Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] vs VMware Aria Automation comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) category. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

Read 2 Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

VMware Aria Automation

Read 172 VMware Aria Automation reviews

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182 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

VMware Aria Automation

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 25, 2025

VMware Aria Automation and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] are competing in cloud automation and permissions management. VMware Aria Automation is stronger in pricing and support, while Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] is dominant in features.

Features: VMware Aria Automation shines with advanced automation capabilities, diverse integration options, and extensive customizability, concentrating on IT process optimization. Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] focuses on fine-grained permissions, compliance features, and security-focused governance arrangements, catering to organizations with heightened security needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware Aria Automation provides a flexible deployment model suitable for hybrid setups, enhanced by robust customer service. Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] offers a simplified deployment with seamless integration into Microsoft’s ecosystem, leveraging Microsoft's support network for customer service. VMware is noted for versatility with hybrid deployment, and Microsoft benefits from its ecosystem integration.

Pricing and ROI: VMware Aria Automation initially costs less, promising quick ROI due to automation efficiencies, allowing businesses to streamline operations. Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] may have higher upfront expenses but compensates with strong security features to mitigate risks and lower compliance costs over time. VMware differs with cost-effectiveness through efficiency, while Microsoft targets long-term savings with security.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

February 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 Entra Permissions...

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware Aria Automation

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

172

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Management (3rd), Configuration Management (8th), Network Automation (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (19th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (5th)

Featured Reviews

Sameer Bhat

Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Provides resource-based access and security, but time-bound access can be a problem

Entra ID is the core of the identity management that we have. This is the key product that we are using. I am currently also looking into Entra Private Access because we are planning to deploy about 50,000 desktops into Azure and use Azure Virtual Desktop. We would like to give access to the users from the desktop to on-premises applications. I learned that Entra Private Access is a good solution. That is not yet GA, but that is what we are looking for. Entra provides a single pane of glass for managing user access, but because our company also integrates with Nebula API, only administrators use Entra's pane. A normal person who wants to get onboarded can do self-service using Nebula. The features for whitelisting and other things are definitely there. That is what we use specifically. Application IDs, enterprise applications, and all those things are already there, so we have more efficiency. There is also security because we usually do not allow user identities to get direct access to Azure resources. Usually, we use the service principles from Entra ID, so this way, it increases security. Entra has helped to save time for our IT administrators. We tend to automate a lot of things. We can do automation using Graph APIs and save time. It is hard to quantify the time savings, but there has been a medium amount of time savings. Entra has helped to save our organization money. We care about security and risk more than money, but it also saves money. We are premium customers, and because we have a commit-to-consume contract with Microsoft of multi-million dollars, the money does not come into it because we have to consume those resources.

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VasilisGiannitsiotis

Senior IT at ITSolutions

Automation has streamlined complex financial workflows but still needs more intuitive orchestration

Something to improve in VMware Aria Automation would be related to VCF 9, as I do not know what it is trying to bring because they exposed it as the solution of everything. So VCF 9 will bring VCF Automation and VCF Operations, the new product line of VMware. I have not seen what this brings or what else it includes. Maybe in the area of vRealize Orchestrator, this would be beneficial because VRO can do everything. Perhaps a more user-friendly way to use that tool would be helpful because the possibilities there are endless. I am looking for more user-friendly navigation in VMware Aria Automation.

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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

"Multifactor authentication is valuable."

"The solution integrates well with our infrastructure and other systems without any issues."

"The solution is intuitive and user-friendly. E.g., you have less number of logins."

"It allows us to deploy servers on a much faster basis, where instead of deploying a VM from a template and going through the process of configuring that VM, with vRA we're able to click once and it does everything: grabs an IP, joins it to the domain, and loads whatever configuration agents are needed, all without manual intervention."

"If you do a deployment for a proof of concept, it is simple."

"All the feedback that I have received so far from our administrators is very positive; the solution is user-friendly and intuitive."

