AWS CloudFormation vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor comparison

AWS CloudFormation vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

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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 SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is 1.6%, up from 0.4% 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%
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor	1.6%
Other	88.7%

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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Akhil Reddy

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.

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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

"Turning the endpoint infrastructure into a highly efficient operation was the best thing that happened to our organization."

"Intune is the best tool going forward because everyone is moving to the cloud."

"Microsoft Intune has positively impacted our organization by covering processes, improving security, and saving time."

"It helps us manage user certificates."

"The ability to switch between Affinity and non-Affinity enrollment is great."

"On the cloud, you can manage everything; you can push policies, maintain patches, and maintain security because everything interacts on the cloud and a VPN is not required."

"The best features include the management, which is quite good, and endpoints."

"We already use a lot of Microsoft products in our company, and therefore, it made sense to also use this product."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"The product uses a simple JSON file format, so it's easy for a beginner to start. But you can use Terraform once you get good hands-on experience and know the infrastructure and resources well."

"CloudFormation has helped automate the infrastructure in AWS, making the process more efficient."

"It allows defining the infrastructure as code using templates, which describe the desired state of the infrastructure."

"I love CloudFormation as it's a great tool for infrastructure as code. This makes my job very easy."

"The most beneficial aspect lies in its capability to handle input acquisition and assessment."

"The nested stacks would be one of the more valuable features."

"AWS CloudFormation has automated the resource-building process, thereby removing the scope of human errors. We can tag the resources which help the billing process."

"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

"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."

"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is a good-to-have solution for all customers who are under audit pressure, especially from regulatory authorities."

"The product’s alert feature is good. We receive notifications whenever some failures occur in the configuration."

"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."

Cons

"Microsoft Intune can be improved by making it even more seamless for users to download their certificates."

"A major challenge is making all the products work within device management solutions like Intune. It would be beneficial if Microsoft removed support for older products much earlier in the process."

"When we implemented Intune, it would have been helpful if Microsoft had provided some videos or data about Intune."

"One major concern I have is user friction. When you enforce many policies and people log into apps like Microsoft Teams or Outlook, they encounter numerous MFA and other policies."

"I'm still playing around with it and haven't had any issues with the product yet, but support can definitely be improved."

"Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected."

"Microsoft needs to strategize its licensing structure. When using Microsoft Intune, we bought a small scale of controls, only controlling part of the devices, though Microsoft Intune can do much more. The Intune Suite offers more features, allowing extensive integration with either internal or cloud environments without requiring third-party licensing. However, each feature has a separate license, making logistics and cost management difficult if not strategically bundled together."

"The Mac integration has room for improvement."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"The cost of licensing could be reduced."

"Creating the inline policies is not great."

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

"As soon as they manage to parametrize the whole thing and to implement parameters at all levels, it will become automatically a lot more flexible."

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

"Including certain examples of templates would be advantageous."

"The solution must enable more hands-on designing of the templates."

"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."

More AWS CloudFormation cons

"The product’s support services and licensing models need improvement."

"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."

"Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor."

"In a feature release, they could enhance the reporting. However, we have not evaluated this part of the solution extensively."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Intune is more expensive than other solutions, but it offers a wider range of features and control."

"While Microsoft Intune boasts a wide range of features, its user-friendliness and bundled licensing cost are key considerations for me."

"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."

"With our standard E5 agreement with Microsoft, there have been no pricing concerns. Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs."

"It is not expensive."

"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."

"With one user base license, we can use Intune for up to five devices. However, with Soti MobiControl, each license is tied to a single device, meaning one license is dedicated to one device only."

"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."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"AWS CloudFormation's pricing is cheaper than that of other cloud providers."

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

"There's no cost for launching any template using CloudFormation."

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

"This solution is free to use and does not require a license."

"The product is free."

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

"The pricing is not notably high."

More AWS CloudFormation pricing and cost advice

"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor has medium pricing compared to other solutions."

"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."

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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

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	189
Midsize Enterprise	65
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...

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 ...

Jamf Pro vs Microsoft Intune

Comparisons

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IBM MaaS360 vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 10% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 4% of the time

ManageEngine Endpoint Central vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 4% of the time

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HashiCorp Terraform vs AWS CloudFormation

Compared 9% of the time

AWS Systems Manager vs AWS CloudFormation

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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AWS Config vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

Compared 13% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

Compared 10% of the time

AWS Systems Manager vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

BMC TrueSight Automation for Networks vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

AWS CloudFormation

Download AWS CloudFormation product report

Configuration Management

Download SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor product report

SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

CloudFormation

SolarWinds SCM

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)

SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor offers a comprehensive solution for tracking and managing server configurations. It provides visibility into configuration changes, helping IT professionals ensure compliance and prevent unplanned downtime.

Designed for IT teams prioritizing server performance and uptime, SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor delivers detailed insights into configuration changes and deviations. By automating the tracking process, it minimizes manual errors and accelerates troubleshooting. Customers rely on it for maintaining compliance with internal policies and external regulations. This tool not only monitors servers but also provides alerts and automated workflows to resolve configuration issues promptly, enhancing efficiency and service delivery.

What are the key features of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?

Configuration Change Monitoring: Tracks all server configuration changes in real-time to detect unauthorized or unintended modifications.
Compliance Reporting: Offers detailed reports to ensure compliance with industry standards and organizational policies.
Alerting System: Provides customizable alerts to notify IT teams about critical configuration changes.
Historical Comparison: Allows users to compare current configurations with past setups to identify variances.
Automated Workflow: Simplifies the process of managing and resolving configuration issues with automated tasks.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Improved Uptime: By quickly identifying and rectifying configuration issues, reduces server downtime.
Enhanced Security: Detects unauthorized changes, preventing potential security breaches.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces manual effort and the associated costs with automated monitoring and reporting.
Regulatory Compliance: Facilitates adherence to legal and industry regulations, minimizing compliance risks.

Industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology leverage SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor for stringent compliance requirements and to maintain high performance standards. Its role in swiftly identifying deviations from required configurations makes it invaluable for sectors where data integrity and availability are critical.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Nextdoor, Coinbase, Expedia

Information Not Available

AWS CloudFormation vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor