AWS Systems Manager vs Microsoft Configuration Manager comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are both solutions in the Configuration Management category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 10.7% mindshare in CM, compared to Microsoft’s 12.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Microsoft Configuration Manager and AWS Systems Manager are enterprise system management solutions. Microsoft Configuration Manager is advantageous for organizations needing strong compliance enforcement, while AWS Systems Manager favors automation and integration within the AWS ecosystem.

Features: Microsoft Configuration Manager offers robust capabilities in deploying standardized operating systems, comprehensive application deployment, and enforcing configuration integrity. AWS Systems Manager provides seamless AWS integration, parameter store management, and dynamic policy updates, streamlining AWS resource management.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Configuration Manager requires enhanced performance, better Linux support, and improved compliance reporting. AWS Systems Manager could improve with more intuitive user interfaces, enhanced automation capabilities, and better cross-account management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager, primarily an on-premises or hybrid cloud solution, involves complex setup but is backed by robust documentation and positive technical support. AWS Systems Manager simplifies cloud deployment for AWS users and is praised for strong technical support and online resources.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Configuration Manager has high licensing and setup costs but offers substantial ROI through efficiencies. AWS Systems Manager is cost-effective for AWS clientele, with many features included at no extra charge, and higher pricing only under increased demand. Both deliver positive ROI by streamlining operations and reducing manual tasks.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Systems Manager vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Systems Manager vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager

June 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 June 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 10.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Systems Manager is 10.7%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 12.3%, down from 13.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi

Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Everything has worked better since we started using it

Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.

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Ambe Frankline

Cloud/DevOps Engineer at Innovative Technology Systems

Tracks every action on AWS accounts in a centralized way

Setting up AWS Systems Manager to monitor and control other services is easy. You need to link the services you want to observe and track. The time it takes to deploy depends on factors like connectivity, latency, and the complexity of the services. For example, setting up a simple application is faster than setting up a more complicated three-tier or multi-tier system. Using the solution for batch updates varies depending on the number of servers involved and the commands needed. Personally, when I do small projects at home, deploying a few servers doesn't take long. But at work, where we handle larger deployments with hundreds of servers, it's faster due to better connectivity and resources.

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MikeNelson2

IT Infrastructure Coordinator at NSW Government

Deployment recovery works well but requires configuration improvements

While I do not use the product frequently, many issues were due to configuration rather than the product itself. I cannot give an exact recommendation as it is not my area of responsibility. The team that uses it finds it adequate. It is presently good enough for us not to investigate other options. Overall, I rate the product a six 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

"The most important thing for me is the autopilot feature."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Intune include remote updates. The update runs in the background, so there's no need in most cases to go on-site to do it."

"The device profiling which uses the official Outlook email enabled us to control the screenshot feature and prevent copying outside of the organization's application."

"Configuration profiles, remediation, scripts, and auto-pilot features are very good."

"I like Intune's ability to manage roles, maintenance tasks, compliance settings, and patch development for all endpoints."

"EAM is a godsend."

"The most valuable feature of Intune is the ability to reset a lost device and remove all the data."

"It's not working perfectly, but Microsoft's Autopilot offers great visibility into automated deployment solutions."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The solution is user-friendly"

"I use AWS Systems Manager primarily for infrastructure management and automation. One of its key benefits is managing patches and updates for our EC2 instances, including both Windows and Linux workloads. It can perform compliance checks on all managed workloads, identifying which systems aren't compliant or haven't been patched."

"Systems Manager has a feature where it analyzes the logs and gives us a performance overview in the form of a graph. We know when it's taking up more resources and when there are spikes, so we can predict the usability."

"AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts"

"AWS provides Auto Scaling groups."

"It is beginner-friendly with extensive features that can be learned gradually based on the user's needs and tasks."

"The store organizes parameters hierarchically, making it easier to configure and control versions. It also ensures scalability and high availability, automatically scaling to handle increasing workloads and providing reliable access to configuration data across multiple AWS availability zones."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the change management option. It tracks every action on my AWS accounts in a centralized way, acting like a control tool for me. This is especially useful when working with Kubernetes and AWS ECS services. Additionally, my colleagues and clients often use the application management tools for configuration, parameters, and installations."

