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Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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 System Center Orc...
Ranking in Process Automation
32nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
vCenter Orchestrator
Ranking in Process Automation
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center Orchestrator is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
vCenter Orchestrator0.9%
Microsoft System Center Orchestrator1.2%
Other97.9%
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Dan Campeanu - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at ProVision
Automates tasks and manages multiple servers from a central location
The initial setup was quite complex. It required careful preparation of installation steps, as many tasks were not automated as expected. Special attention was needed to prepare groups, users, and permissions at each step to ensure a smooth setup process. Please do so accurately to avoid having to start over. Challenges encountered during deployment included issues with installation and configuration and difficulties detecting machines and executing tasks as expected. Some solutions were found through trial and error during installation, while others were discovered through recommendations from other users. Despite these challenges, the deployment and rollout of Orchestrator took approximately one and a half months to ensure proper functionality.
NB
Hybrid Cloud Engineer at RealPage
Boosts operational efficiency with flexible workflows and reliable cluster management
We currently use vCenter Orchestrator's pre-built workflow templates for our IT processes. The templates are flexible, allowing us to create and convert processes simply and manage patches. Regarding integration capabilities, we do not integrate any third-party tools. We exclusively use VMware products. The integration within the VMware infrastructure is limited to Single Sign-On (SSO). I have not created any workflows in vCenter Orchestrator as workflows are only used for change management. I have not encountered any drag and drop interface. The version control and logging features of vCenter Orchestrator have significantly improved the reliability of our automated processes, particularly during upgrades or patching to the cluster-wise. Previously, it would be done on a one-to-one cluster or one-to-one host basis, but now we only need to monitor it for upgrading or patching the entire cluster. I cannot comment on the pricing and licensing of vCenter Orchestrator as these aspects are managed by our onsite counterpart. Overall, I rate vCenter Orchestrator 8 out of 10. The rating reflects occasional delays in support response times and portal stability issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automation is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location."
"There are a lot of features in VMware that are very useful, actually."
"If I need to do DR, VMware can enable me to use vMotion, which requires use of vCenter. You cannot do vMotion without vCenter. We do a lot of automation, orchestration, and simplification for that purpose."
"The storage motion is a good feature. It is a very good tool."
"I find that managing all my vCenters from one console is the most valuable feature."
"vCenter Orchestrator is easy to use."
"The DRS feature from VMware is very valuable to us because it balances workloads."
"It allows us to maintain an offline catalog of a bunch of product configurations that can be powered on remotely, so they don't use any resources while they are off."
"In regards to the workflows, the fact that we can actually have a full dashboard library of all the existing workflows on this is great, as we can see all the workflows and what all the actions do and can work with scripts."
 

Cons

"I find the Orchestrator UI to be problematic."
"The product's management aspect needs enhancement."
"It could be integrated with third-party hypervisors."
"This is an expensive solution."
"I would like to see a greater ability to do mobile administration."
"The scalability option provided by the solution is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Many times, customers' licenses are not used because the client is not aware of the features and the product benefits. When somebody is buying a product, they just do a default configuration."
"The custom workflows are very difficult and confusing."
"The workflow can be complicated. I would like a simpler workflow, and I would like it to be more friendly to use."
"In the next release, to make it easier to write the workflows, I would l like to see more HTML GUIs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost."
"I give the cost of the solution a five out of ten."
"The licensing cost is manageable because they have different versions available, standard, essential, and advanced."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. We pay for the license and then we pay the support every year."
"The product is expensive."
"My company needs to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
"vCenter Orchestrator is a very expensive solution."
"We pay a yearly fee, based on our entries."
"The licensing module is somewhat complex. Calculating the cost is complicated. Many of our clients are unclear about the billing system and the traffic metering."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Marketing Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?
We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.
What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?
For our environment, I do not see any areas of vCenter Orchestrator that could be improved or enhanced. We are currently satisfied with the orchestrator. If any improvements are needed, I will prov...
What is your primary use case for vCenter Orchestrator?
My usual use cases for vCenter Orchestrator involve managing all the ESXi hosts from the US, as we have almost 1200 to 1500 ESXi hosts.
 

Also Known As

MS System Center Orchestrator
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Beiersdorf Shared Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs. vCenter Orchestrator and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.