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Perforce Puppet vs SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 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
6.6
Number of Reviews
335
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
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Server Configura...
Ranking in Configuration Management
19th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 6.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perforce Puppet is 3.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is 1.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune6.9%
Perforce Puppet3.8%
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor1.5%
Other87.8%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

AkashKamble - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr MacOS specialist engineer at Cyber24
Enables management of multiple operating systems with a single license
The best feature is that it's a Microsoft product, so if anything goes wrong, we get quick support for anything required. Remote system functionality allows us to sit anywhere and take control of any device via remote management. We can enhance security for clients' laptops with built-in Microsoft Defender, which is available with the Microsoft Intune license. We use it for reporting purposes through endpoint analytics. When pushing scripting, there are two types available: remediation script and reservation script. Through endpoint analytics, you can push defender policies to clients. It helps with reporting, inventory updates, and monitoring tenant status health.
reviewer2284542 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AR
Software Developer at NOESIS Portugal
Alerting has helped us detect server issues across our environment
The alert mechanism is the biggest advantage of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. The customizability of the alerting system is particularly valuable. Whatever devices are in the environment, whether EC2 servers or on-premises servers, all of them can be monitored using this service. I can easily find out what exactly is going wrong in the environment. The clear audit trail aids in troubleshooting and optimization. The tool is effective for detecting unauthorized changes across platforms.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune is a very good cloud solution for managing devices."
"Before having Intune, we didn't have the capability to have computers wiped, couldn't manage the operating system from a central location, and weren't able to deploy policies and verify software updates, and it's helped with software update needs, operating system version update needs, and security policy enforcement."
"It is very easy to use; it has a very easy interface."
"We were trying to solve many issues, mainly the lack of centralized management. Before Microsoft Intune, we had to manually support devices one by one, installing applications and configuring policies individually. When we implemented the tool, it became much easier to manage our devices. We enroll them in Microsoft Intune and can manage all devices with a few clicks. For application management, it's the same process. If we want to deploy applications to hundreds or thousands of devices, we can do it easily with just a few clicks. This also applies to policies."
"The solution is stable."
"I haven't used other mobile device management solutions, but compared to SCCM, we eliminate a lot of on-premises infrastructure and maintenance by using Intune."
"We are a Microsoft 365 E5 customer and the product promises the capabilities that we need and is available without additional cost."
"Maturity makes it a stable product."
"The organization of the overall product in terms of usage is very good."
"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%."
"I rate the stability of Puppet as ten out of ten."
"Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes."
"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."
"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."
"Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution."
"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is a good-to-have solution for all customers who are under audit pressure, especially from regulatory authorities."
"The customizability of the alerting system is particularly valuable; whatever devices are in the environment, whether EC2 servers or on-premises servers, all of them can be monitored using this service."
"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is version control. For example, if we began on the first of the month and we considered that as the configuration of the server, I could set that configuration as my baseline. On a daily basis, if there was the operations team that did, for example, server patching, the tool will maintain all levels of versions."
"The product’s alert feature is good. We receive notifications whenever some failures occur in the configuration."
 

Cons

"I wish Microsoft would keep up with their documentation. They make changes so quickly to these platforms that they do not update the documentation properly in a timely manner."
"However, I dislike how it lags sometimes. I cannot work on multiple processes at the same time."
"Regarding mobile devices, Intune is good, but there are other services that I would say are ahead of Intune from an administration and reporting point of view."
"If we can not seem to get even half a dozen users working with the product in a way we consider stable, the scalability is in question."
"A more incisive reporting tool with automated progress updates and graphical representation would be beneficial, as the current manual method lacks efficiency and visual clarity."
"There should be more focus on mobile device security and integration."
"Microsoft Intune could be faster with client to server communication. Whenever I push something, it takes time; sometimes it takes more than one hour to deploy on the Windows side."
"It would be nice to have a location tracker for the mobile device management tool. I'm not sure if it exists but hasn't been configured or if it's missing, but we've been unable to utilize the location features."
"Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."
"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."
"There's a lot of scope for enhancement on the DevSecOps side. They should definitely include features for compliance, for both the Linux and Windows side of the devices, as well as for network devices. Compliance is something they need to work on."
"Puppet has a steep learning curve so you need to spend some time before you can use Puppet daily."
"Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it."
"The compliance side needs work. Puppet doesn't have much in terms of dealing with compliance."
"Well at the beginning it was kind of complex. Because you had a lack of knowledge."
"It needs GUI based automation. There is way too much command line work involved."
"Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor."
"In a feature release, they could enhance the reporting. However, we have not evaluated this part of the solution extensively."
"The product’s support services and licensing models need improvement."
"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license needed for this solution and it is either included in one of the enterprise license agreements. Microsoft licensing is a mathematical institute, it could be quite complex. We tend to ask specialized organizations to research what the most profitable way it would be for us to use licenses in the organizations."
"With our standard E5 agreement with Microsoft, there have been no pricing concerns. Introductory professional services, like a fast-track service, were included with our E5 membership, and there have been no additional costs."
"The E5 license is expensive."
"We don't pay for Intune because it is bundled with the premium subscription to Office 365. It includes Intune and Defender. I don't have to buy two extra products to manage my enterprise."
"It's monthly for us, but it's built into the license cost that we pay our IT each month. It's maybe 129 Kroner per head, which translates to £10. There are some additional costs. Our IT had to set up and configure their own server, so there is an extra cost for that, but I'm not sure what that costs."
"Pricing depends on the features. Microsoft offers special packages if there are more than 10,000 users, and you may be able to get a reduced rate."
"It is average. Some of the costs are quite high depending on what the customer currently uses, but overall, it is not bad. I would not say that I would not recommend Intune based on the cost. I definitely would, but they can definitely improve on the cost. So overall, its cost is not bad."
"Microsoft licenses are costly."
"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."
"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 can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."
"SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor has medium pricing compared to other solutions."
"The price of SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is not reasonable, it is slightly on the higher side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
8%
University
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business124
Midsize Enterprise53
Large Enterprise167
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

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 Server Configuration Monitor?
In general, I think that licensing for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is acceptable, and the solution is qui...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?
Some dashboards I observed in Dynatrace are not available in SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. The dashboard f...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor?
I work only with SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. My major use case is the monitoring of environment servers ...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Puppet
SolarWinds SCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Perforce Puppet vs. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.