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Chef vs SUSE 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
Microsoft Intune boosts ROI by reducing setup time, IT workload, third-party tool use, and infrastructure costs while enhancing security.
Sentiment score
6.7
Chef enhances work efficiency and ROI by streamlining deployment, reducing manual labor, and supporting scalable infrastructure management.
Sentiment score
1.0
SUSE Manager offers cost savings, efficiency, reduced risks, better resource allocation, and optimized performance through automated server management and system health visibility.
Everything we've gained from it makes my job easier day after day, and I see value in it as an engineer.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Microsoft Intune not only saves costs by reducing the number of personnel needed but also offers a comprehensive solution for managing laptops, applications, security, individual access, and enrollment.
Subject Matter Expert at Engage IT Services Pvt Ltd
With Microsoft Intune, tasks such as device provisioning, policy deployment, application delivery, and compliance enforcement require less manual effort than in more traditional management models.
Endpoint Cloud Solution Architect at Lutech
The return has been far more hours saved than spent.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
We have seen significant improvement in the time and the way we make changes to the infrastructure.
Principal Engineer at Wipro Limited
I have seen a return on investment with Chef because we definitely need fewer employees to manage infrastructure.
Principal DevOps engineer at Autodesk, Inc.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.7
Microsoft Intune support is slow and inconsistent, but premium users experience faster, more effective assistance from higher-level engineers.
Sentiment score
5.8
Chef's customer support varies, with positive presales support, but challenges lead users to community forums and AWS for help.
Sentiment score
3.1
SUSE Manager support is mixed; helpful yet sometimes lacking, with cultural differences affecting customer satisfaction and support consistency.
When a support ticket is submitted, it directly reaches someone with Intune support expertise.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
When I contacted Microsoft, they had the same expertise, if not more, which is phenomenal because I felt heard and my problem was solved.
IT Systems Engineer at Syracuse University
Sometimes, the support provided is excellent, and the representative is knowledgeable, while other times, the service needs improvement.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
We usually work with the Chef teams and community support, who are always willing to assist.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
Generally, the support is good, but there are instances where the support team seems disinterested in solving complex problems.
IT Consultant at a non-tech company with self employed
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Intune offers scalable, cloud-based management for multiple platforms, seamlessly accommodating diverse organizational sizes and growth needs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Chef is praised for managing numerous nodes efficiently in diverse cloud environments despite some challenges with scaling.
Sentiment score
4.8
SUSE Manager effectively scales for medium-sized businesses, connecting multiple environments and accommodating growth without issues.
The scalability of Microsoft Intune is ten out of ten.
Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Ideally, we want to automatically segregate devices based on user properties like primary use, but currently, dynamic groups seem limited to device properties.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It supports organizations with 200 endpoints and those with more than 15,000 endpoints.
Director at Provisioned
We leverage both to achieve the best option possible for scaling.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
Chef's scalability is evident as the public sector organization I work at serves a population of 5 million, and we have had no problems with scaling.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Intune is reliable for endpoint management despite occasional minor bugs and delays during policy deployments or updates.
Sentiment score
7.7
Chef offers reliable performance, minimal disruptions, and effective scalability, with high stability ratings and strong community support.
Sentiment score
4.1
SUSE Manager is stable and reliable, with occasional issues swiftly resolved by support, reinforcing user confidence in management.
We have not experienced downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Head of IT at TWM SOLICITORS LLP
It appears Microsoft Intune undergoes changes without informing customers.
Support Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
In my experience, Microsoft Intune is a stable platform as it is a cloud-based service, and updates are regularly delivered by Microsoft.
IT Administrator at Newrest Inflight España, S.A
It is a good tool to work with, offering a strong developer experience and community support.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
Chef is stable.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In my experience, Chef is quite stable most of the time.
Principal Engineer at Wipro Limited
The stability of SUSE Manager is fine.
IT Consultant at a non-tech company with self employed
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Intune faces challenges with user interface, configuration, compatibility, integration, security, and customization, impacting efficiency.
Chef needs improved simplicity, integration, performance, documentation, better error messages, enhanced support, and usability for wider adoption.
SUSE Manager users seek a larger code library, better integration, enhanced support, easier navigation, and improved cybersecurity features.
Features like unlocking devices sometimes fail, and the support offered for other operating systems is insufficient.
Strategy & Portfolio Advisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now.
Collaborations engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
On support, I think there should be more focus on how we can achieve AI automations in answering questions for beginners and addressing deep concerns without general manual management.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
To improve Chef, making an interface with another language such as Python or Java that is well understood, as capable as Ruby, and even more widely adopted would demystify it a bit.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The learning curve is steep due to Chef's Ruby-based DSL and the complex components of cookbooks and recipes, which can be challenging for new users, especially those without programming backgrounds.
Senior Consultant Development at Infogain
A better description of the initial setup process could enhance user experience.
IT Consultant at a non-tech company with self employed
Features that can be helpful in disaster recovery.
Technology Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
From an integration perspective, it is difficult to integrate with Jira or any ticketing tool, which is challenging.
Unix Administrator at emaratech
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Intune is cost-effective for enterprises using bundled licenses, though standalone pricing may be high for smaller businesses.
Enterprise users find Chef's pricing flexible but complex, appreciating AWS Marketplace integration despite preferring cheaper open-source alternatives.
<p>SUSE Manager provides flexible, cost-effective pricing options, though some users experience unexpected costs for advanced features and support.</p>
Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs.
