AlienVault OSSIM vs NetWitness Platform comparison

AT&T and NetWitness are both solutions in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category. AT&T is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.4, while NetWitness is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.3. AT&T holds a 2.6% mindshare in SIEM, compared to NetWitness’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of AT&T users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of NetWitness users who would recommend it.

AlienVault OSSIM

Read 31 AlienVault OSSIM reviews

4,632 Views
4,539 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

NetWitness Platform

Read 37 NetWitness Platform reviews

1,507 Views
980 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

AlienVault OSSIM

NetWitness Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

NetWitness Platform and AlienVault OSSIM are reputable cybersecurity solutions known for their advanced threat detection capabilities. While users prefer AlienVault OSSIM's support and pricing, NetWitness Platform's comprehensive features justify its cost.

Features: NetWitness Platform offers deep packet inspection, threat intelligence, and more advanced extensive features. AlienVault OSSIM is recognized for its simplicity and integration capabilities, making it user-friendly.

Room for Improvement: NetWitness needs better scalability and third-party tool integration. AlienVault OSSIM requires enhanced documentation and more frequent updates, focusing on support improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetWitness Platform's deployment is complex but supported by strong customer service. AlienVault OSSIM provides a straightforward deployment process with reliable customer support.

Pricing and ROI: NetWitness Platform has higher setup costs but offers significant ROI through its enhanced capabilities. AlienVault OSSIM offers competitive pricing and reasonable ROI, being more cost-effective upfront.

To learn more, read our detailed AlienVault OSSIM vs. NetWitness Platform Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM vs. NetWitness Platform

September 2025

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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

AlienVault OSSIM

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

12th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetWitness Platform

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

30th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Log Management (33rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of AlienVault OSSIM is 2.6%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetWitness Platform is 0.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
AlienVault OSSIM	2.6%
NetWitness Platform	0.6%
Other	96.8%

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Featured Reviews

HarshBhardiya

SOC Engineer at Just Dial Limited

An open-source solution that provide good detection and more visibility

The solution is not scalable. It impacts so hard. In the initial stages, AlienVault OSSIM can be suitable for small environments. There may be limitations if the customer expresses a desire to expand and add more devices. In such cases, we would need to either explore additional solutions or work within the constraints of the existing setup. We have set up alerts and configured everything in AlienVault OSSIM. It actively monitors for any security incidents. It provides us with regular updates and notifications about any ongoing activities. Only one person is using the solution. It is the perfect solution for small businesses. I rate the solution’s scalability a three out of ten.

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MOTASHIM Al Razi

CISO at One Bank Limited

It is a stable solution, but they should make the user interface easier to understand

The solution's initial setup takes work. We have to organize multiple paths and many features. The deployment process takes less than a week. But it takes a month to complete if we want to make the solution smarter by integrating it with various devices. I rate the process as a six out of ten.

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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

"The most valuable features of this solution are the data correlation and vulnerability assessment."

"The most valuable feature is the logging capability."

"The most valuable features of AlienVault OSSIM are vulnerability assessment, network intrusion detection system, response to critical events, and awareness of the whole network."

"AlienVault OSSIM is an enterprise solution that sells easily. It is rated highly by organizations."

"You can customize the dashboards as well as the reporting."

"With AlienVault you get everything in one box."

"The solution is very stable. Compared to Qradar and Splunk, it's very stable."

"The threat policies of the solution are always very advanced and the best in the market. They are very persistent in terms of keeping up with security protocols."

More AlienVault OSSIM pros

"I can have enterprise security, email security, next generation firewall security log, HIDS and NIDS logs, etc. all on the same dashboard. It makes it easy to pinpoint or correlate our server to this. I can find out if there is lateral movement. This is the biggest advantage of this solution."

"The solution is really scalable for the high-end power, enterprise customer."

"Offers a good wireless feature."

"The development of use cases on the SSA console is quite user friendly. This means that the security analyst or the researcher does not have to learn another language."

"The most valuable features are the threat prediction and network forensics."

"Alerting Module: It provides real-time event processing language on all the logs/packets stream for advanced alerting, i.e., using SQL LIKE statements."

"The packet capture aspect of it is a valuable feature because it is quite different from a traditional SIEM solution that only carries out investigations based on captured logs."

"The most valuable feature is that we can create our own connectors for any application, and NetWitness provides the training and tools to do it."

More NetWitness Platform pros

Cons

"I would like the solution to be able to integrate with my firewall, my IDS and my Honeypot solutions so that it can provide real-time reporting as things occur and then have alert sent to me on my phone when suspicious activity is happening."

"There are somewhat more false positives with the user behavior analytics, which could benefit from an additional machine learning model to detect user patterns more rapidly."

"They can add more compliance templates."

"The price of this solution is very high and it could be cheaper."

"The solution is not scalable."

"The solution needs more integration with cyber intelligence systems."

"There are somewhat more false positives with the user behavior analytics, which could benefit from an additional machine learning model to detect user patterns more rapidly."

"AlienVault OSSIM is costly."

More AlienVault OSSIM cons

"The tool's integration capability isn't so great."

