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Cisco ACI vs Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (9th)
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 June 2026, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 28.3%, down from 48.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is 8.7%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI28.3%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization8.7%
Other63.0%
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

"Cisco ACI is scalable and easy to expand."
"It has made it much easier to deploy and make changes in the data center versus the previous infrastructure, which was NX-OS based."
"The initial setup was pretty straightforward. We just moved from one platform to another."
"The scalability is perfect, and it is one of the main reasons that we install it."
"The stability is quite good."
"What's most valuable in Cisco ACI is that it isn't like the legacy infrastructure where you have a lot of complexity in a TTR architecture. What I like most about Cisco ACI is that you can control those devices from a single console, even if you have three hundred devices. You can manage the entire infrastructure from a single point of contact, so Cisco ACI is a time saver. Another exclusive feature of Cisco ACI is its API interface that lets you enhance automation within the environment. You can manage your entire data center from a single interface through Cisco ACI. If you want to upgrade three hundred devices in one click, you can do that, and within one hour, all three hundred devices will be upgraded. I also like that Cisco keeps enhancing the product by adding different features, so there have been five major releases of Cisco ACI. Another valuable feature of the solution is that it's more user-friendly than Aruba and Juniper."
"In principle, what we are looking for is to have one gigantic tool which can be programmable, making our lives easier in terms of troubleshooting and management."
"It has reduced our day-to-day operations by at least half."
"Scalability is not a problem."
"Network Security is one of the most valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
"Overall, I feel that this is a good product and I recommend it."
"The support system that they have in place is very good and they are easy to reach."
"The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard."
"Cisco is in our portfolio, which is one of the reasons that we keep working with them."
"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable, and if you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."
"Routing, switching, and wireless network security are the valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."
 

Cons

"With the first setup, it was complex because of the terminology."
"Sometimes I get stuck with somebody from technical support who does not understand the problem."
"The ability for us to figure out the traffic flows, to enable some of the more segmentation parts of it, is really tough with what is built into ACI."
"I think that technical support tickets should be escalated sooner."
"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."
"I would like this solution to be integrated with Pure Storage."
"An area for improvement in Cisco ACI is security, which Cisco needs to enhance in the solution. Though Cisco ACI uses a whitelist model, you must purchase an external product, such as a security firewall solution, to make whitelisting work, which the customer could find expensive. For example, you're a customer who has Cisco ACI, and the solution doesn't have IP-based filtering, so as a customer, you've purchased Cisco ACI. However, you still need to buy another product for security, and some customers wouldn't like that. However, some customers prefer to go with Cisco ACI because of its scalability and flexibility versus other solutions such as Juniper and Aruba. Technical support for Cisco ACI also needs improvement, particularly in product knowledge."
"The firewall has room for improvement because there is no central inspection yet on Cisco ACI."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the cost. The SDN hardware especially is much too expensive, specifically 799 and 9000, which act like a spine and those spines are connecting to the leaves."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors."
"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."
"The solution's orchestration part could be improved."
"It would be helpful if they offered modularized upgrades, such as additional memory or a faster processor."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The cost is fine."
"The pricing is pretty good for new technology."
"There are no additional costs. We only have to pay for a support contract apart from the license."
"We don't use all of the features but it's still worth the money."
"We used Cisco Professional Services for the deployment. They were outstanding, but very expensive."
"The price could be improved. It is expensive, but then again, it is Cisco. The price is worth what you pay for."
"Once you sign for the start kit implementation, you have to go all the way through to the implementation, even if you are experiences issues."
"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%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise88
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: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.