Akamai App and API Protector vs Symantec Data Center Security comparison

Akamai and Broadcom are both solutions in the Cloud and Data Center Security category. Akamai is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.0, while Broadcom is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. Akamai holds a 1.9% mindshare in CDCS, compared to Broadcom’s 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Akamai App and API Protector

Read 29 Akamai App and API Protector reviews

7,604 Views
532 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Symantec Data Center Security

Read 12 Symantec Data Center Security reviews

1,870 Views
1,178 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Akamai App and API Protector

Symantec Data Center Security

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 14, 2024

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Symantec Data Center Security and Akamai App and API Protector are in the security solutions market, focusing on data protection and application security. Symantec has an edge in data protection and cost-effectiveness, while Akamai is preferred for its robust features and performance.

Features: Symantec Data Center Security offers comprehensive data protection with endpoint security, policy compliance, and file integrity monitoring. Akamai App and API Protector provides application and API security with advanced threat defenses, DDoS protection, and scalable cloud deployment.

Room for Improvement: Symantec could enhance its application security, improve threat detection for cloud environments, and update its scalability for contemporary needs. Akamai might improve its pricing model, refine endpoint protection, and enhance policy compliance capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec offers straightforward deployment and solid support services. Akamai features flexible cloud-based deployment, backed by reliable customer support aiding seamless transitions.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec is typically more cost-effective with lower initial costs, providing stable ROI. Akamai, despite a higher upfront investment, offers excellent ROI through continuous security advancements, making it a worthwhile investment for application and API security.

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To learn more, read our detailed Akamai App and API Protector vs. Symantec Data Center Security Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Akamai App and API Protector vs. Symantec Data Center Security

August 2026

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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

Akamai App and API Protector

Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security

15th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Application Firewall (WAF) (23rd), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (10th)

Symantec Data Center Security

Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security

11th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Akamai App and API Protector is 1.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Data Center Security is 3.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud and Data Center Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Symantec Data Center Security	3.3%
Akamai App and API Protector	1.9%
Other	94.8%

Cloud and Data Center Security

Featured Reviews

Gavin Pinho

Privacy & Risk Management Vice President, Information Security at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

Has provided strong protection against evolving threats but still needs support for configuration fine-tuning

The standout features of Akamai App and API Protector are rooted in it being the Web Application Firewall, where all traffic gets scanned, including the implementation of web firewall rules, and after this phase, traffic proceeds through the BMP, which is Bot Management. Akamai App and API Protector exceeds expectations in terms of AI capabilities, and it genuinely combines a plethora of advanced features. The area in which Akamai excels compared to other competitors with a WAF is in threat intelligence, as threats continually evolve, requiring ongoing updates to backend algorithms to effectively capture smart bots, and Akamai's commitment in that regard is backed by an excellent team, while other providers are still catching up.

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Muhammad Ejaz ul Hassan

CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Continuous server hardening has protected critical legacy workloads and simplified security control

Symantec is lagging on the reporting side. I have been working for 10 years and I have identified many gray areas. As a user protecting your infrastructure, you need to sell the value to your management. Management buys the tool for preventing threats, and it works for them. However, you cannot sell it because every solution needs to show what happened in the last few years or how you will be protected in the future. Reporting is the most important thing for the CIO level, not the admin level. I have seen Symantec really lag in this area. I am creating my own tool to build a dashboard to share with the CIO level because they want to know what happened last week, last month, and last year. These reports will tell you about activities. Symantec changed the licensing when Broadcom acquired the company. The question of who will provide support became unclear. Support has now changed and they are making money. I have seen that most of the time when you ask implementation questions, they do not answer you. If you have a problem, they give you a low-level engineer at the first level. This delays resolution. Support has to be better.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Akamai App and API Protector exceeds expectations in terms of AI capabilities, and it genuinely combines a plethora of advanced features."

"It gives us a report of traffic. It gives us a report of the day-to-day URL traffic, and it also gives an individual report. If we reach out to Akamai, they give us the IPs as well."

"Adaptive stream delivery and WAF protection are valuable."

"The CDN and the WAF features are the best in this solution."

"Akamai Web Application Protector is a good solution that provides basic web application protection."

