Cisco Secure Workload vs Nutanix Flow Network Security comparison

Cisco Secure Workload vs. Nutanix Flow Network Security

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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 Workload

Ranking in Microsegmentation Software

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud and Data Center Security (8th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (18th), Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)

Nutanix Flow Network Security

Ranking in Microsegmentation Software

5th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Microsegmentation Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Workload is 11.2%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nutanix Flow Network Security is 6.7%, up from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsegmentation Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Workload	11.2%
Nutanix Flow Network Security	6.7%
Other	82.1%

Microsegmentation Software

Featured Reviews

Raj Metkar

Director, Head of Networks at MUFG, EMEA

Discover internal application dependencies and create a dependency map

We actively seek improvements in integrating the Infoblox DDI platform with Cisco Secure Workload. This integration allows Cisco Secure Workload to learn about our networks and network tags, providing valuable insights into vulnerabilities related to the operating system and various applications installed on our servers. Recently, Cisco announced a new product called HyperShield, an AI-based autonomous micro-segmentation solution. While Cisco has not stated that HyperShield will replace Cisco Secure Workload, it represents a natural evolution for the company. HyperShield features dynamic policy discovery and enforcement; however, once policies are enforced, they do not change until a discovery occurs, requiring a re-enforcement process. This new platform operates autonomously, minimizing the need for user or security engineer intervention. I would have expected Cisco to incorporate more automatic discovery and enforcement features within the existing Cisco Secure Workload product. Instead of enhancing the current product, they have introduced a new solution. Cisco plans to honor existing Tetration licenses, allowing users to transition to HyperShield without additional costs, reflecting the investment enterprises have already made. From Cisco’s perspective, this represents a natural progression in their product line. While the product name changes, it seems more of a rebranding effort. The enhancements are greater autonomy, improved discovery, and automatic enforcement, which are now being introduced in HyperShield. Cisco Secure Workload offers automatic policy enforcement but cannot adjust policies dynamically as the application needs to change. Having used the platform for the past five years, the recent announcement has been reassuring. Cisco has confirmed that our investment in the platform will not go to waste. They will honor our existing licenses, providing a natural migration path to the new solution without any disruption

Read full review

Vishnu Mohan

Service Delivery Manager Cloud And Datacenter Operations at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Cloud-style segmentation has improved hybrid security but integration with on-prem tags still needs work

I would like to see better micro-segmentation capabilities in Nutanix Flow Network Security. It has to work with our Cisco on-premises tooling. We use something called tagging on-premises, so if the same tags could be used in Nutanix Flow Network Security, then that would make life easier. The Cisco part was a challenge in terms of how it integrates with third-party vendors and tools, so we have kept it for the next release.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, this is a really good product and I am happy with it."

"The only use case I can see that makes sense is micro-segmentation. I think there are other use cases for it. The main purpose of the product is to do micro-segmentation by collecting IP. That could be done by installing an agent, and then you have all the communication coming in and out. You could also use some flow sensors installed in the network that receive a copy of the traffic and then report that back to the system."

"It's stable."

"Scalability is its most valuable feature."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that we don't have to do packet captures on the network."

"The most valuable feature is micro-segmentation, which is the most important with respect to visibility."

"The most valuable feature right now is to do with having visibility on the network — especially on our servers — and to be able to enforce some type of security measures."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is security."

More Cisco Secure Workload pros

"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Nutanix Flow Network Security is a simple solution that is usable, easy to understand, and easy to deploy."

"Nutanix Flow has a lot of data protection features. It's also valuable for operations and management. It's a big solution that works well with different solutions and is suitable for most business cases."

"We appreciate the fact that this solution allows us to segregate two virtual machines that are in the same cluster."

"It allows for policies that enable complete visibility and traffic control."

"The micro-segmentation feature helps to manage network security effectively because it helps the virtual machines that are already on the cluster and the applications inside the cluster itself, protects them and helps them communicate with each other without needing a complex external or internal firewall in this use case."

"When comparing the costs of Nutanix Flow versus managing multiple VLANs and many other firewalls, it is far less expensive."

"What I like about Nutanix Flow Network Security is that it features cloud-like segmentation, which is available in a hybrid environment for us."

More Nutanix Flow Network Security pros

Cons

"There was a controversy when Cisco reduced the amount of data they kept, and the solution became quite cost-intensive, which made its adoption challenging….Although they have modified it now, I preferred the previous version, and I wish all the functionality were back under the same product."

