Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance vs GroundWork Monitor comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cisco and GroundWork are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.0, while GroundWork is ranked #100. Cisco holds a 0.8% mindshare in NMS, compared to GroundWork’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of GroundWork users who would recommend it.

Cisco Provider Connectivity...

Read 24 Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance reviews

6,239 Views
3,556 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

GroundWork Monitor

Read 1 GroundWork Monitor review

2,416 Views
1,425 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Provider Connectivity...

GroundWork Monitor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance and GroundWork Monitor based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, SolarWinds, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Monitoring Software Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2026

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Helped 914,351 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Provider Connectivity...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

47th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (41st)

GroundWork Monitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

100th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (75th), IT Operations Analytics (22nd), Cloud Monitoring Software (52nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GroundWork Monitor is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance	0.8%
GroundWork Monitor	0.4%
Other	98.8%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Pifu Lin

Senior System Engineer at DYNASAFE TECHNOLOGIES PTE. LTD.

Addresses connectivity issues with real-time monitoring while offering good local support

I had prepared for COC and the client. I work as a vendor for a client using Flow Mount for network performance monitoring. I focus on resolving client-side issues related to Packy Performance and quality use. This involves addressing network device issues, specifically Cisco network devices One…

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it_user186582

Sr PC/Client Server Analyst II at a individual & family service with 10,001+ employees

It's easy to setup and the plugins are easy to write. When we need to, the threshold is easy to change.

It's easy to setup and the plugins are easy to write. When we need to, the threshold is easy to change It would be nice to have a centralized client-settings management. At the moment, the client settings have to be changed individually. I've used it since 2011. The deployment of the new server…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"If [the problem] is something related to HTTP or VoIP, then I can have a quick look into the protocols, a process which gives me some good ideas..."

"The pricing of Accedian Skylight is really good; the sensors are low cost, their licensing model lets clients start small and grow as they need without being forced into expensive appliances or subscription models, and that is one of the things that we really like about offering it to our clients because they are not left out getting the right sort of information straightaway."

"Ease of use; can literally diagnose an issue in about four clicks."

"It is not that expensive of a solution and produces tremendous value."

"Capturing traffic [is very interesting]. Currently, with our configuration, we don't capture the payload of the packets, just the header. But when we want the body, the payload of the packets, we can do a PCAP, and then analyze it within Wireshark."

"It has clearly saved us money."

"It is about finding operational problems. When sites go down, we try to determine who is at fault. While there is not much finger-pointing, the solution is just trying to analyse when there is an outage and where do we start looking to fix it. The very nature of why organization chooses to use the solution is to accelerate the meantime to resolution and find where problems lie to get them rectified as quickly as possible."

"When a remote contact complains about a slow application, we can immediately pinpoint the cause of concern."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance pros

"It's easy to setup and the plugins are easy to write."

Cons

"The UI interface of Accedian Skylight could improve."

"A lower price and more flexible versions will help the product."

"Pricing is a little bit expensive."

"If you want a new version, you go to the website. The hardest part is finding the link, where is that .bin file? Sometimes it's pretty hidden in a document... it's hidden in the release notes or in another file somewhere. And it's usually not on the first page either."

"We have encountered problems with the license that is connected to the hypervisor on which the virtual appliance is deployed."

"Embed a warning system to a mailbox when it exceeds the threshold for use of bandwidth over a given period of time."

"Combination with Avaya switches pose some problems."

"It needs the possibility to export data because it is not easy to see larger data sets, e.g., for one month. It would be interesting to export data into a PDF or dashboard to keep a history of the situation."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance cons

"Deploying an agent leaves much to be desired."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Accedian Skylight is really good. The sensors are low cost. Their model to analytics for sensors is by license, endpoint, or session. With the probes for their analytics, if they get deployed virtually, they are free. The licensing is only based on flows. So, you can effectively deploy probes everywhere in your network. Then, if you want to look at a specific type of traffic, you can enter into it with a very low cost license. You can just use things like spam ports, mirrors, TAPs, and aggregators to optimize what sort of traffic you send to these analysis tools. Then, if you want to start looking at more, you can up your licensed as you go. You are not getting forced into expensive appliances or subscription models."

"It provides value and the cost is not huge."

"Pricing is a little bit expensive."

"The price is competitive overall, depending on the type of customer."

"If you look into Riverbed, it's a licensing nightmare. You need to pay for every type of analysis... If you don't look into licensing, Riverbed and SolarWinds are pretty comparable. But if you look into licensing it would not be smart to go for either of them. On the pure, bare-metal basis, it's the same. But when you get the bare metal and a few basic licenses, then you need all those other licenses just to be sure that there's no issue... One of the great things about Skylight is you have them all, and you actually need them all."

