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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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
314
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
10th
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
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
171
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (3rd), Network Automation (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (20th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Configuration Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Intune is 7.4%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Configuration Manager is 1.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Automation is 5.2%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Intune7.4%
VMware Aria Automation5.2%
vCenter Configuration Manager1.7%
Other85.7%
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.
MI
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.
reviewer2597814 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Manager at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Compliance is maintained effectively and automation boosts productivity but further improvements in full-time reduction are desired
I am still using VMware tools. In fact, I have to migrate to a new alternative. I do not deal with vCenter or vSphere as or other VMware products yet. I do not deal with vSphere either. I do not use the Horizon Cloud yet or Horizon Desktop. We use VMware Workstation and vRealize. I use vRealize. VMware Aria Automation is compliant. It is not difficult for them. The regulations request us to perform or to have some security managed ways, and the regulations are clear about that, including authentication and everything related to security. Based on my experience, I rate VMware Aria Automation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very stable and scalable cloud-only solution."
"Microsoft Tech Support is good, providing solid support."
"Remote Wipe and Autopilot is one of the best features."
"Microsoft Intune benefits my company because of its simplicity of use and cross-functional integration."
"The best features in Microsoft Intune that I appreciate most are its centralized features."
"It is a cloud solution, and you can easily scale as your needs grow."
"Intune saves time, and it is very easy to use. It allows us to manage applications completely."
"If I assess Intune's user experience, I would say it is perfect and simple."
"vCenter has some good user experience, and the initial setup is straightforward."
"The platform is straightforward and user friendly."
"I particularly appreciate the reporting capabilities, as they allow for in-depth analysis of logs and the ability to interpret alerts effectively, enabling informed responses."
"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."
"My experience working with this solution has been good and I recommend it."
"The solution is stable and we haven't run into issues with bugs or glitches."
"Reliable, stable and scalable."
"vCenter Configuration Manager is a mature solution with high quality."
"We needed vRA to easily integrate with our hypervisor, orchestration, security (tenant segmentation, PCI), workflows, custom code, and internal monitoring/management tools. Since we didn’t have time to develop our own web front-end during the development sprints, vRA saved considerable time and resource cycles. Its ability to easily integrate with all of the VMware cloud products as well as public cloud providers, like AWS and Azure, out-of-the-box, makes it an even more powerful tool."
"It has definitely increased speed of VM deployment. When a normal server-request would come in, it might take anywhere from three to four days to deploy. Now, within 15 minutes, they can click and have something up and running."
"It is possible to completely automatize the creation and removal of a virtual machine."
"The product is very user-friendly."
"compare-to-competition; Citrix was on our short list. But over the last ten years, we have been a big VMware shop. We wanted to continue with VMware because we are confident that VMware can address any kind of problem situation, any challenges. But with Citrix, we didn't find that kind of credibility when we did solution testing, a PoC."
"We use it to deploy databases and testing environments. It spins up quickly and also break down fast."
"The setup was straightforward. We upgraded to a newer version seamlessly. It worked really well."
"VMware Aria Automation has made a lot of things easier. It has really helped the operations team to spin up the virtual machines."
 

