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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Perforce Puppet vs. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Defender for Cloud is a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) for Azure, on-premises, and multicloud (Amazon AWS and Google GCP) resources.N/A

    Perforce Puppet

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/APuppet Enteprise is an IT automation and configuration management solution that enables users to manage and automate infrastructure and complex workflows. The vendor states Puppet Enterprise combines both model‑based and task-based capabilities in a way that enables organizations to scale their multi-cloud infrastructure as their automation footprint grows, with more flexibility from both agent-based and agentless capabilities.N/A

    Ansible

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/AThe Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (acquired by Red Hat in 2015) is a foundation for building and operating automation across an organization. The platform includes tools needed to implement enterprise-wide automation, and can automate resource provisioning, and IT environments and configuration of systems and devices. It can be used in a CI/CD process to provision the target environment and to then deploy the application on it.

    $5,000

    per year

    Pricing
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Basic Tower
    5,000
    per year
    Enterprise Tower
    10,000
    per year
    Premium Tower
    14,000
    per year
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Considered Multiple Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Perforce Software
    Chose Perforce Puppet
    As I mentioned before Ansible is a great tool. There is no question about it. It has very simple syntax (YAML), is very easy to learn, and is scalable as well. But the only thing that Ansible lacked at that time was the actual agent that have to go into each server. Ansible
    Incentivized
    Chose Perforce Puppet
    [Both] products are comparable. There is a good open source community for each, but we found Puppet to be the most mature for our specific use case.
    Incentivized
    Chose Perforce Puppet
    I have not used any other Configuration Management System since cfengine back in about 2007 so I have little current input on alternatives to Puppet having never used them, though Chef seems to have gained some traction as has Ansible.
    Incentivized
    Chose Perforce Puppet
    We evaluated Chef and Ansible. Puppet Data Center Automation was cleaner and we were more familiar with the product.
    Incentivized
    Chose Perforce Puppet
    Puppet has a very wide user base with many organizations tht support it as well as conferences and events. Puppet DSL is based in Ruby while the server is now in Clojure providing ease of configuration with the power of scale. Puppet is a great entry point into the world of …
    Incentivized
    Red Hat
    Chose Ansible
    Puppet has Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform beat on metrics. This isn't a fair comparison due to the agent oriented nature of puppet. Ansible is much smoother to start using and appreciably faster to install, configure and role into small groups of systems. I no longer use …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    it is easier to code and operate with AAP
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    One of these is already included in our license and the other is not. The agent based model makes access management to servers simpler. The agentless model makes things more flexible and secure for large organizations
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Puppet has more features, lower costs, and greater flexibility.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    AAP delivered a more complete solution at all steps of our process across different silos.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    AAP is much easier to use/configure/maintain.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    We were Puppet users. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform made more sense to us because of the focus on Ansible content to support our AIX systems and RHEL systems. We have also seen that the learning curve for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is better than we experienced …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Ansible is much easier to use and configure than Puppet.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    • Push Based Approach
    • Easy to right Code
    • Fast Setup & Upgrade
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    It was much simpler to deploy and use Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform in our enterprise environment. Red Hat has great training to get our users up to speed. YAML is easy to write (although watch out for spacing) and run playbooks. We can easily generate infrastructure …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    My experience with Puppet and Chef is limited, but as a total non-programmer Ansible was just worlds easier for me to implement.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Ansible is much easier than Puppet, more enterprises are switching from Puppet to Ansible due to ease of use. Ansible has integration modules which allow you to transition from Puppet or Chef to Ansible. IT Automation space has a CAGR of 200%+ what are you doing to not get left …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Ansible has unique features in terms of server managing and configuring. It is easy to use and fits the Red Hat Linux well since they are closely related. Our servers are mostly Red Hat, so it makes sense to use Ansible. But we are still exploring which is the best.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Ansible is a great product, which we really love as it is compatible running along side and with other DevOps tool. The integration features allows other teams to participate in our shared objective. Ansible is easy to use as many programmers are familiar with Python and RHEL. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    In the time of integration, we chose Ansible instead of Puppet because it was simpler to use, based on Python and didn't require additional server environments to run. Of course, there are a lot of different alternatives like Chef or Salt Stack.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    Ansible is sufficient for our purposes because our configurations are relatively simple. Chef and Puppet would work better for more complex configurations. Also, our applications are deployed using Docker which simplifies our configuration requirements. An organization with …
