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AlienVault OSSIM vs Sentinel comparison

AT&T and OpenText are both solutions in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category. AT&T is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.4, while OpenText is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.5. AT&T holds a 1.4% mindshare in SIEM, compared to OpenText’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of AT&T users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of OpenText users who would recommend it.
AlienVault OSSIM
Read 31 AlienVault OSSIM reviews
  • 4,551 Views
  • 4,460 Comparison Views
80% willing to recommend
Sentinel
Read 17 Sentinel reviews
  • 5,367 Views
  • 5,260 Comparison Views
82% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Sentinel and AlienVault OSSIM compete in the cybersecurity sector. Sentinel has the upper hand in pricing and customer service, while AlienVault OSSIM is preferred for its robust features.

Features: Sentinel users like its real-time threat detection, comprehensive reporting tools, and user-friendly interface. AlienVault OSSIM users value its integration capabilities with various security tools, extensive threat intelligence, and advanced monitoring features.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Sentinel improve scalability, alert management, and user interface intuitiveness. AlienVault OSSIM users highlight the need for a more intuitive interface, faster processing speeds, and better user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sentinel is praised for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. AlienVault OSSIM users find the setup more complex but recognize the comprehensive support provided post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Sentinel is generally seen as cost-effective with a quicker ROI. Users find AlienVault OSSIM pricier with a longer ROI period, but its advanced capabilities justify the investment.

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To learn more, read our detailed AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel Report (Updated: April 2026).
Buyer's Guide
AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel
April 2026
Download the complete report
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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)
13th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sentinel
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of AlienVault OSSIM is 1.4%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sentinel is 2.9%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AlienVault OSSIM1.4%
Sentinel2.9%
Other95.7%
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

BP
Brandon Pearce
Independent Contractor at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
Enables cost-effective security management for small businesses
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 implementation. The main area where the AlienVault product was lacking around the 2018 timeframe was in its ability to scale. By pushing it to a cloud-based system, they've largely alleviated scale issues. It's native in Amazon but will also run in Azure. They have worked with cloud service providers to offer enough throughput at a cost reasonable for a corporation. Scaling was their biggest problem, and they've largely conquered those issues.
Read full review
Simon Johnston - PeerSpot reviewer
Simon Johnston
Manager, Customer Success at Coltek Business Soltuions
Simple antivirus solution integrates well but could improve pricing and currency options
I don't really have experience working with these solutions. I promote them for our clients, but I don't work with them. I can't share my experience with these tools as I make assumptions about that. For both Adlumin and CrowdStrike, both confirm that they're scalable and enterprise-ready and all those kinds of things. We haven't had any specific problem with either of those. We just have a preference for which one we would prefer. If somebody says they want to use a different one from the one that we prefer, then we have to find reasons why they aren't. But scalability is not one of the reasons that one is better over the other. I don't really have advice for people that are looking into using Sentinel; just do your research across what is available. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Sentinel a seven.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup was straightforward. I didn't have any problems."
"There are a lot of people you will find using OSSIM since they are also offering OTX as a service"
"The solution is free to use."
"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 product is easy to use."
"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.""
"With AlienVault you get everything in one box."
"The solution is free to use."
More AlienVault OSSIM pros
"It provides real time security event analytics."
"Transactional user information improves security, prevents fraud, and promotes best practices."
"The most valuable feature is the flexible log for identifying security threats inside an application. Sentinel is very good at this."
"In my opinion, Sentinel's best features include that it's a very easy product to use, it's very simple, and the after-sale service is very good."
"Novell SIEM was my second technology of this kind."
"One of the most valuable features is the business intelligence engine; it's very important because it keeps track of everything that's happening and alerts us if something is different than expected."
"The stability is phenomenal and we never had any issues with downtime or even had to restart."
"The tool is simple to use."
More Sentinel pros
 

