Automox vs. AWS OpsWorks

I was able to update browsera like edge and chrome which have updates every few days, automatically. No more emails to ask people to update edge or chrome. Display drivers and dell drivers are not visible for users, having Automox update them make it much easier for users as not all of the users are technical.

Incentivized

Where you already have some Chef recipes to build your application boxes and are happy to run directly on VMs, OpsWorks really shines. It won't do anything too complex for you, so it only really works well for simple stacks (load balancers, application layers, database layers). If you want to do more complex infrastructure, Cloudformation or Terraform are probably worth looking at.

Incentivized

• Shows applications installed on a specific asset
• Able to push policies and updates remotely , creating policies is easy.
• Keep track of compliant devices and when is the last time they have connected to the servers
• All the great information provided within one single device

Incentivized

• connect between serveral AWS services (EC2, RDS, ELB)
• easy configuration management deployment via Chef

Incentivized

• Server patching orchestration. There is no way to patch and reboot systems in order of importance, such as database servers before application servers.
• Worklets for patching .net core and similar.
• Worklets for removing unwanted Java installs or other unwanted software.
• Integration with Tenable Vulnerability Management.
• AI script development should be included at no additional cost; GPT or Gemini can be used instead for free and pasted into Automox. Why charge when others are free?
• Official worklets are slow to be added or updated.

Incentivized

• Getting up and running with OpsWorks is a very technical and potentially time-consuming process. You need to know the ins and outs of Chef/Puppet if you really want to get into it and there isn't a convenient way to test out the environment locally so debugging can be time-consuming.
• To take advantage of some of the newer AWS instance types you need to be running on a VPC, which again is a pain if you don't have a DevOps team.
• The error logs and monitoring metrics in OpsWorks are pretty basic and haven't changed much over the years.

Incentivized

This is a software that just works. Once configured its a set and forget kind of tool that keeps things up to date and alerts me if something is wrong. I was able to work through an expansion project to deploy an additional 500 devices in almost no time and create a robust self-patching environment.

Incentivized

It's great at what it does. We're able to veiw endpoints that are online in real time, and run scans on them to ensure they're still compliant. The software itself is very easy to use and set up on end points, with the main admin portal having a clean and very easy to understand set up

Incentivized

I did not need to reach out to support often but when I did the answers were relatively correct and they were answered quickly. The only thing I might "ding" their support on was their lack of understanding of OS's different from Windows and especially Linux. Other than that I was satisfied

Incentivized

Unless you pay for a pricey support package getting support on OpsWorks will be pretty slow. Documentation is also relatively limited and sometimes hard to follow when compared to competitors. Generally, we've been able to get the answers we need from OpsWorks support when we run into problems but don't expect rapid responses.

Incentivized

Implementing Automox successfully starts with a clear strategy for organizing and grouping devices based on operating systems, environments, or business criticality. This ensures that patching and configuration policies can be applied with precision. A phased rollout approach is essential—beginning with a pilot group allows teams to test patching schedules, reboot behaviors, and custom Worklets before scaling across the organization. Leveraging Worklets from the start can significantly boost automation by enforcing security baselines and performing routine system tasks. Integration with existing SOC tools, such as SIEMs, enhances visibility and response time by correlating patch compliance with threat intelligence. Additionally, aligning patching schedules with operational downtimes minimizes disruptions, and consistent monitoring and reporting helps maintain compliance and prepare for audits. Overall, Automox offers a streamlined and effective solution, but its true value is unlocked through thoughtful planning, testing, and integration with existing IT and security workflows.

Incentivized

We felt that Automox provided us with the functionality our MSP offered, including OS and device patching, as well as remote control capabilities, but in a better and more manageable way. We also felt the usability of the tool gave us the ability to be effective in our way of working, as well as integrating with Rapid7 was a massive benefit for us.

Incentivized

OpsWorks isn't really a direct competitor to Terraform/Cloudformation, but it does allow you to do some of the more simple things on offer quite quickly and effectively. Opsworks was used for this reason, along with existing internal knowledge of Chef. Along with some of the other services on offer from AWS, it is good to use as a stepping stone along the way when building your systems - or perhaps it would be entirely suitable for a fairly simple project.

Incentivized

• Being a start up, we have pivoted our strategies a number of times. The pay as you go model has worked very well for us, and has prevented us from overprovisioning
• The time saved pulling reports to provide to auditors has been well worth our small spend on the solution
• We have no need to maintain a scanning tool or invest in hardware thanks to the SaaS nature of Automox

Incentivized

• very quick way of creating new infrastructure
• low maintenance costs
• easy to create high availability setups thus reducing costs

Incentivized