More AWS Systems Manager pros

"With the SCCM inventory, we found a lot of rogue applications. We were able to identify them, find out who was running them, and either put them on our application list or remove them."

"I like a lot of the reporting capabilities and baseline configurations."

"The ease of usability is the most valuable feature. It's user-friendly."

"It uses detailed descriptions of the workstations, and that is good for me."

"The solution is user-friendly and easy to learn."

"We're a Microsoft-centric organization, so we are happy with the integration between products."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its ability to deploy patches to nearly all applications."

"Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is valuable in keeping our systems updated. We are able to send updates to all the systems. Additionally, the Intune integration is helpful."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"From my level of analysis, the feature I would prefer to see added to Microsoft Intune is extensive support. Anything that helps to diagnose the problem and solve it would be useful."

"For an existing customer who has an SCCM, it would need to be upgraded to an MECM first before I can introduce Microsoft Intune."

"Lacking ability to leverage more iOS device management internally."

"Intune could be improved by expanding its third-party patching capabilities for a more comprehensive solution."

"Microsoft Intune's app deployment presents challenges for non-MSI and non-store apps, particularly EXEs, requiring the use of a Win32 wrapper tool and adding overhead to the process."

"The reporting causes problems because we're trying to gather data to present to the management, but we can't get the data they request. If a user has removed an application from his device, but it won't report it at exactly the right time. It takes time to sync from the device to the portal. Let's say we are preparing a list or deck for the number of compliant devices that meet all of the organization's requirements. In a real-time scenario, that device could be compliant, but it is showing as non-compliant on the portal. It sometimes hampers the overall decisions that we make on our end."

"Microsoft Intune could enhance its patch management for various devices, ensuring regular updates and tracking of device privileges."

"Enrollment into the Microsoft Intune service can still get easier, especially for legacy-managed systems, such as how we get it from a GPO or an SCCM configuration into Intune."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"It could be agentless if there's room for improvement in the AWS Systems Manager. Currently, you have to install agents, although, for most of the latest EC2 images, the agents come preinstalled. If it could be at the level of Ansible, which is agentless, that would be fantastic. When you compare the solution to Ansible, one of the most widely accepted tools, the agentless feature stands out. So, if the AWS Systems Manager could become agentless, that would be a significant improvement."

"The AWS UIs are not the most intuitive. Also, the usability needs room for improvement."

"AWS does not have EKS cluster backup."

"Additional features can be added as per customer requirements."

"The current challenge is that we can't pull any incidents from other accounts."

"Ensuring broader OS coverage in patch management could be beneficial for the product."

"I'd like to see more automation for monitoring and managing things like AWS CloudWatch and AWS Config. It would be a significant improvement if it could automatically handle these tasks and address issues as they arise."

"The fact that AWS Systems Manager takes time to complete the patching process, makes it an area where improvements are required."

More AWS Systems Manager cons

"Our company would prefer not rebooting computers while people are using them. There seems to be no strategy behind it."

"It does seem a bit buggy from time to time."

"There's no way to say, "I want this maintenance window to be on the second Tuesday of the month." It's strict. This window is this and that's it. You can't fluctuate."

"SCCM does not scale well, which is one of the reasons we are not going to continue to use it."

"Regarding this, I'd like to mention the agent situation. When the agent on an end-user device is not functioning correctly, it can be quite problematic. It would be highly beneficial if there were a self-healing mechanism in place. Essentially, if the agent becomes corrupted or encounters issues, it should be able to rectify itself autonomously. This is particularly critical because, in order to utilize a tool like MECM (assuming you're referring to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager), we need to deploy agents, known as AsMs, on all the devices we use, such as Windows 10 or Windows Server. Sometimes, when we deploy configurations or updates, they don't apply properly due to agent issues. This issue has been present since we began using MECM around 23 years ago. Unfortunately, there is currently no built-in mechanism for the agent to detect its own problems and initiate self-repair. Microsoft doesn’t have any feature to scan vulnerabilities and hence, they could include those."

