Azure Network Watcher vs Versa Director comparison

Microsoft and Versa Networks are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #41 with an average rating of 8.7, while Versa Networks is ranked #48 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Versa Networks’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of Versa Networks users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

846 Views
804 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Versa Director

Read 4 Versa Director reviews

651 Views
625 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Versa Director

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Versa Director and Azure Network Watcher compete in network management and monitoring. Azure Network Watcher is superior due to its robust capabilities.

Features: Versa Director includes centralized management, robust policy configuration, and cloud service integration, focusing on simplified network operations management. Azure Network Watcher provides diagnostic and analytics tools, deep insights, and advanced security for Azure environments, with extensive tools for monitoring and diagnosing network issues.

Room for Improvement: Versa Director could enhance its diagnostic capabilities, expand security features, and improve integration beyond cloud services. Azure Network Watcher may benefit from simplified setup, improved cost-efficiency for non-Azure users, and greater flexibility in non-Azure environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Versa Director is known for its easy deployment and responsive support. Azure Network Watcher requires a more complex setup within Azure ecosystems but benefits from Microsoft's comprehensive support.

Pricing and ROI: Versa Director offers a more attractive pricing model with lower initial setup costs, leading to quicker ROI. Azure Network Watcher has a higher cost but delivers substantial ROI through advanced features and consistent performance in Azure-based operations.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Versa Director Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Versa Director

December 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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

41st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Versa Director

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

48th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 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 Versa Director is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
Versa Director	0.4%
Other	99.1%

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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PriyankDubey

Product manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

User-friendly and simpler than its competitors

Versa Director's best feature is the ease of configuration and customer and vendor management. Its UI is also excellent compared to Fortinet and Cisco Versa Director's on-prem SD-WAN hardware and SSL VPN software are not integrated, so you have to buy a separate subscription for the SSL VPN. In…

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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 stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."

"It provides good visibility."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"I like the visibility."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is using the gateways with the connections. The monitoring is useful for the logs and application insights into the data. The traffic filtering issues when it comes to deploying those applications are helpful."

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

"The solution is stable."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"Versa Director's best feature is the ease of configuration and customer and vendor management."

"The most valuable feature of Versa Director is analytics."

"Versa Director is the fastest engineering tool and is ideal for use without product management."

"The most valuable functionality is some of the policy pieces that are quite useful."

Cons

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"User experience could be improved."

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

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

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"Versa Director's deployment process is not the best."

"It requires some simplification."

"Versa could be more AI-oriented."

"What needs improvement in Versa Director is maturity because, from an operating point of view, it's not mature enough. You'll still need to do a lot of research on Versa Director, so if it could mature faster, that would be very good."

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."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Having to buy separate licenses for the on-prem SD-WAN hardware and SSL VPN software makes Versa Director very costly compared to other solutions like Fortinet and Cisco."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

11%

University

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

10%

Retailer

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?

Azure Network Watcher is affordable from the perspective of basic costing. It doesn't cost too much at this point unless you are requesting customizable detailed matrices. For the default configura...

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What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

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What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

The purpose of using Azure Network Watcher is to observe the network flow logs during any kind of troubleshooting. If there is any performance issue or latency issue over the network, we check the ...

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What do you like most about Versa Director?

Versa Director is the fastest engineering tool and is ideal for use without product management.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Versa Director?

Versa could be more AI-oriented.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Versa Director?

We use the solution to monitor customer networks.

See all answers

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Compared 28% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 18% of the time

Juniper Mist Premium Analytics vs Versa Director

Compared 16% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

January 2026

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

Download Versa Director product report

Also Known As

No data available

Versa Networks Director

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

Versa Director is Versa Networks’ virtualization and service creation platform that simplifies the creation, automation and delivery of services using Versa WAN edge software, FlexVNF. Versa Director provides the essential management, monitoring and orchestration capabilities needed to deliver Versa’s Secure Cloud IP architecture network and security software services. Services supported by Versa include routing and advanced connectivity to direct traffic across multilink WAN access and simplify control for SD-WAN with embedded advanced security

Versa Networks

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Versa Director

December 2025

Free Report: Azure Network Watcher vs. Versa Director

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