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Cisco Secure Network Analytics pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.1 out of 5
1,376 followers
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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

NetFlow is considered the most valuable feature for starting any security investigation and improving network visibility.
The analytics and threat detection capabilities are highly valued for their effectiveness in identifying hidden threats and providing visibility throughout the network.
Network visibility, including the ability to monitor and analyze traffic, enhances security by pinpointing vulnerabilities and offering insight into data segments.
The integration with other tools and the visibility it provides into application layers add significant value, improving overall network security and monitoring capabilities.
The reporting and mitigation capabilities help organizations keep threats under control, securely maintaining their data environment.

CONS

Cisco Secure Network Analytics requires simplification in setup and configuration, as it proves complex for new users and often demands expert assistance.
Integration and interoperability with other Cisco products like ISE and better synchronization with device discovery systems are areas needing enhancement.
The dependency on Java and the preference for more web-based and modernized alternatives are significant points of criticism.
More comprehensive machine learning and artificial intelligence features, alongside bundled packages for popular add-ons, are desired for improved accuracy and ease of implementation.
Network traffic visibility, especially detection in internal networks and smaller business environments, needs improvement to cater to a broader range of users.
 

Cisco Secure Network Analytics Pros review quotes

Rainier S. - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 22, 2018
Able to drill down into a center's utilization, then create reports based on it.
Richard Payne - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 13, 2023
The solution allowed us to not only get gain insight but also start collaborating with other tools.
reviewer1467678 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 14, 2021
It has definitely helped us improve our mean time to resolution on network issues.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Network Analytics. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.
TB
Jun 17, 2019
The most valuable part is that Stealthwatch is part of a portfolio of security devices from Cisco. Cisco literally can touch every single end point, every single ingress and egress point in the network. Nobody else has that.
Technicab71a - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
The most valuable features are encrypted threat analysis and the ability to run jobs on entire flows.
NetworkAcb23 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
The most valuable feature of this solution is data hoarding because it catches threats on a frequent basis that we had no idea of.
AyoubAkhtar - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 31, 2024
The most valuable feature of the solution is that it helps you gain visibility for your application.
reviewer1330293 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 22, 2022
Cisco Stealthwatch has predefined alerts for different types of security issues that might happen in the network. Whether it's PCs or servers that are used for botnets or Bitcoin mining we receive the alerts automatically. This functionality is what we receive from the solution out of the box.
ML
Jul 8, 2021
From what I understand, you can encrypt and unencrypt traffic moving in transit. This is one of the features that we liked about it.
NetworkE7689 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
The search options on Cisco Stealthwatch are the most valuable. You can get very granular with it, down to the kilobits or the seconds if you want. The product supports any time frame that you need, so that is nice.
 

Cisco Secure Network Analytics Cons review quotes

Rainier S. - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 22, 2018
Reliance on Java. Get away from that.
Richard Payne - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 13, 2023
The customizability of the UI should improve.
reviewer1467678 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 14, 2021
Many of these tools require extensive on-premises hardware to run.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Network Analytics. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.
TB
Jun 17, 2019
I would like Cisco to make it easier for the administrators to use it.
Technicab71a - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
It would be better to let people know, up front, that is doesn't give you nice, clear information, as seen in the demos, without Cisco ISE installed.
NetworkAcb23 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
One thing I would like to see improved is if it could automatically be tied through ISE, instead of you having to manually get notifications and disable it yourself.
AyoubAkhtar - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 31, 2024
The expensive nature of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required.
reviewer1330293 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 22, 2022
Cisco Stealthwatch can improve by having bundled packages for popular add-ons. It would be a lot easier for people implementing it, have let's say a better way to use the product.
ML
Jul 8, 2021
We determined that Stealthwatch wouldn't provide the machine learning model that we required.
NetworkE7689 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2019
I would like the search page available with Cisco Stealthwatch to be more intuitive. The previous release was better than the current one for the UI.