Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Perforce Puppet comparison

Microsoft and Perforce are both solutions in the Configuration Management category. Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while Perforce is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 7.2% mindshare in CM, compared to Perforce’s 4.2% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Perforce users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Perforce Puppet and Microsoft Configuration Manager are both IT infrastructure management tools, with Perforce Puppet having the advantage in automation and scripting flexibility, while Microsoft Configuration Manager is superior in Windows environment integration.

Features: Perforce Puppet offers robust automation, extensive OS support, and scripting flexibility. Microsoft Configuration Manager excels in endpoint management, software deployment, and update management.

Room for Improvement: Perforce Puppet could improve its initial complexity, enhance integration options, and expand documentation. Microsoft Configuration Manager needs better cross-platform support, streamlined user interface, and more flexible customization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Configuration Manager is simpler to deploy in Windows environments due to tight integration. Perforce Puppet demands more setup effort but benefits from strong community support.

Pricing and ROI: Perforce Puppet offers flexible licensing with high ROI in multi-platform setups. Microsoft Configuration Manager has lower initial costs, which is appealing for Microsoft-centric companies seeking cost-effectiveness.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Perforce Puppet Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Perforce Puppet

August 2026

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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 August 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.6%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Configuration Manager is 7.2%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 4.2%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune	4.6%
Microsoft Configuration Manager	7.2%
Perforce Puppet	4.2%
Other	84.0%

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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Narendar S

Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Centralized endpoint control has streamlined deployments and improved security compliance

In my experience, the best features of Microsoft Configuration Manager are software deployments and updates, OSD, hardware and software inventory, compliance and configuration baseline, reporting and monitoring, and integration with Intune hybrid management. These features make endpoint management efficient and scalable. The feature I rely on the most day-to-day is software deployment and patch management. It keeps endpoints updated and secure with minimal manual effort. Inventory and compliance monitoring are also important, but daily deployments are critical. Microsoft Configuration Manager has had a significant positive impact on our organization in several ways: improved efficiency, enhanced security and compliance, standardization, scalability, and visibility reporting. Overall, Microsoft Configuration Manager has helped us save time, reduce risk, improve operational efficiency, and maintain strong control over our endpoints. One of the biggest impacts Microsoft Configuration Manager has had on efficiency is the reduced manual work for software deployment and patching. For example, deploying a new application or security updates to hundreds or thousands of devices previously required several days of manual effort, including running scripts, checking devices individually, and validating installation. With Microsoft Configuration Manager, these tasks are automated and managed, allowing deployments to complete in hours rather than days. We also have automated reporting for deployment success and compliance which saved the IT team significant time that used to be spent gathering and reconciling inventory data from multiple tools.

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reviewer2284542

Business Development Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Automated configuration management ensures consistent server setups

The strength of Puppet is in automated configuration management. We can configure a server once and set rules with Puppet so that future server configurations are automatic and consistent with company requests. Puppet is declarative, meaning it finds the best state for itself and corrects any deviations in the configuration.

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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

"If you are looking for an MDM provider specifically for user and device certificate enrollment for your BYOD use cases or corporate devices, I believe Microsoft Intune could be one of the best solutions available."

"Remote Wipe and Autopilot is one of the best features."

"The most valuable feature is Intune's ability to push out updates for the security and antivirus. I also like Intune's copilot and the ability to automate processes. For example, if you have 5,000 employees who are issued new PCs and you need to set them up with everything they need."

"The compliance and configuration policies in Microsoft Intune are the most valuable features, saving significant time compared to manual implementation."

"The security posture is very good. It's very customizable."

"Microsoft Intune impacts my organization positively by saving significant time via faster onboarding; there is no requirement for manual imaging or setup."

"The solution is stable."

"Microsoft Intune has been a valuable solution for improving endpoint management, security compliance, and remote administration in my environment; it has highly simplified device management operations and improved overall visibility and control over managed devices."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"I like the data collection."

"Because it's console-based we can create one application or patch in the console, it will download, and from the console base we can deploy to all machines."

"The solution is the best there is in the market today."

"The most valuable features are application deployment and task-sequenced imaging."

"With the SCCM inventory, we found a lot of rogue applications. We were able to identify them, find out who was running them, and either put them on our application list or remove them."

"MECM has given us many benefits, but the main benefit is that we no longer have to deploy software manually onto hard drives or with USB flash drives, and instead you can do everything over the network."

"The main, clear valuable feature is updating the latest, patches and updates from Windows. This is the main feature we really utilize a lot."

"The ease of usability is the most valuable feature. It's user-friendly."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pros

"Return on the IaaS project was breaking even in the same year with deployment of 500 VM servers with a 3-tier app stack, and annual ROI from savings thereafter was to the tune of 60-80%."