"There's room for improvement when it comes to Cisco Secure Workload. A couple of internal areas could be refined a little bit. They are trying to solve it, depending on where you suppose the agent is. Suppose you have the agent on both the server and the client, which could be the front-end server or web server connecting to the. In that case, if those two are communicating on RPC, the server can look into its configuration. It could go down and find the configuration file on the FTP server and then set the policies to it. But there are a lot of different FTP servers out there. It's also a complex case for the tool to support all FTP servers."

"There is some overlap between Cisco Tetration and AppDynamics and there are few DC tools, it would be great to have a single pane of glass, rather than have to jump between different tools."

"The entire interface could be improved; it's ugly and uninviting, and Tetration tends to be a lot more cumbersome and not very intuitive compared to the biggest competitor's modern-looking GUI."

"A feature that I was looking for was emailed alerts and notifications so we'd get them right away."

"The interface is really helpful for technical people, but it is not user-friendly."

"Cisco Tetration needs more flags and system alerts that we should get with network capture."

"Secure Workload is a little complicated to use, and the dashboard isn't intuitive, so it takes a while to learn how to use it."

More Cisco Secure Workload cons

"For customers who are running Nutanix Flow and AHV, the largest area for improvement is in the disaster recovery environments."

"I would like to see better micro-segmentation capabilities in Nutanix Flow Network Security."

"While the graphical interface of Nutanix Flow Network Security could have been improved, and some of the reporting features needed extra work, the product's features were similar to VMware's NSX. The difference lay more in the presentation and user interface."

"For customers who are running Nutanix Flow and AHV, the largest area for improvement is in the disaster recovery environments. To automate the populate of rules from one side to the other side in case of disaster you report everything on the disaster recovery site, and you have all the rules automatically applied. This was something that was being built when I left Nutanix. It might already be available. Additionally, the usability of the rules editor could improve."

"Nutanix Flow Network Security needs to improve threat hunting, compliance, and policy optimization - these things that security officers would use."

"Nutanix Flow's networking features could use some improvement. Also, I don't know if it's currently supporting load balancing or not."

"We would like the reporting functionality of this solution to be improved."

"The most difficult part is the configuration of the initial blueprints."

More Nutanix Flow Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is a bit higher than we anticipated."

"The price is based on how many computers you're going to install it on."

"Regarding price, Cisco Secure Workload can be expensive if you don't have a budget. If you're not doing micro-segmentation, every extra security measure or enforcement you're putting on top of your existing environment will be an extra cost. It's not a cheap solution at all. But from my point of view, if you need to do micro-segmentation, this is one of the best tools I've seen for it. I can't compare that to Microsoft's solution because I haven't looked into it. I've looked into VMware and Cisco. Those are the only two that I know of. I didn't know that Microsoft could do micro-segmentation at all. Maybe they can, but I haven't heard anything about it."

"The cost for the hardware is around 300k."

"It is not cheap and pricing may limit scalability."

"Pricing depends on the scope of the application and the features. Larger installations save more."

"The price is outrageous. If you have money to throw at the product, then do it."

"In comparison to other options available in the market, I would rate their pricing as very competitive, probably a two or three out of ten for cost."

"Flow Network Security is available on a three-year license, with annual renewals of the maintenance fee."

"There are different licensing models."

"The product is available for free use."

"This model is very accessible to implement."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"There is an annual subscription to use this solution. There is a 60-day trial to use the solution, it gives you time to decide if you want to continue using the solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Outsourcing Company

Healthcare Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

University

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Workload?

CloudStrike offers antivirus capabilities and firewall features for servers and VDI but lacks automatic policy discovery. This raises questions about the resources required to discover and write po...

What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Workload?

What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Workload?

When we onboarded Cisco Secure Workload, the usual use case was to discover internal application dependencies and create a dependency map for Cisco ACI. As the network team, we chose to implement A...

What needs improvement with Nutanix Flow?

What advice do you have for others considering Nutanix Flow?

I cannot think of any weak sides, drawbacks, or something to improve. We have not implemented the impact on Nutanix Flow Network Security's zero-trust security model on our threat control processes...

What is your primary use case for Nutanix Flow?

I have experience with Nutanix Flow Network Security, and I have just started working with it this year. What I like about Nutanix Flow Network Security is that it features cloud-like segmentation,...

