Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs VMware NSX comparison

Akamai and Broadcom are both solutions in the Cloud and Data Center Security category. Akamai is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.8, while Broadcom is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.8. Akamai holds a 22.2% mindshare in CDCS, compared to Broadcom’s 11.7% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Read 18 Akamai Guardicore Segmentation reviews

8,287 Views
5,552 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

VMware NSX

Read 105 VMware NSX reviews

7,032 Views
3,516 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

VMware NSX

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

VMware NSX and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation compete in the network security space. VMware NSX holds an edge with superior long-term ROI due to infrastructure optimization, while Akamai Guardicore Segmentation offers advantages in quick deployment.

Features: VMware NSX provides advanced network virtualization features such as micro-segmentation, robust automation, and scalability across cloud environments. It supports complex networking functions like distributed firewalls without changes to the physical network. In contrast, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation focuses on user-centric visibility, AI-powered segmentation, and flexibility in integrating with third-party solutions, although it has limitations in end-to-end solutions compared to VMware.

Room for Improvement: VMware NSX could improve its upgrade processes and expand platform support, especially for Kubernetes, along with more flexible pricing and licensing. Akamai Guardicore Segmentation faces critique for high pricing and could enhance its automation and flexibility in security policy management. Both solutions need better multi-platform integration, with VMware focusing on pricing and Akamai on broader environmental support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware NSX offers strong support and is often deployed in diverse cloud models, but its responsiveness has shown variability following changes in support strategy. Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is noted for its rapid deployment and effective support, although some challenges exist with system integration. Faster response times and improved automation would benefit larger implementations.

Pricing and ROI: VMware NSX has high initial costs but proves cost-effective over time through enhanced infrastructure and management efficiency. Akamai Guardicore Segmentation presents competitive pricing with contractual flexibility, yet its features may not fully justify the high costs without clear use-case validation. Each solution offers unique financial benefits; VMware focuses on long-term infrastructure savings, while Akamai emphasizes immediate operational gains.

To learn more, read our detailed Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs. VMware NSX Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs. VMware NSX

August 2025

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Helped 867,497 peers since 2012

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

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security

1st

Ranking in Microsegmentation Software

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (11th), Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) (6th)

VMware NSX

Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security

3rd

Ranking in Microsegmentation Software

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

Network Virtualization (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (9th), Network Automation (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is 22.2%, down from 24.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 11.7%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Akamai Guardicore Segmentation	22.2%
VMware NSX	11.7%
Other	66.1%

Cloud and Data Center Security

Featured Reviews

Uday Varma

Solution Architecht at Inspira Enterprise

Offers granular control and ease of policy creation with features like telemetry and micro-segmentation but incident tagging is missing

Our customers use the solution for micro-segmentation within the data center or cloud environments. One customer uses it for their on-premises infrastructure, deployed at the code level across their massive network. Another customer uses it in a data center to monitor microsegmentation for their 500-node workload. Moreover, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation has helped our customers manage and secure traffic between different applications or workloads. Earlier, they were using VMware NSX-v, which offered good logging for distributed services on an analytical level. However, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation provides them with better overall visibility and granular control over-segmentation, even for inter-application and inter-routing traffic.

Read full review

MagdyRaafat

Services Presales Solutions Architecture - UAE & Gulf at Dell Technologies

Enhanced security and streamlined management drive efficient connectivity

Open source is a standard solution where you take a gray box or white box and put the software from your end. You can do programming with Ansible and make the network work in the software-defined mode, providing automation and management capabilities. I am currently working with VMware. It integrates easily with everything and can work with any system. When discussing micro-segmentation, it enhances security, providing more secure data in your data center while allowing for extra layers of security outside your data center. If you have an ACI, there is communication between locations, keeping your data secure in your data center and throughout the path it takes, such as to SD-WAN or the cloud. I work with cloud solutions including AWS, Azure, GCP, and private cloud. My overall rating for VMware NSX is 8.5 out of 10.

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

"The interface and dashboard are amazing."

"Guardicore Centra offers the best coverage specifically in backward compatibility with legacy operating systems."

"Guardicore makes its own rule set automatically, so we can work fast when creating a rule set."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the maps and ring fencing that help monitor events."

"The tool is a complete package that offers many features like visibility. You can get a graph with real-time workflows and visibility into server-to-server communication. We get visibility into many things happening within our environment."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its visibility."

"We like the centralized management of the firewalls. Until we installed Guardicore Centra, we managed all our firewalls individually, so making changes was complicated, difficult, and time-consuming."

"The most valuable feature is the visibility of processes and connections."

More Akamai Guardicore Segmentation pros

"The initial setup was straightforward. It follows a certain structure and you won't miss a step. It's all on the same level, step by step."

"The firewall is its most valuable feature."

"One of the big improvements between the NSX-V and NSX-T is that in NSX-T you are no longer dependent on V-Center anymore."

"I have found the system to be very intuitive, functional, and they have great technology."

"It is easy to implement it."

"The initial setup was straightforward. You just have to click it and follow the manuals."

"I have found VMware NSX to be easy to use."

"The microsegmentation is a good feature. You can segment details, products, or hardware information."

More VMware NSX pros

Cons

"Needs more customization of honeypots and a vaster catalog of systems able to be mimicked."

"Guardicore Centra should incorporate automation so that we don't require to write custom scripts and APIs. The tool also has limitations on rules where it allows only sixty thousand rules. Our clients have also commented that there are too many manual clicks and effort to do changes. I think that the incorporation of automation can help our clients make changes with confidence and without the possibility of human error."

"In our version, when using the terminal server, we cannot exclude user tasks for each session."

"The dashboard needs improvement. It should be more flexible so that I can easily see what I want or need to see."