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    I haven't used Puppet personally, but I believe Ansible is a robust solution which can serve many purposes. Puppet I'm sure is customizable in similar ways, I just don't have the experience to speak intelligently on the subject.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    I have used Puppet, Chef during my career and Ansible seems to be the most efficient tool by far, in terms of its implementation, configuration and ease of use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Ansible
    All three of these competitors are agent based. I did not want an additional service that needed to run absolutely everywhere. I also did not want to maintain a load balanced cluster of master servers that grows in resource requirements as your infrastructure scales.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    65 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Would buy again
    265 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    60 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    210 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    64 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    263 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    54 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    166 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    56 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    201 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Ansible
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Perforce Puppet
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    Salt
    Score6.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (69 ratings)
    7.0
    (12 ratings)
    8.8
    (292 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.9
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.3
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    7.8
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.3
    (184 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.7
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (5 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Defender for CloudPerforce PuppetAnsible
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    I think it's good for cloud-native companies. A company that, from day zero, they're like, "We're going cloud, and this is how we're going to do it." They get it. It works well for them. Smaller organizations that are under X amount of resources- I don't know what that X might mean- but I feel like it plays well in smaller, more nimble organizations. If you're an older organization or if you're extremely large, it starts becoming a little difficult to manage at scale. And you have to sometimes throw bodies at the problem. Maybe not the most eloquent way of saying it, but that's what it feels like.
    Incentivized
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    Perforce Software
    Puppet is good enough to get the job done, you can use it to automate deployments and maintain files and configurations, if this is all you're looking for it's great. If you're looking for more control over your systems as a whole without having to write your own scripts or install multiple configuration management systems then Puppet is not what you're looking for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    I think it's the best defacto orchestrator for automation because it's so easy to integrate in other tools to it (dynatrace, cyberark, terraform, etc). It is a lot for a new or smaller team to use so I wouldn't recommend it to a new team using Ansible, in that case using Ansible navigator is a better start to understanding playbooks/inventories before diving into the complexity of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. EDA also takes a lot of connectivity between Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and target systems to get working which can be difficult in very locked down envs unless you have approval from many other teams like networking and security.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • It's really well laid out, with an easy-to-use, accessible UI.
    • With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, it has everything you need with the Safelink attachment, the Safelink emails for URL, the way it scans those URLs and attachments within the product, and you're seeing the results. And that adds an extra layer of security for the user, so you feel comfortable knowing the product monitors those. That's something I really like about that product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Perforce Software
    • Provides a clear map of how a system is configured
    • Eases the creation of a system in a specific cluster as it is scripted in code
    • Simplifies configuration changes to a cluster or to every system such as rolling out vhost configurations, updating ldap roles, NFS mounts, etc
    • The syntax is very easy to read and carries a lot of fluidity once the language is learned.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • Standardize controls and visibility for automation.
    • Provide RBAC and Vault for improved automation security and support.
    • Job Scheduling is much more effective than Cron or other home-grown solutions.
    • The Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform API is one of the best features as it makes automation accessible from any other platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Integrations with on-premise workloads can sometimes be challenging. Needs improvement and well standardised integration points
    • Vulnerability categories can be difficult to understand. It should allow teams to focus on critical findings and help them keep aside low-severity or suppressed vulnerabilities
    • Pricing can be improved as it can be over-priced for smaller businesses and would potentially affect their ROI due to the small scale
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Perforce Software
    • The setup of Puppet is a nightmare compared to ansible. Anyone watching a youtube video can easily set up ansible with minimal IT knowledge. All one needs is the source IP addresses and we are good to go. Setting up Puppet is a more hands-on task and pushing the puppet agents to all the boxes is another issue. If the installation and setup were simplified like ansible that would attract a lot of people to this platform