"It is very stable, works well, is easy to use once it's deployed, and is also easy to deploy."

"Our speed of provisioning has improved. We used to build systems manually, which would take four hours or a day. Nowadays we're able to spin something up off a template... and it takes about 20 minutes."

"SaltStack has given us the ability to deal with systems at scale and rectify issues at scale."

"We've been using this product for a while and the stability is fantastic."

More VMware Aria Automation pros

Cons

"We use a third-party API called Nebula API to integrate the account for authorization. The time-bound access area in Entra can be a problem. It can be improved in terms of the granularity of the permissions."

"The solution's pricing and support services need improvement."

"There are a lot of improvements required with regards to vRealize Automation."

"The initial setup was complex because we have a high availability cluster. Especially when it comes to upgrades, we have a lot of downtimes and problems. The upgrade experience has been painful."

"It requires a lot of Windows servers, which we don't like, and the external load balancer configurations, which we also don't like."

"The back-end has a steep learning curve."

"When it comes to the orchestration workflow, you're on your own. The documentation and resources are very limited, and you have to learn everything on your own."

"I would like them to improve the product training."

"I don't find it to be user-friendly or intuitive because, in my case, when I have to deploy SAP systems, I need to jump between the vRA, the vRO, and the actual vCenter itself."

"The stability is why I rated it a seven and not higher. There were several cases where we had to restart some services because it wasn't working correctly anymore."

More VMware Aria Automation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product cost is in the mid to high range."

"We are a Fortune 500 company, so we always negotiate with Microsoft."

"As far as value is concerned, it has been essential to our environment. We have been able to deploy VMs quickly and the developers have their own sandbox, so they can spin up and destroy VMs at their own will."

"It is an open-source product."

"I'm very interested in the integration with Puppet. However, my organization doesn't have the funding for something like Puppet right now. If VMware would integrate that feature set (Puppet) into vRA. That would be very awesome."

"Better pricing is always handy, but I feel it's at the right price point."

"It is an expensive product. After VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, there was a rise in the price of VMware Aria Automation."

"Customers say this solution is costlier compared to its competitors."

"We have seen significant ROI. We used to have physical servers, it took 90 days to get a server, order it, buy it, and get it in. We have it down to 10 minutes, building a server with virtualization, and now that's too slow. So, we let the customer do it at their speed. Therefore, it is pretty much up in a couple of minutes and they have a server."

"The cost of the solution is reasonable for us. Although it is relatively high, we prioritize stability and integration over cost."

More VMware Aria Automation pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	130

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The product cost is in the mid to high range. You need to have a good budget to implement it, so it is considered fairly expensive for our market. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The solution's pricing and support services need improvement.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

Our clients primarily use the product from a security management perspective.

See all answers

What's the difference between VMware vRA (automation) and vROps (operations)?

vROP is a virtualization management solution from VMWare. It is efficient and easy to manage. You can find anything you need from the software interface. It provides complete visibility over applic...

See all answers

Is there any way to try VMware Aria Automation for free?

When it comes to VMware Aria Automation, you have three choices for free runs: Hands-on Lab (HOL) Advanced lab A free trial I cannot describe in detail the second and third options as my company ...

See all answers

Which sectors can benefit the most from VMware Aria Automation?

I was looking at VMware Aria Automation case studies recently and I got the impression that three main kinds of companies were using it most often: Social organizations Financial institutions and ...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

February 2026

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] report

Download Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Automation

February 2026

Download VMware Aria Automation product report

Also Known As

CloudKnox Permissions Management

VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack

Overview

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] provides robust access control and identity management, enhancing security by optimizing permissions and reducing risk.

This advanced platform offers comprehensive capabilities designed to streamline identity management. It empowers organizations to manage permissions efficiently, enhancing security frameworks while addressing compliance needs. By focusing on visibility and control, it optimizes access to ensure the right resources are available to the right users, reducing excessive permission grants and potential security vulnerabilities.

