BMC Helix Cloud Security vs VMware Aria Operations comparison

The compared BMC Helix and Broadcom solutions aren't in the same category. BMC Helix is ranked #25 in CWPP , and holds a 1.2% mindshare in the category. Broadcom is ranked #1 in VM , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 23.7% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of BMC Helix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between BMC Helix Cloud Security and VMware Aria Operations based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Wiz, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP).

To learn more, read our detailed Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) Report (Updated: May 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

May 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 896,803 peers since 2012

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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
BMC Helix Cloud Security	1.2%
Microsoft Defender for Cloud	13.2%
AWS GuardDuty	10.4%
Other	75.2%

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

Virtualization Management Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
VMware Aria Operations	23.7%
IBM Turbonomic	17.0%
SolarWinds Virtualization Manager	9.7%
Other	49.599999999999994%

Virtualization Management Tools

Featured Reviews

Robert Orłowski

IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.

Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities

Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.

Read full review

Donna Geary

Portfolio Manager/ Helix Administrator at Frontier Communications

A highly scalable and straightforward solution with a knowledgeable support team

We work on a third-party shared environment. It wouldn’t have been feasible for a smaller company. My company was actually the first one to do it. Just like any cloud security, it pays to do your research and have complimentary security involved. The product can’t be the be-all and end-all tool for your security. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Read full review

AldoDomini

Senior System Network Analyst at Net spa

Have faced limitations due to high costs but have maintained reliability over time

The primary issue is the pricing, which is very expensive for my company's budget. We cannot afford to pay such a large fee. We are not Microsoft or BMW; we are a small company. As a small company, I have no power to negotiate directly with VMware. Perhaps larger companies have more opportunity to contract directly with VMware, but I do not have that leverage. The only path I can follow is to change solutions. Net.spA is a company working in the field of waste management. We are not a technological company, so we do not have a large margin to justify purchasing and maintaining the VMware infrastructure at current costs.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable feature is its ability to link clusters of assets, providing a clear model of deployments, vulnerabilities, and statuses."

"I would definitely recommend it because it is easy to handle any cloud resources."

"While automatic inventory detection upon connection is a helpful feature, a truly valuable capability would be assessing an environment's security posture against Azure and CIS best practices."

"One of the features I appreciate is the ability to generate daily reports without relying on anyone else."

"Qualys TotalCloud's most valuable features are its security capabilities that help identify and mitigate risk factors."

"Generally, Qualys is very good at detections, whether on cloud or on-prem, and the agent allows deployment on both infrastructures, providing continuous monitoring of your assets, which is a key selling point for us."

"I would rate Qualys TotalCloud ten out of ten."

"CSPM is currently the most used feature, and we are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"Role-based security is a valuable feature."

"The best feature is time to value. With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud. If you have Azure and AWS deployments, you might have multiple subscriptions in Azure and usually multiple accounts in AWS. You may even be doing some GCP work (around Google Cloud Platform). It's very difficult to manage a common set of policies, even less reporting, across multiple subscriptions, accounts, and cloud environments. What BMC Helix Cloud Security does is provide a unified view or single pane of glass as to your baseline. Then, it also facilitates the ability for Level 1 or 2 operations support to take action and report on security vulnerabilities."

"The cool feature of Helix Cloud Security is that you can do all that — understand and remediate issues — in one dashboard, based on the different policies that are available for security, out-of-the-box."

"It is a good tool to make sure that your containers are safe and sound."

"The most valuable aspects of BMC Helix Cloud Security are its security features and regulatory compliance capabilities."

"Using this solution is an eye-opener; having that holistic view is the biggest eye-opener because you understand, from any of your connected cloud accounts, what your vulnerabilities are with it."

"The features that I've found most valuable are its container security aspect. I also like its vulnerability management tools."

"With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud."

More BMC Helix Cloud Security pros

"It’s made a huge difference."

"I find the stability of VMware Aria Operations to be impressive, rated as a stable nine out of ten."

"The initial setup is quite easy and straightforward. The majority of the time, implementing vROps is not time-consuming."

"My advice would be to purchase the product because it definitely helps troubleshoot issues in probably one-tenth of the time that it would take without it."

"The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass so we can see all our vCenters, all our machines, all our storage arrays. We can see if there are alerts in any of these systems, and follow up on that alert and see if it's impacting just that area or if there is a bigger problem behind it."

"I recommend it; I think it’s a good choice."

"I can go back a little bit, a week or a month, look at the history, to troubleshoot."

"It was easy to install, there's a lot of good documentation, and I'm finding a lot of good free training out there, since I'm constrained on purchasing training this year."

More VMware Aria Operations pros

Cons

"Enhancing clarity regarding its compliance capabilities would be beneficial, as the current scope is limited in geographic coverage."

"Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies."

"An area for improvement would be to focus on risks related to AI, such as large language models and potential data leakage."

