Puppet Enterprise vs vCenter Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Puppet Enterprise and vCenter Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Microsoft, HCLTech and others in Configuration Management.
To learn more, read our detailed Configuration Management Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It provides control over all mobile devices that are being connected to the corporate network.""Being able to manage the devices remotely is most valuable. We can push security requirements through Microsoft Intune.""Intune provides full visibility into all active mobile device users. If their devices are noncompliant with our security policies, I have the flexibility to update them remotely.""The solution is easy to use, simple to understand for those new to using it, and combined with the other Microsoft products it makes for an overall good package.""It is a stable solution.""One of the standout features of Intune is its seamless accessibility to work data, eliminating the need to be tied to an office or a desktop.""The key benefit of Intune is its integration with the Microsoft ecosystem.""If you need only to load a specific profile and you don't have deep security functionalities, et cetera, Intune is very nice and good."

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"The versatility is great.""The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features.""Puppet Enterprise has good functionalities.""Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly.""Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.""Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes.""The main purpose for this automation tool would be: deploying, controlling, ordering change for the system and IT Infrastructure.""Puppet3 and 4 series provides optimum deployment solutions for infrastructure and applications."

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"It is a very stable solution.""This is the best solution for management for the server administrator. VMware has been on the market for many years, so they have a lot of solutions. For on-premises, VMware is the best available solution.""This solution is good for individual storage.""Configuration Manager simplifies management. Cloning via live migration is a useful feature.""vCenter has some good user experience, and the initial setup is straightforward.""vCenter Configuration Manager is pretty simple.""I particularly appreciate the reporting capabilities, as they allow for in-depth analysis of logs and the ability to interpret alerts effectively, enabling informed responses.""The feature that I have found most valuable is the virtual machine management across different hosts, located in different areas."

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Cons
"I would like to see the ability to deploy custom packages as a Windows 64-bit package, as opposed to the Windows 32-bit, which is the only one available now.""Intune's third-party patch management could be better. It should be easier for the average system admin to keep non-Microsoft applications updated.""They should make it easier to order it, however, that's generally true for everything from Microsoft.""There's quite a lot of development that they can do within their Intune dashboard. I think there are too many lines hyperlinked to move you around. Others, in contrast, give you a simple dashboard and an intuitive administrative walkthrough.""There should be more focus on mobile device security and integration.""There can be delays in the deployment of new policies.""There can be more logs. I do not have any other requirements.""Due to the abundance of features, there's a lot to organize, which makes managing and setting up the solution challenging. The setup is immense, and it would be good to see improvement in this area."

More Microsoft Intune Cons →

"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.""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.""We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications.""At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex.""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.""Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure.""Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."

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"It would be better to integrate this infrastructure with native cloud environments, but we can't do it. We are trying to improve our experience by converting our infrastructure through virtualization on native cloud environments and workloads.""The solution could provide even more capacity.""Error reporting should be more precise and descriptive, and there is no way to filter the logs. It would be helpful if its logs analysis can be more detailed, and the logs can be filtered.""The functions are not running in HTML5.""It lacks the capability to manage the other systems.""It is not so user-friendly that you can just start the host and everything works.""SAP CRM could improve by adding additional automation features.""It should be easier to use alternate storage."

