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IBM Security QRadar vs USM Anywhere comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.3
IBM Security QRadar delivers cost-effective, rapid deployment, reducing incident response times and employee needs, enhancing organizational resilience.
Sentiment score
6.8
USM Anywhere enhances security, saves time and resources, reduces staffing needs, and meets compliance, offering financial and time benefits.
With SOAR, the workflow takes one minute or less to complete the analysis.
CyberSecurity Architects at VaporVM
AWS gives the chance to implement a solution out of the box with use cases that are already in IBM Security QRadar.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
I have seen a return on investment; I can share that it includes time saved, money saved, and fewer employees needed.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
Customers see ROI as they save on staff and other resources.
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Security QRadar support quality varies, with inconsistent service; knowledgeable agents appreciated but response times and expertise are concerns.
Sentiment score
8.0
USM Anywhere's customer service is generally praised for responsiveness but experiences occasional delays and inconsistent support information.
They assist with advanced issues, such as hardware or other problems, that are not part of standard operations.
Network and Security Architect at Deutsche Telekom
Support needs to understand the issue first, then escalate it to the engineering team.
CyberSecurity Architects at VaporVM
The support is really good; for instance, if a critical ticket is submitted, you will get paged right away as it gets logged, and their analyst will look into it, letting you know as soon as possible so you can work on it.
Cyber Security Intern at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
IBM Security QRadar is highly scalable, easily integrates hardware, and efficiently manages extensive networks for cloud or on-premises deployments.
Sentiment score
7.5
USM Anywhere is scalable for small to medium businesses, but enterprise-scale deployments face data volume and speed challenges.
For EPS license, if you increase or exceed the EPS license, you cannot receive events.
CyberSecurity Architects at VaporVM
IBM Security QRadar's scalability is great; you can have a new collector to deploy if you have increased EPS per second.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
USM Anywhere faces scalability issues because of a 60 TB limit.
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
IBM QRadar is seen as reliable, with stability dependent on proper configuration, version updates, and sufficient hardware resources.
Sentiment score
7.2
USM Anywhere receives mixed stability reviews, with some users praising its reliability and others reporting issues during updates or large data handling.
On cloud, you don't see any disconnections or instability.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
I think QRadar is stable and currently satisfies my needs.
Architect of Cybersecurity at ASSIST - Software Services
The product has been stable so far.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Security QRadar needs UI improvements, better integration, faster support, enhanced features, and competitive pricing to address user concerns.
USM Anywhere needs improved performance, user interface, integration, and support, with better updates and less disruptive software changes.
We receive logs from different types of devices and need a way to correlate them effectively.
Network and Security Architect at Deutsche Telekom
If AI-related support can suggest rules and integrate with existing security devices like MD, IPS, this SIM can create more relevant rules.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
IBM Security QRadar does not support Canvas, so we had to create custom scripts and workarounds to pull logs from Canvas.
CyberSecurity Architects at VaporVM
There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks.
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
 

Setup Cost

IBM QRadar is costly but efficient, flexible in licensing, negotiable, and ideal for large enterprises over smaller ones.
USM Anywhere offers scalable, affordable SIEM solutions ideal for SMBs, recommended for budget-conscious enterprises over costly competitors.
Splunk is more expensive than IBM Security QRadar.
CyberSecurity Architects at VaporVM
It was costly mainly because of the value you can get right now compared to other solutions.
CTO at Sabyk
It depends on how much you want to spend.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The pricing is amazing and really cheap.
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
 