"I believe that integrating the solution with other products such as Oracle would be beneficial."

"The user interface is a little bit difficult for new users and it needs to be improved."

"Sometimes, it gives me static when integrating Windows-based systems. It should produce a precise log of sorts as to where the problem is. For example, a few days ago because of the McAfee application firewall, I couldn't get access to the particular Windows machine. So, my team and I had to figure out by ourselves that there was a virus responsible for the obstacle. This solution should trigger a meaningful log or message indicating the reason the user or implementer can't get into the machine."

"Lots of competing products have vulnerability protection built into their products, and this solution would be improved by including that support."

"Technical support could be improved."

"There is no support for this product in this country, so problems have to be resolved through global technical teams."

"The threat detection capability and centralizing and upgrading capability need to be improved. The threat alert capability needs to be improved as well because there is some lag time at present. They need to work on their database search too."

More NetWitness Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When comparing AlienVault OSSIM to Microsoft Sentinel, AlienVault OSSIM incurs additional costs due to its licensing price structure. If you are using AlienVault for security purposes at a certain level it can have a higher price point than the current pricing of Microsoft Sentinel."

"I used the paid version of the tool and found it to be expensive. It has been a while since I changed to Securonix. I will have to check whether AlienVault charges per device, user, or log."

"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."

"AlienVault pricing is the best. Whatever cost you are paying, you are getting a return on every penny... It's not like your IBM, your QRadar, or Splunk, where the cost is too high."

"We are using a free version of the solution. If you purchase a license there are more features available but the price is a little high. The solution should be cheaper to allow more customers to be able to afford it."

"We are using the community version, which can be used for free."

"AlienVault OSSIM is free."

"OSSIM is free."

More AlienVault OSSIM pricing and cost advice

"We have a perpetual license, so the total cost of ownership is not very expensive. It's a good investment."

"Our license is for one year."

"Compared to the competition, the is price is not that high."

"It provides tools to assist in selecting the appropriate license and usage scenarios."

"The new pricing and licensing mechanisms are fair. I would advise always to get the full solution (i.e., not only Logs)."

"RSA NetWitness Logs and Packets do not have a subscription model, it's a one-time purchase. There is only a perpetual license."

"In comparison to other SIEM solutions such as Splunk, NetWitness is less costly."

"The tool is very expensive, so I rate the pricing a ten out of ten. The solution has an annual subscription."

More NetWitness Platform pricing and cost advice

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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions are best for your needs.

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Comparison Review

Vinod Shankar

Manager, Enterprise Risk Consulting at Deloitte & Touche

Feb 26, 2015

HP ArcSight vs. IBM QRadar vs. McAfee Nitro vs. Splunk vs. RSA Security vs. LogRhythm

We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

12%

University

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AlienVault OSSIM?

Asset discovery is good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlienVault OSSIM?

It depends. I would need to review their cost models, but generally, they are on a scaled basis based on throughput usage. Because it's a software as a service solution for their core product for U...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AlienVault OSSIM?

Scaling for USM is always challenging for any product unless it is purpose-built or overbuilt at the front end. They will use Palo Alto and its competitors, and LevelBlue will manage that implement...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetWitness Platform?

The product's initial setup phase was not at all difficult.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetWitness Platform?

The pricing is comparable to others, and I consider the cost to be intermediate. Specific cost details are unknown to me.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetWitness Platform?

There is currently no need for improvement in the SIEM ( /categories/security-information-and-event-management-siem ), though there could be potential enhancements by integrating with AI.

See all answers

Comparisons

Wazuh vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 71% of the time

USM Anywhere vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 7% of the time

Venusense USM vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 7% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 5% of the time

Elastic Security vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 4% of the time

More AlienVault OSSIM Competitors

IBM Security QRadar vs NetWitness Platform

Compared 24% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs NetWitness Platform

Compared 18% of the time

Elastic Security vs NetWitness Platform

Compared 14% of the time

USM Anywhere vs NetWitness Platform

Compared 11% of the time

Trellix Network Detection and Response vs NetWitness Platform

Compared 9% of the time

More NetWitness Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM

September 2025

Download AlienVault OSSIM product report

Buyer's Guide

NetWitness Platform

September 2025

Download NetWitness Platform product report

Also Known As

OSSIM

RSA Security Analytics

Overview

AlienVault OSSIM, Open Source Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), provides you with a feature-rich open source SIEM complete with event collection, normalization and correlation. Launched by security engineers because of the lack of available open source products, AlienVault OSSIM was created specifically to address the reality many security professionals face: A SIEM, whether it is open source or commercial, is virtually useless without the basic security controls necessary for security visibility.

AT&T

NetWitness Platform is an evolved SIEM and threat detection and response solution that functions as a single, unified platform for ALL your security data. It features an advanced analyst workbench for triaging alerts and incidents, and it orchestrates security operations programs end to end. In short: NetWitness Platform is all you need to run an intelligent SOC.

NetWitness

Sample Customers

Council Rock School District

Los Angeles World Airports, Reply

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM vs. NetWitness Platform

September 2025

Free Report: AlienVault OSSIM vs. NetWitness Platform

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