"The dashboard is the most interesting feature of the Akamai portal where you can have a detailed analysis of all the attacks that are happening. You can drill down an issue and see exactly what is happening, who are the bad guys attacking your website, and how Akamai is protecting the website. That is the most valuable feature."

"It's a very good solution."

"Akamai is a very reliable provider and a very safe bet that will suit most environments' needs."

More Akamai App and API Protector pros

"Overall, this is a pretty good product."

"The monitoring in the management console allows us to find out what is going wrong, and it gets reports even before the user reports it."

"The ability to finely control permissions and restrictions on servers or assets through a customizable rule set is a key strength."

"Good file integrity monitoring features."

"The most valuable feature is the endpoint protection system."

"We use the product to prevent unauthorized access to data, systems, and servers. It provides essential features for data center security."

"The most valuable feature is the centralized console, which can handle different products that we have."

"Symantec Data Center Security, as a name, represents the perfect solution if you want to harden your servers."

More Symantec Data Center Security pros

Cons

"The product should provide a secure NTP."

"One area where Akamai can improve is the captcha part. Cloudflare provides a captcha if there are a certain number of threats. For example, I can assign that if there are 10 requests within a second from a single IP, it should send a captcha to the user. The user should fill in the captcha, and only after that, the user should be able to access our website. This captcha feature should be built into Bot Manager. I love this captcha feature of Cloudflare."

"The performance of the cloud monitoring tool is low."

"The interface is a little bit clunky and can be improved."

"They should allow for multiple security configurations in one account which will enhance the scalability."

"We are experimenting with EdgeWorkers to write our own code at the Edge level. It could grow to be much better."

"One thing I asked them is to integrate the API discovery product that they have and push that data into Akamai App and API Protector so that we do not have two types of reviews to identify the type of traffic. We already know the APIs that are frequently getting used, so analysis becomes easier. We can integrate both products and use them."

"It would be nice if Akamai Web Application Protector's price is lowered and made cheaper."

More Akamai App and API Protector cons

"There is room for improvement in enhancing its graphical user interface for a more user-friendly experience."

"This solution clashes with Microsoft defender, which results in performance degradation on the machine."

"Could have better reporting capabilities and better support."

"Agent management is a challenging task."

"Adding more compatibility with common products like Microsoft would be a plus."

"The product blocks certain processes, even after allowlisting them."

"It would be advantageous if Symantec or Broadcom, given the rebranding, could simplify the process, enabling users to leverage the antivirus functionality more easily."

"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."

More Symantec Data Center Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not expensive."

"There is no license at all for Akamai. They are going to charge us only for the usage."

"Akamai is very expensive."

"Its price is at the medium level. It is not very high. It is also not very low. It serves the purpose."

"Price-wise, I would say Akamai's pricing is competitive."

"The product’s price is high."

"Cost depends on the volume of traffic."

"The solution is expensive."

More Akamai App and API Protector pricing and cost advice

"It is notably more expensive when compared to other solutions."

"Compared to some other solutions, such as CrowdStrike, Symantec is more expensive."

"The product is a bit costly."

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Comms Service Provider

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

18%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Akamai Web Application Protector?

There are no significant areas for improvement on the WAF side or for Akamai App and API Protector solution; they are comprehensive in their current state.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Akamai Web Application Protector?

The main use case for Akamai App and API Protector is serving as the WAF, Web Application Firewall.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Akamai Web Application Protector?

The primary way Akamai App and API Protector helps manage evolving cyber threats is by considering the impact on revenue, with businesses evaluating if Akamai is worth the cost based on potential l...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?

As a partner support, we handle all Symantec products for various clients. Currently, we work with DLP, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Data Loss Prevention, Data Center Security, Email Security, and...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Data Center Security?

I am still a Symantec partner. Price rating is five out of ten. Symantec Data Center Security is a perfect solution, but it needs to elaborate its functionalities and functions to the market. Peopl...

