OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management vs VMware Aria Automation comparison

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management vs. VMware Aria Automation

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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 July 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.7%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation is 4.1%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	4.7%
VMware Aria Automation	4.1%
OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management	2.0%
Other	89.2%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi

Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies

Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.

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it_user1272306

Chief Technology Officer at DoITWise

Helpful impact analysis and the discovery capability is quite good

This tool works hand-in-hand with RPA technology. RPA will allow you to control your servers by deploying the server automation agent. You don't have the discovery, but then you can deploy the policies that maintain the authorized versus current state. On top of that, you can use server automation to deploy patches or remediate configuration issues on the operating system. My advice to anybody who is implementing this solution is to ensure that the process is set up properly, first. Once the process is set up, the tool will do the rest for you. Overall, this is a comprehensive tool that works well, and I wouldn't touch it other than to enhance the UI and make containerization work without the CDF. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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VasilisGiannitsiotis

Senior IT at ITSolutions

Automation has streamlined complex financial workflows but still needs more intuitive orchestration

Something to improve in VMware Aria Automation would be related to VCF 9, as I do not know what it is trying to bring because they exposed it as the solution of everything. So VCF 9 will bring VCF Automation and VCF Operations, the new product line of VMware. I have not seen what this brings or what else it includes. Maybe in the area of vRealize Orchestrator, this would be beneficial because VRO can do everything. Perhaps a more user-friendly way to use that tool would be helpful because the possibilities there are endless. I am looking for more user-friendly navigation in VMware Aria Automation.

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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

"Autopilot is the most valuable feature."

"The Autopilot feature is the most valuable because it saves significant time on managing devices. We can ship devices globally, and users can set them up on their own. It's convenient."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is patching-related capabilities."

"The solution is easy to use."

"This product works very well for companies already using the full Microsoft suite."

"The user experience of Microsoft Intune is quite good because there's not much disturbance in the background; it's just running in the background."

"Intune's integration with Defender and other security solutions is valuable because it offers a view into different security vulnerabilities and enables us to secure them more effectively."

"When a user receives the machine, sets it up, and turns it on, it connects to the domain and begins installing software, becoming ready within approximately half an hour, which represents a significant time savings for IT departments."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"Helps me perform changes in connected infrastructure thanks to the discovery features."

"Overall, this is a comprehensive tool that works well, and I wouldn't touch it other than to enhance the UI and make containerization work without the CDF."

"The most valuable feature is the impact analysis."

"Automatic Spiral Discovery: This feature enables deep and dynamic configuration and change management."

"We use it for managing our desktops; we have 350,000 desktops and it allows us to manage and control them relatively easily."

"We have it deployed in a highly-available environment and scalability is nice because we just had another ESX host and then we are able to increase the capacity."

"One of the best features and advantages of VMware Aria Automation is that it has a nice user service portal where a user can log in and, through a catalog, pick and choose something from a deployment, pipeline, or a VRO workflow."

"One of the most valuable features is lifecycle management. It allows my teams to create, manage, and retire all of our infrastructure objects in the data center."

"The most valued feature is the streamlining of the DevOps process, automation and orchestration. It provides the ability for the entire Dev lifecycle to actually be incorporated into a single stream."

"It is also intuitive and user-friendly... With vRealize, we can have a Help Desk individual, who might not be that techy, provision the different elements quite easily, with no almost training at all."

"SaltStack has given us the ability to deal with systems at scale and rectify issues at scale."

"It is a very stable solution; it's a state-of-the-art kind of solution that gives a lot of flexibility, is customizable, and can be tailored according to how you want vRA to work for your organization."

"We have seen quite a bit of return on our investment, and we've actually been able to really change the way that we're doing build and deployments of virtual machines."

More VMware Aria Automation pros

Cons

"Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available."

"Intune's areas for improvement revolve around security and certificate management."

"When pushing anything from Microsoft Intune, the sync timing is 48 hours. While sometimes it takes 5 to 10 minutes, the official period given by Microsoft is within 48 hours, which can be time-consuming for policies, applications, or patches."

"It would be better if Microsoft can reduce the cost of the license, as we know the Intune device subscription is licensed per device at a cost of $2 a month, but for the best enhanced security and features we must add an add-on license or buy or upgrade to a bundling license such as M365E5."

"One area where Microsoft Intune could improve is policy troubleshooting and reporting. Identifying why a device is non-compliant or why a deployment failed can sometimes require longer than expected."

"There is room for improvement in the reporting capabilities, specifically app reporting. It is challenging to report which apps are installed on which device."

"It needs certificate provisioning for S/MIME purposes."

"Not all technicians are knowledgeable of the Microsoft solution, so they have to work on that as well."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"The native UI should be simplified because it is outdated and a little bit over-complicated."

"It needs dashboards."

"The infrastructure itself is stable, but the agent has a lot of problems."

"Stability has gotten a lot better. However, the vRO aspect, when you have a multi vRA head, is a little bit finicky still. vRO still needs to stay on one appliance and be one application, because, when you have two, you can't see runs on the other one that are happening when you're not logged into that one."

"I don't think it's intuitive or user-friendly."

"We have seen couple of bugs."

"If you are using Aria Automation by itself, you won't get the features you want, and the license cost is high."

"I have not found this solution to be user-friendly. It's really complicated."

