Aruba Airwave vs IBM Tivoli NetCool comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and IBM are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while IBM is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 3.9% mindshare in NMA, compared to IBM’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Aruba Airwave

Read 26 Aruba Airwave reviews

1,426 Views
1,269 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Read 13 IBM Tivoli NetCool reviews

1,231 Views
997 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Aruba Airwave

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

IBM Tivoli NetCool and Aruba Airwave are network management platforms. Tivoli NetCool has an advantage in customization and scalability, suitable for complex IT environments, while Aruba Airwave shines in wireless network management with robust Wi-Fi capabilities.

Features: Tivoli NetCool provides extensive monitoring, customizable event management, and a wide array of integrations. It supports vast applications, devices, and various protocols. Its customizable dashboards and real-time data insights enhance flexibility. Aruba Airwave offers robust Wi-Fi management, device monitoring, and zero-touch provisioning. Its multivendor support and orchestration feature streamline network tasks, improving efficiency.

Room for Improvement: Tivoli NetCool could benefit from simplifying its deployment and reducing initial setup complexity. Enhancements in initial user training and documentation would aid usability. Improved integration with non-IBM systems could expand its adaptability. Aruba Airwave may require enhanced documentation for advanced features, better real-time alert systems, and expanded compatibility with older hardware models to broaden applicability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tivoli NetCool's deployment is intricate and demands expertise, often needing skilled IT professionals. Its customer support is comprehensive, covering diverse IT needs. Aruba Airwave is noted for easier installation and faster setup, beneficial for wireless networks. Its customer service is appreciated for responsive assistance in wireless configurations.

Pricing and ROI: Tivoli NetCool involves higher initial costs due to customization requirements, but offers long-term ROI for large, complex IT setups. Aruba Airwave provides a cost-effective solution for organizations focused on wireless networks, delivering immediate value in Wi-Fi optimization and efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Airwave vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

March 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

Aruba Airwave

Ranking in Network Management Applications

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Ranking in Network Management Applications

14th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Aruba Airwave is 3.9%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Tivoli NetCool is 3.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Aruba Airwave	3.9%
IBM Tivoli NetCool	3.0%
Other	93.1%

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

Edward Zeng

Senior Network Engineer at Auckland University of Technology

Troubleshooting obstacles occur but technical support excels

My general opinion on Aruba Airwave is that it's acceptable, but it's not ideal because we are accustomed to Cisco. We didn't use Aruba much, but once you set it up, you probably don't need to worry about it too much. The version we are using is quite old now, probably around version four. I can't remember the version exactly because a lot of the products require Aruba Central, but we haven't used Aruba Central yet. I face challenges with Aruba Airwave, particularly with troubleshooting. When someone has a problem, we try troubleshooting, but the end-to-end users' messages show some details that are not always up-to-date, and sometimes the information from the GUI is not exactly aligned with what's on the website. If Aruba Airwave can apply AI capabilities, that would be even more perfect. I'd appreciate integration with Aruba Central; it would be great if they could incorporate it into Airwave.

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Petar Ganev

Senior Enterprise Monitoring Engineer at Commerzbank

Reliable for enterprise monitoring but no longer actively developed

There are problems with the latest security requirements because many things have changed in recent years, and now the security audits are very strict. And we need to switch to something else. We need to patch it constantly. Moreover, it is a very old tool and a little bit difficult to support. Otherwise, they work okay.

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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 Clarity feature makes it easy to use and understand what is going on with your network in a nice dashboard, and it contains valuable features for engineers to C-level executives, who want visibility, performance, statistics, and a platform which can take action for them without manual intervention, saving time and money."

"What I like best about Aruba Airwave is its orchestration feature because it saves configuration time. I also like that it allows you to do ZTP installations for new Aruba equipment."

"It has improved my organization by increasing troubleshooting opportunities which makes things more efficient."

"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."

"We are a solution provider and Aruba Airwave is one of the products that we implement for our customers, and most of our customers use this product to manage and monitor their networks."

