AWS CloudFormation vs OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management comparison

AWS CloudFormation vs. OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS CloudFormation is 4.8%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management is 2.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	4.9%
AWS CloudFormation	4.8%
OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management	2.1%
Other	88.2%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi

Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees

Centralized endpoint security has improved and supports hybrid work and BYOD policies

Regarding what I dislike about Microsoft Intune and its downsides, I would say that more Mac controls are needed because we have limited Mac and Linux control. When comparing controls and policies between Windows, Mac, and Linux, Windows has almost everything you can think of, while Mac and Linux have limited types of control. You cannot implement certain things on Mac and Linux that you can on Windows. The limited controls are a major issue. Additionally, if Microsoft could find a way to embed servers into Microsoft Intune, that would be beneficial. Microsoft Intune is not really designed for servers or Windows servers. It is more tailored towards Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems. Windows servers are not fully supported. Enterprise organizations usually have both servers and endpoints, which are users' workstations. For servers, most people look for other solutions such as SCCM, which is Configuration Manager. However, SCCM is what Microsoft Intune is trying to replace. Both SCCM and Microsoft Intune belong to Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to transition organizations into Microsoft Intune, the native cloud solution. However, because this update is still in process, servers are not fully compatible with Microsoft Intune and cannot be managed by it. The current policy that has emerged from issues with clients is what they call co-management, which is relatively new, and I do not know if adoption is significant. Many legacy or older customers who have been using these products for decades still have SCCM. When it is time for them to manage their Windows devices, they use what is called cloud attach. Cloud attach is a term whereby your SCCM is connected to your Microsoft Intune. Most people do not know about it, but I have deployed it for several organizations. Cloud attach and co-management work together so that your device is in SCCM, but some policies are pushed from Microsoft Intune. It is like two different solutions working hand in hand. That is what they call co-management. Microsoft Intune does not bring all of your endpoint and security management tools into one place, which is the goal and how it should be. However, as I mentioned, servers are not included. If we talk about end users, Microsoft Intune does bring all your devices together. In a typical enterprise environment, you have end users with workstations, laptops, company-issued phones, and bring your own devices. You can create policies for all of these. However, for the backend, your servers do not have much coverage. Servers are not really covered by Microsoft Intune in that way.

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Sridivya Chillappa

application security engineer at Hyperspace IT India

Automation and consistency in infrastructure deployment provide a robust foundation

When it comes to the challenges with AWS CloudFormation, I faced a few challenges. One challenge is associated with large infrastructures; the template can become very long and hard to manage. Sometimes, the error messages during stack creation or update can be very hard to troubleshoot. Managing the correct order of resource creation and some updates can be tricky, especially with interdependent resources. If a stack update fails halfway and rolls back, it sometimes leaves the resources in an inconsistent state. AWS imposes a limit on stack size and the number of resources per stack, which can be quite constrained for large deployments. Despite all this, once we have experience, we can overcome these challenges very easily. Stack creation or updates can be slower than expected, especially with large and complex resources, and certain resource types or dependencies can add to the wait time. Nevertheless, AWS offers a way to optimize performance by breaking large templates into nested stacks. It's very capable, but there is room for improvement in speed.

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it_user1272306

Chief Technology Officer at DoITWise

Helpful impact analysis and the discovery capability is quite good

This tool works hand-in-hand with RPA technology. RPA will allow you to control your servers by deploying the server automation agent. You don't have the discovery, but then you can deploy the policies that maintain the authorized versus current state. On top of that, you can use server automation to deploy patches or remediate configuration issues on the operating system. My advice to anybody who is implementing this solution is to ensure that the process is set up properly, first. Once the process is set up, the tool will do the rest for you. Overall, this is a comprehensive tool that works well, and I wouldn't touch it other than to enhance the UI and make containerization work without the CDF. I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like how Intune brings everything into one place. For example, you can set up conditional access to applications and devices inside Intune. I also like the segregation inside the Intune devices. You can segregate them by Windows, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Android. You can sort it by platform, so you don't need to go into the devices section."

"The product is very useful in terms of Windows Information Protection."

"Microsoft Intune scales very effectively with our growing needs."