Senior Systems Architect IV at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
The Intune suite and add-ons, such as batch management and remote help, are costly.
Technical Sales Professional (Microsoft Modern Workplace) at Alnafitha IT
It costs approximately forty euros per user per month.
Cyber Security Officer at Gudu
Licensing looks reasonable compared to the manual work of managing whole data centers with even 10,000 servers.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that we sidestepped it by using Cinc because none of the functionality that is exclusive to the paid version was actually in use in the organization.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Intune offers efficient device management, security, and integration with Microsoft 365, enhancing operational efficiency and user experience.
Chef automates configuration management, supporting scalability, ease of use, and efficiency, ideal for large-scale cloud environments with community support.
SUSE Manager provides live patching, monitoring, automation, compliance, security, and simplifies management across Linux systems, enhancing usability and efficiency.
Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
Microsoft Practice Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Dynamic groups allow us to set conditions for automatic membership, eliminating the need for user intervention or manual review and ensuring a seamless workflow.
Engineer, Systems Admin . at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Windows Autopatch is the most valuable because it removes the burden of patch management.
Director at Provisioned
Security is a key aspect that Chef can automate, monitor new features that are available, and even do patches without you getting involved.
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
When you have infrastructure as code and you already have everything apart from the environment-specific config, which you can specify in variables, then it is not only more repeatable and reliable, it is faster.
Technical Architecture Support at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Using Chef for automating infrastructure and applications in my organization has helped us reduce manual tasks by more than forty percent, thereby saving significant revenue for the client.
Principal Engineer at Wipro Limited
It supports more than six or seven Linux flavors, and when compared to other tools such as Satellite, which only supports the Red Hat operating system, SUSE Manager supports Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, and some other Linux operating systems for patch management.
Unix Administrator at emaratech
SUSE Manager is valuable for managing systems, patching, and utilizing SaltStack connectivity for various installations and other routines.
IT Consultant at a non-tech company with self employed
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
355
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Chef
Ranking in Configuration Management
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Build Automation (13th), Release Automation (6th)
SUSE Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 5.4%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Chef is 3.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Manager is 2.9%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune5.4%
Chef3.5%
SUSE Manager2.9%
Other88.2%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

Varun Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
Collaboration Support Engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Centralized device management has transformed security and streamlined remote provisioning
One area where Microsoft Intune can improve is the user interface. Sometimes the portal feels a bit complex and not very intuitive, especially for new users, and it can take time to find specific settings. Another point is troubleshooting. While logs are available, the diagnostic policies and sync issues can still be time-consuming and not very straightforward. I also feel that reporting could be more detailed and customizable. The built-in reports are helpful, but for deeper insights, I often need to rely on additional tools. Overall, it is a strong solution, but improving usability and troubleshooting experience would make it even better. While Microsoft Intune works very well within the Microsoft ecosystem, the integration of some third-party tools could be smoother and require less customization. Support is another area that could improve, as sometimes response times can be slow, and resolving complex issues may take longer than expected. In terms of features, I think more advanced automation and built-in remediation options would be helpful since common issues can be fixed automatically without manual intervention.
Walter Ochieng Odhiambo - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer and Tester at Safaricom
Automation has transformed daily infrastructure work and now frees teams to focus on new challenges
One thing that Chef needs to improve on is making it available in as many languages as possible. There should be a focus on how to make it understandable, not just to infrastructure people, but also to those working in monitoring. How can we ensure that it is part of their daily input? That is something that still has a small missing link. We are almost there, but it can help us achieve outcomes in the future in terms of objectives, not just workflows and visibility. How can we make real-time interactive dashboards more available? Look at what kind of tools can be integrated with them, not just working with the ones like Chef Kitchen and Habitat, but trying to make it even more flexible than what we have right now. On support, I think there should be more focus on how we can achieve AI automations in answering questions for beginners and addressing deep concerns without general manual management.
DK
Unix Administrator at emaratech
Supports a wide range of operating systems but integration challenges persist
From an integration perspective, it is difficult to integrate with Jira or any ticketing tool, which is challenging. We didn't try that, but we opened a case with SUSE support, and they said that it requires consultation for this new use case. In terms of support, both response time and knowledge-wise, they need to improve.
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business149
Midsize Enterprise60
Large Enterprise177
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

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 Chef?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that we sidestepped it by using Cinc because none of the fun...
What needs improvement with Chef?
I would add that Ruby is a domain-specific language in the Chef dialect, which is a learning curve, but so is Terrafo...
What is your primary use case for Chef?
My main use case for Chef is configuration and deployments. We receive blank servers and use Chef to build predefined...
What needs improvement with SUSE Manager?
The integration of some functions on cybersecurity could be improved if possible, along with features that can be hel...
What is your primary use case for SUSE Manager?
The use case for SUSE Manager is for several tasks such as bringing up the instances for SAP HANA, bringing them down...
What advice do you have for others considering SUSE Manager?
I have experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I mostly work with SUSE Linux, but we have a couple of servers with ...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Facebook, Standard Bank, GE Capital, Nordstrom, Optum, Barclays, IGN, General Motors, Scholastic, Riot Games, NCR, Gap
Day & Zimmermann, Cisco, CEMEX, L.B. Foster, Adient, Istanbul Technical University, 7Pixel, University of Maine System, Guerbet
Find out what your peers are saying about Chef vs. SUSE Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.