"Once you get in there and start to understand the product, it is more intuitive. However, for somebody coming in from the outside, it takes a while to understand it."

"Sometimes, we encountered scalability issues but they were negligible."

"Upgrade has been a issue, we always have to call in and open up the ticket for assistance."

More VMware Aria Automation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Intune is included with our F3 and E5 licenses."

"It's affordable. In comparison to the competitors, the price depends on what features you need from Intune, but it's affordable. There are no hidden costs, but there are some features that go for a premium price. Those are the add-ons for which you have to pay extra."

"The price could be better."

"The price is reasonable, but they should lower it a bit to make it more competitive. It's cheaper than AirWatch and other products, but I still feel like Microsoft can make a base version or with Exchange online or a la carte only Intune version which will be useful. A customer who doesn't want to go full-fledged E3 or E5 can take out or consume an Intune solution only for their purpose, and we want to target that customer."

"If you're subscribing to Premium or E3, there are no additional costs for Intune, it's included."

"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."

"Microsoft Intune is moderately priced. There is a monthly license required to use the solution and it is approximately eight dollars per month."

"It is expensive. The cost depends on the license that we choose."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"This is a really good tool for the money."

"VMware Aria Automation is expensive."

"The solution has helped to increase infrastructure, agility, speed, and provisioning in the time to market."

"I'm very interested in the integration with Puppet. However, my organization doesn't have the funding for something like Puppet right now. If VMware would integrate that feature set (Puppet) into vRA. That would be very awesome."

"I would rate it high because, compared to other solutions, VMware’s pricing is quite expensive. VMware products have become significantly more costly in recent years, leading to higher costs."

"We do plan to see ROI with any new implementation of new technologies being implemented within our environment."

"It is an expensive product. After VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, there was a rise in the price of VMware Aria Automation."

"Customers say this solution is costlier compared to its competitors."

"The tool is expensive since it is an enterprise product."

More VMware Aria Automation pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

University

30%

Construction Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	190
Midsize Enterprise	65
Large Enterprise	185

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	131

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Configuration Management

Download OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management product report

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management report

VMware Aria Automation

Download VMware Aria Automation product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Micro Focus ZENworks Configuration Management, HPE CMS, HPE Configuration Management, Micro Focus Configuration Management

VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management provides robust IT asset management and configuration capabilities. Designed to manage devices and applications efficiently, it ensures seamless operations across networks while reducing complexity in IT environments.

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management helps businesses streamline device management by automating routine IT tasks. It's well-suited for managing desktops, laptops, and servers. The software supports centralized administration, which reduces downtime and manpower costs. IT departments value its scalability and secure configuration capabilities, enabling them to manage diverse networks with ease.

What are the key features?

Device Management: Simplifies the management of endpoints with automated updates and patches.
Asset Inventory: Provides comprehensive tracking and management of software and hardware assets.
Remote Control: Allows secure remote access to troubleshoot devices.
Policy Enforcement: Ensures compliance through automated policy deployment.
Reporting: Offers detailed insights and reports on device statuses and usage patterns.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces IT administration costs by automating repetitive tasks.
Improved Security: Enhances security with robust patch management.
Easy Scalability: Supports growing infrastructure without scaling issues.
Time Savings: Minimizes downtime and increases productivity with efficient management.

Industries such as healthcare, education, and finance leverage OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management for its customizable configurations that suit regulatory requirements and data security needs. Its deployment supports diverse network structures, offering flexibility in managing unique IT demands across sectors.

OpenText

VMware Aria Automation is known for its automation capabilities, integrating with VMware and third-party tools to enhance workflow efficiency, save time, and manage resources effectively.

VMware Aria Automation offers a diverse set of features including a self-service portal and a streamlined user-friendly interface, which make it ideal for organizations aiming to automate virtual machine provisioning. The platform supports extensive automation capabilities across multi-cloud environments, featuring flexible blueprint designs and comprehensive integration with platforms like AWS, Azure, and ServiceNow. Though improvements are desired in areas like logging, template management, and vCenter integration, its robust framework facilitates IT infrastructure services, disaster recovery, and development operations. It is specifically beneficial for orchestrating workflows, automating routine tasks, and managing workloads efficiently in private and hybrid cloud environments.

What are the most important features of VMware Aria Automation?

Self-Service Portal: Empowers users with easy access to resources and tools needed for automation.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies navigation and usage for both technical and non-technical users.
Extensive Automation Capabilities: Streamlines VM deployment and processes across various platforms.
Integration with VMware and Third-Party Tools: Enhances workflow automation and extends functionality.
Flexible Blueprint Designs: Allows for customized and scalable deployment solutions.

What are the benefits and ROI users should consider?

Efficiency: Reduces manual workload, leading to time and cost savings.
Scalability: Supports dynamic growth and resource management.
Enhanced Workflow Automation: Improves process efficiency with comprehensive integrations.
Customizable Orchestration: Enables tailored solutions that meet specific requirements.
Resource Management: Efficiently utilizes resources, reducing waste and optimizing operations.

VMware Aria Automation is implemented across industries for automating the provisioning of virtual machines and managing cloud environments. It is used in sectors requiring efficient server deployment, network configurations, and seamless integration with tools such as AWS and Azure. It aids in reducing manual efforts, supporting IT infrastructure services, and enhancing disaster recovery protocols.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Tech Mahindra, NNIT, ASIC

Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management vs. VMware Aria Automation