"The best features in Microsoft Intune include secure authentication, which I find very favorable, and the fact that we can remotely push applications."

"Implementing Microsoft Intune is easy."

"The Advanced Endpoint Analytics in Microsoft Intune has improved and helps us proactively detect and remediate anomalies in endpoints."

"The solution has significantly improved managing a diverse range of devices. We have observed enhancements across Android, iOS, and Windows devices."

"The ability to wipe data from and reset devices is one of the most important and valuable features. If a device is reported stolen, we can freeze it or wipe the data from it, preventing data leakage."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"With CloudFormation, there is no need to use complicated coding."

"With the help of AWS CloudFormation, I have managed the updates and rollbacks smoothly when there are changes in the infrastructure."

"AWS CloudFormation makes infrastructure deployment easy."

"The time to market is really good, I would say, because you can quickly set up a blueprint and deploy it, and the initial setup is simple."

"CloudFormation itself is free to use. You will be charged for the resources you deploy using CloudFormation."

"Scripting does what we need to reinstall something from scratch."

"I appreciate the flexibility of infrastructure as code. With CloudFormation, we can define ground rules, control usage limits, and scale our infrastructure up or down programmatically. Having this level of control through code on infra is a major benefit. That's the beauty of CloudFormation."

"The most valuable features of AWS CloudFormation include the import and export functionality, and pseudo parameters, which reduce our coding efforts by managing parameterization at the account level."

More AWS CloudFormation pros

"Automatic Spiral Discovery: This feature enables deep and dynamic configuration and change management."

"The most valuable feature is the impact analysis."

"Overall, this is a comprehensive tool that works well, and I wouldn't touch it other than to enhance the UI and make containerization work without the CDF."

"We use it for managing our desktops; we have 350,000 desktops and it allows us to manage and control them relatively easily."

"Helps me perform changes in connected infrastructure thanks to the discovery features."

Cons

"It would be great to see on-premises mailboxes and for the solution to have geofencing capabilities."

"They should improve its compatibility with other operating systems such as iOS and Linux. It supports Linux but they still need to work on the iOS part."

"The mobile management is good for iPhone and iPad, but the Apple Mac management needs improvement. That is probably because Microsoft does not have low-level access to Apple Mac hardware. If you are doing basic things, it is okay, but if you want to image Apple Macs and do things like that, then Jamf is much better."

"In Microsoft Intune, there is significant slowness, and there needs to be more logs when we deploy software, parameters, or scripts to troubleshoot problems and errors in the interface, workstations, and Android devices."

"The most significant challenge is reporting and monitoring. The reporting accuracy for deploying applications and all aspects of Intune needs to be improved."

"The pricing can be expensive if you are not combining it with other products."

"The reports aren't complete, and it's not easy to build custom reports. For example, Windows Autopilot isn't working well in cases where the computers don't have a good internet connection. Then the option is not good enough."

"There can be more logs. I do not have any other requirements."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"For a beginner, it's kind of difficult to set up. So, the user does need some knowledge in order to do it."

"If you are a developer or a more technical person, it's very difficult to learn the complete syntax or because CloudFormation includes a new way to write infrastructure code."

"The Infrastructure Composer is not fully complete, making it necessary to tweak the code manually after generating it, which could be improved."

"The solution needs to offer better support to other cloud vendors."

"CloudFormation is not particularly good at handling cross-account dynamic references. If you try to refer to an object that CloudFormation has created in a separate AWS account, it tends to fall apart."

"Improving the quality of support would be helpful."

"There could be better error handling. It would be a good way to improve the solution."

"It would help all users if AWS improved the auto-generation of the CloudFormation file."

More AWS CloudFormation cons

"The native UI should be simplified because it is outdated and a little bit over-complicated."

"The infrastructure itself is stable, but the agent has a lot of problems."

"It needs dashboards."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is cheaper than our company's other MDM tools."

"The price of Intune is often included as part of a bundle with other Microsoft licenses, which makes it somewhat cheaper."

"The Intune license model is costly."

"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."

"We have the business premium licenses for the solution."

"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."

"Microsoft Intune is available for individual purchase at a low per-device cost."

"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"

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is not notably high."

"If you compared serverless and container-based, serverless is less expensive. If you use certain instances the price can increase and become too expensive."

