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IBM Watson for Cyber Security vs Trellix ESM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

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 Watson for Cyber Security
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
58th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trellix ESM
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
20th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of IBM Watson for Cyber Security is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix ESM is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Elena Stefanovska - PeerSpot reviewer
Knowledgeable support, reliable, and useful compliance policies
IBM Watson for Cyber Security can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud and it is used as a SIEM solution The most valuable features of IBM Watson for Cyber Security are ease of use and out-of-the-box reports and compliance policies. Additionally, if there are aspects that are missing IBM add…
Daniel Durian - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to monitor and detect cyberattacks
The tool's effectiveness depends on how you define your log sources. To build visibility of incoming and outgoing traffic, you need logs from perimeter defense, firewalls, web application firewalls, and endpoint protection. With good traffic visibility, incident response time is really quick. Trellix ESM provides situation awareness. On the dashboard, I can see outbound and inbound communications to known threat hosts, IPS/IDS activity, and threat intelligence of the perimeter defense in the firewall. This information helps preempt attacks.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Watson for Cyber Security is very stable."
"The customer support is very good."
"The most valuable features of IBM Watson for Cyber Security are ease of use and out-of-the-box reports and compliance policies. Additionally, if there are aspects that are missing IBM add them in the next release."
"The most valuable feature of this product is innovation, where the research and upgrading of technology never ends."
"It is user-friendly. The notification part of McAfee ESM is very easy."
"It is easy to use and deploy. It comes with user-friendly manuals."
"It is easy to use."
"The most valuable features of McAfee ESM are intrusion detection, malware protection, and the device controller."
"It enables us to detect malicious threats, issues, or vulnerabilities in our network."
"We are now able to completely monitor our environment so we can review what is there, which is a big win for us."
"The tool's effectiveness depends on how you define your log sources. To build visibility of incoming and outgoing traffic, you need logs from perimeter defense, firewalls, web application firewalls, and endpoint protection. With good traffic visibility, incident response time is really quick."
"It blocks the things which are not to be allowed. It has an adaptive mode where it learns for itself."
 

Cons

"They need to continue to build the AI capabilities."
"This is an expensive product, so making it more cost-effective would be an improvement."
"The dashboard could improve in IBM Watson for Cyber Security."
"In the future, I would like to see threat intelligence included."
"We would welcome integrations with some of the new McAfee acquisitions, e.g., behavioural analytics."
"McAfee is no more providing security updates on this product, and the enhancements to this product seem to have stopped. Moreover, we don't get proper support, and we struggle to get its support. It would be good if they can add some AI engine and out of the box use cases because it is currently limited to the same scenario and the same setup. I have done a POC for Securonix, LogRhythm. These products are much more ahead as compared to McAfee ESM. They have included multiple modules in the same solution. Correlation is very easy. If McAfee ESM can improve, especially in such implementations, then I believe it would be much better."
"We acquired the IBM product because McAfee is slightly confusing to use, and it's broader."
"I would like to see good analytics in future releases."
"The product is mature and needs little improvement, but we could enhance the customized dashboarding based on use cases."
"We need to improve Trellix ESM by making sure that most of the logging devices available in the global market should be covered, and if there is any device which is not covered, there should not be any additional charges for writing the custom parsers on that."
"There are some banking and transactional cases that are local, South America transactions. I would like to see them add features that can be used locally, to make those transactions more reliable."
"Product-wise, adding accounts on a single data source by batch would be a really great help."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this solution should be lower, although I understand why IBM charges a premium price."
"IBM Watson for Cyber Security is very simple to license and is priced well."
"The licensing cost is based on EPS."
"Regarding pricing, Trellix ESM is not that expensive. It's less than half the cost of IBM QRadar."
"The price of McAfee ESM is higher than some of the other solutions. There are additional features that can be added at an additional fee."
"You should buy the distributed option instead of the all-in-one for environments with more than 1000 end points."
"The cost is dependent on the customer's environment and requirements."
"We renew our license annually."
"We pay for our licensing fees on a yearly basis, and there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The price is good. It's moderate. We follow a pay-as-you-go model. There are different models available, and they can also be monthly. You can choose monthly or yearly. It's very flexible. If our existing customers exceed the current plan, you can just call McAfee and get it extended."
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Comparison Review

VS
Feb 26, 2015
HP ArcSight vs. IBM QRadar vs. ​McAfee Nitro vs. Splunk vs. RSA Security vs. LogRhythm
We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about McAfee ESM?
The solution's technical support is great.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee ESM?
When discussing Trellix ESM pricing and licensing, if you consider some premium product, the pricing also has to be premium, however, enterprise customers who look for a premium product, alongside ...
What needs improvement with McAfee ESM?
Areas of Trellix ESM that could be improved or enhanced include checking on the clients who are still on-prem, especially banks, as most are not moving everything to the cloud due to confidentialit...
 

Also Known As

No data available
McAfee ESM, NitroSecurity, McAfee Enterprise Security Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
San Francisco Police Credit Union, Wªstenrot Gruppe, Volusion, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, Government of New Brunswick, State of Colorado, Macquarie Telecom, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Cologne Bonn Airport
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Watson for Cyber Security vs. Trellix ESM and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.