What are the main features of Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Advanced Visibility: Gain insights into permissions to identify and address security risks.
Access Optimization: Align permissions with actual usage to prevent over-privileged access.
Compliance Integration: Streamline compliance processes with built-in reporting tools.

What benefits should you consider when evaluating Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Improved Security Posture: Reduces risk by eliminating excessive permissions.
Enhanced Compliance: Eases regulatory compliance with robust auditing features.
Operational Efficiency: Saves time and resources by automating permission management.

In specific industries like finance and healthcare, Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] plays a crucial role in maintaining data integrity and regulatory compliance. Its implementation allows organizations to seamlessly integrate permission management into existing security infrastructures, providing tailored solutions that address sector-specific requirements and challenges.

Microsoft

VMware Aria Automation is a cloud management tool that allows companies to simplify their cloud experience through a modern automation platform. The solution is designed to deliver self-service clouds, multi-cloud automation with governance, and DevOps-based security and infrastructure management. It helps organizations improve IT agility, efficiency, and productivity through its various features.

VMware Aria Automation has multiple use cases that include the following:

Self-service multi-cloud: VMware Aria Automation can be used to deliver consistent self-service consumption. Another use case in this area is for delivering infrastructure across VMware Clouds as well as public clouds.
Multi-cloud governance: The solution can be used to manage cost, performance, networking, configuration, and security at scale for multi-cloud environments. VMware Aria Automation offers all this with an everything-as-code approach.
DevOps for infrastructure: Through VMware Aria Automation, companies can enable a powerful infrastructure as code platform with support for iterative development and infrastructure pipelining.
Kubernetes automation: Users can utilize VMware Aria Automation to automate the management of Kubernetes clusters and namespaces with support for vSphere with Tanzu.
Security operations: VMware Aria Automation facilitates event-driven automation to deliver full-service IT system compliance enforcement and vulnerability remediation.

VMware Aria Automation Features

VMware Aria Automation has various features that allow users to easily perform operations. Some of the solution's capacities include:

VMware Cloud agnostic template: This feature allows organizations to use a single cloud template to deploy with Infrastructure as a Code. Deployment options include VMware Cloud as well as major public cloud platforms such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and more.
Extensibility and customization: This VMware Aria Automation feature allows users to get full extensibility and customization. This can be achieved through Aria Automation Orchestrator, Action-Based Extensibility (ABX), and built-in integrations with common third-party tools.
Self-service multi-cloud: This feature enables users to request and provision infrastructure resources. It can be done across clouds using a unified and consistent Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) consumption layer, idempotent REST API, and self-service catalog.
Centralized policies and governance: VMware Aria Automation offers a feature for users to manage multiple clouds with templatized cloud and policy definition, automated remediation, and cloud environment visibility.
Configuration management: Through this feature of the product, day 1 and 2 control can be achieved for virtualized and cloud environments. This can be done with intuitive configuration automation, compliance enforcement, and vulnerability remediation.
Infrastructure pipelining: Through this feature, organizations can access user-friendly release automation pipelines. They can be specifically tailored for CI/CD in infrastructure use cases.

VMware Aria Automation Benefits

VMware Aria Automation offers its users various benefits. Some of the biggest advantages that the solution brings to companies that utilize it include:

VMware Aria Automation provides faster time to market for companies through offloading manual tasks with advanced workflows and agile templating.
The solution offers high levels of security and control.
This product is suitable for beginners, as it offers a self-service consumption experience for users.
VMware Aria Automation accelerates innovation through Infrastructure as Code and DevOps principles.
The product provides users with flexibility, as it is compatible with the most popular public cloud solutions.
The solution offers fast deployment because of all natively integrated functions.

Reviews from Real Users

Awais J., CTO/CEO at a tech services company, likes VMware Aria Automation because it saves a lot of time, provides more visibility, and has extensive automation capabilities.

An IT consultant at a government rates VMware Aria Automation highly because the product gives you flexibility to analyze and consume resources.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual

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February 2026

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