No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

OpenText Network Automation vs VMware Aria Automation comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 2025

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

OpenText Network Automation
Ranking in Network Automation
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Automation
Ranking in Network Automation
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
172
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (2nd), Configuration Management (11th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (29th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of OpenText Network Automation is 3.2%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation is 4.1%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware Aria Automation4.1%
OpenText Network Automation3.2%
Other92.7%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1480065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Operations Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Allows to upload necessary firmware to your device and perform the upgrade
With OpenText Network Automation, firmware can be uploaded for specific devices. If you need to upgrade a device, you can use this tool, though it may not apply to all devices. The software allows you to upload the necessary firmware to your device and perform the upgrade. Additionally, it enables you to check multiple devices for specific configurations and automates the search process and the configuration of multiple devices.
VasilisGiannitsiotis - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We're able to set security policies and configure devices exactly how we want them."
"Pushing the network configuration to bulk devices. This saves a considerable amount of time that the engineer spends in pushing the network configuration."
"Micro Focus tools are mature tools, that are well developed."
"When compared with SolarWinds, it is more user-friendly, and tasks can be completed more quickly."
"With OpenText Network Automation, firmware can be uploaded for specific devices. If you need to upgrade a device, you can use this tool, though it may not apply to all devices."
"It's great because you have a one-unit solution to aggregate network data, so it's one entry point for getting all the configuration into the same dashboard or same application."
"We have it deployed in a highly-available environment and scalability is nice because we just had another ESX host and then we are able to increase the capacity."
"I recommend the product due to its effectiveness in automation and integration."
"We can connect between multiple VMs in a matter of seconds."
"It's increased the efficiency, as there's less manual work through vRA and now Orchestrator is the one doing most of the work and making everything more automated."
"SaltStack has given us the ability to deal with systems at scale and rectify issues at scale."
"The most valuable feature of the product is the automation for services; it’s the basis of my work."
"Now the customer can manage their own server requirements directly. This is very important because, before that, the process included signing off on forms and sending them to the IT Director. It took at least 10 days to create a VM and send it to the person who needed it. Now, it's no more than a half hour to activate a new VM at the customer's site."
"We have scaled from two servers to about 140 servers in a very short period of time, which would have been a nightmare had it not been for the SaltStack configurations."
 

Cons

"When compared to other automation tools that are available in the market, more can be done to improve this solution."
"The tool performs slowly."
"Level one administration task can be defined in Micro Focus Network Automation but it could be more simplified."
"We've found some problems that may or may not have to do with our infrastructure. There are also some software defects that we've found."
"Compatibility of the devices needs to be enhanced, as it seems to be limited."
"We just spoke with some of the product managers. We are getting some serious performance issues that have some serious repercussions for support."
"There is room for improvement for mostly stuff around containers and controlling containers."
"Ability to mimic more VCD functionality. Ability to share blueprints among tenants, or have a master blueprint repository, so you don't have to move the stuff between tenants."
"The upgrade experience is horrible. It's not straightforward, there are a lot of failures, a lot of support interactions. It's not something that we are able to pull off ourselves. I've been with vRA since it was termed vCSA. We've gone through multiple rounds, and it has never been easy."
"There is a little bit of pain when it comes to libraries and what is needed to run the product."
"Support: It's not bad or poor, but there are some issues. On the one hand, it's about development and progress; on the other, there were some issues that took too long to get fixed by the SaltStack team and forced users to invent workarounds."
"The GUI is clunky and hard to use."
"Its configuration process could be better."
"They can improve on the dashboard representations and the options for non-technical people."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is reasonable, but if you compare it with other network Operation Management tools that are available on the market, it's expensive."
"The tool is expensive since it is an enterprise product."
"It made the provisioning of the virtual machines easier and faster. We can react more quickly to customers' demands."
"The pricing is very high."
"VMware Aria Automation is expensive."
"The solution is free of cost."
"This is an expensive product and the high price is starting to become an issue for us."
"From a budget point of view, the pricing is a bit on the higher side."
"SaltStack is an open-source product."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Automation solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise131
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
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 ...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

Micro Focus Network Automation, HPE Network Automation
VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tech Mahindra, Avea, China Merchants Bank, NNIT, Distinctive Software Solutions, Virgin Media, NEC Australia, Osiatis, Hostworks, Retegal, Allianz Shared Infrastructure Services SE (ASIC), State of Kansas Division of Information Services and Communications (DISC)
Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual
Find out what your peers are saying about OpenText Network Automation vs. VMware Aria Automation and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.