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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Fortra's Alert Logic MDR 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) (4th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (9th), Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)
Fortra's Alert Logic MDR
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (28th), SOC as a Service (4th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Secure Network Analytics and Fortra's Alert Logic MDR aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Secure Network Analytics is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 1.2%, down 1.5% compared to last year.
Fortra's Alert Logic MDR, on the other hand, focuses on Vulnerability Management, holds 0.5% mindshare, up 0.2% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software
Vulnerability Management
 

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.
reviewer2191746 - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a highly mature, competitively priced solution that provides total visibility into your ecosystem. FORTRA's Alert Logic has the only Cybersecurity Platform that integrates XDR+WAF+VM+DLP in one.
Alert Logic offers total visibility into the client's IT ecosystem. The solution's intrusion detection system inspects 100 percent of the network packets and installs universal agents on all physical and virtual servers for log collection. Alert Logic also aggregates logs of the client's various 3rd Party security tools into a single pane of glass. All of the analytics from those data feeds got to a 24/7 SOC with sophisticated resources. Alert Logic has massive threat intelligence resources to provide additional context to the incident response declarations. They do all the heavy lifting for clients who lack the technology and resources to operate their own SOC. The client is solely responsible for the incident response component. The macro analytics resides on Alert Logic's cloud. You have the ECM response and business application team on the client side. Everything works in tandem, which is the only way you can deal with the advanced threats we face today, especially the ransomware families. If you don't respond in minutes, you're in trouble.

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."
"The beginning of any security investigation starts with net flow data."
"Using the Cognitive Analytics feature, we have complete visibility that we didn’t have before."
"The most valuable feature is having visibility into the data segments throughout our network."
"Stealthwatch has greatly improved our network visibility, in terms of bandwidth, malware, and PCI violations."
"It has been pretty stable since we deployed it, and everything seems to be working fine."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the way the net flow is being merged together in a single pane. That's been extremely useful for us, because can see what's going on with traffic in one single place."
"The feature most valuable for us is to gain visibility of what is actually floating through, so we can stop it based on whether it's good or bad traffic."
"The solution was consistently available, and I cannot recall any instances where it was down."
"The most valuable aspect of Alert Logic is its technology platform. They have SOCs in the US and Europe, giving them global visibility of the threat landscape. They detect and respond to threats in minutes. Their biggest value is human expertise. You're being attacked by a human, and you cannot respond to it unless you have a human on the other side. They have the human and technological resources to respond."
"Notifications and the detail of notifications are most valuable. It is a user-friendly solution."
"It has the ability to install agents. It is pretty straightforward. You can automate the process pretty easily."
"It is a very stable product."
"The quicker implementation of changes to our infrastructure from Alert Logic tell us if there are any problems."
"Everything is in one dashboard; I'm notified when there's an incident and advised on what steps to take."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
 

Cons

"The version with the Dell server had iDRAC problems. Often, it reported iDRAC failure."
"It would be better to let people know, up front, that is doesn't give you nice, clear information, as seen in the demos, without Cisco ISE installed."
"I would like to see better filters."
"It's not great as a standalone solution."
"The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers."
"Reliance on Java. Get away from that."
"Stealthwatch needs improvement when it comes to speed."
"I think the interface is a little lacking. The interface seems like it just needs to be modernized. It's been the same interface now, ever since I've seen it probably four years ago."
"We'd like to have triggered alerts sent to us so we see errors quicker."
"They have ideas and email you whatever they find, but they don't have a dedicated security team who will work on an attack or a specific security instance."
"As a user involved with the user interface, I believe there is a need to continue improving it based on feedback from our customers."
"This product needs to mature more. While it is a good product, there are some areas where it needs work."
"I would like more data on the alert payload. It would be good to have the ability to customize the alert payload to add whatever data that we want on there. Right now, it is a bit limited."
"The setup process was complex."
"The product needs to mature. We don't want to be bombarded with unnecessary issues and have the real ones slip through."
"Could be more of an endpoint protector."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is worth the cost."
"On a yearly basis, licensing is somewhere around $30,000."
"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."
"Today, we are part of the big Cisco ELA, and it is a la carte. We can get orders for whatever we want. At the end of the day, we have to pay for it in one big expense, but that is fine. We are okay with that."
"The solution is expensive. It costs several hundred thousand dollars per year (depending on how many flows you are collecting)."
"Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside>in traffic."
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"There are additional licenses needed for the number of so-called network flows. It's hard to plan the number of flows you need in the network, this is a problem. The price of the Cisco Stealthwatch is relatively inexpensive"
"Almost any product that is on the AWS Marketplace is super easy to subscribe to."
"Price of the solution was very reasonable considering the size of our organization at the time, and so it worked out perfectly."
"Its pricing is very reasonable considering what you get for what you pay. There is quite a good value there. Its licensing is also very logical. They've got the licensing price points at a reasonable level. It is on a monthly license but a yearly contract. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees."
"Alert Logic has better competitive pricing than some of its competitors."
"Our ROI would probably be zero. We don't even use it. It sits in there. We get emails and just delete them. Around the world, we don't even use it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
Alert Logic MDR, Alert Logic Managed Detection and ResponseAlert Logic Threat Manager, Alert Logic Cloud Defender, Critical Watch FusionVM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Fortra's Alert Logic MDR and other solutions. Updated: January 2020.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.