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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller delivers consistent connections and high ROI, benefiting diverse sectors over a decade.
Sentiment score
7.4
IBM SevOne enhances network monitoring and issue resolution, ensuring cost efficiency and improved operational performance for businesses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some operational cases take longer to resolve.
Sentiment score
8.0
IBM SevOne NPM customer service is praised for responsiveness, expertise, friendly communication, fast response, and handling complex cases effectively.
Cisco's support I would rate as a 10 compared to all other vendors.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The technical support from IBM for SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is very good.
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is scalable, supporting integration and expansion, with varied user experiences on upgrading and compatibility.
Sentiment score
8.1
IBM SevOne NPM offers scalable, flexible network monitoring, easily integrating devices and expanding for diverse business sizes and needs.
It is suitable for small, medium, and enterprise-level companies.
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is praised for its stable performance and reliability, especially in managing data centers.
Sentiment score
7.9
IBM SevOne NPM is stable and reliable, with most issues arising from non-SevOne components or specific scenarios.
The stability of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is excellent.
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Nexus Dashboard needs easier configuration, better integration, improved performance, intuitive reporting, and competitive pricing to enhance user experience.
IBM SevOne struggles with upgrade complexity, reporting detail, integration, visualization, and seeks enhanced analytics and cloud monitoring improvements.
I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improvements in correlation features.
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is costly but offers high value, transparent pricing, and excellent support and service.
IBM SevOne NPM provides scalable, flexible licensing, though upfront costs can be high; negotiation is advised for cost management.
 

Valuable Features

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller offers stability, ease of use, integration, and real-time insights for optimized network management.
IBM SevOne NPM offers scalable, real-time monitoring with integration, alerting, and reporting for proactive network management and optimization.
People typically understand north-south traffic flows but usually miss the east-west traffic flows in data centers.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) are its stability, usability, visibility, and user-friendly interface.
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM SevOne Network Performa...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
42nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (19th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (40th), Log Management (44th), Cloud Monitoring Software (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is 1.0%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.7%
IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM)1.0%
Other98.3%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jagdev Dhaliwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Flow monitoring has improved planning for east-west traffic and real-time capacity decisions
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) helps to understand the flows and data plane capacities, which are the primary use cases. Usually, people struggle with east-west traffic flow when they need to decide on firewalls or products. People typically understand north-south traffic flows but usually miss the east-west traffic flows in data centers. I was focusing more on this so that people can accordingly plan, such as after F5, the number of servers, the number of sessions needed, and whether we need to plan the interface for groups from the line capacity perspective. This kind of information was valuable to us. The real-time telemetry feature was beneficial. When experiencing performance issues, I could determine if there were any issues related to flows or areas where bottlenecks were occurring.
reviewer1543041 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network monitoring engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Provides consistent infrastructure monitoring with excellent usability and support
The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastructure's availability and ensure that alerts are generated when needed The most valuable features of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) are its stability,…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Performing Arts
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise45
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar plat...
What needs improvement with Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments. I am uncertain because we have never attempted that in our environment, so they could perform better in t...
What needs improvement with SevOne Network Data Platform?
There is room for improvement in the integration with different vendors and the reporting capabilities. It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improv...
What is your primary use case for SevOne Network Data Platform?
The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) ( /products/ibm-sevone-network-performance-management-npm-reviews ) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastru...
What advice do you have for others considering SevOne Network Data Platform?
To compete with custom-built tools, IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) should accommodate the desired features and be timely in the delivery of feature updates. I would rate the overal...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
SevOne
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
ATOS, Devereux, Spark New Zealand, Access4, Rogers Communication, Lumen (formerly known as CenturyLink)
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.