"The monitoring and administration allow configurations for checking the association of the user to the network, then to the AP, then to the switch, and back to the controller."

"The powerful features we can put forward in Aruba Airwave are clarity, report creation, and VisualRF."

"It can interact with other vendors better than Cisco, which is a good point of AirWave, it is easy to use, and its reporting is good."

More Aruba Airwave pros

"Anything is possible with Tivoli. It's quite a robust system."

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

"The solution is very fast, there's no lag or delay between the IBM solution and the other solutions like Huawei and Nokia."

"Full featured - event/fault management, performance management, topology map, discovery, RCA, event enrichment, Proviso will chart data from almost any source with a variety of aggregation options."

"It improves customer satisfaction, deploy-ability, adaptability, flexibility, scalability, and reduces cost of operation."

"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool pros

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"I am not deeply familiar with the solution, so if I mention a feature, it might already exist, yet I may be unaware of it."

"When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers."

"I would like to see an integration of services into one system, rather than having multiple systems to do multiple things."

"I would like to see is “AAS”. Not only Aruba APs with central, but NAC/ClearPass, AirWave, and everything licensed as a Service."

"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."

"The overall monitoring of this solution could be improved."

"The integration with other platforms like Cisco needs to be improved."

More Aruba Airwave cons

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

"This is another one of those suites glued together from a myriad of acquisitions and it shows once you get under the hood."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"The product is pretty costly. It's definitely not the least expensive option."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is expensive. If one is bad or expensive, and ten is very good or cheap, I rate the product's price as a six."

"The cost is perfect because the devices have a lifetime warranty, and the licensing is good as well."

"AirWave is a very expensive solution. If you implement it in a wide range network, it will cost a lot. There is no option to sell it outside that price segment, which is a problem."

"Run a 90 day free Proof of Concept (PoC) for each product by implementing and using it fully in your environment. This way you will be educated on its features, functionality, and manageability."

"The licensing is on an yearly basis."

"I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten."

"This product is not expensive."

"The licensing cost for Aruba Airwave increased from $72 to $210 within a few months. It would be better if the pricing for the solution were cheaper."

More Aruba Airwave pricing and cost advice

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Transportation Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Airwave?

I think the solution is quite affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Aruba Airwave?

They have other sensors which can manage and control all the sites. There is an IoT component where we can restrict internet services such as Facebook and YouTube. These things can also be managed....

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Aruba Airwave?

For Aruba Airwave, I am using the wireless devices for the Wi-Fi for the full company with access points. This is the top product I feel, and I see in the Gartner also. It is a good product and eas...

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What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

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What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The main challenge is its licensing model, which is very complicated.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Tivoli NetCool?

NetCool is the manager of managers in the stack. It basically combines the devices of the whole network. We are the mobile network operator, so we use it to assist us in cross-domain correlations a...

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Comparisons

Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 17% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 13% of the time

Huawei eSight vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 8% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista vs Aruba Airwave

Compared 8% of the time

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OpenText Network Node Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 16% of the time

DataMiner vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 15% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 11% of the time

DX Spectrum vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 9% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave

March 2026

Download Aruba Airwave product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool

March 2026

Download IBM Tivoli NetCool product report

Also Known As

No data available

Tivoli NetCool

Overview

Offering granular visibility into wired and wireless networks, AirWave is the only management platform designed with mobile devices and apps in mind. By proactively monitoring the health and performance of all things connected, AirWave lets IT gain the insights they need to support the digital workplace.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

IBM Tivoli Netcool delivers near real-time, consolidated event management across business infrastructure, data centers, complex networks and IT domains. The software provides full management and automation to help you deliver continuous uptime of business services and applications.

IBM

Sample Customers

Henkel, University of Findlay, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Iowa

Claranet, Consolidated Communications, Telus, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Telekom Srbija, Bendigo Community Telco, Capgemini, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)

Buyer's Guide

Aruba Airwave vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

March 2026

Free Report: Aruba Airwave vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Airwave vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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