HCL AppScan vs Harness comparison

Harness and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. Harness is ranked #31 with an average rating of 7.7, while HCLSoftware is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.9. Harness holds a 0.2% mindshare in SAST, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Harness users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

Harness

Read 4 Harness reviews

215 Views
152 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 43 HCL AppScan reviews

3,999 Views
3,020 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Harness

HCL AppScan

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Harness and HCL AppScan based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Static Application Security Testing (SAST) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed HCL AppScan vs. Harness Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Harness

April 2025

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Helped 850,028 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

Harness

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

31st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (10th), Cloud Cost Management (15th)

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

10th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (14th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Harness is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Linwei Yuan

Software Engineer at Citi

Streamline microservices deployment with integrated execution pipelines and comprehensive monitoring

Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place. It is very convenient since we have many microservices, so having one platform for all of them is beneficial. The dashboard allows me to monitor all core services' deployment status in one place, making it easier to find bugs and check logs.

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Rishi Anupam

Senior Manager at Airtel

A stable and scalable scanning solution with good reporting feature

The solution is used for the vulnerabilities scan on the network side The reporting part is the most valuable feature. The penetration testing feature should be included. I have been using the solution for four years. It is a stable solution. I rate it seven out of ten. It is a scalable…

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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

"Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place, making it convenient."

"Harness integrates all functions like execution pipelines, environment checks, and log monitoring in one place."

"Harness starts integrating with organizations, making everything automated without the need for manual interruption."

"The features of Harness are valuable, supporting rolling deployments, basic deployments, and blue-green deployments with zero downtime."

"It's a highly customizable DevOps tool."

"Technical support is helpful."

"It comes with all of the templates that we need. For example, we are a company that is regulated by PCI. In order to be PCI compliant, we have a lot of checks and procedures to which we have to comply."

"AppScan's most valuable features include its ability to identify vulnerabilities accurately, provide detailed remediation steps, and the newly introduced AI-powered features that enhance its functionality further."

"Usually when we deploy the application, there is a process for ethical hacking. The main benefit is that, the ethical hacking is almost clean, every time. So it's less cost, less effort, less time to production."

"It is easy it is to use. It is quick to find things, because of the code scanning tools. It's quite simple to use and it is very good the way it reports the findings."

"The platform has valuable security features, helping us identify sensitive code issues and the possibility of internal applications' exposure to external threats."

"This solution saves us time due to the low number of false positives detected."

"You can easily find particular features and functions through the UI."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"When deploying multiple components to multiple environments, like production and BCP, failures sometimes occur. Improvements are needed when deploying one component to one environment."

"Even with automation, there's a requirement for manual change requests for approvals."

"There's also room for improvement in debugging pipeline issues, which can sometimes become complex."

"When integrating Harness with more than twenty applications in one place, it becomes less stable, causing improvements to be necessary."

"I prefer the previous less compact UI version of Harness, which showed more details on the screen."

"HCL AppScan needs to improve security."

"Many silly false positives are produced."

"IBM Security AppScan Source is rather hard to use."

"Improving usability could enhance the overall experience with AppScan. It would be beneficial to make the solution more user-friendly, ensuring that everyone can easily navigate and utilize its features."

"The solution often has a high number of false positives. It's an aspect they really need to improve upon."

"The dashboard, for AppScan or the Fortified fast tool, which we use needs to be improved."

"The product has some technical limitations."

"AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."

"The price of HCL AppScan is okay, in my opinion. You just buy HCL AppScan and don't pay anything anymore, meaning it is just a one-time purchase."

"The price is very expensive."

"The solution is cheap."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"The product is moderately priced, though it's an investment due to extensive code analysis needs."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

34%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Harness?

It's a highly customizable DevOps tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Harness?

Previously, when deploying a version that had been deployed successfully before, it sometimes failed upon trying again, which seems to be an intermittent issue about stability. I prefer the previou...

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What is your primary use case for Harness?

I used Harness for CICD, and it served as the release platform that our team used for Java applications. We do Java microservices, and we used it to deploy them.

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives. It also requires enhancements in customer support, similar to what Veracode provides. Regularly scheduling calls with clients to discuss fe...

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What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

The primary use case for AppScan is for security purposes. I compare AppScan with other tools such as Veracode. We use AppScan for vulnerability detection and auto-remediation of vulnerabilities wi...

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Comparisons

Jenkins vs Harness

Compared 20% of the time

GitHub Actions vs Harness

Compared 18% of the time

TeamCity vs Harness

Compared 14% of the time

Tekton vs Harness

Compared 12% of the time

GitLab vs Harness

Compared 8% of the time

More Harness Competitors

Acunetix vs HCL AppScan

Compared 16% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs HCL AppScan

Compared 12% of the time

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 10% of the time

Fortify on Demand vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

OWASP Zap vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Build Automation

April 2025

Download Harness product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

April 2025

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

Armory

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

Harness offers a comprehensive toolset for automating deployment processes and enhancing software update efficiency. It's lauded for its CI/CD capabilities, feature flagging, and real-time deployment monitoring. Key features include an intuitive UI, secret management, and robust rollback functionalities, all contributing to improved productivity and reduced errors in DevOps environments.

Harness

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

Linedata, Openbank, Home Depot, Advanced

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan vs. Harness

April 2025

Free Report: HCL AppScan vs. Harness

Find out what your peers are saying about HCL AppScan vs. Harness and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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We monitor all Static Application Security Testing (SAST) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.