AWS Systems Manager State Manager vs OpenText Server Automation

AWS Systems Manager State Manager9.1Visit OSOpenText Server Automation8.8Visit

Higher score AWS Systems Manager State Manager #2 in Configuration Management Tools 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit AWS

vs

OS OpenText Server Automation #4 in Configuration Management Tools 8.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit OpenText

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager fits best

  AWS-heavy teams wanting free managed-state control

• OpenText Server Automation fits best

  Large operations needing provisioning and remediation

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Side by side

Feature	AWS Systems Manager State Manager 9.1/10 Visit ↗	OSOpenText Server Automation 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.8
Ranking	#2 in Configuration Management Tools	#4 in Configuration Management Tools
Best for	AWS-heavy teams wanting free managed-state control	Large operations needing provisioning and remediation
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Support	Docs	Email, Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations	8 integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Enterprise
Features AWS Systems Manager State Manager 4/4 · OpenText Server Automation 4/4
Drift detection	✓	✓
Patch management	✓	✓
Policy as code	✓	✓
Compliance reporting	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Cloud	Self_hosted
Agent model	Agent_based	Both
Supported platforms	Linux, macOS on Amazon EC2, Windows Server	Windows Server, Windows, Linux, UNIX, AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Debian, Oracle Linux, VMware ESXi
Our review
Pros	Free State Manager service with scheduled desired-state associations Targets AWS, on-premises, virtual, and edge systems Includes drift management, patching, and compliance reporting	Provisioning, configuration, patching, compliance, and remediation in one product Manages Windows, Linux, and UNIX across physical and cloud environments Discovers unmanaged agentless servers and supports agent deployment
Cons	Its scope is centered on AWS and Systems Manager Associated AWS resources may incur separate charges Configuration work is organized around associations and documents	Pricing uses a contact-sales model rather than published plan details The listed integration ecosystem centers on OpenText, Ansible, and Chef The product is available through a web platform rather than native desktop apps
Our verdict	AWS Systems Manager State Manager is a cloud configuration management service for AWS customers. It uses associations and Systems Manager documents to define desired configurations and repeatedly apply them to managed nodes and other AWS… Read the review →	OpenText Server Automation is built for enterprise teams managing server lifecycles across heterogeneous environments. It covers operating-system provisioning for bare-metal and virtual servers, centralized configuration management,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager — where it wins

  • Free State Manager service with scheduled desired-state associations
  • Targets AWS, on-premises, virtual, and edge systems
  • Includes drift management, patching, and compliance reporting

  Where it doesn't

  • Its scope is centered on AWS and Systems Manager
  • Associated AWS resources may incur separate charges
  • Configuration work is organized around associations and documents

• OpenText Server Automation — where it wins

  • Provisioning, configuration, patching, compliance, and remediation in one product
  • Manages Windows, Linux, and UNIX across physical and cloud environments
  • Discovers unmanaged agentless servers and supports agent deployment

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing uses a contact-sales model rather than published plan details
  • The listed integration ecosystem centers on OpenText, Ansible, and Chef
  • The product is available through a web platform rather than native desktop apps

• AWS Systems Manager State Manager9.1/10 · Free plan

  A free AWS service for scheduled configuration, drift management, patching, and compliance reporting.

  Visit AWSFull verdict →
• OSOpenText Server Automation8.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A broad platform for provisioning, patching, compliance, and remediation across heterogeneous servers.

  Visit OpenTextFull verdict →