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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Illumio Insights 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
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (33rd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)
Illumio Insights
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
19th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
1.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Microsegmentation Software (6th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (11th)
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Harun-Owr-Roshid - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
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.
EM
Manager at OOCL
Micro-segmentation has improved threat visibility and supports ongoing zero-trust monitoring
Deployment of Illumio Insights was not difficult, but the difficulty depends on how micro your design is. For Docker containers, it is not quite suitable for that kind of application traffic. For container architectures, it is not quite designed that way. For normal VMs it might be acceptable, but for container architectures, I cannot be as micro-segmented as I want to be. Illumio Insights is not very well designed for containers, which is one of the drawbacks and weak sides of the product. I use Illumio Insights' real-time analytics for micro-segmentation, and beyond zero-trust monitoring, I also want to do analysis. However, the product coverage is not very broad, so I have to do my own filtering and analysis, and integration with other tools is necessary. The reporting and analysis are not ready out of the product itself. Reporting is another area for improvement in this product and is not very sufficient, so I have to further integrate or do it on my own. Illumio Insights is stable and a mature product. The functionality, such as reporting and analysis, may extend in the roadmap, but it has not in the past. The current functionality is adequate and quite mature, which is how I chose it based on maturity and market share. However, it is not very modern for Kubernetes and containers. If this functionality can extend, that would be a valuable roadmap addition. Streamline integration with Illumio Insights does not help me much since it does not require too much integration with my other operations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Being able to graph and show data to management has improved our organization. We can show the data to the higher-ups. It shows them that it's picking up on these anomalies and doing its job."
"When we saw what Lancope can do, not just from a visibility perspective, but from a network and security perspective, we jumped on board."
"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."
"Stealthwatch is a great product that does DDoS detection, compromised machines, NetFlow collection, and integrates with Cisco Identity Services Engine and Firepower."
"The solution allowed us to not only get gain insight but also start collaborating with other tools."
"Being able to identify specific date closed across the network is invaluable."
"The most valuable features are encrypted threat analysis and the ability to run jobs on entire flows."
"Able to drill down into a center's utilization, then create reports based on it."
"One of the most valuable features is the ability to map traffic and patterns over multiple hyperscalers, not just AWS."
"Illumio Insights is stable and a mature product."
"This solution has contributed to quick detection of risky traffic and offers one-click containment."
"Illumio Insights impressed me with its ease of use, clarity, and potential to significantly improve breach containment strategies."
 

Cons

"We would like the solution to make more advances in the way that Extreme Networks has been doing."
"There could be better integration on the programming side, which uses Python."
"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."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"The initial setup of this solution is complex."
"The licensing costs are outrageous, but Stealthwatch has a good time to value."
"Cisco Stealthwatch needs more integration with device discovery. We have to do a lot of hard work to figure out what things are. Better service integration is required."
"I would like to see it better organized when I'm looking at it, so I would prefer it to be more clean and structured, making it easier to use."
"In some of the views, an IP address appears to be a link, but it doesn't open any new windows or display any new information."
"Illumio Insights is not very well designed for containers, which is one of the drawbacks and weak sides of the product."
"There is room for improvement with more AI-based detection to report traffic abnormalities and potential issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our fees are approximately $3,000 USD."
"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."
"It is worth the cost."
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"NetFlow is very expensive."
"The solution is expensive. It costs several hundred thousand dollars per year (depending on how many flows you are collecting)."
"On a yearly basis, licensing is somewhere around $30,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Government
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise52
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Several features often look very promising during evaluation or implementation but end up being used only lightly in day-to-day operations. Advanced reporting and scheduled compliance reports look ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Stealthwatch?
My main use case for Cisco Secure Network Analytics has been network visibility and anomaly-based threat detection within the enterprise environment. In security operations and VAPT-related activit...
What needs improvement with Illumio Insights?
Deployment of Illumio Insights was not difficult, but the difficulty depends on how micro your design is. For Docker containers, it is not quite suitable for that kind of application traffic. For c...
What is your primary use case for Illumio Insights?
Illumio Insights plays its own role in enhancing threat visibility. Illumio Insights performs micro-segmentation according to the traffic, determining whether to trust it, allow it, or block it. Mi...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Illumio Insights and other solutions. Updated: July 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.