Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

strongDM VS AWS Config

Compare strongDM VS AWS Config and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

strongDM logo strongDM

Trust strongDM to manage an engineers access to everything

AWS Config logo AWS Config

Cloud Monitoring
  • strongDM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-03
  • AWS Config Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-03

strongDM features and specs

  • Unified Access Management
    StrongDM provides a single platform to manage access across databases, servers, clusters, and more, simplifying the administrative burden of handling multiple access controls.
  • Enhanced Security
    The tool employs robust security measures including end-to-end encryption and detailed audit logs which help in tracking all user activities and preventing unauthorized access.
  • Ease of Use
    With its intuitive user interface and straightforward setup process, StrongDM is user-friendly, allowing for rapid deployment and minimal training for new users.
  • Scalability
    StrongDM can easily scale with your organization as it grows, making it suitable for both small teams and large enterprises.
  • Granular Controls
    The platform allows for fine-grained permission settings, enabling administrators to specify exactly who can access what and under what conditions.
  • Integration Capabilities
    StrongDM integrates well with a variety of existing tools and systems, such as Single Sign-On (SSO) providers, making it easier to fit into existing workflows.

Possible disadvantages of strongDM

  • Cost
    StrongDM can be expensive, particularly for smaller organizations or startups with limited budgets, due to its premium pricing model.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic setup is straightforward, mastering all the advanced features and capabilities might require a steeper learning curve.
  • Potential Overhead
    The additional layer of access management might introduce some operational overhead, particularly in very small environments where simpler solutions could suffice.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on StrongDM for access management can create dependencies, making it challenging to switch to another provider in the future.
  • Performance Overhead
    In some cases, the added layer of security and auditing might introduce a slight performance overhead, affecting access speeds minimally.

AWS Config features and specs

  • Continuous Monitoring
    AWS Config provides continuous monitoring of AWS resources, allowing users to track changes and ensure resources remain compliant with company policies and regulations.
  • Resource Inventory
    It maintains a comprehensive inventory of resources, providing detailed historical and current configuration information to help manage AWS resources effectively.
  • Security and Compliance
    AWS Config enables security and compliance auditing by recording and evaluating configurations against desired settings and standards, facilitating swift remediation of non-compliant resources.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    Easily integrates with other AWS services such as AWS Lambda, AWS CloudTrail, and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to enhance monitoring, automation, and security.
  • Automated Evaluation
    AWS Config Rules can be used to automatically evaluate AWS resource configurations, ensuring they meet specific compliance requirements and taking corrective actions if needed.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Config

  • Cost
    AWS Config can become expensive as it records configuration changes and evaluates a large number of resources, especially in dynamic environments with many changes.
  • Complexity
    Setting up and managing AWS Config can be complex, requiring a good understanding of AWS services, IAM permissions, and compliance requirements.
  • Performance Impact
    In some cases, the continuous monitoring and recording of configuration changes might impact the performance of AWS environments, particularly in large-scale systems.
  • Limited to AWS Environment
    AWS Config is designed specifically for AWS resources and environments, which might limit its usability for organizations that rely on multi-cloud strategies or hybrid environments.

Analysis of strongDM

Overall verdict

  • StrongDM is generally considered a good solution for organizations seeking to enhance their infrastructure access management. Its focus on security, compliance, and usability makes it a strong choice for teams that need to manage complex access permissions across various environments while maintaining a strong security posture.

Why this product is good

  • StrongDM is known for its secure and user-friendly access management solutions for databases, servers, and Kubernetes clusters. It simplifies the management of user access by integrating single sign-on, logging all activity, and allowing for granular access controls, which enhances security and compliance. Additionally, it streamlines DevOps workflows by providing seamless access to infrastructure without requiring VPNs or complex configurations.

Recommended for

  • DevOps teams seeking efficient access management
  • Organizations with stringent compliance requirements
  • Companies aiming to improve auditing and security of infrastructure access
  • Enterprises managing user access to a range of databases, servers, and cloud services

strongDM videos

Introducing strongDM (2020)

AWS Config videos

AWS Config Tutorial

More videos:

  • Review - Manage and Track Application and Infrastructure Configuration Changes using AWS Config
  • Review - AWS Config Introduction

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to strongDM and AWS Config)
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Infrastructure
0 0%
100% 100
Governance, Risk And Compliance
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Config seems to be a lot more popular than strongDM. While we know about 22 links to AWS Config, we've tracked only 2 mentions of strongDM. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

strongDM mentions (2)

  • Simple SSH Security
    I would also recommend checking out strongDM (I work there). We go a lot further than teleport does in the zero trust world. https://strongdm.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • I Read the Entire Cybersecurity Executive Order Here's What You Need to Know
    I wonder what governments will be using for zero trust architecture? There are a number of companies competing in this space, one is strongDM [1] who I currently work for. I am curious if they are planning to work with existing companies in this space, or pay billions of dollars to build custom software to do this. [1] https://strongdm.com. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago

AWS Config mentions (22)

  • AWS Config vs Kubernetes Native Policy Engines: Who Governs What?
    AWS Config is a service that continuously monitors and records AWS resource configurations and evaluates them against desired states. Think of it as a compliance engine: it tracks configuration changes and helps you answer questions like: - Are my EKS clusters configured securely? - Are ECS tasks using only approved IAM roles? - Is anything exposed to the public internet unintentionally? - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • AWS Config: Automate Your Cloud Compliance and Security
    Ref: What is AWS config Credits to aws for the cover page image I used. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • 🚀🚀Setting Up AWS Firewall Manager Used For Auditing Security Groups in AWS Organization accounts.
    Ii) AWS Config must be enabled in all member accounts (Firewall Manager relies on AWS Config for resource visibility). - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • What is Configuration Drift?
    Cloud providers offer services to detect, manage, and remediate configuration drift in their environments. Because cloud environments often become large and complex, services such as AWS Config, Azure Policy, and Workload Manager Evaluation can help continuously monitor and evaluate cloud resources and their configurations according to rules. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Scanning AWS S3 Buckets for Security Vulnerabilities
    Regularly audit and monitor your S3 bucket configurations: Establish a routine for auditing and monitoring your S3 bucket configurations. You can also set up alerts for any changes to permissions or policies, enabling timely detection and response to potential security incidents. Additionally, you can utilize tools and services such as AWS Config, which helps you assess, audit, and evaluate the configuration of... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing strongDM and AWS Config, you can also consider the following products

AuditBoard - AuditBoard is a platform that offers compliance and audit management that allows auditors to analyze, manage, and report the business operations.

Amazon CloudWatch - Amazon CloudWatch is a monitoring service for AWS cloud resources and the applications you run on AWS.

SAI360 - GRC Platforms

Steampipe - Steampipe: select * from cloud; The extensible SQL interface to your favorite cloud APIs select * from AWS, Azure, GCP, Github, Slack etc.

Fastpath Assure - Fastpath Assure is a cloud GRC platform that integrates with various ERP systems

CloudQuery - CloudQuery enables you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configurations of your cloud assets.