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AlienVault OSSIM vs Exabeam 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

AlienVault OSSIM
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
10th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Exabeam
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (2nd), Security Incident Response (6th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (7th), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (7th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of AlienVault OSSIM is 4.2%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Exabeam is 1.3%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Aman Aijaz - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-scale open-source solution used for monitoring events on devices
The area for improvement is a lot. When I started using it on our enterprise side, the issue we faced was, for example, if we were running at that time on AlienVault OSSIM v5.7.4. So, for some orders, we had to install some packages, and when we tried installing that package, some dependencies got upgraded to a new version. Now once that dependency got upgraded, the SQL, since you might be aware that OSSIM uses SQL database, now SQL and all the dependency in everything was not on the same version, and that caused the database to crash. The aforementioned area should be eased out by upgrading the patches and upgrading dependencies. This kind of thing is a disadvantage of OSSIM, and I would like them to work on this. But I have also raised service requests many times and gave it a push on the community section too. However, since it is a local source, they don't reply much over there. That is why I don't like to work on OSSIM because it is unpredictable. Once the storage goes above 50 percent, it starts behaving unpredictably. If you get stuck with a situation, then you need to drill a lockdown into that. Sometimes you get no luck. Then you have to just reimage the server with the new fresh OS of AlienVault. As for additional features, not much because if you move to the newer version, it is kind of getting more stable. But, to make my life easier, then I would say try to give more features. I know it's open source, so they also cannot provide me with more features. But still, if they can provide me with more features because right now it's becoming old. Right now, we are even moving from SIEM to Security Data Lake. So when we move to it, this will be literally outdated. No one can even expect anything out of it. The way security is moving, it will be outdated very soon. They have to also provide something new to keep this going for the future also.
Stephen-Armstrong - PeerSpot reviewer
The SIEM provides a user-friendly UI experience
When events come into the system, the dashboard categorizes them by the highest risk score, not when they appear on the system. When you've got multiple ongoing incidents you can only see the highest risk score at the top of the list rather than the most recent detection. Exabeam's reporting dashboard could have included a filtering option to filter by the most recent detection.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are a lot of people you will find using OSSIM since they are also offering OTX as a service"
"The paid version of the solution has reporting and better scalability options."
"The solution is free to use."
"Network traffic analysis is highly efficient."
"The dashboard is the solution's most valuable aspect. It brings everything into one central point where I can actually look at it and go, "Okay, I understand what's going on.""
"The most valuable features of this solution are the data correlation and vulnerability assessment."
"The most valuable features of AlienVault OSSIM are vulnerability assessment, network intrusion detection system, response to critical events, and awareness of the whole network."
"The initial setup was straightforward. I didn't have any problems."
"The advanced analytics has a really great overview of user behavior."
"It's a very user-friendly product and it's a very comprehensive technology."
"The user interface and the timelines they use are the most valuable features. The price model is very simple so that one can understand it easily and there are no surprises within it."
"The UI was very clean."
"Timeline based analysis; good platform support"
"The most valuable feature of Exabeam is the timeline creation based on log sources, which helps in security investigations."
"The solution's automation capabilities are great."
"The platform is not extremely expensive compared to its direct competitors; I would rate its pricing around six out of ten."
 

Cons

"I suggest more in-built rules based on modern threats and environments to make it a more competitive solution."
"AlienVault OSSIM could improve by having better integration with some of the newer tools."
"When comparing AlienVault OSSIM to other solutions it looks a bit outdated. Additionally, they need to improve their integration."
"The solution is not scalable."
"AlienVault OSSIM on-premise version is more difficult to implement than the cloud version. Additionally, they should add integration between several different environments at once and improve their online knowledge base."
"Sometimes technical issues take very long to get resolved."
"The solution needs more integration with cyber intelligence systems."
"There are somewhat more false positives with the user behavior analytics, which could benefit from an additional machine learning model to detect user patterns more rapidly."
"We had a large volume right from the beginning and they weren't quite prepared for that. That's something that they should think about when it comes to customers that have a large volume to start off with."
"The solution's reporting and dashboarding could be improved."
"Exabeam lacks customizable dashboards, which might be a limitation if visualization is a key requirement."
"I believe if it were more flexible it would be a better product."
"The initial setup of Exabeam Fusion SIEM is complex because it needs to integrate with the SIEM solution, but after this is complete it is straightforward."
"They should provide detailed information about detecting phishing emails."
"Exabeam needs to improve its adaptive nature towards rules and its capability to understand the entire client environment faster."
"We still have questions surrounding hardware deployment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AlienVault OSSIM is expensive compared to its competitors."
"AlienVault OSSIM is free."
"OSSIM is free."
"AlienVault OSSIM is an open-source solution."
"The licensing fees for the non-community edition are paid on an annual basis, and there are no costs in addition to this."
"We are using a free version of the solution. If you purchase a license there are more features available but the price is a little high. The solution should be cheaper to allow more customers to be able to afford it."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"OSSIM is open source, and USM is the paid license. So, if you want, you can switch to USM. There you will have to buy a license, and they have a support team that helps you out on issues you face."
"There is an annual license required to use Exabeam Fusion SIEM. The price of the solution should be reduced."
"Exabeam Fusion SIEM's pricing is reasonable."
"The solution is expensive."
"They have a great model for pricing that can be based either on user count or gigabits per day."
"The platform is not extremely expensive compared to its direct competitors; I would rate its pricing around six out of ten."
"Exabeam is not a cheap solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlienVault OSSIM?
It depends. I would need to review their cost models, but generally, they are on a scaled basis based on throughput usage. Because it's a software as a service solution for their core product for U...
What needs improvement with AlienVault OSSIM?
Scaling for USM is always challenging for any product unless it is purpose-built or overbuilt at the front end. They will use Palo Alto and its competitors, and LevelBlue will manage that implement...
What are the biggest differences between Securonix UEBA, Exabeam, and IBM QRadar?
It mostly depends on your use-cases and environment. Exabeam and Securonix have a stronger UEBA feature set, friendlier GUI and are not licensed based on capacity (amount of logs and information in...
What do you like most about Exabeam Fusion SIEM?
The solution's initial setup process is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Exabeam Fusion SIEM?
I do not have much information about the pricing. However, I am aware that Exabeam is cheaper than Palo Alto based on discussions in meetings.
 

Also Known As

OSSIM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Council Rock School District
Hulu, ADP, Safeway, BBCN Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about AlienVault OSSIM vs. Exabeam and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.