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Cisco Catalyst Center vs HPE Intelligent Management Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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 Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Intelligent Management ...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
9th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 5.1%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Intelligent Management Center is 4.5%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Center5.1%
HPE Intelligent Management Center4.5%
Other90.4%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has improved infrastructure management with customizable reporting and automated deployment
Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere. Historical data can be stored in Cisco Catalyst Center, and dashboards and widgets can be configured to personal preference. Device deployment can be automated to the point where all someone needs to do is plug it in. Zero Touch Provisioning, while requiring some initial work to set up properly, provides significant benefits. Once configured, it reduces the need for travel by specific network personnel, allowing on-site or other staff to handle device deployment by simply plugging in the cable.
Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
Achieve seamless network and link monitoring with comprehensive device management
The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them. The really beneficial feature is the link monitoring. I had checked Check Point's product, however, my requirements are better fulfilled by IMC. The main feature is that IMC automatically configures the device for my use. I have over 200 features in my network, and IMC manages the complete environment. Automation is good, but I mainly use it for monitoring. I am too satisfied with this product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco performs well in the network space, especially in areas like switching, DNA Center, and wireless, where it is known for its stability."
"Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere."
"The solution primarily focuses on visibility into Cisco products and day zero, day one, and day two operations, enabling plug-and-play features, device onboarding, hierarchy definition, and telemetry data collection to offer a comprehensive 360-degree view with basic automation and visibility assurance at its core."
"The architecture and the way Cisco designs it, VXLAN and Cisco Express Forwarding are some of the features I like."
"Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere."
"Catalyst provides a reliable and mature network solution, which has stabilized all features and improved productivity."
"Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere."
"Customer service has been excellent."
"It's a very complete product with a lot of functionality."
"The most valuable feature is the interface and its ease of use."
"The most valuable feature is the interface and its ease of use."
"The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
"The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them."
"We chose HPE for its interoperability with non-Cisco equipment, interoperability with non HP equipment, and customizable, and a deep feature set that Cisco Prime just didn't have because it's focused on Cisco stuff only."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
 

Cons

"My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues."
"The deployment process is pretty complex"
"The retention period of data could be improved from seven days to 30 days. This change would help in cases where users are on leave for extended periods."
"Some features in terms of security should be there, especially in threat detection. Cisco Catalyst Center lacked intelligence in this area and required reliance on third-party appliances like firewalls or threat protection devices."
"Current pricing is too expensive for features that users may not be sure they will use, pricing the company out of the market."
"Current pricing is too expensive for features that users may not be sure they will use, pricing the company out of the market."
"There is room for improvement in introducing auto-heal AI capabilities. In the current setup, incidents are always reactionary, and it would be beneficial if Cisco Catalyst Center could proactively handle issues such as bandwidth crunches and packet drops."
"The main drawback of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it can only manage and monitor Cisco devices with a DNA license, specifically the Catalyst 9000 series."
"The integration with other network devices needs improvement."
"One notable deficiency is the lack of online support for the product."
"HPE Intelligent Management Center is a bit slow."
"It's horrible. 90% of the time we're figuring out the solution ourselves."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
"I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
"Technical support is the one area where I have to rate HPE fairly poorly; when we have encountered issues, particularly around inconsistencies in the topology views, getting them fixed can be a cumbersome process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There are licensing costs and they are quite expensive."
"The price of this solution is not at all cheap, but it's reasonable compared to SolarWinds."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
I am totally satisfied with the functionality, but we cannot discuss prices with Cisco.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
My feedback about the web-based interface of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it is very good with no issues, but for some reasons, it is working poorly in Google Chrome, so I must use Firefox for bet...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco Catalyst Center is used for monitoring, troubleshooting, and management as the core of the network, and everything we do is in Catalyst.
What needs improvement with HPE Intelligent Management Center?
I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall. This will be sorted out with the help of IMC, and now I have a modem dialing as per my needs.
What is your primary use case for HPE Intelligent Management Center?
I am using this solution for network monitoring, links monitoring, and complete monitoring of my infrastructure. I also deploy FortiVAF, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiManager as part of a complete securi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
HPE IMC
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. HPE Intelligent Management Center and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.