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Fortinet FortiSIEM vs IBM Watson for Cyber Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiSIEM
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Watson for Cyber Security
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
55th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSIEM is 3.3%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson for Cyber Security is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Oliver Jackson - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems monitoring enhanced by firewall and intrusion detection features
My primary use case for Fortinet FortiSIEM is systems monitoring and alerting. I use it for standard functions like log monitoring, incident detection, and notification.  My customers are mostly medium-sized enterprises ranging from engineering companies, mining companies, independent schools, and…
Elena Stefanovska - PeerSpot reviewer
Knowledgeable support, reliable, and useful compliance policies
IBM Watson for Cyber Security can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud and it is used as a SIEM solution The most valuable features of IBM Watson for Cyber Security are ease of use and out-of-the-box reports and compliance policies. Additionally, if there are aspects that are missing IBM add…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution’s IP database is awesome."
"FortiSIEM sends an email or SMS notifications to admins when there are significant incidents. It's a highly efficient way of responding to incidents."
"These aspects make Fortinet FortiSIEM a valuable choice."
"FortiSIEM's best features are the dashboards and customization."
"Analytics is the most valuable feature. The business service summaries in the dashboards and the correlations for the SIEM are also valuable features."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM provides good detection against advanced threats."
"The event correlation is pretty robust. The GUI is pretty good."
"The most valuable feature is auto-discovery. When you send logs from any device to port 514, it helps register those devices automatically."
"IBM Watson for Cyber Security is very stable."
"The most valuable features of IBM Watson for Cyber Security are ease of use and out-of-the-box reports and compliance policies. Additionally, if there are aspects that are missing IBM add them in the next release."
"The customer support is very good."
"The most valuable feature of this product is innovation, where the research and upgrading of technology never ends."
 

Cons

"When our team tried configuring logs for Microsoft SQL, it did not work."
"The stability of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"There could be improvements like introducing some solutions directly into FortiSIEM to avoid the need for separately purchasing additional tools like FortiStore."
"With FortiSIEM, the issue has to do with the ways we can generate a report. It's not as flexible compared to that with other SIEM tools, like Splunk."
"There is no proper guide for integration or configuration."
"The support of the product changed recently, and I don't think it's for the better. They should work to improve the support they offer to clients."
"The solution's interface could be modernized and improved."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM could improve by having a signature update."
"The dashboard could improve in IBM Watson for Cyber Security."
"This is an expensive product, so making it more cost-effective would be an improvement."
"In the future, I would like to see threat intelligence included."
"They need to continue to build the AI capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Please be cheaper and more simplified."
"The price of Fortinet FortiSIEM is a lot less when compared to other solutions."
"Manageable, however would be better as pay as you go versus CapEX."
"The price is competitive."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM is cheaper compared to other products."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive. I rate the tool's price as an eight out of ten. Compared with Splunk or Oracle, Fortinet is cheap."
"The price of Fortinet FortiSIEM was reasonable compared to other solutions."
"Pricing is acceptable for more than 90% of our customers, as they normally get discounts."
"The price of this solution should be lower, although I understand why IBM charges a premium price."
"IBM Watson for Cyber Security is very simple to license and is priced well."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Media Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSIEM?
Fortinet FortiSIEM needs to provide better API integrations to users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSIEM?
As a service, the cost is reasonable and affordable with scalable pricing based on the number of monitored devices. However, setting it up for oneself as an enterprise-licensed product can be quite...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSIEM?
The built-in APIs in Fortinet FortiSIEM are somewhat lacking and could be improved for better integration with external ITSM products. Improving software stability and reducing bugs will make it a ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

FortiSIEM, AccelOps
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

FortiSIEM has hundreds of customers worldwide in markets including managed services, technology, financial services, healthcare, and government. Customers include Aruba Networks, Compushare, Port of San Diego, Cleveland Indians, Infoblox, Healthways, and Referentia.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSIEM vs. IBM Watson for Cyber Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.