Kentik and Cisco DNA Center compete in network management and analytics. Kentik has an advantage with its SaaS-based analytics and automation tools, while Cisco DNA Center focuses more on centralized management for Cisco devices with strong security and automation features.
Features: Kentik provides flow visualization, real-time traffic insights, SaaS-based analytics tools, automation capabilities, network flow understanding, connectivity optimization, and DDoS alert settings. Cisco DNA Center offers centralized network management, analytics, rapid network provisioning, integration with Cisco devices, security features, LAN automation, and data visualization interfaces.
Room for Improvement: Kentik could improve user and security permission granularity, API usability, cost analysis features, flow data actionability, and interface usability, especially in newer versions. Cisco DNA Center could enhance third-party integrations, provide a clearer upgrade path, address the high price, improve configuration management, offer a more user-friendly interface, integrate better with diverse networks, and enhance task failure reporting details.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kentik is deployable across SaaS, on-premises, and private cloud environments, with outstanding customer support offering quick and effective solutions and proactive communication, ensuring reliable service. Cisco DNA Center primarily deploys on-premises, with mixed customer service experiences, requiring detailed technical guidance and quicker response times, yet its integration within Cisco environments adds value to comprehensive networks despite initial deployment challenges.
Pricing and ROI: Kentik's device-based pricing is considered cost-effective for large infrastructures, offering significant ROI through cost savings in network transit and automation efficiency, with discounts for education customers. Cisco DNA Center's pricing is high, with notable licensing costs, beneficial for large enterprises investing in Cisco infrastructure but deterring smaller businesses, with licensing costs a common concern, though ROI can justify the expense if leveraging full capabilities.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
In production environments, especially for service providers on IP networks and data centers, Kentik helps in reducing the time to identify and resolve issues.
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
The support for Cisco DNA Center is good.
They have monthly calls and discuss the product roadmap with us to determine what is needed.
I have mostly used forums for any support needed because the setup is straightforward and the documentation is quite good.
From my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices.
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
Kentik's integration with Kubernetes makes scaling easier.
You can scale as many devices and tests as you want, but you should have a good number of credits in your accounts.
When we communicate problems, they solve them effectively.
In production, however, dimensioning of the underlying platforms is something to be mindful of.
Based on stability, I would give Kentik a nine.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
The client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days.
More work is required to integrate AI for troubleshooting, simplifying root cause analysis, and providing suggested solutions for network issues.
The pricing is good and aligns with the market target.
Kentik’s pricing is competitive in the marketplace.
If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
One of the most valuable features of Kentik, especially for service providers, is its ability to visualize all the BGP peering and the status of the BGP peering platform.
Overall, the ease of use and the fact that it meets client expectations are major positives.
Kentik is easy to use and set up.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco DNA Center | 1.0% |
| Kentik | 1.2% |
| Other | 97.8% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 10 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 9 |
| Large Enterprise | 25 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 4 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
Cisco DNA Center delivers powerful centralized security, automation, and comprehensive analytics for enhanced network management. With an intuitive dashboard and integration with Cisco devices, it reduces errors, boosts efficiency, and ensures seamless wired and wireless network operations.
Organizations leverage Cisco DNA Center for network management and automation, offering increased visibility into traffic flows and efficient device provisioning. It supports real-time data transmission, network segmentation, and integrates with ISE. Features like wireless assurance, centralized management, and AI-driven insights into network health promote an efficient network environment while addressing compliance issues. However, improvements are necessary for better third-party integration, affordability, and more user-friendly documentation.
What are the solution's most important features?In industries like healthcare, finance, and education, Cisco DNA Center's advanced features facilitate the management of complex network infrastructures and aid in achieving compliance efficiently. Its ability to manage LANs and WLANs supports diverse networking environments including greenfield projects and SPN setups.
Kentik's AIOps Network Traffic Intelligence platform unifies network operations, performance, security, and business intelligence.
With a purpose-built big data engine delivered as public or private SaaS, Kentik captures a high-resolution view of actual network traffic data and enriches it with critical application and business data, so every network event or analysis can be tied to revenue & costs, customer & user experience, performance & risk.
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