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F5 BIG-IQ vs Microsoft System Center Orchestrator comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 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

F5 BIG-IQ
Ranking in Process Automation
24th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft System Center Orc...
Ranking in Process Automation
33rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IQ is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft System Center Orchestrator is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IQ1.0%
Microsoft System Center Orchestrator1.3%
Other97.7%
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Bikale Kassu - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager for Implementation and Administration at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Has faced challenges with visibility and technical support but allows centralized management of multiple sites
The configuration part is complex for F5 BIG-IQ. The simplicity and visibility part needs improvement. The dashboard, especially the analytics part, needs to be more simple and presentable. For the security part, it is difficult to present to our management, so we have to capture it and prepare manual reporting options rather than getting them directly from the system. The automation part in F5 BIG-IQ is limited; we are still using it only for load balancing for some services. We haven't integrated it with our Accesso or implemented any automation options. The setup process for F5 BIG-IQ would rate a five out of ten.
Dan Campeanu - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at ProVision
Automates tasks and manages multiple servers from a central location
The initial setup was quite complex. It required careful preparation of installation steps, as many tasks were not automated as expected. Special attention was needed to prepare groups, users, and permissions at each step to ensure a smooth setup process. Please do so accurately to avoid having to start over. Challenges encountered during deployment included issues with installation and configuration and difficulties detecting machines and executing tasks as expected. Some solutions were found through trial and error during installation, while others were discovered through recommendations from other users. Despite these challenges, the deployment and rollout of Orchestrator took approximately one and a half months to ensure proper functionality.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The GUI is fine, at least from an engineer's perspective."
"Features like AFM, the gateway, and Global DNS are the coolest features that save work for us."
"This solution is one of the finest in the industry."
"The product is excellent."
"F5 BIG-IQ reduces the propensity for error."
"Scalability: To move from larger boxes to smaller boxes, along with virtualization. So, we are not locked into a particular size."
"The customer service is great."
"The F5 solution scales very easily, and if we have more boxes then we can just join them to the cluster."
"It can manage multiple servers and workstations from a single location."
"Automation is the most valuable feature of the solution."
 

Cons

"The shell, kernel, or Linux has something like a delay, especially with the Virtual Edition, when you are trying to implement it in the cloud and you want to access it remotely with web management. It would be great if they could improve their kernel. It was difficult for me, especially when I got started with BIG-IP. I was struggling to find which commands work with it. If you want to work with it, you have to be a Linux guy."
"The solution should improve pricing. It's expensive in comparison to other American solutions."
"For us, right now, F5 is too expensive."
"They could use YAML or JSON if they wanted to make it a little bit easier for us."
"F5 BIG-IQ should improve by being a complete certificate management solution because currently, it is only for Venafi. Other automation platforms, should be added."
"A bug caused me to lose all the configuration."
"The solution's rSeries has been made free, and iSeries should be made free as well."
"Sometimes the solution does not work."
"I find the Orchestrator UI to be problematic."
"The product's management aspect needs enhancement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution."
"I would like the product to be cheaper."
"Users have to pay an annual subscription fee for the solution's iSeries."
"There is only one licensing fee for F5 BIG-IQ and everything is included in the price."
"I give the cost of the solution a five out of ten."
"We obtained a license that bundled Windows Server with System Center at no additional cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IQ?
From the pricing perspective, F5 BIG-IQ rates an eight out of ten as it's reasonably priced.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IQ?
The configuration part is complex for F5 BIG-IQ. The simplicity and visibility part needs improvement. The dashboard, especially the analytics part, needs to be more simple and presentable. For the...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IQ?
Currently for WAF, we are moving to another device, F5. We are not using Imperva. F5 BIG-IQ is the Web Application Firewall we're currently using, but regarding the Imperva products, now we are flo...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

No data available
MS System Center Orchestrator
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IQ vs. Microsoft System Center Orchestrator and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.