IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs syslog-ng comparison

IBM and One Identity are both solutions in the Log Management category. IBM is ranked #46 with an average rating of 7.5, while One Identity is ranked #17 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 0.4% mindshare in Log Management, compared to One Identity’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of One Identity users who would recommend it.

IBM SevOne Network Performa...

Read 54 IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) reviews

3,214 Views
707 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

syslog-ng

Read 6 syslog-ng reviews

4,202 Views
4,202 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM SevOne Network Performa...

syslog-ng

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management and syslog-ng compete in network management. IBM SevOne NPM is seen as stronger in overall network performance management, while syslog-ng is noted for its robust and cost-effective log management.

Features: IBM SevOne NPM provides extensive data collection, sophisticated analytics, and real-time problem identification. Syslog-ng offers efficient log management, supports real-time analysis, and specializes in handling logs effectively.

Room for Improvement: IBM SevOne NPM requires better integration with third-party tools, improved scalability, and an enhanced user interface. Syslog-ng should focus on better scalability, enhancing support for larger environments, and refining its alerting systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM SevOne NPM is complex to deploy, but users benefit from strong customer service. Syslog-ng has a simpler installation process, though the customer service experience is inconsistent, with some delays noted by users.

Pricing and ROI: IBM SevOne NPM has a higher upfront cost with moderate ROI, while syslog-ng is praised for cost-effectiveness and strong ROI, appealing to budget-conscious users.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs. syslog-ng Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs. syslog-ng

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

IBM SevOne Network Performa...

Ranking in Log Management

46th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (47th), Server Monitoring (20th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (46th), Cloud Monitoring Software (30th)

syslog-ng

Ranking in Log Management

17th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

2.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.5%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management

Featured Reviews

Grzegorz Nowak

Solution Architect at Wingu

Improves infrastructure planning by helping us analyze network traffic

We use SevOne to collect and report on network flows SevOne improves infrastructure planning by helping us analyze network traffic. We can look at bandwidth for specific endpoints on the customer's network and analyze traffic to identify issues. For example, maybe some connectors are unavailable.…

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RyanVargas

Senior Director and Senior Systems Engineer (Dual Role), IT Infrastructure and Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases

I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

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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

"The comprehensiveness of this solution's collection of network performance and flow data is one of the basics in the field for what it does. It meets all of our needs. So for all those areas, for the most straightforward collection capabilities, right up to NetFlow and even telemetry, it meets all those demands. Not only just basic or fundamental SNMP collection capability, but the product also supports what we need for the future with telemetry streaming. So it's very comprehensive."

"It's a great solution for highlighting and discovering useful information regarding our network's elements."

"One of the most valuable features is the graphs, which you can build instantly. I have used some open-source platforms in the past, but they are not as good. With SevOne, the sampling in the graph can be every few seconds, not just every few minutes, and that's really helpful. It's really fast."

"Another useful feature is that SevOne gives you real-time insights into your network performance. It polls every five minutes. That is important for our customers because there are some network teams that are always monitoring their networks."

"Based on my experience, the stability of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is excellent."

"The SMP and the xStats, which is for flat file integration, are both useful for integrating the various metrics that the device provides to monitor the performance of those systems."

"SevOne has rich API capabilities, giving us the flexibility to control what we collect and customize the collection, creation, and manipulation of now metrics as necessary."

"I like SevOne's network flow reporting."

More IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) pros

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."

"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."

"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."

"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."

Cons

"Software upgrades can be tricky is not easy."

"There is no service mode setup in this monitoring tool if you want to snooze alerts for any specific amount of time, to account for any activity change or major incident."

"When I started using it, I tried adding one of the BroadWorks application servers into SevOne... it created thousands and thousands of objects from that one application server and we immediately ran out of license... It would help, when new objects are discovered, if there were a way to categorize those objects and to pick the part of the object you need..."

"SevOne could improve its flexibility because it isn't fully customizable and its out-of-the-box configuration doesn't cover all use cases."

"There is room for improvement in the integration with different vendors and the reporting capabilities."