More vCenter Configuration Manager Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."
  • "There is a cost benefit of using Microsoft Intune because of the packaging with other Microsoft products."
  • "Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
  • "The purchase of the product was handled by someone else."
  • "I have no comment on pricing of the solution."
  • "The product is offered as part of a Microsoft standard bundle. The pricing can be competitive to Airwatch, and Maas360."
  • "For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
  • "The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."
  • More Microsoft Intune Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "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."
  • More Puppet Enterprise Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I am not knowledgeable with the pricing of the product."
  • "It's a large application. It consumes a lot of resources. Sometimes the price is too high for our customers. If they buy it directly from VMware, its hard to convince the customer that we will bring down the total cost of ownership, in the end."
  • "Their licensing costs are high. But I think for the scale that we are using, it's suitable. If you use it on a larger scale with many servers, you have to pay a lot of money for them. I think it's suitable for organizations that don't need expert people that want more money each year or each month because it's a straightforward solution. We prefer to pay for these products that are integrated and straightforward."
  • "The price of the solution is expensive. However, it is reasonably priced compared to competitors."
  • "It is on a yearly basis."
  • "This product is not cheap. I have a yearly license for vCenter and the license is not cheap."
  • "The price of the solution is too expensive for us and we are looking to move to another solution."
  • "The solution comes with three-year support. We have to renew the support annually after the three years are up."
  • More vCenter Configuration Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes it… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of… more »
    Top Answer: Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also… more »
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses.
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it.
    Top Answer:It is an expensive solution. My company needs to make payments to acquire a perpetual license. There are no additional… more »
    Top Answer:The product's high price is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
    Puppet
    vCM
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Intune is a comprehensive cloud-based service that allows you to remotely manage mobile devices and mobile applications without worrying about the security of your organization’s data. Device and app management can be used on company-owned devices as well as personal devices.

    In an increasingly mobile workforce, Microsoft Intune keeps your sensitive data safe while on the move. Microsoft Intune makes it possible for your team members to work anywhere using their mobile devices. Microsoft Intune provides both the flexibility and the control needed for securing all your data on the cloud, no matter where the device with the data is located.

    Microsoft Intune Device Management Key Features

    With Microsoft Intune Device Management you can:

    • Ensure devices and apps are compliant with your security requirements.
    • Rapidly deploy and authenticate apps on all company devices.
    • Remotely access devices to troubleshoot issues or to remove data from them.
    • Generate reports for all devices in the system.
    • Monitor the way users access and share information to protect company information.
    • Set rules and configure settings on personal and organization-owned devices to access data and networks.
    • Create user groups and device groups, allowing you to rapidly access many users and devices simultaneously.

    Mobile Application Management

    Mobile application management in Intune is designed to protect your organization’s data at the application level.

    With Microsoft Intune Application Management you can:

    • Configure apps to run with specific settings enabled.
    • Update existing apps that are already on the device.
    • See reports on which apps are used and monitor their usage.
    • Selectively wipe organization data from apps.
    • Add mobile apps to user groups and devices.

    As part of Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) suite, Intune integrates with Microsoft Entra ID for access control and with Azure Information Protection for data protection. It also integrates with Microsoft 365 Applications.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Microsoft Intune stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to secure all devices under its management and the flexibility that the solution offers its users.

    A computing services manager notes, "Its security is most valuable. It gives us a way to secure devices, not only those that are steady. We do have a few tablets and other devices, and it is a way for us to secure these devices and manage them. We know they're out there and what's their status. We can manage their life cycle and verify that they're updated properly."

    The head of IT engineering at a financial services company writes, "The one feature we find most useful is the Mobile Application Manager. There are two types: we have the complete MDM and the Mobile Application Manager (MAM). We don't give our users phones, it is their own personal phone, and we need to allow them to have access to the company details on their phone. We need to create a balance between their own personal data and the company data. We deploy the Mobile Application Manager for them so that we won't be able to interfere with their own personal data."

    Puppet Data Center Automation helps sysadmins automate configuration and management of machines and the software running on them. With our software, businesses can make rapid, repeatable changes and automatically enforce the consistency of systems and devices, across physical and virtual machines, on prem or in the cloud.

    vCenter Configuration Manager is a powerful configuration management tool that is designed to enable organizations to ensure that any environment that they use to conduct business is configured in the most effective possible way. It can automate configurations consistently across virtual, physical, and cloud environments. Additionally, it enables users to place critical functions into the hands of the solution thereby avoiding the possibility that human error will reduce a business’s operations. It also hardens operations against bad actors who look for holes in a user’s security compliance policies that they can exploit.

    vCenter Configuration Manager Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy vCenter Configuration Manager include:

    • Reduction of overhead costs. Configuration Manager makes it possible for users to operate with the highest possible level of effectiveness while at the same time reducing the overhead costs associated with their work. One way that it does so is by automating many tasks that would otherwise be expensive to train users to perform. This also saves users time working on basic tasks that they can then devote to other operations that need human intervention.
    • Flexibility. Configuration Manager is a highly flexible solution. It is a platform-agnostic solution that can run consistently across VMware infrastructure and Windows, Linux, and UNIX operating systems. Users can use it on the operating system that best meets their business needs. Organizations can operate without having to invest in any particular operating system.
    • Threat reduction. It enables users to reduce threats to their systems. Its approach to centralized configuration management makes it simple for users to keep control of their security setup. This means administrators can spend most of their time ensuring that an organization’s technology is safe instead of trying to figure out how to do so. Configuration Manager's ability to correlate configuration changes with issues that are detected by VMware’s vCenter Operations Manager significantly reduces the amount of time needed in order to resolve any issues that arise.
    • Deep data collection and visibility. The secure and automatic data collection provides users with a wealth of data. This gives organizations the ability to see all aspects of their configuration environment. Administrators are able to track everything without worrying that they are missing information that is critical to their work.
    • Scalability. Configuration Manager is a highly scalable product. Users can scale it so that their configuration management operations can effortlessly keep pace with the work that they are doing. They can maintain their security and operations without turning to another product or being forced to make expensive purchases in order to keep up.

    vCenter Configuration Manager Features

    • Centralized UI. Configuration Manager comes with a centralized UI that users can use to manage all of Configuration Manager’s tools. From a single location users can track and use the myriad tools that Configuration manager has to offer. It enables administrators to ensure that their configurations and patches are running consistently across all of their environments.
    • Unified report generation tool. Configuration Manager’s reporting tool is constantly gathering data relating to an organization’s configurations. Users can now create reports that contain all of the most up-to-date configuration information. This enables them to conduct their operations with information that is wholly accurate.
    • Configuration auditing tool. Configuration Manager has a scanner that conducts constant audits of an organization’s configurations. It searches for any errors or issues in the configurations. Users are notified when changes in the configurations take place so that they can track any issues and deal with them before they can escalate.
    • Integration suite. Configuration Manager enables users to integrate their systems with many other VMware solutions. This means that users can both bolster their current capabilities and implement any features that they might feel are missing from their current setup.
    • Hardware monitoring software. Configuration Manager leverages CIM SMASH technology to track the health of both their physical and virtual servers. It not only provides information when the hardware and VMware are running properly. This software also alerts users when any kind of failures occur in the physical hardware.

    Reviews from Real Users

    vCenter Configuration Manager is a highly effective solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its intuitive and simple design and its ability to scale according to the needs of its user.

    Moses S., a project manager at Swakop Uranium, writes, “The platform is straightforward and user-friendly. A large knowledge base is not required to begin using it.”


    Raju P., an Information Technology manager at Sikraft, says, “We can scale the solution as needed.”

    Sample Customers
    Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
    Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix
    Bank Al Bilad, Thomas-Krenn.AG, Pronto!, Unimed Juiz de Fora
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization23%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization40%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Energy/Utilities Company12%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise49%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise33%
    Large Enterprise47%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business69%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise23%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business10%
    Midsize Enterprise46%
    Large Enterprise44%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business46%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise33%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise68%
    Buyer's Guide
    Configuration Management
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Microsoft, HCLTech and others in Configuration Management. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Puppet Enterprise doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be ranked in Configuration Management with 12 reviews while vCenter Configuration Manager is ranked 11th in Configuration Management with 46 reviews. Puppet Enterprise is rated 8.2, while vCenter Configuration Manager is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Puppet Enterprise writes "A set-it-and-forget-it management solution". On the other hand, the top reviewer of vCenter Configuration Manager writes "A solution with a range of functionalities and several pricing plans that suit your needs". Puppet Enterprise is most compared with Red Hat Satellite, AWS Systems Manager, Microsoft Configuration Manager, BigFix and BMC TrueSight Server Automation, whereas vCenter Configuration Manager is most compared with Microsoft Configuration Manager, Red Hat Satellite and BigFix.

    See our list of best Configuration Management vendors.

    We monitor all Configuration Management 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.