"The pricing is cheaper than other competing products, which is better for our budgets."

"It's not for free, clearly. But on the other hand, it offers very interesting functionality. We pay around €100,000."

"The solution was previously well-regarded, but after being acquired by Accedian, the prices have significantly increased. This has made it challenging to sell the product due to its high cost. It is an expensive solution."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

14%

Construction Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

29%

Financial Services Firm

20%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	9

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Accedian Skylight?

Human resource costs can be high when dealing with connection issues. I require more tools to file and resolve these issues efficiently.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Accedian Skylight?

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Accedian Skylight?

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

See all answers

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Earn 20 points

Comparisons

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Compared 4% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 3% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance Competitors

Nagios XI vs GroundWork Monitor

Compared 14% of the time

Zabbix vs GroundWork Monitor

Compared 11% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs GroundWork Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

New Relic vs GroundWork Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

NetApp Data Infrastructure Insights vs GroundWork Monitor

Compared 6% of the time

More GroundWork Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

September 2026

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance report

Download Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2026

Download GroundWork Monitor product report

Also Known As

Accedian Skylight, Accedian SkyLIGHT PVX, SkyLIGHT PVX, SecurActive, Performance Vision

GWOS

Overview

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance is known for its user-friendly approach to network analysis and performance monitoring. It excels in real-time diagnostics, helping organizations quickly resolve network issues and optimize performance effortlessly.

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance focuses on comprehensive network troubleshooting and performance monitoring, assisting in identifying bottlenecks and analyzing applications. Real-time data collection and evaluation ensure IT infrastructure efficiency. With active monitoring of latency, jitter, and throughput, users maintain smooth operations across multiple sites and applications. While highly effective, improvements in data handling, protocol support, and dashboard aesthetics are suggested to enhance user experience.

What are the key features of Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance?

Flow Matrices: Advanced analysis of network paths and traffic distribution.
SQL and DNS Analysis: In-depth insights into database and domain queries for troubleshooting.
Bandwidth Assessment: Evaluation of network capacity and utilization for performance optimization.
Real-time TWAMP Monitoring: Tracks network performance using Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol.
Application Performance Modules: Monitors the performance of various applications and services.
Customizable Dashboards: Personalized views for tracking critical network metrics and trends.
PCAP Capturing: Detailed packet analysis using tools like Wireshark for deeper insights.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Ease of Use: Intuitive design allowing users to swiftly diagnose network issues.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Enhanced visibility of network activity for better control.
Performance Efficiency: Optimization of throughput, reducing downtimes and improving service delivery.
Cost-Effectiveness: Balances features and functionality with competitive pricing for better ROI.

In industries such as telecommunications and finance, where network reliability is crucial, Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance offers critical network performance insights. It supports high-demand environments by providing data-driven decisions, ensuring infrastructures handle increased loads efficiently.

Cisco

GroundWork Monitor streamlines IT infrastructure management with its comprehensive monitoring tools, enhancing efficiency and ensuring system reliability. Designed for professionals, it offers robust insights and simplifies complex environments.

GroundWork Monitor offers a flexible, scalable solution adept at monitoring hybrid IT environments. It effectively combines performance tracking, availability data, and comprehensive reporting to address intricate network infrastructures. Its integration capabilities support seamless operation with existing systems, contributing to optimized IT performance.

What are the key features of GroundWork Monitor?

Hybrid Monitoring: Supports both physical and virtual environments for comprehensive oversight.
Integration: Easily integrates with existing IT systems, supporting diverse technology stacks.
Customizable Dashboards: Provides customizable visuals for a personalized monitoring experience.
Advanced Analytics: Offers deep insights with detailed analytics and reporting functionality.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlines IT operations, leading to enhanced productivity.
Cost Reduction: Reduces downtime and maintenance costs through proactive monitoring.
Scalability: Supports organizational growth with flexible scaling options.
Enhanced Reliability: Minimizes operational risks by providing reliable infrastructure insights.

GroundWork Monitor is utilized across industries such as finance, healthcare, and telecommunications, where it supports critical operations through continuous monitoring. Its ability to adapt to sector-specific requirements makes it suitable for managing complex IT landscapes in specialized fields.

GroundWork

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Thomson Reuters, Bordeaux Metropole, CGI, Citadelle Regional Hospital Center, Lorraine Institute of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Groupe BPCE, Group S, Splitpoint, Horus-Net, Audatex, Indexis, Province de Liège, EASI, Spie Batignolles, Faymonville

Swiss Life, JBFCS, Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2026

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