"Sometimes, the speed needs improvement, especially when it comes to the generation of maps, where it can be a bit slow."

"The product needs a few features like enhanced user policies and payload-level inspection to improve the offering."

"They can maybe improve their customer service just because they are kind of a small organization, and customer service isn't as big as others such as VMware."

"Customers would want to see the cost improved."

More Akamai Guardicore Segmentation cons

"VMware NSX could improve by having more compatibility with other none Window-based operating systems."

"We had some complexities implementing into the other parts of a network."

"I would rate this product an eight because it's a good product but it needs more work. They should fix some of the bugs."

"It's a good product, but the way that it has got so many multiple levels that need to be purchased makes it expensive and cumbersome."

"The initial establishment can be complex."

"The vendor should integrate a basic load balancer in future versions"

"Nowadays, NSX supports the KVM and ESXi hypervisors only. It should also support Hyper-V and Citrix hypervisors."

"We've have had good and bad experiences with them. We don't always find them to be so impactful. Sometimes the support guy isn't so on top of resolving the issue and it can take a while to sort out."

More VMware NSX cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"GuardiCore has made some new changes to the license now. We've seen monthly and annual licenses based on a subscription. We have a few clients that pay anywhere from $25,000 a year."

"Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is expensive."

"Guardicore Centra provides better value for money than NSX, was the other solution that we looked at, which was too expensive for what it does."

"The solution is reasonably priced and I would rate it a six out of ten. The tool's licensing costs are yearly."

"The pricing is too high."

"Compared to the pricing we were seeing from both Illumio and Edgewise, Guardicore was very competitive."

"The customer would complain about the cost."

"This is not a cheap solution but you have to consider the bigger picture, which is what it is giving you."

More Akamai Guardicore Segmentation pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive product, but cheaper than some competing solutions."

"The price is significantly high and it can be a hurdle for many potential users."

"VMware NSX is expensive and everything is licensed. We have to pay for each individual feature."

"The price of VMware NSX is reasonable."

"Pricing and licensing could be improved as we are a government entity. Lower pricing could always help."

"The solution is reasonable at the local level."

"The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price."

"There is a license required for this solution and there is also a support license available. The price of the solution could be better."

More VMware NSX pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	68

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Guardicore Centra?

I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. I know other micro-segmentation tools like Cisco or Illumio, and so I think they are in the middle.

See all answers

What do you like most about Guardicore Infection Monkey?

Initially, I liked the telemetry part. But later, we used the microsegmentation features that we were able to deploy and found that they really stood out from other vendors. It allows us to see mi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Guardicore Infection Monkey?

When we have more than one interface, we can only have one policy for both interfaces. Normally, you have assets with a production interface and a server interface that are only for management. But...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware NSX?

The product has valuable features for security and network extension.

See all answers

Comparisons

Illumio vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Compared 45% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Compared 9% of the time

Zero Networks vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Compared 3% of the time

Cisco ACI vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Compared 3% of the time

Trend Micro Deep Security vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

Compared 3% of the time

More Akamai Guardicore Segmentation Competitors

Illumio vs VMware NSX

Compared 18% of the time

Nutanix Flow Network Security vs VMware NSX

Compared 16% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs VMware NSX

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco ACI vs VMware NSX

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs VMware NSX

Compared 4% of the time

More VMware NSX Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation

September 2025

Download Akamai Guardicore Segmentation product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware NSX

August 2025

Download VMware NSX product report

Also Known As

Guardicore Centra, GuardiCore

VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender

Overview

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is a software-based microsegmentation solution that provides the simplest, fastest, and most intuitive way to enforce Zero Trust principles. It enables you to prevent malicious lateral movement in your network through precise segmentation policies, visuals of activity within your IT environment, and network security alerts. Akamai Guardicore Segmentation works across your data centers, multicloud environments, and endpoints. It is faster to deploy than infrastructure segmentation approaches and provides you with unparalleled visibility and control of your network.

Akamai

VMware NSX is a comprehensive tool for network virtualization and security, offering advanced features like micro-segmentation and multi-cloud networking to enhance scalability and management efficiency within enterprises.

VMware NSX revolutionizes enterprise networking by integrating security and scalability into one streamlined platform. With capabilities like dynamic policy updates and automation, it simplifies complex configurations and provides robust API integration. Its support for Layer 4 and 7 load balancing, along with its seamless integration in multi-cloud environments, makes it a preferred choice among companies. Although deployment speed and management console features require refinement, NSX is an effective solution for private cloud and hybrid environments, enabling centralized orchestration and management of complex networks.

What are the key features of VMware NSX?

Micro-segmentation: Provides secure, granular network segmentation for enhanced security.
Distributed Firewall: Offers policy-driven firewall capabilities across all network endpoints.
Automation: Enables dynamic policy updates and simplifies network configurations.
API Integration: Facilitates seamless third-party integrations and improves configuration processes.
Multi-Cloud Networking: Supports seamless integration across various cloud environments.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Offers significant improvements in network scalability and management efficiency.
Security: Ensures enhanced security through advanced features like micro-segmentation.
Cost-Effectiveness: Potential to reduce costs through network automation and efficiency improvements.
Flexibility: Supports various enterprise requirements with its comprehensive feature set.

In the tech industry, VMware NSX is instrumental in managing private and hybrid cloud environments, allowing companies to replace traditional networking with software-defined networks. In finance, it helps secure transactional data through micro-segmentation. Healthcare organizations leverage its flexibility for managing sensitive patient information securely and integrating cloud services.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Santander, Frontier Airlines, OpenLink, Intermountain Healthcare, Cellcom, BancoBASE

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

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs. VMware NSX

August 2025

Free Report: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs. VMware NSX

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