ExtremeCloud IQ vs IBM Tivoli NetCool comparison

Extreme Networks and IBM are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Extreme Networks is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.5, while IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.7. Extreme Networks holds a 2.9% mindshare in NMA, compared to IBM’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Extreme Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of IBM users who would recommend it.

ExtremeCloud IQ

Read 76 ExtremeCloud IQ reviews

2,659 Views
479 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Read 13 IBM Tivoli NetCool reviews

973 Views
662 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

ExtremeCloud IQ

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

IBM Tivoli NetCool and ExtremeCloud IQ are competing in the network management and monitoring category. ExtremeCloud IQ seems to have the upper hand due to its intuitive design and cost-effective cloud solutions.

Features: IBM Tivoli NetCool offers advanced event and fault management, topology discovery, and real-time analytics for large-scale networks. It also includes automation for incident management and robust integration capabilities. ExtremeCloud IQ boasts AI-driven networking, effortless scalability, and comprehensive cloud-based management. It features controller-less access points, and easy deployment due to its intuitive interface.

Room for Improvement: IBM Tivoli NetCool could improve its deployment complexity, modernize its user interface, and expand cloud-native capabilities. ExtremeCloud IQ may enhance its advanced analytics, integrate more third-party plugins, and provide deeper customization for enterprise environments. Both products can work on simplifying integration with newer technologies.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ExtremeCloud IQ is praised for its straightforward deployment and cloud accessibility, reducing implementation time significantly. Its intuitive design and cloud control make it user-friendly. IBM Tivoli NetCool can be complex to deploy owing to its extensive capabilities but provides deep integration with legacy systems. Both products offer solid customer support, tailored to their distinct deployment models.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Tivoli NetCool involves a higher initial cost but can yield significant ROI for enterprises seeking extensive network monitoring. It is typically a valuable investment for large-scale infrastructure. ExtremeCloud IQ provides a lower start-up cost, highlighting ROI through decreased operational expenses and improved network efficiency, appealing to those prioritizing cost-effective cloud solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed ExtremeCloud IQ vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

July 2025

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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

ExtremeCloud IQ

Ranking in Network Management Applications

11th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Access Control (NAC) (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (21st)

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Ranking in Network Management Applications

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of ExtremeCloud IQ is 2.9%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Tivoli NetCool is 2.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

KristianLarsen

Senior Consultant at Mikla IT

Helps resolve network-related issues quickly and is reasonably priced

The tool has both advantages and weaknesses because it has several pieces of software on which it has been working because of buyouts. The tool has several branches of software versions, and you can consolidate it into ExtremeCloud, but it also has the disadvantage that sometimes people can get issues because the software on the hardware is different than they expected, especially if it is not converted to the tool used. The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users. In the future, I think the tool’s onboarding setup of a new tenant could be smoother or faster. I also think that they could provide a simpler setup for first-level support so that it can be easier for them to have a support dashboard that would help them. I am talking about customer support organizations, so you usually have a high turnaround, but you need to have something that is easier to use and where you don't need so much training.

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Petar Ganev

Senior Enterprise Monitoring Engineer at Commerzbank

Reliable for enterprise monitoring but no longer actively developed

There are problems with the latest security requirements because many things have changed in recent years, and now the security audits are very strict. And we need to switch to something else. We need to patch it constantly. Moreover, it is a very old tool and a little bit difficult to support. Otherwise, they work okay.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Whenever I have a concern, question, or just need a refresher the helpful staff at AeroHive is there to help me. By far, the ]best relationship I have ever had with a vendor."

"It allows me to see APs and clients that are having issues, allowing for faster support response and less downtime."

"It is a scalable solution."

"It's extremely easy to deploy. Even our access points are behind the net, not using real, public IP. We can easily add to the cloud. For deployment, we just need to let the access point take the DSCP from IP and then, even if it's not a requirement, we can see the serial number from the access points and add the serial number to the cloud directly."

"ExtremeCloud IQ is an intuitive platform. The tool's ability to streamline network operations depends on the end customer. Sometimes it's quicker, and sometimes it takes much longer. It helps me to address network problems."

"HiveManager is incredibly useful for managing APs and switches from one cloud interface."

"The HiveManager integration with the VPN Gateway is awesome."

"The few times we have needed help, Aerohive has been there for us and I am confident that If I need them they will be there again."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pros

"It's very easy to use."

