Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft System Center vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications comparison

Microsoft and VMware are both solutions in the Cloud Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #22 with an average rating of 7.8, while VMware is ranked #23 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 0.3% mindshare in CMS, compared to VMware’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of VMware users who would recommend it.
Microsoft System Center
Read 19 Microsoft System Center reviews
  • 248 Views
  • 18 Comparison Views
85% willing to recommend
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Read 12 VMware Aria Operations for Applications reviews
  • 996 Views
  • 149 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 18, 2024

Microsoft System Center and VMware Aria Operations for Applications compete in the IT management and monitoring tools category. VMware seems to have the upper hand in cloud and container integration capabilities.

Features: Microsoft System Center integrates effectively with Microsoft products, offering a seamless experience for Windows environments, notable for its automation capabilities and ability to manage other hypervisors like VMware and Citrix. VMware Aria Operations for Applications excels in multi-environment monitoring, supports open-source technologies like Kubernetes, and provides pre-built dashboards and a strong security framework for container management.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft System Center struggles with integration into non-Microsoft environments, has documentation gaps, and requires high resource consumption. Interface responsiveness and multi-tenant support need enhancement. VMware Aria Operations for Applications could simplify its initial setup, improve dashboard usability, and integrate AI for better alert management and predictions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both products offer on-premises and hybrid cloud deployment options. Microsoft support is reported to be costly and slow, while VMware support needs more engagement. Deployment complexity is an issue for both, particularly VMware, which requires significant technical expertise.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft System Center, part of an enterprise subscription, is considered moderately expensive but offers ROI through efficient management and automation. VMware Aria Operations for Applications, requiring multiple licenses, provides high ROI due to its comprehensive capabilities despite higher costs.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
June 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 860,592 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

Microsoft System Center
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (13th)
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (29th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (31st), Container Monitoring (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Cloud Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft System Center is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is 1.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ajinkya Mohod - PeerSpot reviewer
Makes user management and application management easy for users
Speaking about the impact of the automation feature that impacted our company's operational efficiency, I can say that the complete tool works on automation. You just have to configure it, and it works, especially in areas like auto-patching updates. I suggest that others can definitely go ahead with Microsoft System Center, especially beginners who choose it, can get hands-on experience with it, and acquire a good understanding of how things work. In terms of the value and benefits derived from the use of the solution, I can say that my company's operations have been made simpler because of the product, especially in areas like user management and application management where we have been benefited a lot. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
Read full review
ToniLindberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Troubleshooting capabilities have improved application monitoring and support engagement
I can see what happens end to end, which is pretty beneficial. The solution has troubleshooting capabilities, providing a direct connection to knowledge base articles from VMware Broadcom. When I encounter an error, I can search directly within the system to see what solutions have been employed by others. It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started.
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

"Managment Packs for Microsoft-specific products, help us implement the best practices for each product."
"The availability performance matrix and the reporting capabilities are the solution's most valuable features."
"It can generate KPIs and management reports with monthly presentations on activities and updating the environment (success and failure)."
"System Center helps to create the basis for ITIL alignment."
"The installation process is easy."
"Many processes could be implemented out-of-the-box, and this helped to adopt processes in areas which we lacked."
"The deployment and asset management features are the most valuable. These are the product's main features."
"The tool has many valuable features, including license tracking, software deployment, and installation deployment. However, we primarily use it for Windows updates and deployment for Windows servers and desktops. It's a complex product but very well-managed. If you use all the features, they will be valuable to your organization. It allows you to deploy desktops, manage patches, and track various features."
More Microsoft System Center pros
"I gladly recommend VMware Aria Operations for Applications because it is cost effective and has commendable AI response capabilities."
"No issues with stability."
"I find VMware Aria Operations for Applications to be very stable, and I would rate it a ten out of ten."
"The stability of Aria Operations for Applications has improved significantly over the years."
"The features I find most valuable is the querying and alerting capabilities."
"It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started."
"VMware comes with a support team, and if you have trouble, you can easily create a ticket, and VMware will help you. Therefore, the best aspect is the support."
"This solution allows me to have true visibility for any metrics when it comes to my cloud, and private."
More VMware Aria Operations for Applications pros
 

