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Cisco DNA Center vs Fortra's Intermapper comparison

Cisco and Fortra are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0, while Fortra is ranked #84. Cisco holds a 1.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Fortra’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortra 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
Fortra's Intermapper
Read 4 Fortra's Intermapper reviews
  • 385 Views
  • 242 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Fortra's Intermapper and Cisco DNA Center are two key players in network monitoring and management solutions. Cisco DNA Center maintains an edge due to its comprehensive features that justify its premium pricing.

Features:Fortra's Intermapper focuses on real-time network performance monitoring, automatic network mapping, and a lightweight deployment. Cisco DNA Center provides advanced policy-based automation, AI-driven analytics, and integration capabilities for holistic network management.

Room for Improvement:Fortra's Intermapper could enhance its advanced analytics capabilities, improve integration with other enterprise systems, and expand on customization options. Cisco DNA Center may benefit from simplifying its deployment process, offering more cost-effective plans for smaller networks, and enhancing user interface customization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Fortra's Intermapper offers straightforward deployment with accessible customer support, making it quick to manage. Cisco DNA Center requires a more extensive initial setup but compensates with robust support and detailed integration guidance.

Pricing and ROI:Fortra's Intermapper is considered cost-effective with a lower initial setup cost, offering fair ROI for small to mid-sized networks. Cisco DNA Center provides substantial ROI for large enterprises despite a higher initial investment, thanks to scalable solutions and enhanced network control.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortra's Intermapper Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortra's Intermapper
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
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
Fortra's Intermapper
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
84th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Fortra's Intermapper is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
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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AL
It tremendously cuts down our troubleshooting timeframe, but needs advanced SLA monitoring and reporting
They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit.
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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

"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."
"The most valuable features of Cisco DNA Center are wireless assurance and visibility."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."
More Cisco DNA Center pros
"What is really cool about HelpSystems InterMapper is that because of its SNMP base, you can integrate all different makes and models on the same map. You, of course, can have more than one map, but you have an option to have visibility into the entire network from one centralized system. You can monitor IPs, routers, radios, DC power plants, and UPS. You can do it all from one network management and monitoring solution. That's what really makes HelpSystems Intermapper great. Another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper is that you can really bundle different probes under one device. You can have a bundled device. You can monitor the physical status of a host based on the IP availability. You can also monitor services and actually see if anything happens. You can quickly determine whether it is the application layer, host layer, or network layer. HelpSystems Intermapper gives such a unique representation of a network. Ever since we started using HelpSystems InterMapper, we don't have to document everything in a detailed format and store it somewhere. Right now, it is really a combination of network topology, network monitoring, and network analyzing. So, in my opinion, it is awesome. When you have your SNMP topology defined, you don't require a dedicated NMS engineer to manage your system, which is another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper. I see how our operators get so excited by having the ability to map a device or interface and connect interfaces together. HelpSystems InterMapper is also very operator friendly; not just user friendly, but also operator friendly. This is a unique feature, and it works really great."
"It's all today portal-based which is a good feature for us."
"It's a nice graphical interface, a nice map, that relates Layer 1 to Layer 3, virtually instantly, to the Helpdesk support staff. It provides a default place to get critical information so we can deploy our staff."
"The most valuable features are its: log history, real-time monitoring capabilities, accuracy - the number of false positives is very low, and the mapping features."
 

Cons

"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."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"DNA Center has been on the market for a few years and they need to update it."
"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"They should include UTM features in the product."
More Cisco DNA Center cons
"I'd love to see more of the network management side of it coming back into it. If we were able to run scripts to bounce ports on switches, that would be great. It's asking a lot, but it's actually very doable because I do it through scripting into other products. If we could incorporate that directly into Intermapper, that would be fantastic."
"They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit."
"It's a smaller solution so tools are not as advanced as you would find in a larger solution"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"The product is very costly."
"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."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"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."
More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
25%
Government
17%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

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.
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Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 5% of the time
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Compared 59% of the time
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Compared 41% of the time
More Fortra's Intermapper Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center
May 2025
Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
Buyer's Guide
Network Monitoring Software
April 2025
Fortra's Intermapper reportDownload Fortra's Intermapper product report
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
HelpSystems Intermapper
 

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

Fortra's software frees you up to focus on what matters most, aligning IT and business goals to help organizations build a competitive edge. Intermapper is network monitoring software for organizations who want to monitor their IT infrastructure in real time.

With Intermapper, you can visualize all your physical and virtual network components on a live map and get up-to-date performance data on its availability. Powerful and user-friendly, Intermapper helps leading businesses prevent costly outages and maximize uptime for 24/7 availability of network resources.

Features include flexible monitoring for anything with an IP address, free probes to monitor different types of equipment from various vendors, dynamic network mapping, bandwidth monitoring, real-time alerts, and remote access. Our add-on integration with Automate allows you to remediate network failures and conduct network self-healing.

Intermapper runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.


Fortra
 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Greater Media Detroit, University of British Columbia, Don's Farm Supply
Buyer's Guide
Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortra's Intermapper
April 2025
Free Report: Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortra's Intermapper
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortra's Intermapper and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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