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Cortex XSIAM vs Varonis Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 7, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.6
Cortex XSIAM enhances incident management and provides significant financial returns by automating detection and response, reducing staffing needs.
Sentiment score
4.8
Varonis Platform cuts costs, saving hospitals millions, despite initial investment, though perceptions may shift with automation and cloud rivals.
I definitely say that we have had time savings by using the DataVantage module and also time savings using the AD module when we are dealing with different incidents.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.8
Cortex XSIAM support varies; premium service excels, while non-premium experiences depend on distributor expertise and sometimes face delays.
Sentiment score
7.6
Varonis Platform support is efficient and reliable, though some users face delays despite generally positive feedback on customer service.
With premium support, core Palo Alto technical experts handle issues directly.
It is ineffective in terms of responding to basic queries and addressing future requirements.
The Palo Alto support team is fully responsive and helpful.
The customer support is above par; it is what I think other organizations should look at to be comparable to.
They respond quickly to anything we need, which is not common among platforms.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Cortex XSIAM is scalable for various business sizes with cloud-based integration, but lacks on-premises deployment and mixed reviews.
Sentiment score
6.5
Varonis Platform excels in scalable data management for both SaaS and on-premises deployments, supporting diverse organizational needs.
Without proper integration, scaling up with more servers is meaningless.
Cortex XSIAM is highly scalable.
Varonis's scalability as eight to eight point five out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cortex XSIAM is praised for its stability, rapid issue resolution, and efficient performance despite minor post-update challenges.
Sentiment score
6.9
Varonis Platform is stable but faces performance and deployment challenges, especially with large data and new plugins.
The product was easy to install and set up and worked right.
Overall, Cortex XSIAM is stable.
It works really nice and performs really efficiently after configuration.
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XSIAM needs improved integration, performance, interface, pricing, support, ASM, AI, onboarding, tagging, and identity management enhancements.
Varonis Platform needs better cloud integration, user-friendly features, performance optimization, seamless third-party tool integration, and lower licensing costs.
Obtaining validation for integrations from Palo Alto takes around eight months, which is quite long.
Cortex XSIAM needs improvements in terms of data onboarding, parsers, and third-party integration supports.
Cortex XSIAM is on the expensive side and requires substantial improvement in pricing.
Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety.
A phishing email module would be great; I look forward to when that comes out.
It would be beneficial if the reporting in Varonis Platform could use PDFs instead of Excel for better graphs.
 

Setup Cost

Cortex XSIAM is viewed as competitively priced but complex, aligning with market expectations despite some regional variations.
Varonis Platform is costly with licensing, maintenance, and server needs, making it ideal for larger organizations with specific budgetary allowances.
The first impression is that XSIAM would be more expensive than others we tried.
The product is very expensive.
Cortex XSIAM is pretty expensive, and the licensing process is not very comfortable.
Varonis is known for its high licensing cost, which can include the cost of multiple servers required for its operations, called collectors.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XSIAM excels in machine learning threat detection, SOAR features, and advanced automation for efficient security management.
The Varonis Platform enhances data security with advanced analytics, seamless integration, and compliance support for effective data governance.
The advanced visualization capabilities of the product are important for understanding security trends in an organization.
One of the valued aspects of the product is its use of artificial intelligence to detect security vulnerabilities.
The flexibility for creating manual workflows stands out.
Varonis is excellent for scanning unstructured data sources like file shares, OneDrive, SharePoint, Azure Blob Storage, and S3s.
We have created automatic scripts in case there is a chance that it is a ransomware malicious actor, and it will automatically disable the user, log them out, and disable the actual workstation.
In my experience, the best features that Varonis Platform offers are data labeling, data classification, along with all the integrations and its easy-to-use platform.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XSIAM
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (13th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (7th)
Varonis Platform
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (20th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (9th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (7th), Data Governance (4th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (5th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (7th), Ransomware Protection (10th), Insider Risk Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XSIAM is 5.4%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Varonis Platform is 5.5%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cortex XSIAM5.4%
Varonis Platform5.5%
Other89.1%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
 

Featured Reviews

AKASH MAJUMDER - PeerSpot reviewer
Incident response times have significantly reduced with efficient device integration and log parsing capabilities
Cortex XSIAM needs improvements in terms of data onboarding, parsers, and third-party integration supports. Additionally, a future update request is to enable tagging of endpoints in groups, similar to a feature available in Cortex XDR. The AI analytics need fine-tuning because some use cases are not working from my side.
Fekri Hached - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved data visibility and classification while supporting proactive security workflows
In my experience, the best features that Varonis Platform offers are data labeling, data classification, along with all the integrations and its easy-to-use platform. They have a really good setup, and their sales team and technical service are reliable; they hold monthly, weekly, and quarterly reviews, and they respond quickly to anything we need, which is not common among platforms. Varonis Platform has a big variety of integrations, and they continuously work on new updates and integrations, such as ChatGPT Enterprise and Zoom, ensuring that they meet any new needs that customers have, maintaining a roadmap for features that they constantly bring out. Since implementing Varonis Platform, we have noticed positive impacts in our organization. People are more careful when they go abroad, we have greater visibility, and it's very important for compliance to ensure we follow compliance rules, as we have some good reporting and the out-of-hours MDR service.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cortex XSIAM?
It is an effective solution in terms of performance and functionalities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex XSIAM?
I did not participate in pricing discussions for Cortex XSIAM solutions, so I cannot provide a review regarding prices for this solution.
What needs improvement with Cortex XSIAM?
Cortex XSIAM is on the expensive side and requires substantial improvement in pricing. There are other features that could be improved, including integration with vendors such as CyberArk. I would ...
What do you like most about Varonis Platform?
The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand w...
What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?
Varonis started as an on-premises solution and is transitioning to cloud. It hasn't fully moved yet, which is an area for improvement. Varonis requires more access permissions for its core function...
What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?
The primary use case for Varonis Platform is data discovery, specifically for discovering sensitive data in our organization to protect it. We are looking for a solution that can scan our repositor...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SlashNext Complete
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nottingham Building Society
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex XSIAM vs. Varonis Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.