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Cisco ACI vs Symantec Data Center Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 14, 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 Cloud and Data Center Security
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd)
Symantec Data Center Security
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 4.7%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Data Center Security is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco ACI4.7%
Symantec Data Center Security1.8%
Other93.5%
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Shahram Dehghani - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust solution that provides comprehensive protection for data centers, offering agentless security, powerful intrusion prevention, and a wide range of security features
The primary focus of data center security often revolves around serving customers who offer services to other clients within the data center. For example, if I operate a data center and provide security services, third-party customers might purchase virtual machine products within my data center. These products are automatically deployed, and we safeguard these virtual machines using intrusion prevention system features. This aspect is considered the most valuable part because when we set up these security policies, it's as if we're fortifying the entire infrastructure. It's not just about having good technical support; it's about having a robust IPS and comprehensive DOS prevention system on those operating systems. The advantage of Data Center Security is its ease of use and that it serves as a single unified platform, where I can apply all my security policies to protect that server.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We had different networks and combined them with ACI so we could have the control of one controller-based network. Also, everything is combined now."
"The stability is perfect. We have had no problems with Cisco ACI."
"The biggest benefit has been that it has improved communication between my endpoints in the data center."
"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."
"Automation is its most valuable feature."
"The features we find most valuable is the integration with the virtual switches of our UCS platform."
"I like using WebEx Board."
"The centralized configuration is its most valuable feature."
"The granularity of applying the policies is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the centralized console, which can handle different products that we have."
"The console and tools are very user-friendly."
"The monitoring in the management console allows us to find out what is going wrong, and it gets reports even before the user reports it."
"The ability to finely control permissions and restrictions on servers or assets through a customizable rule set is a key strength."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint protection system."
"We use the product to prevent unauthorized access to data, systems, and servers. It provides essential features for data center security."
"The advantage of Data Center Security is its ease of use and that it serves as a single unified platform, where I can apply all my security policies to protect that server."
 

Cons

"My complaint about this is: We purchased the ACI gear, but to do monitoring, to do stats, to do telemetry statistics, etc. we have to purchase another product from Cisco."
"In terms of improvement, I would like to see some sort of way to baseline the system in a network-centric fashion."
"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"
"Training for this product is available from institutions but it is not available online where you can get users trained easily."
"One of the things that makes it a lot more complicated is the way contracts are handled in ACI. Contracts are like their own access lists. They can improve the setting up of contracts between devices a lot. It can be simplified."
"The CLI needs to be improved."
"The tool's initial deployment is complex and takes five hours to complete."
"More how-to videos and instructional information is required."
"Could have better reporting capabilities and better support."
"A user or administrator making the policy in the DCS should have a very thorough knowledge of the operating system or policy making. You have to be very specific about the data structure."
"There is plenty of room for improvement with this product, and it could start with platform metrics."
"The product blocks certain processes, even after allowlisting them."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing its graphical user interface for a more user-friendly experience."
"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."
"Adding more compatibility with common products like Microsoft would be a plus."
"Agent management is a challenging task."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't believe there is any licensing required."
"There are no additional costs. We only have to pay for a support contract apart from the license."
"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."
"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."
"The thing that I like the most from Cisco is the support and all the documentation that they have. We do have to pay for it though."
"We have saved time on the provisioning and configuration."
"We used Cisco Professional Services for the deployment. They were outstanding, but very expensive."
"Compared to some other solutions, such as CrowdStrike, Symantec is more expensive."
"It is notably more expensive when compared to other solutions."
"The product is a bit costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise87
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

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 do you like most about Cisco ACI?
The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.
What do you like most about Symantec Data Center Security?
The granularity of applying the policies is valuable.
What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?
Agent management is a challenging task. We cannot do it from the console. We will have to use other tools.
What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?
One key use case for data center security is protecting files within the data center. This is especially important for Linux systems, where locking down specific files is essential to prevent unaut...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco ACI vs. Symantec Data Center Security and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.