Cons

"Improvements can be made by allowing server integrations since it is an area where the product currently has shortcomings."
"The time we have to wait to deploy policies has room for improvement."
"We are currently unable to control aspects of group policy from Teams like we can for GPO. They are still not part of Intune. Microsoft is adding this, but it's currently in preview, and few GPO features have been added to the product."
"The tool's tunnel gateway is not very good, making it an area where improvements are required."
"A major challenge is making all the products work within device management solutions like Intune. It would be beneficial if Microsoft removed support for older products much earlier in the process."
"There could be more competent processes and improvements in the policy space."
"Microsoft Intune has a latency response time issue. The latency has room for improvement."
"Microsoft Intune could be improved by adding short video tutorials or direct links to Microsoft articles in the information button."
"It is not so user-friendly that you can just start the host and everything works."
"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."
"The price could be reduced."
"The solution could be more integrated with the Microsoft environment."
"Regarding the licensing part, previously I was able to acquire the license with an eight-core configuration. Now it requires a 16-core setup, which is difficult for customers who have fewer connections to the servers."
"The product's price could be lesser."
"The solution could provide even more capacity."
"Some of the migrations are difficult to manage since the solution is not compatible with a few of the operating systems, which poses a challenge during the physical to virtual migration process."
"The stability is okay, but could be improved. We sometimes receive strange errors, which can only be solved with specialists."
"It would be better if VMware would provide API documentation for developers and customers on the Internet."
"The initial setup was complex from beginning to delivery. The current version is a bit more complex than version 7 to deploy."
"The stability needs a lot of work. The troubleshooting component of vRealize is a pain. The administration and the upgrades are not up to the mark. If they were able to improve on that, that would be the best thing and would make it much easier to run it in the enterprise."
"VMware should go the way of vROps, with everything in one machine, the ability to scale out, and a more distributed environment instead of having the usual centralized SQL database."
"One of the features that's a struggle today is some of the public cloud extensibility. Some of the plugins that are native to vRA and vRO, I'd like to see them come out earlier for vRO. I understand that in vRA, the plugins are a little bit more polished because the VRA is the GUI. But we'd like to see them released earlier in vRO, prior to a GUI being released. Azure, for example, is a public cloud provider but we have some instability issues with the plugin in vRO. It's okay for us if we separate the vRA from vRO plugin releases. So I'd like to see some increased stability in some of those public cloud plugins."
"The high price of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The solution could include more integrations and supportability around the container space."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale of one to ten with one being the cheapest, the cost of Microsoft Intune is a five."
"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."
"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"I am not that aware of the pricing, but as compared to other MDM solutions, Microsoft is providing a lot of things at the organizational level. So, it is quite reasonable as compared to other MDM solutions."
"It's affordable. In comparison to the competitors, the price depends on what features you need from Intune, but it's affordable. There are no hidden costs, but there are some features that go for a premium price. Those are the add-ons for which you have to pay extra."
"Its price is quite okay. I wish they provide certain additional features with the same license."
"Microsoft Intune is not cost-effective as a standalone product."
"If you ask the accountant or the finance department, they'll tell you that it is way too expensive, but when I look at the cost and compare it with the value you actually get, it's more than fair."
"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."
"Their licensing costs are high. But I think for the scale that we are using, it's suitable. If you use it on a larger scale with many servers, you have to pay a lot of money for them. I think it's suitable for organizations that don't need expert people that want more money each year or each month because it's a straightforward solution. We prefer to pay for these products that are integrated and straightforward."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"While the pricing is reasonable for large corporations, it presents a substantial financial challenge for medium-sized businesses."
"It is on a yearly basis."
"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."
"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."
"The product price and licensing fees are reasonable, especially when compared to other products in the market."
"They should provide one license for all the sub-products."
"From a budget point of view, the pricing is a bit on the higher side."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being very expensive."
"This is an expensive product and the high price is starting to become an issue for us."
"We have seen significant ROI. We used to have physical servers, it took 90 days to get a server, order it, buy it, and get it in. We have it down to 10 minutes, building a server with virtualization, and now that's too slow. So, we let the customer do it at their speed. Therefore, it is pretty much up in a couple of minutes and they have a server."
"It is an open-source product."
"There is confusion between licensing levels. There are three different licensed versions of vRealize Automation, and there are different things which can happen in each of them."
"I'm very interested in the integration with Puppet. However, my organization doesn't have the funding for something like Puppet right now. If VMware would integrate that feature set (Puppet) into vRA. That would be very awesome."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise47
Large Enterprise156
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise130
 

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 do you like most about vCenter Configuration Manager?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
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'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: February 2026.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.