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Microsoft MDS vs Workspace ONE UEM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 MDS
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Master Data Management (MDM) Software (4th)
Workspace ONE UEM
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (6th), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (7th), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (2nd), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (11th), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Microsoft MDS and Workspace ONE UEM aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Microsoft MDS is designed for Master Data Management (MDM) Software and holds a mindshare of 6.9%, down 11.5% compared to last year.
Workspace ONE UEM, on the other hand, focuses on Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), holds 11.4% mindshare, down 15.1% since last year.
Master Data Management (MDM) Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft MDS6.9%
Semarchy xDM11.1%
SAP Master Data Governance9.4%
Other72.6%
Master Data Management (MDM) Software
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Workspace ONE UEM11.4%
Microsoft Intune26.7%
ManageEngine Endpoint Central9.1%
Other52.8%
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Senior Data Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Outdated capabilities hinder data mapping efficiency but facilitate cost-free data standardization
Microsoft MDS is outdated and lacks modern capabilities. It is too slow and does not support automated mapping or AI-based functionalities. Although I created Python scripts for some machine learning libraries, we seek tools that offer AI-enabled automated mapping without custom coding. Microsoft support for MDS is also going away.
Vishal Bhatia - PeerSpot reviewer
Trainer/Consultant at Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Effective product tracking and monitoring enhances daily operations despite needing documentation improvement
The documentation part of Workspace ONE UEM can be confusing. The documentation is not comprehensive compared to other VMware solutions or Microsoft documentation. Most people struggle to connect the dots when looking at the documentation. Even the training material and PowerPoint slide decks that trainers use are sometimes too confusing or overwhelming, with too much content but not enough clarity. The support side has recently become weaker compared to what it used to be with VMware. This is another area that needs improvement. Since working with Workspace ONE UEM from when it was AirWatch, it has improved significantly over the last five years. However, there are still some gray areas and scope for improvement, especially in documentation and workflow between different aspects of the solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Enables non-technical people to directly interact with the BI system."
"Technical support is very good."
"The backup and restore functionality are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"The ease of use is valuable."
"Unlike specialized tools, MDS is adaptable for various industries, making it a versatile choice for master data management."
"It has a very good feature called Excel plug-in. You just have to install the plug-in, and then it directly connects to the MDS instance where you can maintain and manage your data and publish it right through Excel. You don't need to go to the front end to make any changes. It has easy integration with SQL Server, and you can use SSIS to do the ETLs. It is a part of the Microsoft stack. It works with most of the Microsoft stuff."
"The best thing about it is that it comes with the Microsoft package."
"Compared to other databases, it is easier to manage and administer."
"The single sign-on feature, which integrates with the Identity Manager is one of the most vital features."
"The solution has proven to be very stable."
"We find it to be reliable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it enables us to remotely manage the devices, which is its purpose, and to push applications to the mobile devices from the portal."
"Good device management and good integration with third parties."
"The Client Control feature in VMware Workspace ONE is most valuable for managing client devices, including mobile devices and laptops. Another impactful feature is the per-service tooling, allowing access to the data centre on a per-application basis. We use the complete VMware stack, integrating Horizon for application delivery and Carbon Black for endpoint protection. We have outsourced our device management, which streamlines our IT tasks as our supplier handles them competitively."
"Zero Trust implementation is a great feature."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the multi-platform support."
 

Cons

"Most of the Microsoft partners, especially digitally, are separate. Personnel are business people, and they do not have technical expertise, so you end up as a company spending a lot of money training your staff and your engineers."
"The only drawback is that it does not have the matching, merging, and all true MDM components. For these, you have to use another competent called Data Quality Services (DQS). You need to plug it in and use it along with MDS for true MDM. Both of these are integrated together, but you have to do them separately, whereas, in Profisee, there are a couple of screens where you can configure the matching process, create matching rules, and other things, and everything is in one product, which is not the case with MDS. In order to implement a true MDM, you need MDS, DQS, and SSIS. You have to use MDS to store your golden records, DQS to configure and standardize all your rules and matching percentages, and SSIS to load the data to DQS and MDS. At the same time, you also need Melissa Data to clean up your addresses to validate and standardize the addresses. That's the main component of true MDM. It would be good if they can create a true matching component inside MDS and merge MDS and DQS."
"The solution could be better integrated into Microsoft's other products."
"If Microsoft MDS were part of Azure, it would be significantly more helpful."
"The program's navigation tools could be improved."
"Microsoft MDS isn't getting strong support because Microsoft is focusing more on cloud solutions."
"From my understanding, MS, as of 2021, will not maintain the product going forward."
"I do not like using Silverlight and Internet Explorer. The new 2019 version gets rid of that, which is one of the reasons why we are looking to switch."
"There is a need for better user lifecycle management within VMware Identity Manager, along with better user governance...The scalability of the product needs to improve."
"Pricing is a limitation. I think it's on the higher side, so if it were cheaper, it would benefit more organizations."
"I tried to use the tool on an encrypted disk, but it was inconvenient."
"The reverse proxy is not intuitive and it takes time to get it right, so this is something that can be improved."
"There are a lot of difficulties whenever people have a lot of configurations in it, basically related to security certificate configurations and integration with VMware Horizon."
"The solution needs to adapt to the cloud based reality of the current world model. Some customers may have reluctance to this, but it is the next level for all of the big providers. Azure, AWS and Google are all on the forefront of cloud-based solutions."
"VMware Workspace ONE sometimes has bugs that prevent it from working as intended or expected. Generally, these bugs can lead to unexpected results and hinder effectiveness."
"We'd like more useful support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft MDS is an expensive solution."
"The solution does require a license and we have enterprise licenses."
"MDS is a part of the SQL Server enterprise license. I am not aware of any additional costs."
"The pricing of this solution is good."
"I would like to see better pricing."
"Product licensing is very complicated. It would be helpful to have an online calculator to estimate the cost of a license."
"With Microsoft, we buy everything though an agreement, so we purchase volume licensing every year."
"SAP is more expensive than Microsoft."
"The pricing currently is higher than the competition."
"VMware Workspace ONE licensing price is good with their supportability. The price of VMware Workspace ONE is reasonable. We are using an enterprise license."
"I think the pricing of the product needs advisement. It would be great to bundle the VM products together. I think the actual box itself should be included in the license. At present, it is not paired with the mobile device."
"A person should pay towards the licensing costs of VMware Identity Manager on a yearly or monthly basis, but government and public sector units cannot for a perpetual licensing model."
"It's definitely a bit on the expensive side. It is more for smaller organizations and not large, massive enterprises. I am not sure about any additional costs. As far as we could tell, the billing was what the billing was."
"Its pricing was okay for our company."
"The price of VMware Workspace ONE is expensive. However, for the features that are provided, the price is reasonable. There is a subscription to use the solution."
"It's a highly affordable solution"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Media Company
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise58
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft MDS?
More generic related things can be included in the services.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft MDS?
Microsoft MDS was pretty affordable. We implemented the solution without a problem.
What needs improvement with Microsoft MDS?
I cannot really give specifics about disadvantages. From what we have seen, speaking to customers, Microsoft MDS was sometimes a bit slow. The frustration they had was just around usability and use...
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 it easy to control security and manage the usage of mobile apps when you have a ...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial setup is easy, and the product is very stable and reliable. I think the fact th...
What do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offers efficient flexibility.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Master Data Services, Microsoft MDM, Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services, MS MDS
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ETA a.s., Apeejay Surrendra Group, Blue Star Infotech, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, New Belgium Brewing
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP, TIBCO, Qlik and others in Master Data Management (MDM) Software. Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.