Illumio Segmentation vs Cisco Secure Workload

Comparisons

Compared 13% of the time

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Cisco Secure Workload

Compared 12% of the time

VMware NSX vs Cisco Secure Workload

Compared 7% of the time

BMC Helix Cloud Security vs Cisco Secure Workload

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Cisco Secure Workload

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco Secure Workload Competitors

VMware NSX vs Nutanix Flow Network Security

Compared 48% of the time

Illumio Segmentation vs Nutanix Flow Network Security

Compared 17% of the time

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Nutanix Flow Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Hillstone CloudHive vs Nutanix Flow Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Airgap Zero Trust Enterprise vs Nutanix Flow Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Nutanix Flow Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco Secure Workload

Download Cisco Secure Workload product report

Nutanix Flow Network Security

Download Nutanix Flow Network Security product report

Also Known As

Cisco Tetration

Nutanix Flow Microsegmentation

Overview

Cisco Secure Workload offers advanced auditing, micro-segmentation, and network visibility, automating policy presentation for improved security. It enhances application dependency mapping and provides comprehensive telemetry with strategic policy enforcement.

Cisco Secure Workload specializes in automating micro-segmentation, data center management, and traffic analysis. Its capabilities facilitate application dependency mapping and enhance internal micro-segmentation, providing invaluable network visibility. Users find its automation in policy presentation and strategic enforcement beneficial, along with granular control and scalability, despite needing improvements in scalability and integration capabilities. Enhanced notification features, troubleshooting options, and an efficient interface are desired for seamless deployment, along with stronger multi-tenancy, redundancy, and monitoring functions. Broader platform support and integrated cloud connectivity are desired for unified management across tools.

What are the most important features?

Auditing: Provides in-depth network analysis and security auditing capabilities.
Micro-Segmentation: Enhances network security by automating segmentation at a granular level.
Application Dependency Mapping: Visualizes connections and interactions between applications.
Network Visibility: Delivers comprehensive insight into network activities and dynamics.
Policy Discovery: Streamlines policy creation through automation and reduces manual intervention.
Comprehensive Telemetry: Offers complete coverage and insights for better security assessment.

What benefits and ROI should be evaluated?

Enhanced Security Measures: Offers robust features for network security improvement.
Automated Processes: Reduces manual efforts through automation, increasing efficiency.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands with flexible scalability options.
Granular Control: Allows detailed control over network policies and enforcement.

Entities in finance, gas, and oil sectors utilize Cisco Secure Workload for networking site management and compliance maintenance. It integrates into extensive Cisco infrastructure, aiding routers, switches, and endpoints, thus supporting auditors in network synchronization and auditing needs.

Cisco

Nutanix Flow Network Security offers advanced network protection through virtual networking and micro-segmentation, supporting zero-trust principles for secure communication among virtual machines and applications while being compatible with Nutanix solutions.

Featuring an intuitive console, Nutanix Flow Network Security simplifies operations and enhances visibility. It integrates with Nutanix solutions, facilitating seamless compatibility. The inclusion of virtual networking and micro-segmentation aids in data management by improving network visualization and virtual machine segregation. Supporting zero-trust principles, the security system efficiently manages isolated communication and secure deployment. With robust connectivity through fiber links and VPCs, it ensures reliable performance across networks, making it accessible to businesses with diverse requirements.

What are the key features of Nutanix Flow Network Security?

Virtual Networking: Provides seamless integration for secure data transmission.
Micro-Segmentation: Enhances security by segmenting traffic within networks.
API Control: Allows streamlined management of network operations through APIs.
Network Performance Analysis: Offers insights into network health and efficiency.
User-Friendly Console: Simplifies policy creation and improves network visibility.

What benefits can be expected when evaluating Nutanix Flow Network Security?

Enhanced Security: Facilitates zero-trust policies and isolated VM communication.
Improved Data Management: Aids in the segregation and visualization of virtual machines.
Operational Efficiency: Simplifies complex networking tasks for faster deployment.
Compatibility: Integrates smoothly with Nutanix solutions, enhancing overall functionality.
Connectivity: Ensures secure and reliable connectivity with fiber links and VPCs.

In industries such as IT and financial services, Nutanix Flow Network Security is commonly used for disaster recovery planning and enhancing micro-segmentation. It ensures secure, isolated communication within virtual environments and helps manage traffic visibility. By facilitating the creation of non-routed virtual private clouds and blocking unauthorized access between VMs, organizations leverage its capabilities for better network communication control across data centers.

Nutanix

Sample Customers

ADP, University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC)

JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, Volkswagen SAIC, Brighton and Hove City Council, Foresters Financial, Janus International Group, Cloud Comrade, Serco

Cisco Secure Workload vs. Nutanix Flow Network Security