Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Puppet Enterprise comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Configuration Manager and Puppet Enterprise based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Microsoft, HCLTech and others in Configuration Management.
To learn more, read our detailed Configuration Management Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
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 the UEM capabilities.""There are so many features, but Windows Autopilot is one of the features that are very valuable for most customers.""The central administration con dashboard is very easy to use and provides very good oversight on all that needs to be monitored.""Microsoft Endpoint Manager is not expensive overall, especially for small environments.""It's easy to manage.""The Autopilot feature is fantastic. It is a Microsoft product, so it deals best with Microsoft operating systems, but it can integrate with iOS, Mac OS, Linux, and Android.""Intune provides full visibility into all active mobile device users. If their devices are noncompliant with our security policies, I have the flexibility to update them remotely.""We have a BYOD policy, and this solution helps us manage our devices."

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"Software deployment and WSUS are most valuable.""We have found the scalability to be quite good.""It has the ability to perform mass distribution.""It is a very well-rounded product. It is a complete package with all the features using which we are able to manage our PCs very efficiently.""SCCM is a stable solution.""Provides great insight into the functionalities of the data scope.""The solution is user-friendly and easy to learn.""It is a very good solution. It has a good interface and is easy to use. On top of that, it is very reliable in terms of distribution as well as getting the report."

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"Puppet3 and 4 series provides optimum deployment solutions for infrastructure and applications.""The main purpose for this automation tool would be: deploying, controlling, ordering change for the system and IT Infrastructure.""The most valuable features are the agent, high load balancing, and overall robustness and features.""Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.""Anything that we manage through Puppet always runs perfectly.""Puppet Enterprise has reduced the time of production changes or environment changes.""Puppet Enterprise has good functionalities.""The versatility is great."

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Cons
"Due to the abundance of features, there's a lot to organize, which makes managing and setting up the solution challenging. The setup is immense, and it would be good to see improvement in this area.""Microsoft Intune's support for Mac devices is lacking and could be improved.""It needs certificate provisioning for S/MIME purposes.""We need the capabilities of the Cloud Management Gateway (CMG) to be enhanced through Intune instead of Azure.""The technical support could be improved.""In future releases, I would like to see better integration with Apple products.""It would be great if Intune offered better data protection controls for BYOD Windows PCs.""Lacking in features such as Wi-Fi and network security."

More Microsoft Intune Cons →

"Built in PowerShell cmdlets would be a nice feature because managing clients remotely can be a pain without knowing the WMI calls to run.""Management of Linux devices could be improved.""It would be better if automation options were available. For example, in Nexthink or SysTrack, there is an analytical tool. Creating dashboards would be very easy if you implement the same thing in Microsoft. That report will be a daily cost to the customers and good revenue for our organization. The price also could be better. In the next release, we need to include some features like tables, dashboards, surveys, services, and metrics in the dashboard. Whatever we are implementing will be downloaded by a report. Apart from the report, we will telecast from the dashboard. It's very easy to compare, and it will be easy to telecast to the end-users.""The solution is on-premises. The cloud version of the product, if a person needs to be on the cloud, would be InTune, which already exists as an option. SCCM doesn't need to offer cloud features for this reason.""SCCM should strive to enhance the accuracy of its reporting functions in order to avoid any issues with incorrect or inaccurate data.""The tool's deployment is complex and depends on the architecture you want to implement.""It should provide the ability to remotely connect to mobile devices. There are some solutions that are doing that, but with Microsoft Intune, the only way to remotely connect to devices outside the organization and mobile devices is by using TeamViewer. It is pretty strange for a big company like Microsoft to not have something for that.""Initial setup was complex. There's a lot that goes into it."

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"It's a bit of a pain point to make sure that everything works once we've upgraded it because Puppet has been evolving pretty fast.""Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it.""At the beginning the initial setup was kind of complex.""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.""We would like Puppet to add more integration for applications.""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.""Puppet Enterprise is more complex and difficult to configure."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Consider the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite rather than choosing specific sub-components, e.g. only Microsoft Intune."
  • "There is a cost benefit of using Microsoft Intune because of the packaging with other Microsoft products."
  • "Microsoft Intune is a cost effective choice. It is less expensive than other products on the market."
  • "The purchase of the product was handled by someone else."
  • "I have no comment on pricing of the solution."
  • "The product is offered as part of a Microsoft standard bundle. The pricing can be competitive to Airwatch, and Maas360."
  • "For Microsoft 365 E5 clients, cost is not an issue as this product is one of the benefits."
  • "The price of Intune is included with the license for Office 365, so we don't have to pay anything extra for it."
  • More Microsoft Intune Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Pricing and licensing are horrible. You have to not look at dollar value to use SCCM. It's super-duper expensive but it works. The acquisition cost is expensive, it's labor-intensive. But it works."
  • "Pricing and licensing are a downside of SCCM. It's expensive. I'd have to confirm this, but I think they changed the licensing to core-based instead of socket-based. It's not cheap, because you have to buy the software, you have to buy SQL. Another thing we learned from talking to Microsoft is that they provide you a license for SQL if you run it on the same box as the primary server. If you run it outside that box, you have to buy SQL. Microsoft does recommend you running it on the same box because of performance. But then, in order to run SQL, SCCM, and everything on the same box, you better have some resources. It's an expensive solution. There's no doubt about it."
  • "Overall, I think it's fine. It's pretty much in-line because there are ways to offset it with the Office 365 licensing."
  • "SCCM comes with its own version of SQL Server. If you use that SQL Server with SCCM and don't use it for another applications than you get an SQL Server for free."
  • "The licensing is good because they have various options, depending on what you are looking for."
  • "Pricing is negotiable with Microsoft, depending upon which of their packages you choose."
  • "When you compare this solution with other tools in the market you might actually find a lot of variation in the pricing and that's why people opt for the other tools rather than Microsoft tools."
  • "Its price is okay because it is part of our licensing."
  • More Microsoft Configuration Manager Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "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’s pricing is competitive."
  • "Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses."
  • More Puppet Enterprise Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes it… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Intune is a great configuration management tool and has a lot of good things going for it. Here are some of… more »
    Top Answer: Microsoft Intune offers not only an easy-to-deploy data protection and productivity management solution, but also… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager takes knowledge and research to properly configure. The length of time that the… more »
    Top Answer:ManageEngine Desktop Central is very easy to set up, is scalable, stable, and also has very good patch management. What… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Configuration Manager gives different tools in one solution.
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise is a stable solution.
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise can be an expensive solution for smaller businesses.
    Top Answer:Puppet Enterprise should improve the general extensibility for places where they can't install it.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
    Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM )
    Puppet
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Intune is a comprehensive cloud-based service that allows you to remotely manage mobile devices and mobile applications without worrying about the security of your organization’s data. Device and app management can be used on company-owned devices as well as personal devices.

