, you could say it is free."
"Pricing can be improved."
"The solution charges us per hour. There's no license."
"It is a very expensive tool. AWS pricing for Config is not fixed and depends on your organization's size and complexity."
"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"Available at a moderate price"
"I have a yearly subscription."
"The pricing is good."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Photography Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Media Company
6%
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 AWS Config?
The initial setup is super easy, it takes like two minutes. Literally a one-click deployment.
What needs improvement with AWS Config?
Improvements are needed as per customer requirements.
What is your primary use case for AWS Config?
I use the solution in my company to check the vulnerabilities for all the resources, including tools like S3, EC2 Ins...
What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, featu...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
Further improvements in automation are needed. Currently, there are limitations in performing tasks without logging i...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Flatiron, Prezi, iZettle, British Gas, Burt, Autodesk, FanDuel
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Config vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.