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Perforce Puppet vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Configuration Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
378
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Perforce Puppet
Ranking in Configuration Management
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Ranking in Configuration Management
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Network Automation (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.9%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 3.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is 3.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.9%
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager3.1%
Perforce Puppet3.9%
Other88.1%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MS
Unix Consultant at ExxonMobil
Have managed configurations efficiently with an adaptable tool
I am using Perforce Puppet in the IT industry. I have experience with configuration management tools, specifically Perforce Puppet. I am a user of Perforce Puppet. I have used modular architecture to customize and integrate with my current IT environment. It is flexible and able to address my specific needs. I have worked with event-driven automation, and it helps to identify potential issues when someone manually changes any configuration on the server. Perforce Puppet reinforces the intended configuration that we have set earlier. I recommend Perforce Puppet as it's a good tool for all kinds of business and easy to use. It takes less than three months to learn how to use Perforce Puppet. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Perforce Puppet an eight.
reviewer1327239 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Automated configuration management has improved monitoring, backups, and policy control
I do not think there is anything I would like to improve at this point in time because SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager compares almost perfectly to what it is supposed to do. I think it is one of the best products in its category. Regarding the automation capabilities of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, I think that is an area they will need to explore in making it more autonomous. Discovery happens through IP address scanning, but building out automation is something they need to focus on. I absolutely believe in providing automation for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. It is essential to address how to deploy, discover, and remediate wherever possible. I think that is something they should already be looking at because AAFS is currently something everybody is focused on, and storage also needs to consider it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution appears to be stable and scalable."
"Microsoft Intune not only saves costs by reducing the number of personnel needed but also offers a comprehensive solution for managing laptops, applications, security, individual access, and enrollment."
"The aspects I find most valuable are the managing the data and applications. I can also restrict the users to install any applications. I can also wipe the data if the phone was missplaced or stolen. These are the basics for me."
"What I like most about Microsoft Intune is that it's agile and easy to deploy, and it covers the maximum number of policies."
"Comparing this to having an endpoint management solution, the efficiency gain may be up to 80%."
"The ability to block and erase remote devices is valuable to us, especially when those devices are lost."
"Microsoft Intune has positively impacted our organization by covering processes, improving security, and saving time."
"We are a Microsoft 365 E5 customer and the product promises the capabilities that we need and is available without additional cost."
"I rate the stability of Puppet as ten out of ten."
"Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution."
"Puppet Enterprise provides an autonomous delivery solution and agent-server architecture that was really helpful on our case for Internet base device management."
"The versatility is great."
"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."
"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."
"Good tools to automate your servers, the time and effort to learn writing manifest is quiet high but it's worth on the long run"
"The most valuable Real-time fault detection is beneficial as it enables the identification of changes made to a device's configuration through the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. This makes it easy to pinpoint which configurations were added or removed, potentially causing network issues. Such changes are saved in logs for future reference."
"The most valuable features the solution offers are compliance, reliability, and information about reliability."
"It is a stable solution."
"I use it for monitoring the entire network for the company. We oversee nodes down, we oversee devices heading up to crossing the threshold for CPU usage. We oversee power so power backups on the switches, we oversee if they're down or if they're failing. We oversee any node down or any router from any vendor."
"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."
"NCM pays for itself within the first 3 years of use as you do need less dedicated Cisco certified engineers fully on site once it is implemented"
"It is pretty straightforward to set up."
"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."
 

Cons

"The most significant issue I encounter is troubleshooting when a policy is not applying or a device is showing non-compliant; the error messages can be pretty vague, which makes it necessary for me to dig around and piece things together myself."
"It should be simplified. I've worked with many different mobile device management solutions, and Intune is one of the more complex ones. It could be more simplified, and some of it is related to the wording that is being used, such as a configuration profile versus a policy. They really should have had different names to make it less confusing."
"When we implemented Intune, it would have been helpful if Microsoft had provided some videos or data about Intune."
"The reports aren't complete, and it's not easy to build custom reports."
"I'd suggest adding more features for macOS in Intune. There should be more functionality for managing macOS. There should be a better capability for pushing things down on macOS. Currently, Intune is not capable of managing macOS at the same level as Windows."
"The reporting could be improved, as it's pretty poor compared to other products of this type."
"The way the apps are getting deployed, the checkboxes for deleting previous versions are actually creating more conflicts than fixing problems."
"The synchronization could be improved."
"Well at the beginning it was kind of complex. Because you had a lack of knowledge."
"Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."
"Puppet has a steep learning curve so you need to spend some time before you can use Puppet daily."
"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."
"The compliance side needs work. Puppet doesn't have much in terms of dealing with compliance."
"Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."
"We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"The solution could have better integration."
"Improvements are needed in the automatic network mapping function."
"For each device, when you open the network performance monitor, it will give you all of the information about the device, but many of the natural configuration management features are not on that page."
"I would like to see more integration tools. Something like dialysis, for example."
"On NCM, reporting could be a bit better. It's completely become just one report. When I try to create a custom report, the solution just commits old server data."
"It would be great if they include a network service manager, network performance manager, or a privileged assessment in the next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have the business premium licenses for the solution."
"Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation."
"It's affordable. It's cheaper if you have an Office 365, E5, or E3 subscription because everything is there."
"Intune is included with our F3 and E5 licenses."
"In terms of the product price and licensing costs, my company finds the product to be reasonably priced."
"Intune is moderately expensive. You can get the license bundled with Office 365 E3 or E5 licenses. The E5s are a bit expensive, but you get some cheaper solutions with Intune."
"Microsoft Intune costs about $7 per user per month, which is somewhat on the pricier end. That said, it's a reliable product, so it's fair."
"I rate Intune an eight out of ten for affordability. It's bundled with the 365 licensing, which is competitive overall."
"Puppet Enterprise’s pricing is competitive."
"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."
"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."
"Available at a moderate price"
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"With a minimal bundle, we pay about $3000 a year in licensing costs. If you have multiple devices in your network, you must buy the bundle, which is 100% identical for your infrastructure. If you have 15 devices, you need 15 licenses, for example. That's one bundle. You don't pay for anything over and above that."
"The pricing is good."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise185
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
 

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 ...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
What is your primary use case for Puppet Enterprise?
My main use case for Perforce Puppet is for configuration management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
On pricing, I would rate SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager as one of the best in its segment among leading pro...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
I do not think there is anything I would like to improve at this point in time because SolarWinds Network Configurati...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is used for managing a large number of IPs, distributing them within my ente...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Puppet
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Find out what your peers are saying about Perforce Puppet vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.