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BMC Helix Cloud Security vs CloudAware comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (11th), Container Security (12th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
BMC Helix Cloud Security
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
36th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (26th)
CloudAware
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (22nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.9%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BMC Helix Cloud Security is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CloudAware is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud1.9%
CloudAware0.5%
BMC Helix Cloud Security0.9%
Other96.7%
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
 

Featured Reviews

RO
IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.
Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities
Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.
DG
Portfolio Manager/ Helix Administrator at Frontier Communications
A highly scalable and straightforward solution with a knowledgeable support team
We work on a third-party shared environment. It wouldn’t have been feasible for a smaller company. My company was actually the first one to do it. Just like any cloud security, it pays to do your research and have complimentary security involved. The product can’t be the be-all and end-all tool for your security. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Dr. Vandana Tatra - PeerSpot reviewer
DGM, Content Vertical at Agriculture Skill Council of India
Unified cloud governance has transformed audits and now improves real-time cost control
The best features CloudAware offers include strong IT compliance and governance, which my team appreciates significantly due to our frequent audits. Additionally, the built-in observability has increased transparency across all management levels; everyone now accesses the same set of information promptly. We have optimized our cloud spending by approximately 40 percent in the last two years, as operating on a singular integrated platform simplifies database and asset management while reducing maintenance costs. The observability feature of CloudAware has streamlined our multi-cloud and on-premises visibility, enhancing our IT infrastructure efficiency. With around 20 to 30 people managing daily data from entry to monitoring, tasks that previously took 24 to 48 hours now occur in real-time. My senior management has access to accurate asset tracking and discovery at any moment, which has strengthened our credibility and transparency with clients. Additionally, the introduction of cloud security posture management features, including unique cloud security policies for each asset, has greatly decreased risk and improved threat response automation. We requested a centralized cloud logging reporting system that provides detailed access logs, which has been implemented and is highly valued. CloudAware has positively impacted our organization by becoming the backbone of our cloud operations. It secures our confidential data and optimizes every aspect, from policy compliance to data reporting, enabling us to manage heavy datasets effectively. Our operations have seen increased productivity, allowing us to onboard more clients and deliver multiple projects simultaneously, all while reducing cloud spending by four crores annually.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most valuable features of Qualys TotalCloud is FlexScan, which is specifically for internet-facing VMs. We found this feature to be very useful. It was a key differentiator for us."
"I depend heavily on the reports that I have from this tool."
"Qualys TotalCloud helps you not just to identify misconfigurations, but you can actually also fix issues."
"By integrating TotalCloud, we have significantly reduced vulnerabilities in our deployment pipeline."
"TotalCloud has been excellent in providing us with immediate access to all the products and features we need, such as CSPM, TruRisk Insights, and compliance reports, including CIS and HIPAA."
"Its excellent graphical interface makes the scanning process simple."
"Qualys TotalCloud has improved our security posture."
"I would definitely recommend it because it is easy to handle any cloud resources."
"The cool feature of Helix Cloud Security is that you can do all that — understand and remediate issues — in one dashboard, based on the different policies that are available for security, out-of-the-box."
"It's also multi-cloud. You can look at several cloud providers: AWS, Azure, or GCP."
"With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud."
"The best feature is time to value. With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud. If you have Azure and AWS deployments, you might have multiple subscriptions in Azure and usually multiple accounts in AWS. You may even be doing some GCP work (around Google Cloud Platform). It's very difficult to manage a common set of policies, even less reporting, across multiple subscriptions, accounts, and cloud environments. What BMC Helix Cloud Security does is provide a unified view or single pane of glass as to your baseline. Then, it also facilitates the ability for Level 1 or 2 operations support to take action and report on security vulnerabilities."
"The most valuable aspects of BMC Helix Cloud Security are its security features and regulatory compliance capabilities."
"Using this solution is an eye-opener; having that holistic view is the biggest eye-opener because you understand, from any of your connected cloud accounts, what your vulnerabilities are with it."
"It is a good tool to make sure that your containers are safe and sound."
"The features that I've found most valuable are its container security aspect. I also like its vulnerability management tools."
"CloudAware is helping us scale up our cloud integration activities by automating tasks that were once manually intensive and providing accurate and transparent service cataloging."
"CloudAware has positively impacted us by reducing costs by 10 to 15% and improving compliance reporting speed, saving several hours per audit."
"CloudAware is one of the most structured, enterprise-grade cloud management software available today, and I strongly suggest my peers to look into its multi-cloud governance and CMDB management system before adopting it."
"I utilized it in one of the use cases for workload assessment and definitely it has brought in the value as a return of investment to us, because that was the assessment I was doing for one of our end customers."
"From the past three to four years, we have not found any cases of attacks because all risks and potential attacks are being proactively communicated by the software to our tech team, allowing us to take proactive and reactive measures to avoid such attacks."
"CloudAware has positively impacted our organization by becoming the backbone of our cloud operations, securing our confidential data and optimizing every aspect from policy compliance to data reporting, enabling us to manage heavy datasets effectively while increasing productivity, onboarding more clients, delivering multiple projects simultaneously, and reducing cloud spending by four crores annually."
"CloudAware serves as a centralized platform where we can monitor AWS, GCP, and Azure, allowing us to monitor all cloud environments in one place."
 

