We performed a comparison between AWS CloudFormation and SaltStack based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Configuration Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It has helped with compliance. It has helped to ensure that devices comply with the organization's policy. If they are not compliant and secure, they cannot access the resources."
"It has improve our organization through the remote management of non-domain joined devices."
"The device profiling which uses the official Outlook email enabled us to control the screenshot feature and prevent copying outside of the organization's application."
"While I don't think you can ever have full visibility and control, Intune certainly allows us to see the applications being used and tells us if things like Windows patches aren't applied to machines. It does a good job. That visibility makes life a little easier."
"The initial setup is not complex."
"The most valuable feature is probably mobile device management. Small businesses are coming under greater scrutiny and requirements for compliance as time goes on. We don't have to worry about a VPN because we can manage these devices, control company data, and lock users out. If needed, we can remotely wipe devices and deadman-switch them."
"We use a local Active Directory, but we weren't able to manage all our on-site systems without a solution like Intune, and we needed to deploy software like VPNs and other things. It's seamless now to to this through Intune."
"The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult."
"I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. We use it every day."
"Since AWS CloudFormation integrates well with the AWS platform, it facilitates faster deployment. Building templates for AWS services within the solution is also straightforward, making the process easier."
"What I found most valuable in AWS CloudFormation is its configurability. The solution is easy to configure. I also like its change management configuration because that's also good."
"The nested stacks would be one of the more valuable features."
"The integration of the solution is very good."
"AWS CloudFormation has automated the resource-building process, thereby removing the scope of human errors. We can tag the resources which help the billing process."
"What I like best about AWS CloudFormation is that it is a quick and simple way to deploy various applications, like WordPress."
"Its ability to treat infrastructure's code is valuable. It makes things automatable and reproducible."
"The ability to programmatically describe the desired state of a single, or an entire fleet of servers, on-premises, and in a cloud environment."
"I want to build automation that is intelligent, part of the fabric of our environment, and is somewhat self-sustaining. I think SaltStack can help me do this."
"The automation functionality has been most valuable. With a click of a button, we are able to automate provisioning, the build of new hardware and apply patches. These are all extremely important and differentiated tasks that can be automated in SaltStack."
"We monitor the configurations against CIS standards. We run CIS benchmarks and maintain configurations with higher CIS values for each server."
"The product’s most valuable feature is its ability to provide environmental security."
"SaltStack has given us the ability to deal with systems at scale and rectify issues at scale."
"It is a highly stable solution."
"There are a few security features that are not available in Microsoft Intune, when compared to other products."
"Reporting needs improvement."
"I think that there is room for improvement with the reporting. If this is done, it will be a better product."
"The reports that are generated aren't so great. They don't give a lot of meaning so far, but that could be down to user knowledge than the actual reporting side of things. I'm not a big user of it, but I was a bigger user of MaaS360, and we used to be able to run weekly and monthly reports. In the case of any deviations. we'd get a warning immediately. That's not so easy to do or to get in place for Intune. This could be just a user issue, but when I compare both, that's the only thing that's lacking for me."
"It would be beneficial to have a more straightforward understanding of Intune's capabilities, presented in a simplified manner."
"There are a couple of issues with stability."
"Intune's areas for improvement revolve around security and certificate management."
"Microsoft needs to enhance device-level security, as sometimes when using Microsoft Intune, the device's operating system becomes stuck and requires a full uninstall to remove the Intune bug."
"GUI could be improved by adding graphical components."
"The speed of the replication process could improve. It can take some time to replicate that could use a speed increase."
"They could improve the product's capability to handle circular dependencies more effectively."
"Error-handling features can be improved."
"The solution must enable more hands-on designing of the templates."
"The solution needs to offer better support to other cloud vendors."
"This tool is not intuitive and there are others that are easier to understand."
"If Amazon could extend CloudFormation to other cloud platforms, that would be good. Currently, it is only limited to AWS."
"This solution could be integrated with more hardware for an improved offering."
"SaltStack's features are minimal."
"It is difficult to set up."
"Its configuration process could be better."
"Web UI."
"A hardened set of tests would be much appreciated."
"There is a little bit of pain when it comes to libraries and what is needed to run the product."
AWS CloudFormation is ranked 8th in Configuration Management with 28 reviews while SaltStack is ranked 14th in Configuration Management with 33 reviews. AWS CloudFormation is rated 8.4, while SaltStack is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of AWS CloudFormation writes "Pretty easy setup with great automations for provisioning that save time and money". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SaltStack writes "Orchestration tool that powers automation of processes with the click of a button". AWS CloudFormation is most compared with AWS Systems Manager, Spring Cloud, Red Hat Satellite, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Microsoft Configuration Manager, whereas SaltStack is most compared with Microsoft Configuration Manager, VMware Aria Automation, HashiCorp Terraform, Red Hat Satellite and ServiceNow. See our AWS CloudFormation vs. SaltStack report.
See our list of best Configuration Management vendors.
We monitor all Configuration Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
