Cisco DNA Center vs Flowmon comparison

Cisco and Progress Software are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0, while Progress Software is ranked #39 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 1.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Progress Software’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

Cisco DNA Center

Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews

1,823 Views
1,148 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Flowmon

Read 4 Flowmon reviews

900 Views
706 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

Flowmon

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Flowmon and Cisco DNA Center are competing products in network management and monitoring. Based on data comparisons, Cisco DNA Center has the upper hand due to its robust feature set and performance, making it worth the investment.

Features:Flowmon offers traffic analysis, advanced threat detection, and network performance insights. Cisco DNA Center provides network assurance, policy compliance, and advanced analytics, showcasing integrated automated network management capabilities.

Room for Improvement:Flowmon could enhance its network management capabilities and additional automation features to compete more broadly. Cisco DNA Center could improve its deployment simplicity, provide more cost-effective pricing options, and streamline its user interface for ease of use.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Flowmon offers a straightforward deployment process with reliable support. Cisco DNA Center requires a more complex implementation because of its extensive functionalities but is backed by extensive documentation and robust customer service.

Pricing and ROI:Flowmon presents a cost-effective setup with favorable ROI focused on affordability and return through targeted functionalities. Cisco DNA Center, although higher in initial setup costs, delivers substantial ROI due to its advanced features significantly enhancing network performance and management efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. Flowmon Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Flowmon

April 2025

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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 DNA Center

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)

Flowmon

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

39th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Detection and Response (NDR) (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Flowmon is 0.7%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal

Senior Network Engineer at Inside Global

Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features

The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.

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Pifu Lin

Senior System Engineer at DYNASAFE TECHNOLOGIES PTE. LTD.

Quick identification of network issues enhances performance monitoring

We will try to Proof of Concept (POC) to a client in Taiwan. We just use the features for the Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly. We need this solution to monitor the network performance. We started using it three…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."

"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."

"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."

"The solution has the capability to scale."

"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"

"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."

"Cisco DNA Center is a user-friendly solution."

"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"It is an open platform, so in terms of integration, we are quite happy. We can integrate it with other SNMP solutions. We can also integrate it with security solutions, such as a SIEM solution."

"The artificial intelligence and automatic detection system in Flowmon Solution are perfect for every, type of customer, such as government and commerce."

"Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly."

"The solution is stable."

"Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly."

Cons

"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."

"I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."

"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."

"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."

"The solution’s security side could be improved."

"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."

"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."

"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"The licensing price could be better."

"If there was better visualization in Flowmon Solution it would be good."

"I do not know the detailed pricing."

"It would be helpful to have more details about the monitoring of the infrastructure. It should have support for SNMP. This is something that is currently not there in the product."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."

"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."

"Our licensing agreement is for three years."

"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."

"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."

"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."

"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."

"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

"It works with a permanent license, and then you can pay for the support. For the gold support, you need to pay yearly."

"The price of the solution could be better."

"The licensing fee accrues only once, but that of support is annual."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Legal Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?

The cost is very high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

The system is working fine for me currently.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Flowmon Anomaly Detection System?

I don't understand the price. I am in deployment, so I do not know the detailed pricing.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Flowmon Anomaly Detection System?

We will try to Proof of Concept (POC) to a client in Taiwan. We just use the features for the Network Performance Monitor (NPM).

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Flowmon Anomaly Detection System?

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 11% of the time

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

Meraki Dashboard vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

Darktrace vs Flowmon

Compared 20% of the time

Vectra AI vs Flowmon

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Flowmon

Compared 8% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Flowmon

Compared 7% of the time

ExtraHop Reveal(x) vs Flowmon

Compared 7% of the time

More Flowmon Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

May 2025

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

April 2025

Download Flowmon product report

Also Known As

DNA Center

Flowmon Anomaly Detection System

Overview

Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?

Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

Cisco

Flowmon is a professional tool for effective network troubleshooting, performance monitoring, capacity planning, encrypted traffic analysis and cloud monitoring. Instead of just the red/green infrastructure status, it helps NetOps teams to understand user experience while keeping the amount of data noise and analytical work to a minimum. Flowmon is a part of the Kemp product portfolio.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

SEGA

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Flowmon

April 2025

Free Report: Cisco DNA Center vs. Flowmon

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