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SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs vCenter Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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 Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
309
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Ranking in Configuration Management
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Network Automation (4th)
vCenter Configuration Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 8.2%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Configuration Manager is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune8.2%
vCenter Configuration Manager1.5%
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager1.7%
Other88.6%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
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.
Yashokanth Partkunan - PeerSpot reviewer
Managed Services Engineer at Loop1 Systems
Configuration changes become more manageable with potential for enhanced automation
I work with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager as a significant part of our operations. Our primary use case involves handling configuration changes, especially within Cisco-related products Configuration pushing, upgrade capabilities, job backup, configuration backup, and real-time…
Nikhil Nikhil - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Operations Lead at TT Systems LLC
Compliance management has improved efficiency but licensing changes pose challenges
I am not using any advanced features or AI. I am employing a basic VMware vCenter setup for my infrastructure. Scalability has no major limitations, and the solution is efficient. Overall, it's satisfactory. I would rate the vCenter experience as seven out of ten due to concerns regarding license, pricing, and AI features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Agile and easy to deploy MDM solution that covers the maximum number of policies. Stable, scalable, and with knowledgeable technical support."
"The best feature is that we don't need to worry about downtime. We don't need to worry about the network connections of our office or the virtual private network. Everything is being done through the internet. Using Intune Autopilot, we can configure and deploy everything to the devices."
"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"Intune enables us to manage our devices from anywhere."
"Microsoft integrated BitLocker and Active Directory into Intune, simplifying management."
"The feature I find most valuable in Microsoft Intune is being able to configure policies and push them directly to mobile phones."
"It helps implement conditional access policies to restrict mobile users from accessing potentially dangerous emails."
"I haven't used other mobile device management solutions, but compared to SCCM, we eliminate a lot of on-premises infrastructure and maintenance by using Intune."
"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."
"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."
"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"
"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."
"We push all our configurations to the servers with ease and the logs capture almost all the transactions needed for an internal audit."
"It's perfect for network configuration management. It's easy to use."
"It is a stable solution."
"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."
"It is a stable solution."
"I appreciate it because it's very easy to set up and configure new disks and servers."
"In large implementations, especially in regulated environments, vCenter's automation capabilities prove invaluable for implementing new processes efficiently."
"My experience managing virtual environments using vCenter Configuration Manager has been quite smooth. Over time, I've observed that there's been a significant local competency built around the product, especially in India, where ESXi and VMware dominate the market. It's evident that vCenter Configuration Center is the preferred management tool in this context, and it's relatively easy to find expertise in the market."
"I would rate the scalability quite good. You can extend your environment effectively with appropriate investment."
"vCenter Configuration Manager is pretty simple."
"The platform is straightforward and user friendly."
"The most valuable features of vCenter Configuration Manager are highly mature technology."
 

Cons

"The installation could be improved to be simplified."
"Automations in Microsoft Intune can be more elaborated; KQL (Kusto Query Language) is available, but if multiple automation options were readily available, which would include PowerShell, KQL, JSON, and different interpreters like VS Code or Python readily available from Microsoft Intune, it would help administration and management much better."
"Historically, Group Policy has simplified the management of various items, such as printer and drive mappings and while Intune offers workarounds, it lacks native support for these functionalities. This is an area I believe needs improvement."
"Microsoft support was not very responsive, and it took approximately one and a half months to get on a call to clear what the problem was."
"The initial setup is a little bit complex."
"A more incisive reporting tool with automated progress updates and graphical representation would be beneficial, as the current manual method lacks efficiency and visual clarity."
"Intune's third-party patch management could be better. It should be easier for the average system admin to keep non-Microsoft applications updated."
"In terms of what can be improved, I am looking for better enhancements regarding Apple management, not only on the mobile device, but also on the laptop."
"The interface of solar winds could be improved."
"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."
"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"When it comes to the way of managing the network devices, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager should provide the simplest way that devices can relate to the server. For example, when we want to get the devices on board, we go by SSH to make the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager create the connectivity with the device. After that, we pull the configuration. It would be helpful if they could combine both so that everything will be done in one step."
"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."
"We want to be able to store it in a data warehouse format and integrate it with Google single sign-on."
"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"
"When vCenter is in a Microsoft environment, there is a lot of licensing involved, where we face some difficulties."
"There isn't a clear document covering all the errors. It would be helpful if the company provided better documentation for solving issues."
"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 VxRail configuration is very complicated and a little bit too difficult to guess what the final product is going to be."
"Their licensing needs to be improved."
"The solution should allow for more customization."
"The ease of setup and installations could be improved."
"SAP CRM could improve by adding additional automation features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have categorized the licenses according to the size of the business. So, if it's a smaller organization, we can choose the license accordingly. If it's a big organization, then we can choose accordingly. Everything is clearly mentioned, and we can decide. It's suitable for all kinds of infrastructure, and that's very goo"
"We spend a lot of money on Intune licensing, and some of our users have to be double licensed just because of how our dev and corporate environments are segmented."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"Intune is included in the Microsoft 365 licensing package that we have."
"Microsoft Intune is reasonably priced for large organizations that already have Microsoft Enterprise licenses, but it is less affordable for smaller businesses."
"Most of our clients come to us with licensing already in place. On average, it costs $6 per device per month to add Intune to an Office 365 subscription, but I am not sure."
"The price could be better."
"Generally, we get favorable discounts, so it's not too bad. Obviously, we're looking at decreasing those wherever we can to bring value back to the public purse because it's all charity based. It's all publicly funded."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"Available at a moderate price"
"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."
"The pricing is good."
"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
"The solution comes with three-year support. We have to renew the support annually after the three years are up."
"The pricing is mid-range so I rate it a six out of ten."
"The product is highly-priced."
"vCenter's pricing is reasonable, but nowadays, they are drastically increasing their prices, which is pathetic."
"I am not knowledgeable with the pricing of the product."
"Price-wise, the product is an affordable one. The additional expenses, apart from the licensing costs of the solution, are attached to the support a user wants to receive from vCenter Configuration Manager's 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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business119
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise153
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
What are the pros and cons of Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of...
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 do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, featu...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
NCM could benefit from enhanced automation capabilities — for instance, enabling workflow-based configuration automat...
What do you like most about vCenter Configuration Manager?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Configuration Manager?
Nowadays, it is a bit expensive. It's costly, primarily due to the licensing aspect.
What needs improvement with vCenter Configuration Manager?
My impression on the impact of the real-time monitoring features of vCenter Configuration Manager is that it's somewh...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
SolarWinds NCM
vCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Bank Al Bilad, Thomas-Krenn.AG, Pronto!, Unimed Juiz de Fora
Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs. vCenter Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.