"There are a lot of pain points. My main problem is that we don't have a high availability system. There are 20 peers. We're going to lose the end-of-life appliances that are old. If we lose a peer and it doesn't come back, we lose all that data. The reason we don't have high availability is because it's double the charge."

"Would benefit with the addition of AI modules for proactive data insights."

"Telemetry is hot these days, and IBM can improve SevOne's support for telemetry correction. Reporting is another feature that could be better. It provides the bare minimum functionality, which is good enough for most engineers, but the management isn't advanced. The new portal provides a much lighter view and better visualization, but the management is not so good."

More IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) cons

"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."

"The filtering has room for improvement."

"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."

"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing has been fair."

"It is inexpensive compared to other monitoring tools."

"A blocking point is the high upfront cost because it is challenging to get it accepted and the purchase approved."

"For the value that you get from SevOne, it's worth the price. There are a lot of cheaper alternatives on the market, and even free options. But they require more staff, more resources, and engineers with more advanced knowledge of monitoring. That's what makes SevOne worth the price."

"Prices per license are not huge, but they exist."

"Have a bank of licenses, because it is about the number of objects (RAM, ports, CPU, etc.)."

"The tool is not expensive. We were able to negotiate with SevOne on pricing."

"The pricing has not evolved with the market, which is one of the reasons we are moving to a new product."

More IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) pricing and cost advice

"Syslog-ng is open-source."

"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Legal Firm

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SevOne Network Data Platform?

There is room for improvement in the integration with different vendors and the reporting capabilities. It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improv...

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What is your primary use case for SevOne Network Data Platform?

The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) ( /products/ibm-sevone-network-performance-management-npm-reviews ) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastru...

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What advice do you have for others considering SevOne Network Data Platform?

To compete with custom-built tools, IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) should accommodate the desired features and be timely in the delivery of feature updates. I would rate the overal...

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What do you like most about syslog-ng?

For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for syslog-ng?

The pricing is in the middle. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.

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What needs improvement with syslog-ng?

Something could potentially be improved, though it works effectively for me. In the early stages, over 10 years ago, syslog-ng was lacking some features, so I created a patch for it. I used a patch...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM)

August 2025

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) report

Download IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

July 2025

Download syslog-ng product report

Also Known As

SevOne

No data available

Overview

The IBM® SevOne Network Performance Management (IBM SevOne NPM) solution helps you spot, address, and prevent network performance issues early with machine learning-powered analytics from a single source. Boost network performance and improve your user application experience by proactively monitoring your multivendor end-to-end network across enterprise, communication, and managed service provider networks.

Transform raw network performance data into intelligent and actionable insights. The IBM SevOne NPM solution goes beyond detection, combining industry-leading expertise and advanced technology to help your IT team plan and optimize your network and act on what matters: improving network performance to provide an exceptional customer experience.

For further information, please visit www.ibm.com/cloud/sevo...

IBM

Optimizing SIEM
syslog-ng is the log management solution that improves the performance of your SIEM solution by reducing the amount and improving the quality of data feeding your SIEM.

Rapid search and troubleshooting
With syslog-ng Store Box, you can find the answer. Search billions of logs in seconds using full text queries with Boolean operators to pinpoint critical logs.

Meeting compliance requirements
syslog-ng Store Box provides secure, tamper-proof storage and custom reporting to demonstrate compliance.

Big data ingestion
syslog-ng can deliver data from a wide variety of sources to Hadoop, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, and Kafka as well as many others.

Universal log collection and routing
syslog-ng flexibly routes log data from X sources to Y destinations. Instead of deploying multiple agents on hosts, organizations can unify their log data collection and management.

Secure data archive
syslog-ng Store Box provides automated archiving, tamper-proof encrypted storage, granular access controls to protect log data. The largest appliance can store up to 10TB of raw logs.

One Identity

Sample Customers

ATOS, Devereux, Spark New Zealand, Access4, Rogers Communication, Lumen (formerly known as CenturyLink)

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath

Buyer's Guide

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs. syslog-ng

July 2025

Free Report: IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs. syslog-ng

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