Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs vCenter Configuration Manager comparison

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs. vCenter Configuration Manager

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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 Intune

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 Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is 10.3%, down from 17.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Configuration Manager is 2.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform	10.3%
Microsoft Intune	4.9%
vCenter Configuration Manager	2.1%
Other	82.7%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

OluwashileAdeniyi

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.

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Manas Kashyap

Senior Dev Ops Engineer at 11 East Capital

Automation has transformed server patching and has reduced months of work to minutes

The best features that Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform offers is that it does not require any additional resources inside the servers. Python is the only requirement, and since Python is already present inside the servers, we can run it from our location and it automatically deploys things and does the work for us. The minimal requirements and easy deployment have definitely impacted my daily work and my team's efficiency. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is one of the best features that we depend on. We have evaluated other options, but Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform was the best choice because it has saved us a tremendous amount of time. We do not need to manually intervene in the servers or install third-party software to maintain these things. It is very easy to write playbooks for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. Ansible Galaxy contains many playbooks that are readily available and ready to be used. It is highly configurable with Jinja templating, making it easy to maintain. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform has positively impacted my organization. Previously, we needed to go into the servers and maintain them manually, which used to take a lot of time. For 200 to 300 servers, the maintenance took about one to two months. New patches would arrive and we would have to repeat the process. Now, it is a one-night work or a 10 to 15 minutes task. We write a playbook, maintain an inventory, and roll out the updates and it starts working for us. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform uses conditional clauses and has rollback options, functioning like a standard coding language that is simple to use. There is definitely a reduction in errors with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform because we have playbooks written with all the necessary clauses and rollback options. Manual work automatically creates more errors, whereas in automation, we have written sets that we do not forget every time we run it. We have protected written sets that we execute consistently.

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Mohamad Irshidat

Principal Consultant Engineer at Estarta Solutions

Migration streamlines processes while real-time monitoring opportunities remain

The migration feature of vCenter Configuration Manager is the most loved feature so far. This particular feature is valuable because it is vendor-oriented and works with VMware, which makes your life easy. Regarding system reliability, it is helpful. When you design it for the process, it will help you minimize the downtime, and it will help the reliability of the system. vCenter Configuration Manager has impacted my organization positively, but it's not fully deployed yet; we only use it for one or two tasks, and our team goes back to using the vCenter itself. However, further on, maybe we'll find a use case that will help us use the configuration manager.

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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

"The most valuable feature is Intune's ability to push out updates for the security and antivirus. I also like Intune's copilot and the ability to automate processes. For example, if you have 5,000 employees who are issued new PCs and you need to set them up with everything they need."

"This solution saves us a lot of time once it's implemented."

"Intune enables us to manage our devices from anywhere."

"The most valuable feature of Intune is the central dashboard for compliance and policy management."

"The most valuable features in Microsoft Intune for me are application deployment, Defender deployment, and asset management."

"We are using the mobile feature, and we are also using MDM to lock the devices, to push restrictions, et cetera"

"The feature that we need occasionally but is really important is the ability to remotely wipe a device, control it, and perform similar functions."

"Advanced endpoint analytics provides granular information about devices in Microsoft Intune, facilitating easier troubleshooting at system and application levels."

More Microsoft Intune pros

"Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is quite stable. If you set it up correctly with the right configurations and there are no hiccups during installation and deployment, it will be stable. I'd give stability a rating of eight out of ten."

"Ansible provides great reliability when coupled with a versioning system (git). It helps providing predictability to the network by knowing exactly what's being pushed after validating it in production."

"I like being able to control multiple systems and push out updates quickly with just a couple of clicks of a button and commands. I like the automation because it is a time saver."

"There are no agents by default, so adding a new server is a matter of a couple lines of configuration (on a new server and the configuration master)."

"It is quick to production. It has an API in the back which allows for integrations."

"Ansible Galaxy is helpful for roles and Git Submodules: No dependency in managing playbooks. Also, fact caching in redis for host/role grp information speeds up execution. Finally, variable management is easy."

"We can manage all the configuration consistency between all our servers."

"It is all modular-based. If there is not a module for it today, someone will write it."

More Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform pros

"The product's initial setup process is very simple."

"The management of vCenter Configuration Manager can support the UI interface. It helps in monitoring, logging alert and performance, forecasting the system to provide services in the environment."

"vCenter Configuration Manager is the best tool for centrally managing resources"

"vCenter alone is enough for me because vCenter is a cluster environment and cluster solution for virtualization environments."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to see which virtual machines need more resources or are over-committed."

"There are a lot of features, but I've found vMotion and VRS most valuable."

"The solution is easily scalable, stable, and user-friendly, with very good technical support and documentation that makes the initial setup quite easy."

"This is the best solution for management for the server administrator. VMware has been on the market for many years, so they have a lot of solutions. For on-premises, VMware is the best available solution."

More vCenter Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"I cannot think of any particular features which I consider to be most valuable."