"TotalCloud could improve the classification of vulnerabilities. Specifically, it could enhance the categorization of what aspects fall under patches resolved by OS or software updates and what pertains to configuration adjustments."

"The cost of Qualys TotalCloud is high and could be more competitive."

"There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."

"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."

"The main area needing improvement is integration. Although the team is strengthening TotalCloud, integration can be enhanced with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and other sources."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"I want the role-based security feature to be improved."

"I think its TOA interfaces are still not that comfortable. The UI could be more user-friendly, easier to use."

"We've had some issues with connectors; the connectors have seemed to cause a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment."

"BMC Helix Cloud Security has room for improvement in terms of integrating its various features."

"We've had some with issues connectors. The connectors have seemed to have caused a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment. The only time I've had to reach out to tech support was for that. It seems it may not have been scanning correctly or I wasn't seeing data within a specific time. But we've set up a couple of connectors in the past couple of weeks and they actually scanned the AWS environment and we had data within about 10 minutes. It's working a lot faster and I think they're making improvements as they go."

"Every organization out there doesn't rely on just one control body. They use FISMA control. They may use HIPAA, CIS, PCI, or SOX, then blend them. One of the things that is now in big demand for BMC Helix Cloud Security is content. That's the next journey in its lifespan, making it easier for the community to share and collaborate on content for security controls that can be measured and remediated."

"The UI could be more user-friendly."

"The biggest challenge now, which is a good problem to have, with BMC Helix is content."

"We have used technical support sometimes. It could be a little bit challenging."

"The UI needs to be made more user-friendly."

"The tool should have an easy workflow with some guided steps to make it simpler from the customer's perspective."

"I would like to have more documentation, in the form of knowledge bases, that better explain the technology, related products, and what the capabilities are."

"Setting up the alerts, definitions and actions were kind of tricky because there's a lot of false positives. A lot of things it alerts you on are not really problems, so you have to go in and tweak the policies around to see the actual real issues."

"Administration and growth can be improved."

"Lack of documentation."

"I think some of the improvements should be to the adapters, and the adapters which are available to customers."

More VMware Aria Operations cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."

"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."

"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."

"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."

"I am not sure about the pricing. From what I understand, it is a bit on the higher side, but I do not have the exact numbers."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"It is a subscription model with term licensing that is usually yearly. This includes, not only the product, but support and maintenance. It is based on cloud assets. Therefore, if you have 100 cloud assets, those cloud assets are measured based on evaluation or transactions. For example, if I'm evaluating that cloud asset for CIS compliance, PCI compliance, and AWS best practices, that asset gets evaluated three times, as those are three transactions. However, the license model is based on peak asset usage. So, over a year, if you deploy 100, 1000, 500, and then 2000 assets, you will be charged for the 2000 peak of assets managed by Helix Cloud Security."

"The pricing is based on an annual subscription, upfront, and it's based on cloud assets. Whether your assets are in Azure and AWS combined, the tool tells you how many assets are being scanned and that's the number used for pricing."

"The value that we get from vROps is okay. It could be cheaper."

"Cost is an issue on vROps. The Standard edition, for an organization our size, is just not useful at all. However, I like the price point of vROps Standard. But as a company, the Advanced is the minimum version that we can use, because we need the customization, we need a lot of the features that Advanced brings. But the price is substantially higher than Standard. It's always been a challenge to try to go in to my leadership and say, "Here's what I want." I've always got to go back and super-justify it and it's not an easy win. Whereas, if the pricing were closer to the Standard model, or maybe even a little bit above that, it's an easier conversation with leadership. But because it really feels like more than double the price, I'm not sure the value, double the money, is there, as an easy-sell to my leadership."

"The billing is complicated because every country has a different option. Here in Chile, we don't pay for this kind of service with the Chilean pesos. We use another currency. In the future, I think vROps needs to work with governments for a native solution."

"The solution is costly."

"Bundle it in with your license rather than buying it as a separate product. It saves a lot of money that way."

"If the VMs were trimmed, then we wouldn't have to buy as much software/hardware, and this means less licenses. While most of it is VMware licenses, which are relatively cheap, there are SQL licenses for Microsoft, and this is where we could start saving a lot of money."

"VMware support is very costly compared to other organizations' support. When you purchase a VMware product, such as vSphere or vROps, the license is perpetual, but you also have to purchase the support service for a number of years. The support service pricing is very high compared to the license, and compared to competitive vendors."

"vROps is a bit expensive and that's a reason that small clients say, 'No, I don't think we need this.' From a pricing perspective, it is quite steep. But 'expensive' is relative, depending on what you need. Others might say, 'It is expensive, but I think we can use it to better our environment.'"

More VMware Aria Operations pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

896,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Construction Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Marketing Services Firm

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	28

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	66
Midsize Enterprise	61
Large Enterprise	281

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

The price is very expensive, actually.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

Our use case involves the assets that we have under cloud, the assets exposed to the internet, and the internal appli...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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...

