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IBM Tivoli NetCool vs OpenText Network Node Manager i comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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 Tivoli NetCool
Ranking in Network Management Applications
16th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OpenText Network Node Manag...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of IBM Tivoli NetCool is 2.0%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Network Node Manager i is 2.4%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Q&A Highlights

DK
Dec 23, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

Petar Ganev - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable for enterprise monitoring but no longer actively developed
There are problems with the latest security requirements because many things have changed in recent years, and now the security audits are very strict. And we need to switch to something else. We need to patch it constantly. Moreover, it is a very old tool and a little bit difficult to support. Otherwise, they work okay.
Qusai Abuomar - PeerSpot reviewer
Network performance optimization achieved with comprehensive visibility and effective event handling
The root cause analysis is valuable. The availability and event handling are also very good, as our team understands the events well. Overall, the tool helps maintain the health of the network. It provides visibility for the network device status, link status, and hardware status of devices such as switches and routers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."
"The solution has very good integration capabilities."
"It's very easy to use."
"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."
"The feature I have found most valuable with NetCool is how it collaborates all the alarms, and then it does a predictive analysis, providing a consolidated alarm view and management."
"Tivoli NetCool allows us to grasp a lot of data that can be applied toward predictive analytics and auto-remediation."
"Support is one of the best aspects of this solution. NetCool is a good product that has good flexibility. There are a lot of documents available online which is one of the best features of IBM Tivoli Suite. Whenever an issue happens, rather than going to technical support, if you find the exact issue in Google, you can get tech notes for that particular issue."
"It's very easy to use."
"A good enterprise-level solution."
"We do not have any issues stability-wise."
"Real time network monitoring application: It is very stable, which provides quick root cause analysis (RCA) for any network faults."
"The best feature is the solution's entire credibility with all vendors."
"It is a scalable product."
"Topology creation is the most valuable feature."
"Most valuable function would have to the internal causal engine and its root cause analyzer which keep us updated on critical errors and incidents in our network environment."
"You can utilize the main file from various vendors for integration."
 

Cons

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."
"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."
"The solution is too expensive."
"The solution is not user-friendly."
"Tivoli NetCool is based on a Linux platform, it would be beneficial if they moved it to Windows because not everyone is acquainted with Linux."
"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."
"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."
"Customization and integration that you need to do to make the product fit your needs is very complex. It is not a product that somebody could easily pick up without any prior training or experience."
"The resources utilized could be a bit higher, and that is one of the challenges that isn't optimized"
"Micro Focus Network Node Manager is not powered to drill down for traffic visibility."
"Micro Focus Network Node Manager is not the best when it comes to drilling down for more visibility, especially regarding traffic."
"As the technologies evolve, also these solutions or the monitoring tools should evolve to cover the progress in technology, including capabilities related to monitoring of virtualized devices today, as the DNS is on the table in this way."
"Reporting. Even though this is available in separate software (iSPI) there is potential in making the reporting more SLA-aware and more intuitive."
"Only to improve the GUI."
"When I open a ticket, usually they respond very late. Some of the people I negotiate with seem undertrained."
"They should add AI options in the product's next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."
"The price of the product is too expensive."
"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"It's an expensive solution."
"I wasn't involved in the pricing, but I think it's quite expensive."
"It is more inexpensive than other products in the market."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"The solution is priced mid-range compared to the competition."
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Answers from the Community

DK
Dec 23, 2014
Dec 23, 2014
We had Netcool for a few years and we droped it in favor of CA Spectrum. Overall deployment of Netcool was considered a failure. Even What's Up Gold was better as a transition solution to CA. Unfortunately I cannot recommend Spectrum either because it's a hardware resources hog and it performs slow. Also the cost of Spectrum is per network interface polled and Support costs a fortune.
2 out of 7 answers
it_user167895 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 23, 2014
If you have not heared from SevOne and have been in contact with them. Please do, It will save you a lot of money and you will be the champ forever. You can compare it as riding a bike (you have to paddle) versus a solar driven car that works If you do so, send me a credit for buying a cake. That will do for me :) THX, Ronald Jansen
it_user76911 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 23, 2014
Based on my experience I would suggest you for Entuity - EYE which got perfect features required for a Network monitoring tool requirement. Feature like In-Depth Real time monitoring, Flows, Network Maps, Inventory Management, Event Management, easy to integrate.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
32%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...
What do you like most about IBM Tivoli NetCool?
The tool had many built-in automation capabilities.
What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool?
The main challenge is its licensing model, which is very complicated.
What needs improvement with Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
They should add AI options in the product's next release.
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Network Node Manager?
We use the product monitoring network infrastructure, interfaces, and devices.
 

Also Known As

Tivoli NetCool
Micro Focus Network Node Manager, Network Node Manager, HPE Network Node Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Claranet, Consolidated Communications, Telus, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Telekom Srbija, Bendigo Community Telco, Capgemini, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)
IPC, Exelon, VivaCom, 
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. OpenText Network Node Manager i and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.