Cons

"The cost of Qualys TotalCloud is high and could be more competitive."
"I would like the ability to disable certain default built-in policies as they can be misleading when creating dashboards. That is the top one."
"It is already perfect, but they can bring some newer dashboards and customization options for the dashboard. It would be great to be able to include on-prem assets on the dashboard."
"There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness."
"In a future release, I suggest that zero-day vulnerabilities should be predicted in advance using AI technologies. The system is not 100% secure yet, so proactive threat hunting could be enhanced to be more proactive than the current system."
"It has been working very well, but it would be helpful if the dashboard could generate reports tailored to specific compliance needs. For example, in India, we have to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It w"
"The cloud licensing unit system is unclear, especially since "units" aren't well-defined."
"In terms of improvement, remediation still belongs to the cloud team, which is one of the issues we faced with Qualys TotalCloud."
"Every organization out there doesn't rely on just one control body. They use FISMA control. They may use HIPAA, CIS, PCI, or SOX, then blend them. One of the things that is now in big demand for BMC Helix Cloud Security is content. That's the next journey in its lifespan, making it easier for the community to share and collaborate on content for security controls that can be measured and remediated."
"The UI could be more user-friendly."
"We've had some with issues connectors. The connectors have seemed to have caused a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment. The only time I've had to reach out to tech support was for that. It seems it may not have been scanning correctly or I wasn't seeing data within a specific time. But we've set up a couple of connectors in the past couple of weeks and they actually scanned the AWS environment and we had data within about 10 minutes. It's working a lot faster and I think they're making improvements as they go."
"BMC Helix Cloud Security has room for improvement in terms of integrating its various features."
"We've had some issues with connectors; the connectors have seemed to cause a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment."
"I think its TOA interfaces are still not that comfortable. The UI could be more user-friendly, easier to use."
"The biggest challenge now, which is a good problem to have, with BMC Helix is content."
"I want the role-based security feature to be improved."
"I am looking forward for a positive contribution because as per the research I did so far, it is going to benefit us if we start utilizing it, but I am a little concerned of whether it will fit in all our requirements."
"We need enhanced security intelligence and a simplified user experience, as we face integration or navigation issues when managing all cloud servers."
"CloudAware has existed for ten to fifteen years, but it seems they have not come up with any solution for small organizations."
"CloudAware can be improved by offering more free options or reducing pricing, as startups may find the cost high."
"One improvement could be making the initial setup process more intuitive, especially for new users; otherwise, it has been a solid product."
"I choose 8 out of 10 because while the functionalities and features are excellent, there are areas that need improvement in terms of capacity building, training, and developing new features."
"The CloudAware interface is generally easy to use; however, it can sometimes feel overwhelming for new users, including interns, who struggle with navigation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
"The pricing is comparable. It is built into our other product, so I cannot piecemeal it. It is a part of our subscription."
"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."
"It is a subscription model with term licensing that is usually yearly. This includes, not only the product, but support and maintenance. It is based on cloud assets. Therefore, if you have 100 cloud assets, those cloud assets are measured based on evaluation or transactions. For example, if I'm evaluating that cloud asset for CIS compliance, PCI compliance, and AWS best practices, that asset gets evaluated three times, as those are three transactions. However, the license model is based on peak asset usage. So, over a year, if you deploy 100, 1000, 500, and then 2000 assets, you will be charged for the 2000 peak of assets managed by Helix Cloud Security."
"The pricing is based on an annual subscription, upfront, and it's based on cloud assets. Whether your assets are in Azure and AWS combined, the tool tells you how many assets are being scanned and that's the number used for pricing."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
20%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Transportation Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise31
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...
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Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CloudAware?
The setup cost was initially about $5,000, followed by a monthly cost of approximately $200 to $300 per user, which i...
What needs improvement with CloudAware?
The CloudAware interface is generally easy to use; however, it can sometimes feel overwhelming for new users, includi...
What is your primary use case for CloudAware?
CloudAware is used by our team of approximately eight to ten people who simultaneously operate and work on it, fulfil...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
TrueSight Cloud Security, SecOps Policy Service
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
NHS, Vodafone, Kansas City Life, SKY Italia, Cybera
Sony, AOL, Thomson Reuters, Pearson
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. CloudAware and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.