See all answers

Comparisons

AWS Shield vs Akamai App and API Protector

Compared 9% of the time

AWS WAF vs Akamai App and API Protector

Compared 5% of the time

Radware DDoS vs Akamai App and API Protector

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Akamai App and API Protector

Compared 4% of the time

Corero vs Akamai App and API Protector

Compared 4% of the time

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TrendAI Deep Security vs Symantec Data Center Security

Compared 19% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Symantec Data Center Security

Compared 15% of the time

VMware NSX vs Symantec Data Center Security

Compared 14% of the time

Sysdig Secure vs Symantec Data Center Security

Compared 11% of the time

Trellix MOVE AntiVirus vs Symantec Data Center Security

Compared 8% of the time

More Symantec Data Center Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Akamai App and API Protector

August 2026

Download Akamai App and API Protector product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Data Center Security

July 2026

Download Symantec Data Center Security product report

Also Known As

Akamai Web Application Protector, Akamai Kona Site Defender, Akamai Kona DDoS Defender

No data available

Overview

Akamai App and API Protector provides website security by preventing DDoS attacks, acting as an application firewall, managing content delivery, and monitoring APIs. It adapts to threat profiles and is used for fast media delivery and identifying malicious activities.

Akamai App and API Protector offers strong protection, adaptable security features, and efficient traffic management. Its WAF blocks IP addresses and country-specific threats while preventing SQL injections. Companies utilize it for scalable CDN services and comprehensive traffic analysis. Known for its cost-effectiveness and user-friendly dashboard, this protector stands out for its customizable rules and technical support. Users also highlight the ease of integration and detailed attack insights available through its advanced dashboard.

What are the key features of Akamai App and API Protector?

DDoS Protection: Strong defense against Distributed Denial of Service attacks.
Scalable CDN: Manages content delivery efficiently under high traffic loads.
WAF Capabilities: Blocks specific IPs and countries, prevents SQL injections.
Traffic Filtering: Analyzes and controls incoming requests to maintain security.
Adaptive Stream Delivery: Adjusts content delivery to meet bandwidth needs.

What benefits should users expect?

Cost-Effectiveness: Provides robust security tools at a competitive price.
Enhanced Security: Comprehensive protection against cyber threats.
Scalability: Easily handles increasing traffic and data loads.
Ease of Integration: Simple integration with existing systems.
Insightful Analytics: Offers data-driven insights into traffic and attack patterns.

In media, Akamai App and API Protector ensures smooth streaming by handling high bandwidth demands. E-commerce companies use it to guard against fraud and data breaches. Financial sectors rely on its ability to protect sensitive transactions. Implementations in healthcare focus on safeguarding patient data while maintaining compliance with regulations.

Akamai

Symantec Data Center Security provides comprehensive server protection with features like hard disk protection, file integrity monitoring, and centralized management, making it suitable for securing legacy systems and preventing unauthorized access.

Focusing on server integrity and data protection, Symantec Data Center Security delivers robust intrusion prevention, system lockdown, and specific control over server access. With a customizable rule set, it enhances server hardening by fine-tuning access controls without relying on IPS signature detection. While offering significant advantages for managing legacy infrastructure, it also requires improvements in platform metrics, compatibility, speed, and integration with third-party products. Users face challenges with false positives, policy complexity, and compatibility issues, particularly regarding Microsoft and virtualization improvements.

What Key Features Does Symantec Data Center Security Offer?

Built-in Hard Disk Protection: Safeguards data through advanced protection measures.
Centralized Console: Manages diverse product lines from a single interface.
File Integrity Monitoring: Ensures data integrity by tracking changes to files.
Efficient Endpoint Protection: Provides strong defense against endpoint threats.
Robust Intrusion Prevention: Prevents unauthorized access with advanced threat detection.

What Benefits Should Users Consider?

Enhanced Security: Offers comprehensive protection for critical data.
Customizable Rule Set: Provides flexibility to adjust security policies to specific needs.
Centralized Management: Simplifies operations and improves efficiency.
Improved Server Management: Enhances control over server access and permissions.
Comprehensive Integration: Complements other security components like antivirus and anti-malware.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and technology, Symantec Data Center Security is implemented to protect server integrity particularly in environments using Docker containers and legacy systems. It supports remote operations, enforces stringent access policies, and locks down systems while offering valuable audit capabilities for code changes, especially on Linux.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Douglas Omaha Technology Commission, ZALORA, PrintPlanet

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Akamai App and API Protector vs. Symantec Data Center Security

August 2026

Free Report: Akamai App and API Protector vs. Symantec Data Center Security

Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai App and API Protector vs. Symantec Data Center Security and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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