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Perforce Puppet vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 14, 2025

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
304
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Perforce Puppet
Ranking in Configuration Management
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Server Configura...
Ranking in Configuration Management
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.2%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 2.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune9.2%
Perforce Puppet2.2%
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor0.4%
Other88.2%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
Erik  Ableson - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution that is more suited for larger companies with mature CI/CD structures and image management processes
Puppet Enterprise is more suitable for clients working up much more structured deployment images they manage internally. Before choosing Puppet Enterprise, users should think seriously about what they're trying to accomplish and ensure they put the right pieces in place. Overall, I rate Puppet Enterprise an eight out of ten.
Ravi Khanchandani - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful version control, high availability, and scales well
We are in touch with the management of the SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor team, and we have made recommendations to them for quite a few changes. One area that could improve is the configuration download. Instead of only showcasing the differences between the baseline and the current configuration, or a specific version of the configuration, they should show the entire configuration getting downloaded. It could be in the form of a flat file or in the form of a binary file. If it is a flat file, it can use as a reference, and preserved for auditing purposes. That is one area where the product can see quite a lot of improvement. They have a feature where you can download by section, what I mean is, you can download the configuration of the hardware, software, or driver information, or the file folder settings or permissions. It is a section download, but not a complete download. That is one area of improvement. The other area of improvement is specific to the customer use cases. They would like to compare two servers as to what the configuration drift is but not only within the server comparison. For example, I would like to take a server in the DR setup that is in the primary data center to do a comparison between the primary server and the DR server. Currently, the configuration comparison is within the server itself. In a feature release, they could enhance the reporting. However, we have not evaluated this part of the solution extensively.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The reporting and analytics features in Microsoft Intune have been a lifesaver."
"The user experience is good; we could work and deploy many controls through Microsoft Intune."
"There are no complaints about the stability. It works one hundred percent of the time."
"Microsoft Intune has been a time saver and reduces the time and effort IT admins have to invest."
"It's easy to manage."
"One valuable feature of Microsoft Intune is the enrollment process, which is user-based, making it easier to manage compared to AirWatch."
"We can implement a MAM policy in this Intune and protect the device through mobile application development without touching it. The interface is easy to use and understand."
"If the product works, remote access will be a benefit. To this point we have not had reason to have confidence in achieving that access."
"The agent-based feature helps me by being stable."
"Puppet Enterprise has good functionalities."
"The versatility is great."
"The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features."
"Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly."
"Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes."
"I rate the stability of Puppet as ten out of ten."
"Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is version control. For example, if we began on the first of the month and we considered that as the configuration of the server, I could set that configuration as my baseline. On a daily basis, if there was the operations team that did, for example, server patching, the tool will maintain all levels of versions."
"The customizability of the alerting system is particularly valuable; whatever devices are in the environment, whether EC2 servers or on-premises servers, all of them can be monitored using this service."
"The product’s alert feature is good. We receive notifications whenever some failures occur in the configuration."
 

Cons

"They need to add more group policies. Intune currently does not have many group policies that you can deploy. Its reporting, which is very limited at the moment, also needs improvement. It will be great if they can add report customization. Its stability needs to be improved. Sometimes, when you register a device in Intune, it doesn't show up instantly on the engine portal on the admin side. They need to provide better support for complicated issues. They also have a long turnaround time."
"I would like to see better integration with Microsoft."
"It should be easier to define policies and comply with those policies."
"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."
"Intune has limited integration with non-Microsoft solutions."
"The closest Microsoft Intune can be to GPOs, the better. There needs to be more granularity on application deployments. However, they have done better recently with the application deployments."
"It would be beneficial to have a more straightforward understanding of Intune's capabilities, presented in a simplified manner."
"I expect Microsoft Intune to have more features in the cloud because there are two major functionalities that we need to be added. This is software metering and license management. These functionalities, for now, must be on-premise. For this purpose, we have set up a SQL Server and I hope that in near future this option will be in the cloud in Microsoft Intune."
"There's a lot of scope for enhancement on the DevSecOps side. They should definitely include features for compliance, for both the Linux and Windows side of the devices, as well as for network devices. Compliance is something they need to work on."
"Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."
"At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex."
"We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications."
"It's a bit of a pain point to make sure that everything works once we've upgraded it because Puppet has been evolving pretty fast."
"Clients with less technical expertise may find Puppet complex to configure. Our team may struggle if technical team members leave the organization, leaving others uncertain about using the tool."
"Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."
"The solution has really complex code, you have to understand the Ruby language. However, once you know the code then you can move ahead without any problems."
"Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor."
"The product’s support services and licensing models need improvement."
"In a feature release, they could enhance the reporting. However, we have not evaluated this part of the solution extensively."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is very reasonable."
"It's bundled with Business Premium and an E3 license, which is beneficial. If you have to pay extra, it's pricey, but with the bundled package, it's acceptable. They recently increased the Business Premium pricing, which we don't appreciate. The price increase and yearly commitment are causing some problems for us."
"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"It's a part of Microsoft 365 and E5 licenses. Microsoft's strategy of making every feature in Microsoft Intune paid needs optimization. Remote control is one of the basic features, not a luxury feature, yet we must pay for it. I"
"I rate Intune an eight out of ten for affordability. It's bundled with the 365 licensing, which is competitive overall."
"Intune's pricing is competitive. For example, the license of Blackberry's Enterprise Mobility Suite was costly, but Intune is affordable. It is included as an additional feature when you buy security enhancements for your organization. For example, let's say I have fifty users in my organization and all of them are using Microsoft cloud services, like Teams, Office 365, and OneDrive."
"With our standard E5 agreement with Microsoft, there have been no pricing concerns. Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs."
"It is not a cheap solution. The price for a device when you start using it at a large scale can be improved. It is covered under our enterprise agreement. We pay once a year. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"The main thing that we noticed when we switched from the enterprise version to the community version was the difference in cost — the infrastructure is pretty expensive."
"Depending on the size of the organization there is a point when the price of Puppet Enterprise should be lower. However, they provide really good functionality, features, and capabilities."
"Puppet Enterprise’s pricing is competitive."
"Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."
"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."
"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor has medium pricing compared to other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Government
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business116
Midsize Enterprise46
Large Enterprise152
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
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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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Puppet Enterprise?
Regarding the cost, I find it expensive, always. I don't know how much the license would cost per year or per user ap...
What needs improvement with Puppet Enterprise?
I don't know what could be improved in Perforce Puppet to make this tool better for the next release. I can't think o...
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Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Puppet
SolarWinds SCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Perforce Puppet vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
873,003 professionals have used our research since 2012.