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Forward Enterprise vs VMware NSX 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

Forward Enterprise
Ranking in Network Automation
20th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (21st)
VMware NSX
Ranking in Network Automation
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (10th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Forward Enterprise is 2.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 4.4%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX4.4%
Forward Enterprise2.5%
Other93.1%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

RA
IT Architectural System Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Plenty of useful features, and simple implementation
Forward Enterprise has improved the way my organization functions All the features are valuable in Forward Enterprise. Forward Enterprise could improve by increasing flexibility. Additionally, there should be an Android version or desktop. I have been using Forward Enterprise for approximately…
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Forward Enterprise has improved the way my organization functions."
"All the features are valuable in Forward Enterprise."
"They developed the hypervisor, which is very valuable to us, because it has saved us a lot of money just on the micro-segmentation piece."
"It does have capabilities of micro-segmenting a network, being able to create smaller segments of various types of applications separated by various tiers."
"The solution is very stable and reliable."
"The most valuable features of VMware NSX are the tight integration with the VMware Hypervisor natively and the management console, and we have a lot of other integrations where you are able to see the virtual machine's end-to-end visibility."
"VMware NSX's overlay network is its most valuable feature, as it aligns with any network philosophy and allows for efficient addressing mechanisms. Additionally, the ability to extend the on-premise network into the provider space is beneficial. There are many features provided."
"The firewall is its most valuable feature."
"VMware NSX is a great product for network virtualization, and it's great for enhancing security at the virtual machine level."
"The ease in which to install this product and make it work straight away without minimum changes in your physical network is simply astonishing."
 

Cons

"Forward Enterprise could improve by increasing flexibility. Additionally, there should be an Android version or desktop."
"The vendor should integrate a basic load balancer in future versions"
"VMware NSX can improve the migration tools from the older environments to the new environment."
"We would like better integration with the standards on the market. For example, with OSPF, their integration in NSX is very low. It's not a full OSPF integration. It is too thin from a protocol perspective."
"The support needs improvement."
"They have some limitations in the firewall features as compared to the on-prem or dedicated hardware appliance. They can add more features, such as IPS and IDS, to the cloud firewall."
"Sometimes, it can be difficult to get to a higher level engineer if you need to, but it takes some work to make that case."
"NSX-T supports more platforms, and VMware NSX only supports some platforms like KVM. I want to see support for Hyper-V and other hypervisors."
"If you're worried that NSX is too complex, I would tell you to take another look. If you compare NSX to a similar solution you might find it to be a bit more complex. Usually, the guy that comes in to implement NSX isn't the network guy and will lack the knowledge for the program. He can lack the knowledge for this program and will therefore think it's complex. You need somebody with network experience."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay for the solution annually."
"VMware has always been geared towards enterprise and their pricing options are a bit high. Their price is higher than other options in the market."
"The price is based on the virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI) side and also is dependant on the size of the environment. The price is expensive and it could attract more purchasers in smaller organisations if it was reduced."
"The price of VMware NSX is optimal. Additionally, the price of the solution can be negotiated with the vendor. Many areas of the solution can impact the cost, such as features, time for onboarding, and support needed."
"We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
"VMware NSX is expensive and everything is licensed. We have to pay for each individual feature."
"If five is a good price and one is a high price, I would rate the price a one out of five."
"The product pricing ranges from medium to expensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Cisco, SolarWinds and others in Network Automation. Updated: June 2026.
899,917 professionals have used our research since 2012.