    In an increasingly mobile workforce, Microsoft Intune keeps your sensitive data safe while on the move. Microsoft Intune makes it possible for your team members to work anywhere using their mobile devices. Microsoft Intune provides both the flexibility and the control needed for securing all your data on the cloud, no matter where the device with the data is located.

    Microsoft Intune Device Management Key Features

    With Microsoft Intune Device Management you can:

    • Ensure devices and apps are compliant with your security requirements.
    • Rapidly deploy and authenticate apps on all company devices.
    • Remotely access devices to troubleshoot issues or to remove data from them.
    • Generate reports for all devices in the system.
    • Monitor the way users access and share information to protect company information.
    • Set rules and configure settings on personal and organization-owned devices to access data and networks.
    • Create user groups and device groups, allowing you to rapidly access many users and devices simultaneously.

    Mobile Application Management

    Mobile application management in Intune is designed to protect your organization’s data at the application level.

    With Microsoft Intune Application Management you can:

    • Configure apps to run with specific settings enabled.
    • Update existing apps that are already on the device.
    • See reports on which apps are used and monitor their usage.
    • Selectively wipe organization data from apps.
    • Add mobile apps to user groups and devices.

    As part of Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) suite, Intune integrates with Microsoft Entra ID for access control and with Azure Information Protection for data protection. It also integrates with Microsoft 365 Applications.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Microsoft Intune stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to secure all devices under its management and the flexibility that the solution offers its users.

    A computing services manager notes, "Its security is most valuable. It gives us a way to secure devices, not only those that are steady. We do have a few tablets and other devices, and it is a way for us to secure these devices and manage them. We know they're out there and what's their status. We can manage their life cycle and verify that they're updated properly."

    The head of IT engineering at a financial services company writes, "The one feature we find most useful is the Mobile Application Manager. There are two types: we have the complete MDM and the Mobile Application Manager (MAM). We don't give our users phones, it is their own personal phone, and we need to allow them to have access to the company details on their phone. We need to create a balance between their own personal data and the company data. We deploy the Mobile Application Manager for them so that we won't be able to interfere with their own personal data."

    Microsoft Configuration Manager helps IT manage PCs and servers, keeping software up-to-date, setting configuration and security policies, and monitoring system status while giving employees access to corporate applications on the devices that they choose. When Configuration Manager is integrated with Microsoft Intune, you can manage corporate-connected PCs and Macs along with cloud-based mobile devices running Windows, iOS, and Android, all from a single management console.

    New features of Configuration Manager, such as the support of Windows 10 in-place upgrade, co-management with Microsoft Intune, Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise Servicing Dashboard, integration with Windows Update for Business, and more make deploying and managing Windows easier than ever before.

    Puppet Data Center Automation helps sysadmins automate configuration and management of machines and the software running on them. With our software, businesses can make rapid, repeatable changes and automatically enforce the consistency of systems and devices, across physical and virtual machines, on prem or in the cloud.

    Sample Customers
    Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
    Bank Alfalah Ltd., Wªrth Handelsges.m.b.H, Dimension Data, Japan Business Systems, St. Lucie County Public Schools, MISC Berhad
    Los Alamos National Laboratory, GitHub, IP Commerce, Cedexis, Spiceworks, Server Density, Swisstopo, Chockstone, Constant Contact, NICS, Citrix
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Computer Software Company17%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Energy/Utilities Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization23%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Insurance Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company12%
    Government11%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization40%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise49%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise33%
    Large Enterprise47%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise68%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise66%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business69%
    Midsize Enterprise8%
    Large Enterprise23%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business10%
    Midsize Enterprise46%
    Large Enterprise44%
    Buyer's Guide
    Configuration Management
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Microsoft, HCLTech and others in Configuration Management. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Configuration Manager is ranked 2nd in Configuration Management with 26 reviews while Puppet Enterprise doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be ranked in Configuration Management with 3 reviews. Microsoft Configuration Manager is rated 8.2, while Puppet Enterprise is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Microsoft Configuration Manager writes "Lets us remotely deploy and manage thousands of devices over the network". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Puppet Enterprise writes "A well-organized automation solution but has difficult troubleshooting ". Microsoft Configuration Manager is most compared with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, ManageEngine Endpoint Central, BigFix, Tanium and AWS Systems Manager, whereas Puppet Enterprise is most compared with Red Hat Satellite, AWS Systems Manager, BigFix, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and BMC TrueSight Server Automation.

    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.