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Cisco ACI vs Nuage Networks vs VMware NSX comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.4
Entities report time and cost savings with Cisco ACI, despite challenges in implementation and varied financial benefit assessments.
Sentiment score
8.5
Nuage Networks improved efficiency, scalability, and automation, reducing costs and complexity, while enhancing control, performance, and adaptability.
Sentiment score
6.4
VMware NSX offers long-term financial benefits by reducing overhead and improving security, despite high initial costs and evaluation time.
Efficient utilization leads to cost savings and efficiency gains.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ACI support is praised for responsiveness and resolution speed, but inconsistencies exist, especially with newer staff and regions.
Sentiment score
6.7
Nuage Networks' customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, providing quick issue resolution, effective troubleshooting, and personalized assistance.
Sentiment score
6.6
VMware NSX support is knowledgeable but experiences vary; some report delays and recent service deterioration due to structural changes.
The technical support from Cisco is satisfactory.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
When issues occur, the TAC is not able to provide much support, leading to difficulties in finding RCAs.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
They were always helpful.
Senior VMware Administrator at Johnson Controls, Inc.
They are quick and understand things easily, so the support is aligned very effectively.
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Our technicians have a good support experience from the company.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco ACI offers excellent scalability, enabling easy network expansion and integration, while supporting extensive device numbers and multi-site setups.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users laud Nuage Networks for its seamless scalability, flexible network management, and efficient performance in cloud and SD-WAN environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
VMware NSX is favored for its scalability, supporting extensive deployments across data centers with ease and efficiency.
The solution offers high performance and scalability with connectivity options up to 100 GS.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
The scalability of Cisco ACI supports our organization's growth effectively.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
Expanding your network or your data center with Cisco ACI is not an issue; scalability is a good feature.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
There is a high level of satisfaction with its ability to scale.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco ACI is stable and reliable, with resolved bugs and improved support, offering minimal downtime despite occasional minor issues.
Sentiment score
9.0
Users praise Nuage Networks for reliability, strong features, seamless integration, scalability, minimal issues, and responsive support.
Sentiment score
8.1
VMware NSX is praised for its high stability and reliability, with most users rating it 8-10 out of 10.
For stability, Cisco ACI rates a nine or 9.5 because I've seen three customers using Cisco ACI and once deployed, the solution is very stable.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
The product performs at 99% efficiency without any showstoppers or significant issues.
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
For stability, I would rate VMware NSX as a nine out of ten.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ACI needs user interface, configuration, integration, and support improvements to enhance usability and scalability in hybrid environments.
Nuage Networks could improve documentation, simplify setup, enhance customer support responsiveness, offer better training, and improve system integration.
VMware NSX struggles with high costs, complex configurations, integration issues, and requires improvements in scalability, user-friendliness, and pricing.
Their lack of on-ground offices can result in business losses.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
We do not make use of its visibility and analytics features, as we are mostly using it for the networking part only.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
The initial configuration and integration within our existing environment were not easy.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing for the product is another area for improvement as I'm not satisfied nowadays.
Senior VMware Administrator at Johnson Controls, Inc.
The licensing model is expensive and could be more flexible, especially after Broadcom bought VMware.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ACI is costly but valuable, offering quality and support; best for large operations despite complex licensing.
Nuage Networks provides customizable and competitive pricing for scalable solutions, appealing to enterprises with detailed, requirement-based quotes.
VMware NSX pricing is seen as high; costs vary based on features used, licensing choices, and negotiation effectiveness.
In general, Cisco ACI is on the higher side; it's not a cheap solution.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Cisco's pricing tends to be on the higher end compared to other vendors.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
S VP, IT Infra at ATOM
The cost of VMware NSX is considered high.
Senior IT Strategy Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The complexity is too high in terms of price.
Technical Manager at Allianz Cloud Private Limited
VMware NSX is a little higher in price compared to the competition.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ACI enhances data center efficiency with seamless integration, automation, scalability, micro-segmentation, robust security, and user-friendly management.
Users praised Nuage Networks for its automation, integration, scalability, and security, valuing deployment simplicity, cost efficiency, and technical support.
VMware NSX offers micro-segmentation, scalability, automation, VM-level security, and Zero Trust support for enhanced modern networking.
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.
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Its features, like easy application deployment, short deployment time for new applications or software, and eliminating the hassle of STP, are appreciated.
Chief Technology Officer at Mehbub General Trading PLC
It is essential for growing our data center connectivity and enablement for our customers.
Sr Consultant at Tata Consultancy
Micro-segmentation enhances security and provides more secure data in your data center.
Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations.
Technical Manager at Allianz Cloud Private Limited
The most powerful feature of VMware NSX is the micro-segmentation that allows us to separate the different protocols our application works with.
Joint Staff Officer at Hellenic National Defence General Staff
 

Mindshare comparison

Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI35.2%
VMware NSX33.0%
Cisco Elastic Services Controller9.4%
Other22.39999999999999%
Network Virtualization
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Nuage Networks1.4%
Fortinet FortiGate12.3%
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN10.1%
Other76.2%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX33.0%
Cisco ACI35.2%
Cisco Elastic Services Controller9.4%
Other22.39999999999999%
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.
Kristof Spriet - PeerSpot reviewer
Products & Solutions Manager at Proximus
Great multi-tenancy and routing functionalities but needs more security capabilities
We primarily use the solution for connectivity to the majority of our customers, for national and international deployments.  Their multi-tenancy and routing functionalities are both great. It is stable and reliable. The solution can scale. Technical support has been fine. Security needs to be…
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Performing Arts
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise87
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

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 g...
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 wh...
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
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of ...
What needs improvement with VMware NSX?
A basic load balancer feature was present in a previous version, but the latest version only has an advanced load bal...
What is your primary use case for VMware NSX?
VMware NSX helps create and operate on-demand networks. The solution is dynamic and flexible. Our company's principal...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Produban
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Broadcom, Array Networks and others in Network Virtualization. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.