See all answers

Is VMware Aria Operations a user friendly solution?

In terms of user-friendliness, VMware Aria Operations is one of the best solutions out there. It is not overly compl...

See all answers

What is the most useful new feature of VMware Aria Operations?

For me, the alerts features are the most unique part of this product, no matter the current name it uses. When they i...

See all answers

Comparisons

Wiz vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 9% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

Nucleus Security vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 5% of the time

JupiterOne vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 5% of the time

More Qualys TotalCloud Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard CNAPP vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 6% of the time

CloudPassage vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 6% of the time

More BMC Helix Cloud Security Competitors

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager vs VMware Aria Operations

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Turbonomic vs VMware Aria Operations

Compared 7% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs VMware Aria Operations

Compared 6% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) vs VMware Aria Operations

Compared 5% of the time

Densify vs VMware Aria Operations

Compared 3% of the time

More VMware Aria Operations Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

May 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Cloud Security

May 2026

Download BMC Helix Cloud Security product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Operations

May 2026

Download VMware Aria Operations product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

TrueSight Cloud Security, SecOps Policy Service

VMware vRealize Operations (vROps), vCenter Operations Manager (VCOPS)

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

BMC Helix Cloud Security offers a unified view for managing multicloud environments, ensuring compliance and enhancing security across AWS, Azure, and GCP through automated remediation and role-based security.

BMC Helix Cloud Security provides comprehensive multicloud security management, featuring automated remediation and support for regulatory compliance like GDPR and ISO 27001. Its intuitive dashboard allows users to identify vulnerabilities quickly and take action. With automated or manual control over security maintenance, it aligns with diverse organizational approaches. However, areas for improvement include content availability, integration enhancements, and clearer vulnerability reporting.

What are the key features of BMC Helix Cloud Security?

Automated Remediation: Streamline responses to detected threats automatically.
Role-Based Security: Offers granular security control tailored to user roles.
Container Security: Protects containerized environments effectively.
Regulatory Compliance: Aligns with standards such as GDPR and ISO 27001.
User-Friendly Dashboard: Simplifies vulnerability identification and action.

What benefits can users anticipate when reviewing BMC Helix Cloud Security?

Enhanced Security Posture: Improves threat detection and response speed.
Simplified Compliance: Eases adherence to industry standards.
Operational Efficiency: Automates routine checks and remediation, saving time.
Scalability: Supports diverse multicloud environments effortlessly.

BMC Helix Cloud Security is implemented to align cloud workloads with regulatory controls, mitigate security risks, and ensure adherence to CIS Controls. It supports IT operations integration and automates security measures, offering insights valuable for both internal processes and customer-facing deployments, particularly in industries utilizing AWS and Azure.

BMC Helix

VMware Aria Operations provides detailed metrics, graphing capabilities, and historical data for proactive infrastructure management, offering a single pane of glass for comprehensive views, alert notifications, and seamless integration with VMware tools.

VMware Aria Operations is designed for monitoring and optimizing virtual environments, empowering businesses to enhance infrastructure efficiency and manage workloads. With stress ratings and capacity planning, it facilitates troubleshooting performance issues while forecasting resource needs. Automation and integration with VMware tools streamline operations, making it indispensable for maintaining system health and enabling data-driven decisions. Users appreciate its comprehensive infrastructure views, though they note the interface complexity and high pricing as key considerations. Improved automation, third-party integration, and usability are desired enhancements.

What are the key features of VMware Aria Operations?

Single Pane of Glass: Provides comprehensive views of infrastructure for easy management.
Performance Monitoring: Tracks performance with detailed metrics and trend analysis.
Capacity Planning: Offers insights into stress ratings and future resource needs.
Alert Notifications: Effectively notifies users of potential system issues.
Automation and Integration: Streamlines operations with VMware tools.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Infrastructure Efficiency: Ensures optimal use of virtual environments for effective workload management.
Operational Visibility: Improves decision-making with detailed insights and analytics.
Resource Optimization: Helps forecast and allocate resources efficiently.
Proactive Management: Facilitates early detection of issues to maintain system health.

VMware Aria Operations' implementation across industries like finance, healthcare, and education showcases its utility in maintaining operational efficiency. It aids in tracking usage metrics and integrating workflows, benefiting sectors with critical performance and resource management needs.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

NHS, Vodafone, Kansas City Life, SKY Italia, Cybera

Science Applications International Corporation, Tribune Media, Heartland Payment Systems, Telkom Indonesia, Columbia Sportswear, iGATE, CSS Corp, Angel Broking, Adira Finance, Hipskind, Beiersdorf Shared Services, Innovate Mas Indonesia, Adobe, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi , Join Experience S.A, Borusan Holdings, Department of Transport - Abu Dhabi

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

May 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Wiz, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP). Updated: May 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

896,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.