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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Control-M

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AControl-M from BMC is a platform for integrating, automating, and orchestrating application and data workflows in production across complex hybrid technology ecosystems. It provides deep operational capabilities, delivering speed, scale, security, and governance.

    $29,000

    per year

    Progress Chef

    Score6.5 out of 10
    N/AChef IT infrastructure automation suites were developed by Chef Software in Seattle and acquired by Progress Software in September 2020. The Chef Enterprise Automation Stack is an integrated suite of automation technologies presented as a solution for delivering change quickly, repeatedly, and securely over every application's lifecycle. The Chef Effortless Infrastructure Suit is an integrated suite of automation technologies to codify infrastructure, security, and compliance, as well as…N/A
    Pricing
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Editions & Modules
    On-Premise
    Contact Sales
    SaaS
    Starting at $29,000
    per year
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Considered Both Products
    BMC Software Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    Progress Software
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    138 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    108 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    138 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    90 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    112 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Workload Automation
    Comparison of Workload Automation features of Control-M and Progress Chef
    Feature
    Control-M
    9.1
    181 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Progress Chef
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-platform scheduling9.6178 Ratings00 Ratings
    Central monitoring9.4166 Ratings00 Ratings
    Logging8.7169 Ratings00 Ratings
    Alerts and notifications9.1170 Ratings00 Ratings
    Analysis and visualization8.8163 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application integration8.8164 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Apache Airflow
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Perforce Puppet
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Redwood RunMyJobs
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (184 ratings)
    8.9
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.6
    (32 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.2
    (141 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.7
    (10 ratings)
    9.4
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.1
    (25 ratings)
    7.7
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.8
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.8
    (16 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    7.7
    (5 ratings)
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (8 ratings)
    9.6
    (5 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    8.8
    (7 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.9
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Control-MProgress Chef
    Likelihood to Recommend
    BMC Software Inc.
    Anytime you have a process that has to do multiple things, transfer data, interact with other systems, Control-M is critical. Not only does it provide the insight to what is going on, but it also lets you keep tight audit controls over access, reduces the need to spend large amounts of time tracking down issues, reduces the need to write custom "code" to do integrations with other systems and helps you better manage and track critical SLAs for workflows across the business.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    Chef is a fantastic tool for automating software deployments that aren't able to be containerized. It's more developer-oriented than its other competitors and thus allows you to do more with it. The Chef Infra Server software is rock-solid and has been extremely stable in our experience. I would definitely recommend its use if you're looking for an automation framework. And it also offers InSpec which is a very good tool for testing your infrastructure to ensure it deployed as intended.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    BMC Software Inc.
    • The good thing is that there are so many connectors available. Control-M provides lots of features, and we are using almost 60 to 70% of them. Control-M is providing us with so much capability to use during our daily problem-solving.
    • Most of the job creation is very simple and quick and worked as per expectations.
    • Testing and debugging are also very easy, and you can test multiple scenarios using temporary changes during job runs.
    • Log and output presentations are also very good, short and detailed.
    • To monitor specific job net, we can create viewpoint, which can be use on daily basis.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    • Chef is great at deploying code to both small and large groups of servers.
    • We use chef to standup new servers as well as deploy updated code to existing servers and it does this very well.
    • Being able to make a change and have it push manually or automatically to any subset of servers has changed the landscape of how our IT teams operate.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    BMC Software Inc.
    • I haven't come across too many spots where I'm not happy with the product. Most of the shortfalls were in my knowledge of the product as opposed to the actual product. Currently we're having a little bit of an issue with the deployment of the software to the servers, but it's more of an "us" problem than a product problem. I can't really give any good examples of shortfalls of the product that I've found so far.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    • Chef could do a better job with integration with other DevOps tools. Our company relies on Jenkins and Ansible, which took some development and convincing for plug-ins to be created/available.
    • It would be nice if kitchen didn't only have a vagrant/virtual-box prerequisite. Our company one day stop allowing virtual-box to run without special privileges, and that caused a lot of issues for people trying to do kitchen tests.
    • Chef could use more practice materials for the advanced certification badges. There was not a lot of guidance in what to study or examples of certain topics.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    BMC Software Inc.
    It is one of the best solutions on the market, in terms of innovation, reliability and stability. Control-M provides security when used by the largest companies in Mexico such as banks, department stores and logistics. It has proven to be able to integrate with new technologies on the market and provide almost 100% availability, thanks to its automatic FailOver scheme.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    BMC Software Inc.
    User experience is meeting my expectations. We had a manual checklist, which Control-M Reports has now replaced, that helped us check the jobs without any issues. So, being fair with the work, the ratings should also be fair. More to come as the AI progresses; this will not only help motivate the Control-M Developers but also lead to the development of advanced technology.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    The suite of tools is very powerful. The ability to create custom modules allows for unlimited potential for managing all aspects of a system. However, there is pretty significant learning curve with the toolset. It currently takes approx 3-4 months for new engineers to feel comfortable with our implementation
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    BMC Software Inc.
