IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"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."

"The tool is much easier to manage than running scripts and figuring out how many endpoints have been exceeded."

"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."

"Anything is possible with Tivoli. It's quite a robust system."

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."

"Tivoli NetCool allows us to grasp a lot of data that can be applied toward predictive analytics and auto-remediation."

"It's very easy to use."

"The tool had many built-in automation capabilities."

"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."

"Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network."

"The tool is useful for security purposes."

"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"

"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."

"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."

"The installation is straightforward."

"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to store all the device configurations for the various network devices in NCM and making it easy for us to retrieve and look them over."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"The solution is too expensive."

"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."

"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."

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

"Releasing a product compatible with operating systems other than Windows would be advantageous."

"I would like to see more features in terms of wireless reporting and more historical information for client connectivity in SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."

"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."

"It would be great if they include a network service manager, network performance manager, or a privileged assessment in the next release."

"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"

"I'd like to see additional features like support for devices that don't use CLI for configuration backups, expanded inventory support for other vendors beyond Cisco, and compatibility with newer SD WAN devices. These enhancements would further improve the product's versatility and utility for users. we hope for future enhancements, especially in supporting security devices that lack CLI backup options."

"We want to be able to store it in a data warehouse format and integrate it with Google single sign-on."

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

"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."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."

"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"Available at a moderate price"

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"With a minimal bundle, we pay about $3000 a year in licensing costs. If you have multiple devices in your network, you must buy the bundle, which is 100% identical for your infrastructure. If you have 15 devices, you need 15 licenses, for example. That's one bundle. You don't pay for anything over and above that."

"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."

"The pricing is good."