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AWS Step Functions vs VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator 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

AWS Step Functions
Ranking in Workload Automation
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (11th)
VMware Aria Automation Orch...
Ranking in Workload Automation
15th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Workload Automation category, the mindshare of AWS Step Functions is 1.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Workload Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
AWS Step Functions1.6%
VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator0.4%
Other98.0%
Workload Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Carlos Alberto Marangon - PeerSpot reviewer
Automate complex workflows with seamless AWS integration
Step Functions provide seamless integration with AWS services, which enhances the speed of application development. The JSON app launched recently allows us to define data execution more easily. The Standard Workflows feature includes error replay capabilities, which are crucial for efficient error management. The Amazon State Language (ASL) in JSON format facilitates workflow automation and accelerates the deployment of Step Functions.
Sufyan Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Have delivered automation projects efficiently and continue to benefit from simplified orchestration
I have worked with VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator in Pakistan; it was coming with VMware Cloud Director. ISPs can configure it. We have a team who can configure and orchestrate the entire portfolio, but we never got a chance to do it independently. We have a certified team which can provide such services. VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator is seamless. We have not experienced any flaw until now. The best features of VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator include peace of mind and lesser complexity. Simplicity is crucial. There is no complexity in the system.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One can rate all the calls and that is a good feature."
"The solution is stable...The solution is easy to scale."
"AWS Step Functions acts as a high-level layer, allowing us to seamlessly integrate with microservices."
"If you want to create a workflow to call one Lambda function after another, and other serverless features, it could save you a ton of money. That's for sure."
"It's Amazon, it's scalable."
"AWS Step Functions offers advanced workflows that save time and enhance efficiency by reducing delays and ensuring consistent orchestration among various services."
"What I like the most about Amazon Step Functions is how easy it is to use."
"It's a general solution that you can adapt to your own needs and is simple to use. We like that it can be integrated with everything in the AWS suite, and that the creation of the pipeline can be done using the graphical user interface."
"The best features of VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator include peace of mind and lesser complexity; simplicity is crucial, and there is no complexity in the system."
"Primarily, customers are looking for workflows and day-to-day actions, as well as advanced templates."
"Primarily, customers are looking for workflows and day-to-day actions, as well as advanced templates."
 

Cons

"The solution's pricing could be cheaper. It is cheaper than Airflow."
"It wasn't easy to understand the licensing model. It's like if you use just a little, it's cheap, but it becomes more expensive as you use more. It's like a hook that ties you inside the Amazon ecosystem. So, it creates a dependency."
"Increasing the payload size would be beneficial."
"The interface can sometimes feel limited, as we're unable to see what AWS is running behind the scenes."
"If AWS Step Functions keeps adding more integrations, it would be even better."
"One area for improvement is the payload size. Currently, I sometimes have to save data as a file since I cannot pass it within Step Functions, necessitating caching in processes."
"It is hard to coordinate the declaratory language."
"Setup took about one day. We had some errors to understand in the beginning, but now everything is working good."
"VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator is a very solid and acceptable product, but after the transition to Broadcom, prices are very high."
"I would like to see improvements related to AI integration, which could make understanding from a language perspective easier."
"Some students, especially beginners, may find the learning curve to be steep due to a lack of requisite knowledge in backend languages like YAML, Python, or JavaScript."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's price is reasonable."
"The solution is expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
28%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Step Functions?
The integration capability is easy, whereas building state machines is tricky.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Step Functions?
My customer's usual use cases for AWS Step Functions that I've been working with include orchestration, flows, diagram creation, and creating a flow for multiple Glue jobs to run a single pipeline.
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Step Functions?
I use the Visual Workflow Editor feature of AWS Step Functions. I mainly work through code and then improve it through the visual aspect. There are two ways to do orchestration: through code and th...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator?
Pricing is not a concern for us. We generally do not handle that side of the story.
What needs improvement with VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator?
I would like to see improvements related to AI integration, which could make understanding from a language perspective easier. Features like drag-and-drop, enabling code to be written automatically...
What is your primary use case for VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator?
My company is a training company, so we deliver trainings for Aria Automation. I have been using VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator for about three years.
 

Also Known As

Amazon Step Functions, Step Functions
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alpha Apps, The Guardian, SGK, Bigfinite
1. VMware 2. Dell Technologies 3. Cisco Systems 4. IBM 5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise 6. Microsoft 7. Oracle 8. Amazon Web Services 9. Google Cloud 10. Intel 11. Accenture 12. Fujitsu 13. Hitachi Vantara 14. NetApp 15. Red Hat 16. SAP 17. Siemens 18. T-Systems 19. Verizon 20. AT&T 21. Vodafone 22. Orange 23. BT Group 24. Deutsche Telekom 25. Ericsson 26. Nokia 27. Samsung 28. Sony 29. Toshiba 30. Panasonic 31. LG Electronics 32. Philips
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