"I consider Microsoft Intune's customer support decent but not always fast or consistent, especially compared to expectations in an enterprise environment."

"I think if you have the money and want something more stable, you should go for AirWatch. I don't think Microsoft is offering the same stability as VMware at this point."

"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."

"When Microsoft Intune is used with different android devices it does not always work as it is supposed to."

"In the past, I raised some tickets for the enhancement feature, which was missing in Intune."

"The configuration could be better by consolidating options and making it simpler."

"They should improve its compatibility with other operating systems such as iOS and Linux. It supports Linux but they still need to work on the iOS part."

More Microsoft Intune cons

"I would like to see improvements in the dashboards. More detailed dashboards would be beneficial because there is a lack of dashboards on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform."

"It doesn't work well with large-scale infra."

"Ansible can face scalability issues, such as limitations when trying to scale up infrastructure. It might struggle with connection dropping or spawning additional VMs under certain conditions."

"The web GUI can be a little bit better. There should be a couple of more features."

"It can use some more credential types."

"We are very satisfied with what we have. From a management point of view, whatever makes it easier for my team to help customers write their own playbooks would be something very beneficial. Everything is going as a service. Creating playbooks can become much more consumer-oriented so that customers do not need to contact us to write their own playbooks."

"The user interface on the Ansible Tower product could be better, but it is functional."

"The SSM connection access needs improvement"

More Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform cons

"The technical support is not bad. It is good internally for our organization, and we are not facing any problems now. We have not taken platinum support, so our teams that are operating from the client site will have to wait longer to get their problems fixed."

"Acquiring certifications often require extensive training and successfully passing an exam, which can be costly and time-consuming, particularly if you already possess experience in the domain. As a result, this can increase the overall cost of obtaining certification and may present a challenge that requires addressing."

"There isn't a clear document covering all the errors. It would be helpful if the company provided better documentation for solving issues."

"Configuration Manager's reporting could be better. I need to use a third-party reporting solution to get the details. They could add reporting features similar to RVTools."

"The snapshot functionality on the solution needs improvement. After renewing the snapshot, all of the production was stuck. Right now, its functionality is one of our main concerns."

"If the solution could manage on-premises and cloud resources with the help of one tool, it would be an extra agent."

"Not very user friendly, too many configurations."

"SAP CRM could improve by adding additional automation features."

More vCenter Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Intune license model is costly."

"The pricing is good because customers are not complaining about it."

"The price of Intune is often included as part of a bundle with other Microsoft licenses, which makes it somewhat cheaper."

"Microsoft Intune is expensive."

"It is not a cheap solution. The price for a device when you start using it at a large scale can be improved. It is covered under our enterprise agreement. We pay once a year. I am not aware of any additional costs."

"I liked the tool's pricing until P2 came into effect. I am unsure about the current value versus the cost of the new licensing model."

"The pricing is not cheap, especially with inflation. They've had to increase their prices. It's not excessive, but alright."

"Microsoft Intune is pretty reasonable. We have difficulty with Azure, which is probably why we have not put many assets in Azure. Everything we put there is very expensive."

More Microsoft Intune pricing and cost advice

"We went with product because we have a subscription for Red Hat."

"Like many Red Hat products, they have a no-cost version of the web application (AWX, formerly Ansible Tower), but you are on your own to install and it is a little more complicated than just installing Ansible."

"The pricing is okay."

"Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is an affordable solution."

"If you only need to use Ansible, it's free for any end-user, but when you require Ansible Tower, you need to pay per Ansible Tower server."

"We're charged between $8 to $13 a month per license."

"It is a little pricey but it is affordable. It is not that bad."

"The cost is high, but it still works well."

More Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is too expensive for us and we are looking to move to another solution."

"The solution comes with three-year support. We have to renew the support annually after the three years are up."

"The product is highly-priced."

"There is a free license for the standard version. Their enterprise version is expensive. I would advise starting with one server and working your way up as you go. The enterprise version provides support."

"Users need to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution, which is expensive."

"The product price and licensing fees are reasonable, especially when compared to other products in the market."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The pricing is mid-range so I rate it a six out of ten."

More vCenter Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

18%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Construction Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	192
Midsize Enterprise	62
Large Enterprise	185

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	52

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	20

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 the difference between Red Hat Satellite and Ansible?

Red Hat Satellite has proven to be a worthwhile investment for me. Both its patch management and license management h...

How does Ansible compare to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (SCCM)?

Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform was very simple. There ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Configuration Manager?

Nowadays, it is a bit expensive. It's costly, primarily due to the licensing aspect.

What needs improvement with vCenter Configuration Manager?

My impression on the impact of the real-time monitoring features of vCenter Configuration Manager is that it's somewh...

What is your primary use case for vCenter Configuration Manager?

My usual use cases for vCenter Configuration Manager mainly involve migration, shift and lift mainly, and some type o...