Cons

"The solution's dashboard needs improvement."
"Implementation and integration in the case of multi-tenant environments needs improvement."
"They should have some customized solutions or internal development, then maybe it could be easier to use different solutions or some self-developed solution."
"The platform performance and responsiveness need improvement. It still demands high computing resources."
"The platform's performance could be improved. Additionally, its UI needs to be well-upgraded and work faster."
"Could be more user friendly."
"System Center hasn't updated to keep up with the industry. It needs improvements in the user interface, ease of use, and overall product functionality, particularly the cloud-monitoring features. It needs more capabilities to monitor AWS and Azure infrastructure."
"Microsoft System Center should be easier to manage. However, it is complex to deploy, so people hesitate to use it. Though it has many features, such as licensing, asset tracking, and software deployment, we mainly use it for Windows updates. It protects many screens and integrates with databases, but it's complex compared to other solutions. Many now use cloud-based products or other tools like Automox to deploy updates and manage vulnerabilities."
More Microsoft System Center cons
"The implementation is a long process that should be improved."
"It could use a URL document server. Everything in the market is moving towards automation and everybody's looking for the single click operations as well relational data locality."
"Its billing model is consumption-based. I understand the consumption-based model, but it is not necessarily easy to estimate and guess how many points or how much we are going to consume on a specific application up until we get to that point. So, for us, it would be helpful to have more insights or predictability into what we can expect from a cost perspective if we are starting to use specific features. This can potentially also drive our consumption a bit more."
"The main problem I have is that the license cost is very high."
"In the new version, I would love to see more prediction capabilities. It would be great if one could see the alerts get a little more enriched with information and become more human-friendly instead of the technical stuff that they put in there. I think those would be really awesome outcomes to get."
"The solution could be expensive, which might be a limiting factor."
"I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases."
"The documentation and integration with Kubernetes could be improved."
More VMware Aria Operations for Applications cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's rolled into our enterprise subscription. The entire subscription is around $25,000 a year, however, that covers all the products that we use."
"We maximized our license investment."
"I know that sometimes there is some reduction in the prices of Microsoft System Center because of the costs of Microsoft SQL Server, which can be advantageous."
"Microsoft System Center is quite expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"I rate the product price as five to six on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is cheap and ten means it is expensive."
"Microsoft System Center's licensing is costly."
"I don't have the details. In our case, there is a mixture in place. We have production usage, and we are also doing training for VMware. So, we also have a training instance. It is worth the money you would spend on it. That's because if you were to build all of this yourself by using some of the open source tools, then you would need a lot of time."
"I would rate the pricing as three out of five."
"Different locations require different setups. In your terms, around 300 to around 400K USD."
"The licensing costs are very high, particularly when you consider that we have to purchase a level 1 license for every integration, such as the load balancer, HAProxy, and the MSSP. And if you want to use vSAN, that's another license. Then, of course, Tanzu Observability has its own separate license."
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft System Center?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft System Center?
Microsoft System Center's licensing is costly.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft System Center?
Microsoft System Center should be easier to manage. However, it is complex to deploy, so people hesitate to use it. Though it has many features, such as licensing, asset tracking, and software depl...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
The cost of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is fair and reasonable compared to what we receive in support and packages from VMware.
See all answers
What needs improvement with VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
Our primary use case for VMware Aria Operations for Applications is to enhance application monitoring tasks, allowing us to set up alerts for different components and send them via SMTP to a team d...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Veeam Data Platform vs Microsoft System Center Logo
Veeam Data Platform vs Microsoft System Center
Compared 54% of the time
IBM BPM vs Microsoft System Center Logo
IBM BPM vs Microsoft System Center
Compared 46% of the time
More Microsoft System Center Competitors
Grafana vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications Logo
Grafana vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Compared 12% of the time
Dynatrace vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications Logo
Dynatrace vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Compared 10% of the time
Zabbix vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications Logo
Zabbix vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Compared 7% of the time
Prometheus Group vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications Logo
Prometheus Group vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Compared 6% of the time
Veeam Data Platform vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications Logo
Veeam Data Platform vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Compared 6% of the time
More VMware Aria Operations for Applications Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft System Center
June 2025
Microsoft System Center reportDownload Microsoft System Center product report
Buyer's Guide
VMware Aria Operations for Applications
June 2025
VMware Aria Operations for Applications reportDownload VMware Aria Operations for Applications product report
 

Also Known As

MS System Center
Tanzu Observability, Wavefront, Wavefront by VMware, VMware Tanzu Observability
 

Overview

System Center helps customers realize the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud Platform by delivering unified management. Experience fast time-to-value with out-of-the-box monitoring, provisioning, configuration, automation, protection and self-service.
Microsoft

VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront is a powerful tool for monitoring and analyzing the performance and availability of applications and infrastructure in real-time. 

With its comprehensive monitoring capabilities, visualizing and analyzing data becomes effortless. The real-time alerting system ensures timely issue resolution, while scalability and a user-friendly interface provide a seamless experience for smooth operations.

VMware
 

Sample Customers

Kassen_rztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein, Magyar Telekom Nyrt., Adeka, QualCare, Aeriandi, UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar, Allianz Australia Ltd., Grupo Familia
1. Atlassian 2. Cisco 3. Databricks 4. DigitalOcean 5. Equinix 6. Fidelity Investments 7. Google 8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise 9. Honeywell 10. IBM 11. Intel 12. JetBlue Airways 13. LinkedIn 14. Lyft 15. Mastercard 16. Microsoft 17. MongoDB 18. Netflix 19. Nvidia 20. Oracle 21. PayPal 22. Pinterest 23. Qualcomm 24. Red Hat 25. Salesforce 26. SAP 27. Spotify 28. Square 29. TMobile 30. Twitter 31. Uber 32. VMware
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
June 2025
Free Report: Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Microsoft System Center vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications report.
See our list of best Cloud Monitoring Software vendors.

We monitor all Cloud Monitoring Software 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.