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AWS CloudFormation vs AWS Systems Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Microsoft Intune enhanced efficiency and savings by reducing costs, improving security, and streamlining IT processes with cloud management.
Sentiment score
5.0
Organizations saw 100% ROI with AWS CloudFormation in three years, valuing it for preventing losses during site downtime.
Sentiment score
1.0
Users reported ROI from AWS Systems Manager due to cost savings, improved efficiency, automation, better security, and streamlined operations.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
Importantly, when someone leaves the company, it helps protect document access on their devices.
Applications are deployed through Intune, and we see fewer tickets for common issues because we can resolve them through the solution.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.4
Microsoft Intune support experiences vary, with premium options praised for responsiveness and standard services criticized for inconsistency.
Sentiment score
6.2
AWS CloudFormation support is efficient and knowledgeable, though non-production response times and non-critical inquiries need improvement.
Sentiment score
1.0
AWS Systems Manager support satisfaction varies, with higher praise for business support and consistent approval in Colombia.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
While this might be acceptable for some, it can be lengthy depending on the urgency of the issue.
Free support for AWS CloudFormation is not provided, and while some support is understandable due to its complexity, assistance for service-related issues should be accessible without a cost.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Intune is praised for its scalability and integration, supporting diverse organizations despite some challenges with macOS support.
Sentiment score
6.7
AWS CloudFormation is scalable, user-friendly, and praised for security, though it needs better interactivity and tool compatibility.
Sentiment score
7.3
AWS Systems Manager is highly scalable and efficient, handling large workloads seamlessly, making it ideal for complex environments.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
Splitting CloudFormation into multiple formations results in changes to resources like API gateway URLs and Cognito pools, which causes issues, especially when trying to maintain consistency across resources.
Adjusting capacity and functionality is a fundamental use.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Intune is highly stable, reliable, and efficiently manages updates, with user satisfaction ratings of eight to ten.
Sentiment score
6.6
AWS CloudFormation is considered stable and efficient, with high user ratings despite occasional issues during complex operations.
Sentiment score
7.0
AWS Systems Manager is mainly stable, though some users face issues like clipboard sharing, battery drain, and misconfiguration.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Microsoft Intune has been very stable.
A couple of years ago, the performance was not as good as it is now, but there are noticeable backend improvements.
It has been reliable and efficient in all my deployments.
Data loss can occur when splitting or scaling applications due to changes in resources.
It's a service that has been around for years, and it handles large complex deployments and updates with very good consistency.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune faces challenges in reporting, compatibility, policy synchronization, requiring improvements in integration, UI, and feature granularity.
AWS CloudFormation is complex, lacks multi-cloud support, and users desire better error handling, GUI, and automation features.
AWS Systems Manager users seek improved automation, integration, usability, cost optimization, and broader service integration with better incident management.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Many third-party companies offer single-pane-of-glass reporting that shows you what your update environment looks like, how your patch is doing, application status, etc., but Intune's reporting is not intuitive.
It presents challenges for users unfamiliar with coding, posing as a barrier to fully utilizing CloudFormation.
Creating microservices and connecting multiple APIs into a single API gateway can be challenging; documentation should address specific needs.
Managing the correct order of resource creation and some updates can be tricky, especially with interdependent resources.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune offers cost-effective pricing bundled with Microsoft 365, especially beneficial for large organizations using integrated services.
AWS CloudFormation is cost-effective and scalable, charging only for deployed resources, but unexpected costs may arise without careful management.
AWS Systems Manager offers cost efficiency and value, but requires optimization to mitigate cost increases during high-demand periods.
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
AWS CloudFormation is free.
While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimize costs according to our use case, time, and frequency.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune excels in device management with seamless Microsoft ecosystem integration, boosting productivity and security through centralized features.
AWS CloudFormation enables automation and scalable deployments with nested stacks, YAML/JSON support, easy configuration, and seamless AWS integration.
AWS Systems Manager provides log analysis, task automation, parameter storage, and efficient access, enhancing security, productivity, and integration.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
I can see the entire infrastructure and its connections through code.
Managing, maintaining, and deploying become easier as it allows the creation of the same resources on multiple accounts, making it efficient for infrastructure management.
AWS Systems Manager's most valuable feature is its ability to dynamically export and import values in various AWS accounts.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
298
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
AWS CloudFormation
Ranking in Configuration Management
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
AWS Systems Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 9.9%, up from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS CloudFormation is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Systems Manager is 10.4%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune9.9%
AWS Systems Manager10.4%
AWS CloudFormation1.9%
Other77.8%
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.
Mbula Mboma - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates efficient infrastructure deployment with visibility into resource connections
I primarily use AWS CloudFormation for deploying infrastructure efficiently. For instance, if I want to create load balancers with target groups and EC2 instances, I find CloudFormation simplifies the process of deployment and configuration, reducing the possibility of errors AWS CloudFormation…
Ambe Frankline - PeerSpot reviewer
Tracks every action on AWS accounts in a centralized way
Setting up AWS Systems Manager to monitor and control other services is easy. You need to link the services you want to observe and track. The time it takes to deploy depends on factors like connectivity, latency, and the complexity of the services. For example, setting up a simple application is faster than setting up a more complicated three-tier or multi-tier system. Using the solution for batch updates varies depending on the number of servers involved and the commands needed. Personally, when I do small projects at home, deploying a few servers doesn't take long. But at work, where we handle larger deployments with hundreds of servers, it's faster due to better connectivity and resources.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business114
Midsize Enterprise45
Large Enterprise150
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

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 AWS CloudFormation?
AWS Cloud automation reduces the time needed to create AWS resources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CloudFormation?
AWS CloudFormation is free. However, there may be unexpected costs if developers deploy services incorrectly without ...
What needs improvement with AWS CloudFormation?
When it comes to the challenges with AWS CloudFormation, I faced a few challenges. One challenge is associated with l...
What do you like most about AWS Systems Manager?
With AWS Systems Manager, our company can patch our systems directly from it, so we don't need to patch our systems m...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Systems Manager?
Every AWS service comes with some associated costs. While using AWS Systems Manager, we continually monitor to optimi...
What needs improvement with AWS Systems Manager?
I do not use the automation feature in this product.
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
CloudFormation
Amazon Elastic Container Registry
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia
Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS CloudFormation vs. AWS Systems Manager and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.