Valuable Features

IBM Security QRadar is scalable and user-friendly, excelling in threat detection, event analysis, and third-party integration for large operations.
USM Anywhere offers event correlation, vulnerability scanning, and centralized logging with customizable, user-friendly security monitoring for small teams.
Recently, I faced an incident, a cyber incident, and it was detected in real time.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
IBM Security QRadar gives the opportunity to improve the time to market of the releases with a great evaluation of cybersecurity breaches.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Compared to ArcSight, Splunk, or any other SIEM tools where you need their processing language such as structured query language, SPL, and in Sentinel there is KQL query languages, IBM Security QRadar doesn't require reliance on query languages.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
The 365-day block query is a major feature.
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Security QRadar
Ranking in Log Management
7th
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
3rd
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
219
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (1st), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (4th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (11th)
USM Anywhere
Ranking in Log Management
40th
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
32nd
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
50th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
Compliance Management (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of IBM Security QRadar is 5.6%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of USM Anywhere is 1.0%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Security QRadar5.6%
USM Anywhere1.0%
Other93.4%
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user108681 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Solution Architect with 501-1,000 employees
Apr 04, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Have managed daily asset and alert monitoring effectively but have encountered limitations with manual processes and interface usability
It's still very manual and doesn't work on its own. It's still in an early stage and not on par where we can consider it a really successful detection system. The accuracy is not there. The UI could be better when compared to Sentinels where we can use flags and tagging. It could be much more user-friendly. IBM Security QRadar has all features and is fully competitive with other SIEM tools, but when it comes to user-friendliness, a new user takes time to get used to it. More intuitive, user-friendly interfaces and more helpful documentation would be beneficial. The query searching and data fetching could be faster. In large to very large organizations with around 5,000 or 6,000 assets or beyond, even with proper configurations and RAM and hardware backing up, the query is fairly slow.
Kris Nawani - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
Offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software
USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools The solution offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software, as it is maintained by the vendor. It helps in saving…
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions are best for your needs.
880,511 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

VS
Manager, Enterprise Risk Consulting at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jun 28, 2015
Qradar vs. ArcSight
Continuing with the SIEM posts we have done at Infosecnirvana, this post is a Head to head comparison of the two Industry leading SIEM products in the market – HP ArcSight and IBM QRadar Both the products have consistently been in the Gartner Leaders Quadrant. Both HP and IBM took over niche SIEM…
 

Answers from the Community

it_user108681 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Solution Architect with 501-1,000 employees
Apr 4, 2017
Apr 4, 2017
This tool can help you both with the implementation and post-implemtation phase. Health Check Framework (HCF) for IBM QRadar: https://www.scnsoft.com/services/security-intelligence-services/health-check-framework-for-ibm-qradar-siem HCF allows to automate certain things within your deployment, troubleshoot performance issus and fine-tune the solution.
2 out of 9 answers
May 8, 2014
We implemented the Alienvault USM product and one of the largest considerations to make is the Linux knowledge required to implement, configure and manage the solution. Depending on the current in-house skill set and architecture this may or may not present as a consideration.
it_user113184 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Expert at a tech services company
May 15, 2014
That's the problem with the SIEM solutions that have no built-in intelligence.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Performing Arts
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business91
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise105
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Securonix UEBA, Exabeam, and IBM QRadar?
It mostly depends on your use-cases and environment. Exabeam and Securonix have a stronger UEBA feature set, friendlier GUI and are not licensed based on capacity (amount of logs and information in...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is asking to miss details that are critical, and ending up a statistic. Also, rememb...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Security QRadar?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is great compared to the other vendor.
What do you like most about AT&T AlienVault USM?
The most valuable feature of the solution is the ease of deployment that it provides to users. The integrations that the product has with third-party applications are useful.
What needs improvement with AT&T AlienVault USM?
There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks. It is also limited when used with bigger products and has complex password requirements.
 

Also Known As

IBM QRadar, QRadar SIEM, QRadar UBA, QRadar on Cloud, IBM QRadar Advisor with Watson
AT&T AlienVault USM, AlienVault, AlienVault USM, Alienvault Cybersecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Clients across multiple industries, such as energy, financial, retail, healthcare, government, communications, and education use QRadar.
Abel & Cole, Bank of Ireland, Bluegrass Cellular, CareerBuilder, Claire's, Hays Medical Center, Hope International, McCurrach, McKinsey & Company, Party Delights, Pepco Holdings, Richland School District, Ricoh, SaveMart, Shake Shack, Steelcase, TaxAct, Taylor Morrison, Vonage and Zoom
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security QRadar vs. USM Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
880,511 professionals have used our research since 2012.