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SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor vs VMware Aria Automation 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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
377
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
SolarWinds Server Configura...
Ranking in Configuration Management
21st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Automation
Ranking in Configuration Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
172
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (3rd), Network Automation (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (21st), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.6%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is 1.5%, up from 0.5% 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
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.6%
VMware Aria Automation4.1%
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor1.5%
Other89.8%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
AR
Software Developer at NOESIS Portugal
Alerting has helped us detect server issues across our environment
The alert mechanism is the biggest advantage of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. 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. I can easily find out what exactly is going wrong in the environment. The clear audit trail aids in troubleshooting and optimization. The tool is effective for detecting unauthorized changes across platforms.
VasilisGiannitsiotis - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We were trying to solve many issues, mainly the lack of centralized management. Before Microsoft Intune, we had to manually support devices one by one, installing applications and configuring policies individually. When we implemented the tool, it became much easier to manage our devices. We enroll them in Microsoft Intune and can manage all devices with a few clicks. For application management, it's the same process. If we want to deploy applications to hundreds or thousands of devices, we can do it easily with just a few clicks. This also applies to policies."
"This product offers an alternative solution to other UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) solutions."
"The most valuable feature is the policy CSPs."
"Microsoft Intune is easy to use, and it is able to enforce policies towards multiple devices. It is able to bring multiple classes of devices into the same security posture. I found that very useful."
"The solution is scalable, and we currently have tens of thousands of users within our organization using the solution."
"Microsoft Intune is a tool designed for enterprise customers to protect enterprise data from leakage or sharing."
"The most valuable features are that users can make screenshots, and devices only need the minimal version of iOS."
"The many policies available in Microsoft Intune for managing our devices are valuable."
"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."
"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is a good-to-have solution for all customers who are under audit pressure, especially from regulatory authorities."
"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."
"Being able to provide automation for my customers, essentially having guard rails on what they can deploy and how much it is they're deploying in my environment."
"It helps me build a big catalog and provide it to my end users."
"It allows some of the tenants to self-provision their machines, so they don't have to wait for us to create the machine for them."
"Reactors, because of the automation help they provide (reacting to custom events)."
"value; It does a lot of things automatically that would take our group, when we're already strapped for time, a lot of time to go through and clean stuff out of databases and the like."
"Even with the virtualization, it would take us at least three or four days to create a VM. With vRA we have brought that down to seven minutes. The solution has helped increase infrastructure, agility, speed of provisioning, time to market, application agility. Everything got super fast."
"Our users can order VMs using the API."
"It’s very helpful for us to have this product; we already gained the benefits after installation and configuration."
 

Cons

"However, with Microsoft, it takes a lot longer, and I’m not getting quick resolutions. Sometimes, I find myself bouncing around between different support groups."
"Microsoft Intune could be improved by making the UI more intuitive, enhancing reporting and analytics for better visibility, simplifying troubleshooting and error messaging, and improving performance and policy sync speed in larger environments."
"A feature I would want to see added in Microsoft Intune is the ability to manage other non-Microsoft devices."
"The reporting is subpar. That's the only issue we have with Intune. We use another solution for that purpose."
"The security aspect could be more effective. We are using other applications to manage network devices and groups, so if Microsoft Intune could improve in this area, especially on a network level, it would be a real advantage."
"The support is not very good. It's very poor."
"I would like more clarity on how Intune is migrating control from Active Directory group policies, especially as we move over to Windows 11. It seems inefficient to manage some settings in Active Directory and others in Intune."
"We had an APNS certificate set to expire last week. We tried to renew it two days before it expired. We logged in to the APNS portal but could not find that certificate. We didn't know where it went. All the iOS devices stopped working. We contacted the Apple and Microsoft teams, and each blamed the other. This is something that Microsoft should take care of. Last week, we had so many escalations from high-profile users who couldn't access corporate data on their devices."
"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."
"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."
"Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor."
"They should make it a little bit more dynamic, a little bit easier to deal with large-scale AD deployments. They need to make it a little more enterprise-ready. That is the one thing that kills us."
"Our primary challenge is upgrading the product to the latest version. This process requires careful communication with the vendor to mitigate risks."
"We would like them to improve the automation part. This is an upcoming area that we would like to focus on."
"It is not super-intuitive. It does require some skills to understand how to use it."
"When it comes to the orchestration workflow, you're on your own. The documentation and resources are very limited, and you have to learn everything on your own."
"The solution could include more integrations and supportability around the container space."
"It is complex to use for new users. It should have automated tools or drag-and-drop functionality."
"I would like to see more improvement in the way it integrates with other systems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive."
"I have no comment on pricing of the solution."
"Intune is inexpensive. It also comes bundled in some Office 365 licenses, so you can choose to purchase it separately or as a package."
"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."
"We don't get Intune as a separate module. Most of the time, we use it within an enterprise agreement like E3 or E5. Those licenses are at a good price, but what is annoying is that every single year they go higher."
"The price for Intune is fair."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"The product is expensive."
"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."
"So much can be done with the Open Source side, and especially for smaller shops. I personally think the pricing for Enterprise is hard to justify."
"VMware Aria Automation is expensive."
"From the customer perspective, the value was worth it."
"The tool is expensive since it is an enterprise product."
"SaltStack is an open-source product."
"It is pricey for what you get."
"From a budget point of view, the pricing is a bit on the higher side."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
No data available
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise186
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise131
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?
In general, I think that licensing for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is acceptable, and the solution is qui...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?
Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. The dashboard f...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?
I work only with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. My major use case is the monitoring of environment servers ...
What's the difference between VMware vRA (automation) and vROps (operations)?
vROP is a virtualization management solution from VMWare. It is efficient and easy to manage. You can find anything y...
Is there any way to try VMware Aria Automation for free?
When it comes to VMware Aria Automation, you have three choices for free runs: Hands-on Lab (HOL) Advanced lab A fre...
Which sectors can benefit the most from VMware Aria Automation?
I was looking at VMware Aria Automation case studies recently and I got the impression that three main kinds of compa...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
SolarWinds SCM
VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Information Not Available
Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual
Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor vs. VMware Aria Automation and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.