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Cisco Catalyst Center vs HPE Intelligent Management Center comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
48
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 November 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 3.8%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Intelligent Management Center is 3.8%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Center3.8%
HPE Intelligent Management Center3.8%
Other92.4%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AadishBahati - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Solution Architect at EchoStor
Unified automation has transformed network operations and simplifies multi‑site management
The learning curve is better with Cisco compared to other products. Everyone has a learning curve because everyone is bringing new technologies, new interfaces, and new ways of doing things. The other products have a steeper learning curve. When comparing Cisco with VMware, I am not comparing Cisco with Arista, Juniper, or HP because those are companies which are doing a very basic level of automation. Cisco is doing way more advanced things. In terms of advanced handling and the advanced orchestration and advanced management plane control that Cisco is delivering, the only competitiveness in advancement is VMware NSX. However, it is really complex. Cisco's platforms are much easier to understand and learn compared to VMware.The only disadvantage with Cisco would be their services and licensing, which is a bit complex and a bit too expensive. Because their services are so expensive, companies end up buying Cisco, but they end up not buying Cisco services to do it. When they turn to external partners, not many people outside know the technology as well as Cisco does. People deploy it, but they do not get the right resources to deploy it.
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

"The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and the good support for the solution."
"Cisco Catalyst Center has significantly reduced travel time for our organization, which has approximately 60 locations across our state."
"The best feature of Cisco is its industry-standard nature."
"Cisco Catalyst switches are reliable and stable."
"Operational efficiency is definitely better because everything is managed from one single plane, the visibility and monitoring is top-notch, and the smart fault handling and event handling are so nice that all of the guessing work has finished and Day 2 operation is definitely way better."
"Cisco Catalyst Center has been pretty smooth with scaling the growing needs of my organization, and it is scaling; we are about to replace all of our switches, so we are anticipating that it will help a lot with that."
"Cisco tech support is one of the best in the industry, which is a strong feature available across their products."
"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."
"It's a very complete product with a lot of functionality."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
"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."
"This is far and away the best tool of this type I have ever used."
"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."
"One of the notable advantages is its ability to provide quick responses, especially in critical situations."
 

Cons

"The area for improvement in Cisco Catalyst Center is the spectrum analyzer, as I find it difficult to identify which type of device is causing a problem."
"Cisco Catalyst Center could improve its graphical user interface. Currently, it is CLI-based, which makes it challenging for those without Cisco training."
"There are areas for improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center, and I can discuss what could be improved."
"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."
"When I first installed Cisco Catalyst Center, it required a lot of hardware resources during the installation process."
"Feedback on the pricing and licensing is that it is overly confusing, and I think that has been well acknowledged by everyone, including my accounts team, who struggle at the best of times."
"For someone new, the documentation is not very clear."
"Cisco Catalyst Center could be improved since the dashboard in Cisco Catalyst Center is disgracefully basic, and it is extremely hard to dive down into finding a fault."
"One notable deficiency is the lack of online support for the product."
"The integration with other network devices needs improvement."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
"It's horrible. 90% of the time we're figuring out the solution ourselves."
"HPE Intelligent Management Center is a bit slow."
"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."
"I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall."
 

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
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921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise31
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?
We did not purchase Cisco Catalyst Center through the AWS Marketplace as we used the Cisco DevNet always-on sandbox which gave us temporary access to a hosted Catalyst Center environment for testin...
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
I think Cisco Catalyst Center can be improved overall by making the sandbox setups and documentation more straightforward, as it was a little confusing because the DevNet page documentation, contro...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
My main use case for Cisco Catalyst Center in the sandbox is to test APIs and integrate network data into the FloodGaurd project, where I tested device inventory, device health, network health, sit...
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: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.