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VMware Aria Automation vs vCenter Configuration Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
377
Ranking in other categories
Remote Access (2nd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
vCenter Configuration Manager
Ranking in Configuration Management
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Automation
Ranking in Configuration Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
172
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (3rd), Network Automation (7th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (28th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 4.4%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Configuration Manager is 2.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation is 4.1%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Intune4.4%
VMware Aria Automation4.1%
vCenter Configuration Manager2.0%
Other89.5%
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

HA
Senior Business Development Executive at Digitaltrack
Centralized device management has automated onboarding and improves remote security compliance
One thing I feel Microsoft Intune could improve is troubleshooting visibility. In many cases, when a policy or application deployment fails, the error messages are a bit generic. So, admins still spend time checking logs manually or testing on devices one by one. Compared to the simplicity of deployment, troubleshooting sometimes feels less mature. I also think reporting and real-time monitoring could be stronger. The dashboard gives useful information, but in large environments, many teams still depend on additional tools or scripts for deeper reporting and analytics. If I had to focus on one area first, I would probably choose troubleshooting and reporting. Deployment through Microsoft Intune is generally straightforward, but when something fails, identifying the exact root cause can still take more time than expected. Error messages are sometimes too generic, and admins often have to dig through logs, sync status, or multiple portals to understand what actually happened. I think user experience and policy management could also improve further. Microsoft Intune has become much better over the years, but sometimes the admin portal still feels fragmented because certain configurations open in different sections or redirect to older interfaces. For new admins, especially, it can take time to understand where everything is located. Another thing is policy conflict handling. In larger organizations, multiple device policies, compliance rules, and configuration profiles can overlap. When conflicts happen, the visibility is not always very clear, so admins spend time figuring out which policy actually won or caused the issue.
Nikhil Nikhil - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Operations Lead at TT Systems LLC
Compliance management has improved efficiency but licensing changes pose challenges
I am not using any advanced features or AI. I am employing a basic VMware vCenter setup for my infrastructure. Scalability has no major limitations, and the solution is efficient. Overall, it's satisfactory. I would rate the vCenter experience as seven out of ten due to concerns regarding license, pricing, and AI features.
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

"Microsoft Intune is a core product, and it's very stable"
"It's not working perfectly, but Microsoft's Autopilot offers great visibility into automated deployment solutions."
"Previously, SCCM was used as an on-premise solution for clients, but now they are moving to Microsoft Intune as a cloud solution with better security and functions."
"Intune's most valuable features are its device management capabilities, particularly its centralized integration with other Microsoft stack components."
"The solution is scalable, and we currently have tens of thousands of users within our organization using the solution."
"Autopilot is definitely the most valuable feature for me, because as an MSP supporting some clients with 300 to 400 users, once it is configured correctly we use Microsoft Intune so that when a laptop is sent directly to a remote user they just log in with their email address and password and their machine is ready to go with Wi-Fi, SharePoint access, OneDrive backup, Outlook, and all the applications they need automatically configured and deployed."
"Agile and easy to deploy MDM solution that covers the maximum number of policies. Stable, scalable, and with knowledgeable technical support."
"I would rate the stability of Microsoft Intune nine out of ten."
"The solution overall is very good, the online configuration, especially in the latest version, is very good, and it's worked well for us so far and hasn't disappointed on any level."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"There are a lot of features, but I've found vMotion and VRS most valuable."
"I would rate the scalability quite good. You can extend your environment effectively with appropriate investment."
"In large implementations, especially in regulated environments, vCenter's automation capabilities prove invaluable for implementing new processes efficiently."
"vCenter Configuration Manager is a central management tool for our virtual environment, used for the configuration of our users' settings and helping to power the ITIL process, and without it we would not be able to manage our environment."
"The market share of VMware is huge. It is not even necessary to prove the capabilities attached to the product."
"The interface is very user-friendly and the solution is simple to use."
"You should look at the complexity and size of your environment, and when utilizing that background for your requirements, I personally would recommend VMware."
"It has cut down the time for building out a machine; a process that used to take three hours is down to 20 to 30 minutes, so if the users need a machine fast, we can get it presented to them quicker."
"It has integration with the rest of VMware solutions."
"The automation really is priceless."
"Using the VMware vRealize self-service portal, the user can request a server, and we can better manage the lifecycle."
"We have seen quite a bit of return on our investment, and we've actually been able to really change the way that we're doing build and deployments of virtual machines."
"The self-service portal, as well as the Orchestrator, are very helpful because the orchestration piece is really handy for day-to-day operations and added features in version 7.03 have improved it a lot so you can deploy Azure VMs directly, do config management, or run scripts, and it's really better than it used to be."
"Our QA department is able to spin up a new instance of Windows virtual machine and test whatever use case they have, then turn it back down whenever they are done."
 