"Before we began using Puppet, everything was manual; once we moved to Puppet, it opened up a completely new world of automated management, which was amazing."

"Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly."

"The organization of the overall product in terms of usage is very good."

"Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes, freeing our engineers to spend their time on creative, visionary work instead of repetitive tasks."

"The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features."

"Puppet3 and 4 series provides optimum deployment solutions for infrastructure and applications."

"The valuable features I found are installing packages remotely and pushing files from a centralized server, and we can also create users and monitor services remotely."

More Perforce Puppet pros

Cons

"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."

"Microsoft Intune is a very strong platform, but there are still some areas where it could improve."

"Regarding the pricing of Microsoft Intune, there are many features being introduced, but most features should be available in a license such as EMS E3, which is a high-quality license but does not include them."

"It is not very stable. Sometimes, it works instantly, and sometimes, something goes wrong, and you get stuck there."

"I assess the stability of the product as low. I have faced downtime crashes and performance issues with Microsoft Intune."

"To make it a perfect ten, it would be helpful if there was a better way to troubleshoot user issues, as I've had a few users with corrupt files before and had to redeploy it without knowing the root cause."

"I think that there is room for improvement with the reporting. If this is done, it will be a better product."

"In the future, I would like to see improvements in Microsoft Intune, especially related to policies and GPU."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"Microsoft should extend support for additional platforms."

"It would be better if reporting were more user-friendly."

"The setup was complex and I faced a lot of problems initially because I was new to the solution."

"It needs to be able to load faster during deployment and the new release could include this ability."

"The solution can be improved by speeding up the synchronizing of the policies on the devices."

"It is a bit of an old and outdated product."

"The main room for improvement is the on-screen display. I think it would be good if some improvements were made."

"Initial setup was complex. There's a lot that goes into it."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager cons

"It needs GUI based automation. There is way too much command line work involved."

"It's a bit of a pain point to make sure that everything works once we've upgraded it because Puppet has been evolving pretty fast."

"We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications."

"Well at the beginning it was kind of complex. Because you had a lack of knowledge."

"Clients with less technical expertise may find Puppet complex to configure. Our team may struggle if technical team members leave the organization, leaving others uncertain about using the tool."

"At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex."

"The solution has really complex code, you have to understand the Ruby language. However, once you know the code then you can move ahead without any problems."

"Puppet has a steep learning curve so you need to spend some time before you can use Puppet daily."

More Perforce Puppet cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a limited budget for security investments, so Microsoft should consider reducing pricing in our region. This would make investment more viable, especially since larger businesses in other countries can afford it easily."

"Existing E5 license holders for M365, Intune, and Azure, receive a free license."

"It's bundled with Business Premium and an E3 license, which is beneficial. If you have to pay extra, it's pricey, but with the bundled package, it's acceptable. They recently increased the Business Premium pricing, which we don't appreciate. The price increase and yearly commitment are causing some problems for us."

"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."

"Based on the features that it gives, it is cost-efficient. It is not necessarily on the expensive side of the scale. It provides a hefty number of features that any organization would want. It is in a good price range."

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

"The solution is cost-efficient."

"The pricing is not cheap, especially with inflation. They've had to increase their prices. It's not excessive, but alright."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"Along with buying a license for MECM, we also have to buy a service called CMG (Cloud Management Gateway) which is a virtual machine in the cloud with which you can link your MECM to the Azure tenant so as to manage teleworkers."

"As far as I know, it is an annual operating expense license."

"Its price is okay because it is part of our licensing."

"Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it."

"There is an annual license needed to use the solution."

"Presently, I am using a free trial version."

"The price model is different for every client."

"For enterprises, there is an annual license required to use this solution. The price of the solution could be cheaper. However, this is mostly because of the exchange rate from the dollar to the Nigerian currency."

More Microsoft Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

"Depending on the size of the organization there is a point when the price of Puppet Enterprise should be lower. However, they provide really good functionality, features, and capabilities."

"Puppet Enterprise’s pricing is competitive."

"The main thing that we noticed when we switched from the enterprise version to the community version was the difference in cost — the infrastructure is pretty expensive."

"Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	192
Midsize Enterprise	62
Large Enterprise	186

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	69

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

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 ...

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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...

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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 ...

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How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that ...

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How to choose between ManageEngine Desktop Central and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM)?

ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. Wh...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SCCM?

The setup cost is considered sufficient. It is not significant enough for us to consider a change at the moment.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Puppet Enterprise?

Regarding the cost, I find it expensive, always. I don't know how much the license would cost per year or per user ap...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Puppet Enterprise?

I don't know what could be improved in Perforce Puppet to make this tool better for the next release. I can't think o...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Puppet Enterprise?

My main use case for Perforce Puppet is for configuration management.

