Microsoft Azure IoT Central vs. Portainer

One scenario where it was appropriate was allowing us to communicate through apps with our temperature, moisture, and water quality sensors. It's great to have the recordings done automatically and sent back to a central processing point. It is also highly useful when used to collect this data around the clock. One situation where it was less appropriate was in trying to extend our beginning services to other businesses. This is really more of a logistical problem and not really one for the software.

Incentivized

We do have a couple of users who are new to Docker and the Linus shell environment. Portainer makes it easy for them to quickly deploy stacks of containers with its web editor to configure docker-compose files with an easy-to-use GUI. Not only does this save time, but it also encourages new users to interact more positively with Docker and Portainer in general.

• Creation and management of user roles, who can access your IoT resources and configure the level of access, very granular and self-explanatory
• Configuration of apps and devices, integrations, and administrations are done in an intuitive way and it's easy to navigate your way through the available settings.
• The documentation is really excellent, everything is explained succinctly and there are enough practical examples to get you started.
• Existing templates can save you a lot of time in getting your desired setup complete with less effort and time invested.

Incentivized

• Separating server maintenance with application development, providing a clear user interface for developers who don't want to worry about the underlying server.
• RBAC for container deployment linked to a SAML IDP, not something particularly easy in a native Docker instance but point and shoot in Portainer, allowing the use of Azure / Okta etc to provide user access.
• Image management with multiple repositories is super clear and reduces incidents

Incentivized

• Lack of info on error messages
• GUI misses important configuration options
• Not well documented options inside IoT Hub for example (consumer groups)

Incentivized

• When setting up static IPs for a new container, having the used ones for a specific network at hand would be cool or something like a mini IPAM of some sort...
• Using the developertools to see "oh, it's a 40x or 500" when something doesn't seem to load because the ui just states "Didn't work" is kinda annoying. expandable toasts or something would be nice.

Incentivized

It is an excellent tool.

It is a clear UI, and it does what it sets out to do, very well

Incentivized

One of their staff members jumped on a video call immediately with me and led me through the problem and solution during a quick session of screen sharing. In this day and age that is above and beyond, especially when it comes to software. It took approximately 5-10 minutes to diagnose and fix, including pleasantries!

It is really easy. Just follow the documentation.

Incentivized

Handles excellently and after trying a few of them I saw that it is most suitable for the current work of the company and all the products that the company works with

Incentivized

I am using Rancher in Kubernetes environments. It was really the first product I used with it and never really had time to test out how well Portainer behaves on Kubernetes. For the exact same thing - Docker Swarm management I used Swarmpit some time ago, but I like Portainer better, even though Swarmpit has better cluster visualization then Portainer. Portainer 5 node business edition is really a big plus for me, since it has some really nice features.

Incentivized

• It has allowed us to expand the number of times data is collected without adding cost.
• It has allowed us to train our technicians in the use the technology so they gain more useful skills.
• We have been able to develop a business model that is not bound by our physical location.

Incentivized

• Increased productivity: Portainer's user-friendly interface and streamlined container management can help increase the productivity of IT teams.
• Cost savings: By simplifying container management, Portainer can help reduce the time and resources required to manage container environments, potentially leading to cost savings.

Incentivized