"The solution's cost is normal, neither cheap nor expensive."

"The price of the solution is good because it is scalable."

"The tool's pricing depends on the page model."

"The tool is free for the AWS environment."

"AWS CloudFormation doesn't have any cost because it's only the resources that you deploy with the solution that'll incur costs."

"In general, pricing within AWS is relatively affordable."

More AWS CloudFormation pricing and cost advice

"This is a really good tool for the money."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

University

30%

Construction Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	192
Midsize Enterprise	62
Large Enterprise	185

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	17

No data available

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 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 is your primary use case for AWS CloudFormation?

I have experience with AWS CloudFormation. I use it to automate the provisioning of the entire environment by spinnin...

Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Intune

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Comparisons

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Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 8% of the time

Chef vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 7% of the time

BMC TrueSight Server Automation vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 5% of the time

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HashiCorp Terraform vs OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management

Compared 8% of the time

BMC TrueSight Server Automation vs OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management

Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

More OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

AWS CloudFormation

Download AWS CloudFormation product report

Configuration Management

Download OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management product report

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

CloudFormation

Micro Focus ZENworks Configuration Management, HPE CMS, HPE Configuration Management, Micro Focus Configuration Management

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

AWS CloudFormation provides scalable automation for infrastructure management using infrastructure as code principles while supporting JSON/YAML templates, empowering teams to efficiently manage resources across multiple AWS regions.

Designed to enhance efficiency, AWS CloudFormation simplifies resource management through automation, versioning, and template creation. Its integration within AWS accelerates setup and management of infrastructure by facilitating modular design and parameter management. DevOps teams benefit from these capabilities, easing deployment across complex environments. Despite its strengths, it could improve by enhancing speed, better error handling, user interface improvements, documentation, and integrating new AWS services while addressing licensing costs. Multi-cloud compatibility remains absent, which has some opting for alternatives like Terraform for broader deployment scenarios.

What are the key features of AWS CloudFormation?

Infrastructure as Code: Streamlines deployment using descriptive formats.
Nested Stacks: Allows modular and organized deployment.
Versioning: Facilitates tracking changes and rollback implementation.
Scalability: Supports large-scale operations effectively.
Template Creation: Ensures consistent and repeatable environment setups.
YAML/JSON Support: Simplifies code management across regions.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Enhanced Deployment Reliability: Minimizes errors through change tracking and rollbacks.
Automation Efficiency: Reduces manual interventions and speeds setup.
Resource Management Across Regions: Simplifies global deployment processes.
Cost Optimization: Efficient infrastructure usage cuts operational costs.

In industries like finance and healthcare, AWS CloudFormation automates infrastructure deployment, managing resources such as VPCs and EC2 efficiently. DevOps teams use it to ensure consistency through templates, facilitating quick, reliable service deployments while reducing manual error risks and enhancing scalability.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management provides robust IT asset management and configuration capabilities. Designed to manage devices and applications efficiently, it ensures seamless operations across networks while reducing complexity in IT environments.

OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management helps businesses streamline device management by automating routine IT tasks. It's well-suited for managing desktops, laptops, and servers. The software supports centralized administration, which reduces downtime and manpower costs. IT departments value its scalability and secure configuration capabilities, enabling them to manage diverse networks with ease.

What are the key features?

Device Management: Simplifies the management of endpoints with automated updates and patches.
Asset Inventory: Provides comprehensive tracking and management of software and hardware assets.
Remote Control: Allows secure remote access to troubleshoot devices.
Policy Enforcement: Ensures compliance through automated policy deployment.
Reporting: Offers detailed insights and reports on device statuses and usage patterns.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces IT administration costs by automating repetitive tasks.
Improved Security: Enhances security with robust patch management.
Easy Scalability: Supports growing infrastructure without scaling issues.
Time Savings: Minimizes downtime and increases productivity with efficient management.

Industries such as healthcare, education, and finance leverage OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management for its customizable configurations that suit regulatory requirements and data security needs. Its deployment supports diverse network structures, offering flexibility in managing unique IT demands across sectors.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia

Tech Mahindra, NNIT, ASIC

AWS CloudFormation vs. OpenText ZENworks Configuration Management