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM MaaS360 vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 11% of the time

Jamf Pro 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 3% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Intune

Compared 2% of the time

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Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 6% of the time

Tanium vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

PDQ Deploy vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 3% of the time

BigFix vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 3% of the time

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) vs Microsoft Configuration Manager

Compared 2% of the time

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BMC TrueSight Server Automation vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 12% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 9% of the time

AWS Systems Manager vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Satellite vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 7% of the time

Quali CloudShell Pro vs Perforce Puppet

Compared 4% of the time

More Perforce Puppet Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Intune

July 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager

July 2026

Download Microsoft Configuration Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Perforce Puppet

July 2026

Download Perforce Puppet product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM ), Microsoft SMS

Puppet

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

Microsoft Configuration Manager streamlines IT management with features such as software deployment, patch management, and automation, centralizing operations for Windows environments. Integration with Microsoft products allows efficient oversight of workstations and servers.

Microsoft Configuration Manager provides comprehensive IT management, offering software deployment, patch management, and application pushing. Automation reduces manual tasks, ensuring consistency across systems. Centralized management enables standardized OS deployments, application updates, and configuration integrity. Integration with Microsoft products facilitates seamless operations, while hardware and software inventory, compliance reporting, and remote control functions enhance IT management. Users seek improvements in application deployment for those without deep scripting knowledge and desire better WSUS control, PowerShell and Intune integration, Linux compatibility, and user interface enhancements. Performance improvements are requested for remote user management and third-party application support.

What features enhance Microsoft Configuration Manager?

Software Deployment: Efficiently distribute software across large networks.
Patch Management: Automate and streamline update processes for security and functionality.
Automation Capabilities: Reduce manual effort and enhance consistency in IT tasks.
Centralized Management: Standardize OS deployments and application updates.
Integration with Microsoft Products: Seamless operation with existing Microsoft infrastructure.
Hardware and Software Inventory: Comprehensive tracking for assets and resources.
Compliance Reporting: Ensure compliance with internal and external standards.
Remote Control Functions: Enhance support and troubleshooting capabilities.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Microsoft Configuration Manager?

Decreased Manual Work: Automation reduces time spent on repetitive tasks.
Enhanced Security: Automated patch management keeps systems secure.
Consistent Configurations: Centralized updates ensure uniformity across systems.
Improved Integration: Seamless operation within Microsoft ecosystems boosts productivity.
Comprehensive Oversight: Detailed inventory and reporting tools aid in strategic planning.
Streamlined Support: Remote capabilities improve IT support and user satisfaction.

Microsoft Configuration Manager is widely implemented in organizations to manage Windows workstations and servers. It is essential for deploying operating systems and applications, managing software updates, and conducting hardware and software inventories. The tool is crucial for endpoint and configuration management, ensuring compliance, and automating processes like patching and vulnerability management. Industries such as finance, healthcare, and education rely on Microsoft Configuration Manager to keep systems secure and operational, adapting it to address their specific needs and challenges in maintaining diversified IT environments.

Microsoft

Perforce Puppet offers automated configuration management and diverse platform support through agent-based functionality, enhancing systems with real-time reporting and efficient process automation.

Perforce Puppet provides comprehensive management for both infrastructure and applications, primarily on-prem servers, enabling automation of server updates, security compliance, and IT operations. It supports Linux and is expanding to Windows, facilitating continuous checks and compliance monitoring. With robust Internet-based features, scalability, role-based access control, and exemplary community support, it streamlines processes like remote package installation, file distribution, and user creation. Using Puppet Forge modules enhances its capabilities despite its steep learning curve and reliance on Ruby and DSL. While GUI limitations necessitate command line proficiency, its integration features and high cost can be a deterrent, prompting some to consider alternatives or the community version.

What are the key features of Perforce Puppet?

Agent-Based Functionality: Provides real-time system management and reporting.
Automated Configuration Management: Streamlines server and network processes with a declarative approach.
Scalability: Adapts to changing infrastructure needs efficiently.
Puppet Forge Modules: Extends capabilities for enhanced performance.
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures secure and organized access control.

What benefits do users gain from Perforce Puppet?

Versatility in Platform Management: Supports diverse environments for seamless integration.
Efficiency in Automation: Reduces manual server configuration tasks.
Community Support: Access to a strong network of developers and users.
Enhanced Security Compliance: Facilitates continuous monitoring and compliance checks.

Perforce Puppet is widely adopted in industries requiring rigorous configuration management and provisioning for on-prem servers. Enterprises automate IT operations and security compliance, applying it initially to Linux servers and progressing to Windows. It aids in public configurations for nodes, enabling efficient network, package, and software integrations while automating configuration and patch management processes.

Perforce

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad

Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Perforce Puppet

August 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Perforce Puppet

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Configuration Manager vs. Perforce Puppet and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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