"Support is one of the best aspects of this solution. NetCool is a good product that has good flexibility. There are a lot of documents available online which is one of the best features of IBM Tivoli Suite. Whenever an issue happens, rather than going to technical support, if you find the exact issue in Google, you can get tech notes for that particular issue."

"The tool had many built-in automation capabilities."

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."

"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."

"Tivoli NetCool allows us to grasp a lot of data that can be applied toward predictive analytics and auto-remediation."

"Anything is possible with Tivoli. It's quite a robust system."

"It's very easy to use."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool pros

Cons

"A room for improvement in ExtremeCloud IQ is roaming. My team is facing roaming issues with the solution, particularly when using VoIP over WiFi. For example, VoIP sometimes breaks when you walk around the customer site. In terms of what I'd like to see in the next release of the solution, right now, the inventory for ExtremeCloud IQ is awful. There's no stock, and you must wait a year and a half for new stocks. It's awful."

"Pricing could be improved. It could be lower."

"The solution will show us that there are some issues, but when we try to find those issues, we can't see them."

"The product could support multi-vendor infrastructures."

"The managing of switches within this solution could be improved."

"ExtremeCloud should invest in an SD-WAN solution or integration with SD-WAN."

"Lacks cyber asset tracking."

"A mobile app would be awesome."

More ExtremeCloud IQ cons

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"Customization and integration that you need to do to make the product fit your needs is very complex. It is not a product that somebody could easily pick up without any prior training or experience."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"Tivoli NetCool is based on a Linux platform, it would be beneficial if they moved it to Windows because not everyone is acquainted with Linux."

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Bring the cost down."

"I did a multi-year license. It was a three-year license. It compares well with others in terms of the price. It is about a hundred dollars per year on a three-year scale."

"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is medium, but its support contract costs more."

"I am not involved in the price, but I am sure that it is not cheap."

"The price was okay."

"It is costly as compared to Meraki, Aruba, Juniper, and Cisco. Cloud IQ is an enterprise solution, whereas Meraki is specifically a single solution."

"Start small and grow big. You can choose the basic Aerohive Connect free subscription solution and, later, if needed (in terms of functionality) you can upgrade to Aerohive Select."

"Previously, ExtremeCloudIQ provided free licensing for all the basic requirements of their customers. An advanced cloud user had to purchase advanced licenses for automation and advanced country features at the enterprise level. They have restricted the licensing, allowing only up to ten units for testing, which is challenging. This limitation becomes problematic, especially in countries like Sri Lanka or other Asian countries, where customers face economic challenges and have limited budgets. The previous free option was beneficial, but it has become tougher to manage with these new changes. They should revise their pricing structure, offering the basic features free of charge for up to 50 AP. Larger entities with more than 50 APs have the budget to support them. Still, it becomes more difficult for small and medium-sized businesses with less than 50 APs to allocate a significant budget for control and management features."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pricing and cost advice

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

32%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?

Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?

The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...

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What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?

I rate the overall solution nine out of ten only due to the poor documentation. Despite this, I was very happy with ExtremeCloud IQ as it greatly eased my workload, allowing me to manage the networ...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

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What do you like most about IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The tool had many built-in automation capabilities.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The main challenge is its licensing model, which is very complicated.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 14% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 9% of the time

Ubiquiti Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 9% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs ExtremeCloud IQ

Compared 7% of the time

More ExtremeCloud IQ Competitors

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 37% of the time

OpenText Network Node Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 35% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 28% of the time

More IBM Tivoli NetCool Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ

August 2025

Download ExtremeCloud IQ product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool

August 2025

Download IBM Tivoli NetCool product report

Also Known As

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity

Tivoli NetCool

Overview

ExtremeCloud is a resilient and scalable cloud-based network management solution offered by Extreme Networks as a subscription service.

The network is your platform of engagement for clients and staff. We have designed ExtremeCloud to provide superior user experience by empowering you and the applications that drive your business. The combination of Extreme Networks’ smart wired and wireless edges and the elasticity, resilience and scalability provided via state-of-the-art datacenters distributed strategically for worldwide availability allows you to respond to the changing needs of your business, at the speed of cloud, through a simple, multi-site aware user interface.

Extreme Networks

IBM Tivoli Netcool delivers near real-time, consolidated event management across business infrastructure, data centers, complex networks and IT domains. The software provides full management and automation to help you deliver continuous uptime of business services and applications.

IBM

Sample Customers

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange

Claranet, Consolidated Communications, Telus, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Telekom Srbija, Bendigo Community Telco, Capgemini, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

July 2025

Free Report: ExtremeCloud IQ vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool

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