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Compared 15% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Intune

Download Microsoft Intune product report

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

Download Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform product report

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform report

vCenter Configuration Manager

May 2026

Download vCenter Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Ansible, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Subscription on AWS

vCM

Overview

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service designed for device management, security, and compliance. It supports automation and facilitates endpoint management for Windows, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring data protection and efficient policy enforcement.

Microsoft Intune offers seamless integration with tools like Windows Autopilot to automate device setup and deployment. Integrated with Azure Active Directory, it enhances policy management while providing robust reporting and analytics tools for compliance tracking. Despite its intuitive interface aimed at simplifying navigation and device security management, there are challenges such as compatibility issues with Linux and Mac, limited policy support for Android, and demands for better third-party integration. It's widely used for both corporate-owned devices and BYOD scenarios in dynamic IT environments.

What are the key features of Microsoft Intune?

Windows Autopilot: Automates device setup for rapid deployment.
Azure Active Directory Integration: Enhances user policy management.
Reporting and Analytics: Improves compliance visibility.
Mobile Application Management: Ensures app security without compromising personal data.
Cloud-Based Management: Allows management from any location.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Time Efficiency: Automation reduces time in policy enforcement and configuration updates.
Enhanced Security: Ensures data protection across corporate-owned and BYOD devices.
Improved Compliance: Advanced reporting tools enhance compliance visibility.
Flexible Management: Cloud-based nature supports management from any location.

In industries such as finance and healthcare, Microsoft Intune is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards. Manufacturing sectors utilize Intune for managing a distributed workforce across global locations, while educational institutions employ it to secure and manage devices in learning environments supporting both students and faculty.

Microsoft

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform streamlines IT operations with features like a simplified GUI and extensive module support. Its agentless architecture and YAML ease make it an adaptable choice for managing diverse infrastructures efficiently.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform offers a robust automation framework that supports multiple environments and integrates well with various applications. Its agentless Python-based architecture facilitates efficient server management and rapid update deployment. Users benefit from centralized management through Ansible Tower, role-based access control, and dynamic inventory. However, improvement areas include documentation, API integration, network support, and UI scaling. Enhanced community contributions could address module availability and compatibility gaps.

What are the most important features of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform?

Agentless Architecture: Leverages Python for seamless management without needing local agents.
Extensive Module Support: Provides modules for managing multiple environments effectively.
Ansible Tower GUI: Offers a centralized interface for easy automation management.
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures user-specific permissions for improved security.
Integration Capabilities: Connects with a variety of applications to enhance functionality.
Dynamic Inventory: Automatically updates inventory, simplifying large infrastructure management.

What benefits and ROI should one consider?

Automation Efficiency: Significantly reduces manual intervention, saving time and resources.
Adaptability: Easily integrates with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, and Azure.
Security Compliance: Automates compliance checks, ensuring up-to-date security protocols.
Cost Management: Lower operational costs through streamlined processes.
Scalability: Supports infrastructure growth without requiring major adjustments.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and technology, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is used for network management, security compliance, and configuration tasks. Organizations utilize its capabilities for cloud and on-premises deployment, infrastructure provisioning, and workflow orchestration. Many integrate it with tools such as Puppet or Terraform to enhance CI/CD processes, benefiting from its agentless design in adapting to cloud environments.

Red Hat

vCenter Configuration Manager offers a robust platform for managing virtual environments and optimizing IT infrastructure. It supports multiple platforms while facilitating virtualization, migration, and compliance processes.

vCenter Configuration Manager efficiently manages virtual machines, data centers, and servers. It enhances system performance through automation and centralized management of ESXi clusters. Known for its reliability, it also simplifies patch management and supports hyper-converged infrastructure. Challenges include improving integration, user interaction, and support for cloud and hybrid environments. Licensing transitions and compatibility issues with operating systems are areas of focus. Its strong presence in India enhances VMware environments.

What are vCenter Configuration Manager's key features?

User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies navigation and operation tasks.
VM Management: Efficient management of virtual machines.
Migration Capabilities: Streamlines the migration process.
High Availability: Ensures continuous operation without downtime.
Automation: Facilitates automated processes to improve efficiency.
Support for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: Enhances the IT environment's scalability.
vMotion and DRS: Critical for disaster recovery and business continuity.

What benefits and ROI should reviews highlight?

Resource Management: Optimizes resource allocation and utilization.
Ease of Provisioning: Simplifies deploying IT assets across the organization.
Compliance Management: Ensures regulatory compliance and governance.
Reliable Stability: Provides a stable and robust IT environment.

vCenter Configuration Manager is implemented across sectors like healthcare and industry. It manages virtualization, server oversight, and host monitoring. Its automation and patch management streamline IT processes, making it a valuable tool for managing diverse IT infrastructures effectively.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway

HootSuite Media, Inc., Cloud Physics, Narrative, BinckBank

Bank Al Bilad, Thomas-Krenn.AG, Pronto!, Unimed Juiz de Fora

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs. vCenter Configuration Manager