Cisco Prime [EOL] vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"The technical support team is very good."

"The most valuable is the assistance for network support."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat maps."

"As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."

"What I found most beneficial from Cisco Prime is that it gives you an insight into what your network does, even when you're not actively monitoring what's going on with your network."

"Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."

"The solution provides data that allows us to time travel through logs and perform remote operations or troubleshooting."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."

"The installation is straightforward."

"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."

"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."

"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."

"It is a stable solution."

"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."

"The features we find most valuable is the configuration backup automation, the configuration compliance, the security vulnerability detection and upgrading devices."

"We push all our configurations to the servers with ease and the logs capture almost all the transactions needed for an internal audit."

"The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."

"They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

"The product needs to improve its stability."

"Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."

"The product's pricing can be cheaper."

"Cisco can only be used for Cisco environments and is not compatible with other vendors."

"The reporting feature of Cisco Prime should be improved."

"For each device, when you open the network performance monitor, it will give you all of the information about the device, but many of the natural configuration management features are not on that page."

"The AI features do not work well."

"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."

"The solution could have better integration."

"It would be great if they include a network service manager, network performance manager, or a privileged assessment in the next release."

"I would like to see more integration tools. Something like dialysis, for example."

"The third-party plugins available in the solution could improve. I have received some issues with the templates."

"There is room for improvement in automation."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

"The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."

"If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."

"The cost is quite high."

"I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."

"We update the license every five years."

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."

"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."

"Available at a moderate price"

"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."

"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

"The pricing is good."