Cons

"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."
"Customer service used to be better. In the last couple of years, support has not been very good, even with Premier and Premium support. It's been very hit-or-miss."
"With Microsoft technical support, they only fix Teams and when they are open, they're mostly trying to close again at the quickest time."
"It would be interesting to integrate the server side of Intune. Some group policy updates we have on the Windows Server side and possibly some on the client side could also be included."
"Once it's configured it is unobtrusive, but it does take some hands-on to configure and deploy it properly."
"Microsoft Intune could be improved with a more intuitive user interface, simpler policy configuration for complex environments, and faster troubleshooting tools."
"From my level of analysis, the feature I would prefer to see added to Microsoft Intune is extensive support. Anything that helps to diagnose the problem and solve it would be useful."
"The MacBook management could be better."
"The reporting could be improved."
"The product's high price is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"This is a good solution but it has too many configurations for what it does. In that sense, it's not particularly user friendly and requires too many clicks."
"If the solution could manage on-premises and cloud resources with the help of one tool, it would be an extra agent."
"It can take a long time for the first information to become available. On the other hand, that's normal. It has to collect a lot of information before it can predict future needs. But it would be nice if there was some kind of base level to get started."
"When vCenter is in a Microsoft environment, there is a lot of licensing involved, where we face some difficulties."
"The product's price could be lesser."
"The dashboards in vCenter Configuration Manager are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"They can improve on the dashboard representations and the options for non-technical people. I would like to see the ability to customize that and maybe provide them with helpful guides to what subscriptions they have. Sometimes, I find that I have to do more explanation to people who do approvals. I would really like to customize the display to the terms they use in their particular business unit. So a little bit more of a nod to the customization of the UI for non-technical users would be helpful."
"The initial setup is complex. There are too many components to integrate, especially when we integrated with different storage types and backup vendors. All the integration made it more complex."
"The solution is intuitive, but not necessarily user-friendly. In particular, it's the documentation."
"Salt Cloud Windows support isn't that mature."
"I would not recommend this product. I think that there are better products to meet your needs that are competitors on the market."
"I think they could probably do more if they created more actions and more use cases to automate things."
"I would like to see better integration capabilities. Maybe if they could develop libraries within Aria Automation for simpler integration with other third-party solutions, instead of just basic integration."
"in general, it took us a long time to get it off the ground. We had a lot of issues upfront and we determined that we just needed to scrap it. I think we scrapped it two or three times before we actually got it built the way we wanted, and we're still not where we need to be. We have had downtime. There have been some issues, but we're also two iterations behind on version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our enterprise agreement includes Microsoft Intune at no additional cost."
"Licensing depends on how you are providing support to your enterprise, whether it's device-based or user-based."
"Microsoft offers some licensing where it's included at no extra cost when customers are already using the licenses. In such a case, it's a really good value. If you have to buy the licensing for it, it's probably on par with other solutions. It isn't substantially more or less expensive. The great thing is that it is included in some of Microsoft's licensed packages. So, some customers don't have to spend additional money for it. Typically, most providers that support Intune do charge a management fee of some sort or some fee. Certainly, we're no exception."
"Intune is included with our F3 and E5 licenses."
"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."
"For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
"The cost of the license and the features are justified for myself as a technical person."
"Previously the price was $4 per month per user. Now it's $2.25 per user per month."
"The pricing is mid-range so I rate it a six out of ten."
"It's a large application. It consumes a lot of resources. Sometimes the price is too high for our customers. If they buy it directly from VMware, its hard to convince the customer that we will bring down the total cost of ownership, in the end."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"The price of the solution is too expensive for us and we are looking to move to another solution."
"I have a license to cover four hosts."
"It is an expensive product."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten. The product has increased its cost by at least two to three times its previous cost."
"The product is highly-priced."
"VMware Aria Automation is expensive."
"A simplified version for small businesses would be good."
"SaltStack is an open-source product."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being very expensive."
"From the customer perspective, the value was worth it."
"So much can be done with the Open Source side, and especially for smaller shops. I personally think the pricing for Enterprise is hard to justify."
"The pricing for this solution is roughly 20% lower than the competitive products in the market."
"We do plan to see ROI with any new implementation of new technologies being implemented within our environment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
20%
Construction Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business192
Midsize Enterprise62
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise131
 

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 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...
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 y...
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 fre...
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 compa...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
vCM
VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Bank Al Bilad, Thomas-Krenn.AG, Pronto!, Unimed Juiz de Fora
Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware Aria Automation vs. vCenter Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.