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USM Anywhere vs syslog-ng comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 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

syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
15th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
USM Anywhere
Ranking in Log Management
36th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (31st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (41st), Compliance Management (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of syslog-ng is 1.6%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of USM Anywhere is 1.0%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
syslog-ng1.6%
USM Anywhere1.0%
Other97.4%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

OC
IT Infrastructure & Cloud Security Manager at Thux
Has ensured compliance by centralizing log data and supporting secure connections
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I think we can use other features of this tool in the future. In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it.
Kris Nawani - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited
Offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software
USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools The solution offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software, as it is maintained by the vendor. It helps in saving…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"What I appreciate most about syslog-ng is its configuration; its C-style config is much easier to understand, read, and write than other popular solutions such as syslog or rsyslog."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"We find AlienVault to have the best price to performance value."
"We have benefited greatly due to gaining the visibility we need for different instances."
"I think this has a lot of valuable functions that really could be leveraged quite nicely."
"We had used previous products and found AlienVault centralized the logging for our security."
"AT&T AlienVault USM is good for ELK Stack, the user experience is great because of its architecture, the ELK has great performance and very good speed in the search and Kibana, and the visuals and dashboards are very nice and customizable."
"In terms of monitoring, my best feature would be the monitoring of components across the network; it monitors the respective nodes and any new node that comes onto the network and provides reports, and the reporting dashboards are really helpful for management in terms of making decisions around patch management."
"The asset discovery and inventory capabilities in USM Anywhere is quite good."
"We used, tested, and tried several solutions prior to this solution; this solution answered too many questions under one reasonable cost, as opposed to piecemealing everything together for more money."
 

Cons

"The filtering has room for improvement."
"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."
"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"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."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"Search performance can be slow. The Raw Logs feature is painfully slow. And if we're talking about the newer, the Anywhere product, you can't even schedule reports on the thing. There are probably a dozen other features I'd really like to see there, but that would be one of the biggies."
"It can still be difficult to feed products that are not supported out-of-the-box."
"As this software is in the cloud, you do not have control on updates and general changes which are happening."
"The vulnerability management solution is worse than buying a Nessus Professional license."
"I'd like to see a dashboard that's a little more descriptive."
"I'd like to see a dashboard that's a little more descriptive."
"There are many reports included but would be nice to have better access to the data."
"For creating new rules, you have to be familiar with regular expressions. I feel there could be something built-in to make sure that process is easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
"It's saved security costs."
"It has good pricing."
"Pricing is very competitive with other products and you get much more functionality from AlienVault."
"AlienVault is certainly not nearly as expensive as Splunk or QRadar. It's decently priced, but I don't have the exact figure."
"Its price is in the medium to upper range."
"The licensing fees are dependent on usage."
"It's affordable for most customers."
"It is a product that is priced in a medium range, making it neither a cheap nor a costly product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business65
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I thin...
What is your primary use case for syslog-ng?
In Italy, we have to be compliant with the Garante for privacy. We have to log every login, logout, or login failure made by a system administrator. We store all syslog data of the infrastructure. ...
What advice do you have for others considering syslog-ng?
When it comes to parsing, I can parse both structured and unstructured data, though our data are only structured. Currently, we collect all data we receive as raw data. Each file is stored for each...
What needs improvement with AT&T AlienVault USM?
There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks. It is also limited when used with bigger products and has complex password requirements.
What is your primary use case for AT&T AlienVault USM?
USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools.
 

Also Known As

No data available
AT&T AlienVault USM, AlienVault, AlienVault USM, Alienvault Cybersecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Abel & Cole, Bank of Ireland, Bluegrass Cellular, CareerBuilder, Claire's, Hays Medical Center, Hope International, McCurrach, McKinsey & Company, Party Delights, Pepco Holdings, Richland School District, Ricoh, SaveMart, Shake Shack, Steelcase, TaxAct, Taylor Morrison, Vonage and Zoom
Find out what your peers are saying about USM Anywhere vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
886,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.