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Illumio vs Symantec Data Center Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 14, 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

Illumio
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (13th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
Symantec Data Center Security
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Illumio is 22.8%, down from 24.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Data Center Security is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Illumio22.8%
Symantec Data Center Security1.8%
Other75.4%
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Alark Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Visual traffic interface aids in network micro-segmentation while a streamlined update option enhances process efficiency
The strongest aspect of Illumio is the visual traffic interface, which allows us to see all traffic that communicates with our servers and allied companies. We can write rules that can be embedded into the IP table, making it easy to handle. Illumio enables us to see network flows, traffic sources, and destinations. The policy generation and enforcement capabilities are valuable, allowing for selective enforcement. Illumio helps in audit purposes by saving data and showing blocked traffic, ensuring no outside traffic is allowed.
Shahram Dehghani - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust solution that provides comprehensive protection for data centers, offering agentless security, powerful intrusion prevention, and a wide range of security features
The primary focus of data center security often revolves around serving customers who offer services to other clients within the data center. For example, if I operate a data center and provide security services, third-party customers might purchase virtual machine products within my data center. These products are automatically deployed, and we safeguard these virtual machines using intrusion prevention system features. This aspect is considered the most valuable part because when we set up these security policies, it's as if we're fortifying the entire infrastructure. It's not just about having good technical support; it's about having a robust IPS and comprehensive DOS prevention system on those operating systems. The advantage of Data Center Security is its ease of use and that it serves as a single unified platform, where I can apply all my security policies to protect that server.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution helps to maintain logs and monitor activities. It also helps us with access management. The tool helps us to secure organizational data that include files."
"The most valuable feature of Illumio Adaptive Security Platform is monitoring. When I have no requirement from the other application, I can use the web block traffic to build."
"Customer support is excellent."
"The strongest aspect of Illumio is the visual traffic interface, which allows us to see all traffic that communicates with our servers and allied companies."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The Explorer allows you to know the traffic between source and destination."
"The dependency map is most valuable feature."
"The tool helps with my company's security posture."
"We use the product to prevent unauthorized access to data, systems, and servers. It provides essential features for data center security."
"The granularity of applying the policies is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the centralized console, which can handle different products that we have."
"The ability to finely control permissions and restrictions on servers or assets through a customizable rule set is a key strength."
"The tool will then detect any anomalies, such as an intruder who has breached the network, which can trigger the system lockdown feature if it's enabled and meets the defined threshold."
"The advantage of Data Center Security is its ease of use and that it serves as a single unified platform, where I can apply all my security policies to protect that server."
"Good file integrity monitoring features."
"The monitoring in the management console allows us to find out what is going wrong, and it gets reports even before the user reports it."
 

Cons

"The solution is very basic and doesn't do anything other than the orchestration of layer four endpoint firewall rules."
"Some of the features that can be improved is offer additional guidance on creating an effective and risk-free tagging policy would be highly beneficial."
"We need more details on areas where there is an error or a traffic blockage. I would like the tool to offer a more detailed view."
"The interaction we've had with the support team hasn't been ideal. Technical support should be improved."
"It requires a low-level re-architecting of the product."
"I have not had the chance to experiment deeply with it."
"There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades."
"I would like to see better data security in the product."
"Adding more compatibility with common products like Microsoft would be a plus."
"A user or administrator making the policy in the DCS should have a very thorough knowledge of the operating system or policy making. You have to be very specific about the data structure."
"They need to develop a more flexible product that can be scaled such that it fits well into a small business or a bigger, enterprise-level solution."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing its graphical user interface for a more user-friendly experience."
"Agent management is a challenging task."
"Could have better reporting capabilities and better support."
"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."
"There is plenty of room for improvement with this product, and it could start with platform metrics."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a subscription needed to use Illumio Adaptive Security Platform and we pay every three years. Overall the solution is expensive."
"The product's pricing is around 10,000-15,000 USD. The pricing is on a yearly basis."
"The product is a bit costly."
"Compared to some other solutions, such as CrowdStrike, Symantec is more expensive."
"It is notably more expensive when compared to other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging poli...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
I do not have specific knowledge about pricing details as it is handled by upper management. I know that Illumio is the cheapest solution in the security area.
What needs improvement with Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades. This would be more helpful to streamline processes.
What do you like most about Symantec Data Center Security?
The granularity of applying the policies is valuable.
What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?
Agent management is a challenging task. We cannot do it from the console. We will have to use other tools.
What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?
One key use case for data center security is protecting files within the data center. This is especially important for Linux systems, where locking down specific files is essential to prevent unaut...
 

Also Known As

Illumio Adaptive Security Platform, Illumio ASP
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Plantronics, NTT Innovation Institute Inc.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Illumio vs. Symantec Data Center Security and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,952 professionals have used our research since 2012.