Azure Network Watcher vs CA Unified Communications Monitor comparison

Microsoft and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #42 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #87. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Broadcom’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

1,082 Views
1,039 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

CA Unified Communications M...

Read 2 CA Unified Communications Monitor reviews

1,090 Views
752 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

CA Unified Communications M...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

CA Unified Communications Monitor and Azure Network Watcher are competitive products in network performance monitoring. Azure Network Watcher has the upper hand due to its comprehensive features and integration capabilities.

Features: CA Unified Communications Monitor provides detailed insights into communication flows, performance metrics specific to unified communications, and alerting features for potential issues. Azure Network Watcher offers advanced features such as packet capture, network topology visualization, and diagnostic tools integrated within the Azure ecosystem, allowing for a broader range of network insights through Azure infrastructure integration.

Room for Improvement: CA Unified Communications Monitor could enhance its integration capabilities with broader network infrastructures, offer more advanced diagnostic tools, and improve its visualization features. Azure Network Watcher could simplify its integration process outside of the Azure ecosystem, enhance usability for non-Azure environments, and offer more cost-effective solutions for smaller enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CA Unified Communications Monitor offers straightforward deployment tailored for unified communications environments, supported by responsive customer service. Azure Network Watcher, seamlessly integrated with Azure services, allows smooth deployment within Azure environments but may require additional effort for integration outside Azure. Azure's customer service benefits from extensive Microsoft support resources.

Pricing and ROI: CA Unified Communications Monitor is generally more budget-friendly, aimed at cost efficiency and targeting specific monitoring needs. Azure Network Watcher, with potentially higher initial setup costs, provides a strong return on investment with its extensive monitoring capabilities and deep integration with Azure, aligning value with diverse organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. CA Unified Communications Monitor Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. CA Unified Communications Monitor

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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

42nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

CA Unified Communications M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

87th

Average Rating

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications Monitoring (3rd), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (65th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CA Unified Communications Monitor is 0.5%, 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 (%)
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
CA Unified Communications Monitor	0.5%
Other	99.0%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

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reviewer1605927

Sr.Solutions Engineer | Project Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Meets the needs of the customer but all of the features need improvement

I do not choose the solution. The client does. I am an implementer. We are systems integrators. It is worth mentioning that the solution should be easy to install and offer the user exhibition capabilities. Also, a data sheet should be used to gather information about the product, to facilitate easy and simple implementation. I rate CA Unified Communications Monitor as a five 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

"My advice to others looking into using Azure Network Watcher is to go for it, as you'll have the tool by default when you're subscribed to Azure VNet."

"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."

"Azure Network Watcher provides valuable features based on your specific requirements and use cases, helping you monitor network bandwidth, throughput, data flow consumption, and control costs by giving insight into egress and ingress traffic, total input and output operations, bandwidth, and threats through IP identification."

"This is a stable system providing stable performance."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall. It is helpful for securing databases."

"It provides good visibility."

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"Good end-to-end monitoring"

"We use the solution to meet the needs of the customer."

"For us, it's very key to know the voice quality of the total solution, which is based on many components across many domains."

"We use the solution to meet the needs of the customer."

Cons

"The initial setup and initial learning curve could be improved to be easier."

"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."

"The solution could use some additional components of the network culture, not only VMs. I'd like to see some additional security features because what they currently have concentrates only on the network."

"User experience could be improved."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application to log activities for in and outbound traffic."

"There are some occasional downtimes, but these were based on Azure-specific issues."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"The solution should have automatic baseline detection."

"All the features and functions of the solution can be improved."

"The solution should have automatic baseline detection."

"All the features and functions of the solution can be improved, specifically the user experience."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

University

Government

Construction Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on ...

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What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...

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Compared 8% of the time

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CA Unified Communications Monitor report

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Also Known As

No data available

CA UC Monitor

Overview

Azure Network Watcher is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

Microsoft

CA Unified Communications Monitor is a unified communications monitoring solution that evaluates and reports on the network’s support of real-time applications in multi-vendor environments, so that Network Administrators can optimize the network’s quality of service and end user experience.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

BBVA Compass

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. CA Unified Communications Monitor

March 2026

Free Report: Azure Network Watcher vs. CA Unified Communications Monitor

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