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Cisco ACI vs Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 10, 2024

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

Cisco ACI
Ranking in Network Virtualization
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)
Cisco Enterprise Network Fu...
Ranking in Network Virtualization
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 29.5%, down from 48.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is 8.7%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI29.5%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization8.7%
Other61.8%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design
The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.
Majdi Sabbah - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant Sales Engineer at BT Al-Saudia
Versatile, offering flexibility and scalability
I rely on Cisco Enterprise NFV for various sectors like government, campuses, and hospitality. It is a crucial foundational layer that is mandatory before delivering other services The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard. It is easy to use and covers everything in one…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support for this solution is great. The ACI guys have been some of the best technical support people that I've worked with at Cisco."
"There are a lot of features, like automation, that reduce manual efforts that would otherwise be time-consuming."
"Cisco ACI is scalable and easy to expand."
"Cisco ACI is highly stable; I've deployed it at six or seven data centers, and we've never had any issues with stability."
"This solution is easy to configure, and it is done in an object-oriented manner."
"It's improved the static configuration of our data center switching environment. But it's added some challenges to our ability to operationalize it and make it easier for people to manage."
"Now, our customers have tiers of management that have meetings with about the simplest tasks because it has to be approved from upper management and senior management and by the time it gets to the engineer that's going to deploy it, it takes way too long. With the solution, they can delegate a person who would be in charge of running the ACI as a whole, and it will be much faster because it doesn't have to go through the whole chain of command for the simple task of deploying one little machine on one port in the data center."
"Building the ACI Fabric is its most valuable feature."
"Overall, I feel that this is a good product and I recommend it."
"Cisco is in our portfolio, which is one of the reasons that we keep working with them."
"The support system that they have in place is very good and they are easy to reach."
"Routing, switching, and wireless network security are the valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"Scalability is not a problem."
"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable, and if you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."
"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable. If you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."
"The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard."
 

Cons

"We are waiting to see what happens with the cloud. We want to see if it will scale better."
"The ACI setup is in its initial phases is difficult. The learning curve at the beginning is higher than a normal setup."
"I would like for ACI to manage all of the devices."
"We had issues in the first deployment when we tried to finish the migration from traditional networking to Cisco ACI."
"For technical support, I would rate them a seven because it's a complex technology and the TAC people sometimes don't have much understanding of the product."
"I would like them to simplify the way you configure the Fabric. The process is quite complex. This can be a barrier to entry. For anything, where it should take two or three steps, you have ten steps"
"Biannually, there is a new design delivered by Cisco. Thus, you are always running behind the new design, and it never stops. With Cisco ACI, this has been a nightmare."
"Cisco ACI is a highly complex solution. The initial deployment is just a few clicks, but understanding how an ACI works and interacts with routing, switching, and virtualization takes a lot of knowledge."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors."
"I would like to see the principle scan introduce more models, to help with scalability issues."
"This is a software solution, which is less stable than a hardware solution by definition."
"The solution's orchestration part could be improved."
"This is a software solution, which is less stable than a hardware solution by definition."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the cost. The SDN hardware especially is much too expensive, specifically 799 and 9000."
"One of the things that can be improved is trimming all mobile numbers so that it aids in swiftly acquiring information for tablets or any necessary solution."
"It would be helpful if they offered modularized upgrades, such as additional memory or a faster processor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is pretty good for new technology."
"We have saved time on the provisioning and configuration."
"This is an expensive solution."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"It is quite expensive. It is not at all on the cheap or medium side."
"The licensing cost for ACI is expensive - I would rate its price 2.5 out of five."
"I don't believe there is any licensing required."
"The pricing and licensing are both high, particularly if you want a high level of functionality. It would be great if the price and licensing cost could be decreased."
"Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is an expensive solution."
"There is a separate charge for support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise87
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco ACI?
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

No data available
Cisco NFV
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco ACI vs. Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.