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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Fortinet FortiSandbox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Secure Network Analytics
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (33rd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th), Cisco Security Portfolio (7th)
Fortinet FortiSandbox
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Threat Deception Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Security Systems solutions, they serve different purposes. Cisco Secure Network Analytics is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.2%, down 1.4% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiSandbox, on the other hand, focuses on Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), holds 8.7% mindshare, down 9.9% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics1.2%
Zabbix11.4%
SolarWinds NPM4.4%
Other83.0%
Network Monitoring Software
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiSandbox8.7%
Palo Alto Networks WildFire10.7%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint9.0%
Other71.6%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Harun-Owr-Roshid - PeerSpot reviewer
Have streamlined network visibility and troubleshooting while seeing benefits from AI integration
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database. When precise manual analysis is needed, it's sometimes difficult, so having a centralized database will allow network admins to find actual scenarios more effectively, especially since some information may not be visible on the GUI. Cisco should upgrade their hardware part to run the database, because sometimes it cannot handle the load while all features are running in the network. The database management should indeed be centralized because while AI runs behind the systems, central management is essential. For example, in a network with 100 Cisco switches, a few routers, firewalls, and access points, all data generated should be preserved in a central database. This approach simplifies management and analysis for troubleshooting, as GUI interfaces may not always provide visible information. Centralizing the database will allow for better understanding of which information is preserved for each specific device.
Abdelhamid Saber - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced network security with adaptable integration and really good support
We use FortiSandbox for scanning files and images that pass through our networks. It integrates with different devices, such as five adapters and other Fortinet devices It is time-saving and more secure. It saves us from a lot of antivirus and anti-malware issues. The adapter is beneficial as it…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are already many functionalities, so I don't think there is anything to improve."
"I believe this solution has reduced our incident response time."
"The most valuable features are encrypted threat analysis and the ability to run jobs on entire flows."
"The most valuable part is that Stealthwatch is part of a portfolio of security devices from Cisco. Cisco literally can touch every single end point, every single ingress and egress point in the network. Nobody else has that."
"I value the feature which enables me to detect devices talking to suspect IPs."
"It's a dependable product that is able to pinpoint where we have vulnerabilities if they occur."
"The most valuable feature we got out of Stealthwatch is to be able to, while troubleshooting, go deep into one of our interfaces and verify what the bandwidth is and if there's any activity there that's causing problems."
"Cisco Secure Network Analytics has increased the visibility of what is happening in our network, and I think that's the most important reason to use it. We can see what is really happening instead of just looking at numbers from routers or switches."
"The analysis engine is a very valuable feature."
"The main benefit of Fortinet FortiSandbox is that it allows organizations to detect and prevent unknown threats from entering an infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature was the EDR, endpoint detection and response."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox is faster than other sandbox solutions."
"The product is great. It can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises."
"You have access to a report as to what behaviors the example file entered in the registry."
"Compared to other solutions, it's easy to configure and implement because of the templates. The timing of scanning files is faster."
"Performance is a valuable feature."
 

Cons

"Cisco should upgrade their hardware part to run the database, because sometimes it cannot handle the load while all features are running in the network."
"The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers."
"The overall visibility into the actual device itself would be helpful. I don't just want support-specific data, but also to be able to see information such as CPU and other internal components or usage of the devices."
"The initial setup was straightforward but required a lot of data entry, to begin with building out the server types and network types."
"I would like to see more and cleaner reporting. For example, if I pull up Steven and I want to look and maybe compare him to what you've done in the past week, and compare that to the past six months, the point would be to see what the difference in activity looks like over this time. I don't see that capability in reporting to date. You see that trend but you don't really see a straightforward comparison. That right there is key to what we want to see about the normal activity."
"I would like to see some improvement when it comes to reporting."
"Many of these tools require extensive on-premises hardware to run."
"If there was one improvement I’d suggest it would be that it detect traffic through an intranet. The product requires that traffic flow through a managed network device. The product is designed mostly for enterprise environments and not smaller environments or businesses."
"For the MSSPs, it would be great if the product could display all the threat chains on a dashboard since it is an area where the tool is currently lacking."
"It would be better if it had support for Mac and Linux."
"It can be difficult if you need to use the Command Line Interface (CLI). It's much easier if you only have to deal with the GUI."
"The area I would like this solution to be improved in is the integrations for Sandbox with AI and big data ML mechanisms. I think this would be a practical improvement."
"I don't know if it is viable to do an improvement like this. When there are passwords in the password-protected files, it can't scan them or do things like this. I don't know if an algorithm or something else could make it better. Nowadays, many legitimate office documents have passwords."
"The product is good but it could be speedier. In addition, it's quite complex."
"There could be more templates and a higher number of simulated VMs to configure more use cases. Sometimes we need to configure many use cases in many different environments, and if the number of VMs that we configure is limited, we have to remove some and reconfigure the environment if we need another environment."
"When you reach the maximum capacity, you cannot upgrade the solution because its hardware is very expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"​Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside (in traffic)."
"The yearly licensing cost is about $50,000."
"The solution is expensive. It costs several hundred thousand dollars per year (depending on how many flows you are collecting)."
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"We pay for support costs on a yearly basis."
"This is an expensive product. We have quit paying for support because we don't want to have to upgrade it and keep paying for it."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"There are additional costs, which isn't included in the licensing fee."
"The price of Fortinet FortiSandbox is not expensive."
"The solution is unavailable at a lower cost and can be difficult to deploy."
"It is an expensive solution."
"FortiSandbox is a subscription that can be purchased from Fortinet directly. Only using FortiSandbox as features purchased as a subscription in the cloud."
"Fortinet is more reasonable than Palo Alto."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox is a nominally priced product, so I would not say that it is a very cheap tool."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise52
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
Regarding cost, for the Bangladesh context, Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a little bit high-priced because we are a developing country, making it tough to manage affordable solutions. However, ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper m...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSandbox?
The real-time analysis capability of FortiSandbox is beneficial for email analysis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSandbox?
I think it's affordable. For the six to seven months of usage, the cost has been reasonable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSandbox?
We sometimes face a delay in email scanning due to not having multiple virtual machines. Improvements could be made in dynamic scanning, scanning all email components such as URLs and attachments, ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
FortiSandbox
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
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