"The TSM component could be improved."

"They should improve their anti-malware policies like the SCEP policies. For instance, you can't have different policies for different servers, there is only one policy in all the servers, and everything is covered under that. For example, say you want to scan one group of servers on Saturday, and then you want to scan another group of servers on Sunday, you can't do that. You have to scan all your servers, a regular scan or a full scan, on the same day and at the same time. That's definitely one thing they need to resolve. In the next release, it would actually be nice if they included Apple products. It will also help if you can use Intune again. Their compliance reporting feature could also be better. They can maybe work a bit on that for patching now. It would be better if SCCM came with the functions of Right Click Tools built-in. If SCCM would have all those functions already built-in, we won't have to go and spend $5,000, just as an add-in from another company to get those functions."

"Could do with some cosmetic improvements on the user interface."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you're ever going to buy an Office 365 environment, then pricing is reasonable given all that it does, but if you're not, then you might find the pricing expensive."

"I am satisfied with the pricing."

"Its price is in the medium range. It is acceptable because you're paying for the features. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"All security solutions worldwide are expensive. Microsoft has allowed a small scale of features within Microsoft Intune for cost-efficient solutions. If you want the full suite, you need to invest more to gain better security features."

"Microsoft offers some licensing where it's included at no extra cost when customers are already using the licenses. In such a case, it's a really good value. If you have to buy the licensing for it, it's probably on par with other solutions. It isn't substantially more or less expensive. The great thing is that it is included in some of Microsoft's licensed packages. So, some customers don't have to spend additional money for it. Typically, most providers that support Intune do charge a management fee of some sort or some fee. Certainly, we're no exception."

"I would rate the price a four out of ten with ten being the most expensive."

"The pricing is competitive, but it is not cheap."

"Its pricing seems reasonable."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"The platform provides excellent value for the capabilities it offers when compared to third-party tools for similar tasks."

"As we were doing a government project so the government got the project at a very nominal cost."

"Most of the features are free. I'm not entirely certain, but I believe the pricing is generally very low. Some services that are part of Ops Manager might have associated costs."

"An AWS cloud engineer can bring down the costs."

"The price of SCCM depends on the size of the organization. The price is competitive."

"The solution operates on a licensing model that can be expensive."

"Presently, I am using a free trial version."

"We have a support license from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager and the overall price of the solution is reasonable."

"The price of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager is expensive."

"When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."

"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."

"Microsoft provides a steep price for their enterprise products, but they offer very competitive pricing for their legacy customers."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

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 Systems Manager?

With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems m...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Systems Manager?

Every AWS service comes with some associated costs. While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimi...

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What needs improvement with AWS Systems Manager?

There isn't anything specific I remember at the moment.

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How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that ...

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How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?

ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. Wh...

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What do you like most about SCCM?

One of the standout features of SCCM is its application management capabilities. It allows us to create packages effi...

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Comparisons

Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 12% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 7% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 6% of the time

SOTI MobiControl vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 3% of the time

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AWS Config vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 14% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 9% of the time

AWS CloudFormation vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 5% of the time

BigFix vs AWS Systems Manager

Compared 5% of the time

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 13% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 8% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

BMC Client Management vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Configuration Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Intune

May 2025

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Buyer's Guide

Configuration Management

May 2025

Download AWS Systems Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

May 2025

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Amazon Elastic Container Registry

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )

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 Systems Manager is a management service that helps you automatically collect software inventory, apply OS patches, create system images, and configure Windows and Linux operating systems. These capabilities help you define and track system configurations, prevent drift, and maintain software compliance of your EC2 and on-premises configurations. By providing a management approach that is designed for the scale and agility of the cloud but extends into your on-premises data center, Systems Manager makes it easier for you to seamlessly bridge your existing infrastructure with AWS.

Systems Manager is easy to use. Simply access Systems Manager from the EC2 Management Console, select the instances you want to manage, and define the management tasks you want to perform. Systems Manager is available now at no cost to manage both your EC2 and on-premises resources.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Buyer's Guide

AWS Systems Manager vs. Microsoft Configuration Manager

June 2025

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