    • The syntax of the code for Puppet is not as easy as ansible. Ansible simply follows a YAML format and it's like typing in normal English. Even complicated tasks can be written by just understanding YAML syntax. Perhaps Puppet needs to revisit the lanugage used and try to come up with a much simpler lanugage for writing code. This will make day-to-day usage easier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • Ansible is still not truly declarative like Terraform.
    • Simple automation is fine, but creating complex, scalable automation scripts is very difficult to learn.
    • For a higher number of nodes, Ansible consumes a lot of resources. It needs the paid version of AAP, which requires a cost.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    It is a great product that integrates nicely when running an Azure platform and even multi-cloud environment. Not looking for point-solutions but a suite that answers most requirements. It is very comfortable being able to use KQL, workbooks and automation that is native to the azure platform
    Read full review
    Perforce Software
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    We are extremely happy with the use of AAP. It's better than expected, There is almost no limit when thinking of automation. The only problem is that the day to day is consuming a big part of our time. Patching and checking vulnerabilities are virtually killing us. But we can only improve with AAP.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    My visibility is limited because I'm only doing very small pieces of what the overall org does. And also, we have limitations on what we're allowed to use. It's not like we get a new product as users or leadership level users, and everything is on, and we can just do whatever we want. We're very restricted in what we can use any tooling within the org because of the different levels of regulatory constraints we have, because of just the nature of who we are inherently. So that's why. I don't think it's necessarily the product. I think it's more or less of what we're able to do with the product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Perforce Software
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    Everything has room for improvement, but Ansible is the best tool out there for what it does and what it can do. There are plenty of features and capabilities that can be added, but it's just a matter of time before it happens.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Perforce Software
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    Great in almost every way compared to any other configuration management software. The only thing I wish for is python3 support. Other than that, YAML is much improved compared to the Ruby of Chef. The agentless nature is incredibly convenient for managing systems quickly, and if a member of your term has no terminal experience whatsoever they can still use the UI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Perforce Software
    Puppet has top class support. You can simply mail them with their query and they will respond to your query in a timely manner. We do have enterprise license for puppet. Also there is a vibrant community for puppet out there. So even if you dont purchase a premium support option you can simply google your queries and get answers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    There is a lot of good documentation that Ansible and Red Hat provide which should help get someone started with making Ansible useful. But once you get to more complicated scenarios, you will benefit from learning from others. I have not used Red Hat support for work with Ansible, but many of the online resources are helpful.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Perforce Software
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    I spoke on this topic today!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    I believe Microsoft Defender for Cloud stacks up well against the other tools we looked at. It is native to the Azure platform and provides the same insights as the other tools. We selected Microsoft Defender for Cloud because it integrates well with the Azure resources and gives the needed insight, security alerts and recommendations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Perforce Software
    HPSA is a licensed product and incurs significant upfront investment costs due to COTS licensing. Puppet Data Center Automation has a significantly lower upfront investment and product documentation is more readily available. Chef is a very similar offering, however, at the time our decision was considered, the adoption of Chef vs. Puppet was significantly less in the community.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    AAP compares favorably with Terraform and Power Automate. I don't have much experience with Terraform, but I find AAP and Ansible easier to use as well as having more capabilities. Power Platform is also an excellent automation tool that is user friendly but I feel that Ansible has more compatibility with a variety of technologies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations can prevent costly fines and legal issues, positively impacting ROI.
    • Effective cloud resource protection can optimize cloud spending and resource utilization, ultimately reducing cloud infrastructure costs.
    • The subscription costs associated with Defender for Cloud can add to an organization's operational expenses, impacting ROI.
    • Smaller organizations may find the feature set and complexity of Defender for Cloud unnecessary, potentially overinvesting in security solutions.
    Incentivized
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    Perforce Software
    • Cut deployment times down to around 1 hour from 4-5 hours.
    • Allows us to get a fully running system up from scratch in around 30 minutes.
    • Allows for a more clear view of what is required to get a host running.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • First, it keeps our entire server infrastructure aligned with our standards and reduces the time and effort needed to maintain our systems.
    • Automate routine IT tasks to save time, reduce errors, and ensure every server is configured and updated consistently.
    • Tasks that used to take our teams weeks to complete manually now run automatically and reliably, with full visibility, making our infrastructure management more effective and our compliance tracking much easier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Remediation of critical issues in codeScreenshot of Cloud security benchmark mapped to industry FramworksScreenshot of Prioritization of critical risks with contextual threat analysisScreenshot of Workload protectionScreenshot of Unified DevOps VisibilityScreenshot of Visualizations to improve security posture proactively