    Secondary Instances: Control-M supports the installation of a secondary instance of the entire Control-M environment, Control-M/EM, or Control-M/Server.Automatic & Manual Failover: In case of a failure on the primary host, Control-M can automatically failover to the secondary host if using Oracle or MSSQL databases. Manual failover is also an option, enabling a controlled switch during planned maintenance.Fallback: After resolving the issue on the primary host, you can easily fall back to it, or even designate the secondary host as the new primary. Database Replication: For high availability, Control-M leverages database replication from the primary site to a disaster recovery site. While replication is essential, its implementation and maintenance are the user's responsibility.
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    BMC Software Inc.
    good page load times, efficient report completion, and minimal impact on integrated systems. Specifically, the well-designed GUI contributes to a positive user experience, and the platform's ability to automate various stages of the workflow, including Big Data processes, is highlighted as a key strength. Fast Page Loads: Control-M is reported to have a responsive user interface with fast page load times, allowing users to quickly navigate and manage their workflows
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    Progress Software
    It loads quick enough for basically all our systems. Because we have this for local dev environments, speed isn't really a big issue here. Yes, depending on the system, sometimes it does take a relatively long time, but it's not an issue for me. One thing that is annoying is that if I want to make a small change to a cookbook and re-run the Chef client, I can't just make the change in the cache and run it. I have to do the whole process of updating the server.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    BMC Software Inc.
    Support is generally excellent. Getting lower priority ones resolved can take a while, but it's rare for something to have to be dumped in the "unfixable" bin. If you end up speaking to Houston or Tel Aviv, then you know you've got a "live one".
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    Support for Chef is easily available for fee or through the open source community as most the issues you will face will have been addressed through the Chef developer community forums. The documentation for Chef is moderate to great and easily readable.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    BMC Software Inc.
    Very knowledgeable instructors provide a hands-on, collaborative learning experience and can interact directly with instructors to develop our Control-M skills. This format allows for immediate feedback, in-depth discussions, and tailored guidance, leading to a deeper understanding of Control-M concepts and practical application. Face-to-face interaction fosters higher engagement and a more dynamic learning environment.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    BMC Software Inc.
    Simple and easy to use web based, well paced. Available any time. All online courses are simple and easy to access and use. Very practical everyday use scenarios and solutions. Incorporates software simulations, learning games, and built-in assessments to enhance comprehension and engagement. Online subscriptions are regularly updated with the latest product information, ensuring users have access to the most current knowledge.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    BMC Software Inc.
    As HA we have depend on the external DB, why don't we have HA feasibility with embedded DB. As with external DB, there are performance issues and fine tuning the DB. As if its embedded DB, Control-M it self take care of the functionality.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    BMC Software Inc.
    Control-M: Known for its comprehensive workload automation capabilities, handling complex job scheduling, dependency management, and IT process automation. TWS: Traditionally strong in Batch processing and job scheduling, focusing on high-performance computing environments. TIDEL: Offers a combination of workload automation and IT process management, often used in mainframe environments.AutoSys: Provides job scheduling and workflow management with a reputation for scalability and performance.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    We considered the three leading competitors in the field: Chef, Puppet and Ansible. Ansible is a very strong competitor and has a nice degree of flexibility in that it does not require a client install. Instead the configuration is delivered by SSH which is very simple. Puppet seems like it has fallen off the pace of the competition and lacked the strong community offered by Chef. We chose Chef because of the strong support by the company and the dynamic and deep community support.
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    BMC Software Inc.
    While Control-M offers flexibility with usage-based and subscription-based pricing, some users might prefer more predictable, upfront costs, especially for large-scale deployments. A potential area for improvement could be offering more options for fixed-term contracts with predictable pricing based on factors like the number of agents or jobs, providing a clearer budget for long-term planning
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    Progress Software
    The pricing seemed inline with our products in this space. Nothing out of the ordinary in contract, term, or pricing structure
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    BMC Software Inc.
    awesome product.Control-M delivers advanced operational capabilities easily consumed by Dev, Ops, data teams, and lines of business.Control-M Workflow InsightsApplication and data workflow observability: Increased confidence that SLAs are being met for Control-M users and IT leadersComprehensive control and management capabilities: Enhanced dashboards and reporting with constant telemetry and intelligent analysis on executing workflowsSelf-service visibility: In-depth reporting to help teams work autonomously
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    Progress Software
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    BMC Software Inc.
    Strengths: The vendor provided strong post-sales support, timely issue resolution, and effective onboarding. Their technical team was knowledgeable and responsive, ensuring smooth integration and minimal disruption. Training resources and documentation were comprehensive. Areas for Improvement: While overall service was excellent, occasional delays in advanced customization or escalations slightly impacted timelines. More proactive optimization suggestions could further enhance value.
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    The entire professional services team was great to work with. The curriculum was tailored to our specific use cases. The group we worked with were very responsive, listened to our feedback, was very easy to schedule and accommodate. I cannot say enough good things about our professional services experience
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    BMC Software Inc.
    • Since centralizing all our workflows in Control-M, we've cut end to end processing time by nearly 30%
    • Before Control-M we were babysitting scripts, manually rerunning failed jobs, and chasing ghost errors. With automated recovery, smart notifications, and fewer failures slipping through the cracks, we have saved 3 hours a day across teams
    • Our workflows success rate sits at 99.95% and when things do fail, they are pinpointed immediately
    Incentivized
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    Progress Software
    • Chef is a good tool for baselining servers. It will be a good ROI when there are huge number of servers. For less number of servers maintaining a master will be an over head.
    • One good ROI will be that the Operations Team also gets into agile and DevOps methodologies. Operational teams can start writing scripts/automations to keep their infra more stable and their application stack more reliable.
    • Implementation of Chef eliminates the manual mode of doing things and everyone aligns to automation mind set. It helps in change of culture.
    Incentivized
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