Cons

"AlienVault OSSIM gives unwanted notifications."
"There needs to be more support or some kind of training program so users can self-learn the system more effectively."
"It takes some time. It does not give me a prompt response for any such [malicious] traffic. It takes time to get that alert from the AlienVault system."
"The main area where the AlienVault product was lacking around the 2018 timeframe was in its ability to scale."
"The price of this solution is very high and it could be cheaper."
"It's so hard to configure and explore something new on it."
"ArcSight works better than AlienVault right now."
"The initial setup was not so easy, partly because the documentation was not up to date."
More AlienVault OSSIM cons
"The web interface needs to be improved, as it has a java-based way to call its controls."
"You need a lot of Unix scripting knowledge in order to manage the tool, which is one of the main issues that we faced."
"There is no integration in the web-side of the tool."
"I would prefer to extend dashboards part and their functions in Web GUI version, so the charts could be for configurable."
"There are still a few vendor-specific devices for which Sentinel needs to work on integration, such as Netskope devices."
"There is a need for more flexibility in customization, especially when working with different vendors and platforms."
"I would like to see a better reporting work structure on the dashboard."
"The dashboard and customer view should be improved."
More Sentinel cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"OSSIM is free."
"The price of AlienVault OSSIM is too high sometimes for us to present to our customers. The price should be lower. We are on a three-year license to use the solution. We had to pay extra for the support."
"The solution is open source, so it's free to use."
"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 licensing fees for the non-community edition are paid on an annual basis, and there are no costs in addition to this."
"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."
"I used the paid version of the tool and found it to be expensive. It has been a while since I changed to Securonix. I will have to check whether AlienVault charges per device, user, or log."
"AlienVault pricing is the best. Whatever cost you are paying, you are getting a return on every penny... It's not like your IBM, your QRadar, or Splunk, where the cost is too high."
More AlienVault OSSIM pricing and cost advice
"Sentinel is moderately priced."
"Sentinel is a subscription-based solution."
"We inquired about getting support from the vendor, Micro Focus, but the cost was very high."
"Sentinel's slightly on the expensive side."
"The solution’s pricing is aligned with its competitors."
"We receive a pricing discount because of our ongoing partnership with Micro Focus."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AlienVault OSSIM?
Asset discovery is good.
See all answers
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...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Sentinel?
I don't have too many comments overall about pricing as we're in South Africa, so it makes more sense if it's billed in rand. They nearly always bill it in dollars, so if it can be billed in our cu...
See all answers
What needs improvement with NetIQ Sentinel?
I'm not sure what the room for improvement is for Sentinel. It needs to stay current, and it does, so I suppose that's fine. I don't have a high demand for what it should do. Price is always a cons...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for NetIQ Sentinel?
It's our go-to choice for antivirus. I use Sentinel a lot.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Wazuh vs AlienVault OSSIM Logo
Wazuh vs AlienVault OSSIM
Compared 24% of the time
Venusense USM vs AlienVault OSSIM Logo
Venusense USM vs AlienVault OSSIM
Compared 10% of the time
USM Anywhere vs AlienVault OSSIM Logo
USM Anywhere vs AlienVault OSSIM
Compared 7% of the time
Splunk Enterprise Security vs AlienVault OSSIM Logo
Splunk Enterprise Security vs AlienVault OSSIM
Compared 7% of the time
IBM Security QRadar vs AlienVault OSSIM Logo
IBM Security QRadar vs AlienVault OSSIM
Compared 3% of the time
More AlienVault OSSIM Competitors
Splunk Enterprise Security vs Sentinel Logo
Splunk Enterprise Security vs Sentinel
Compared 19% of the time
IBM Security QRadar vs Sentinel Logo
IBM Security QRadar vs Sentinel
Compared 11% of the time
Wazuh vs Sentinel Logo
Wazuh vs Sentinel
Compared 6% of the time
Cortex XSIAM vs Sentinel Logo
Cortex XSIAM vs Sentinel
Compared 4% of the time
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Sentinel Logo
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Sentinel
Compared 4% of the time
More Sentinel Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
AlienVault OSSIM
April 2026
AlienVault OSSIM reportDownload AlienVault OSSIM product report
Buyer's Guide
Sentinel
March 2026
Sentinel reportDownload Sentinel product report
 

Also Known As

OSSIM
NetIQ Sentinel, Novell SIEM
 

Overview

AlienVault OSSIM, Open Source Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), provides you with a feature-rich open source SIEM complete with event collection, normalization and correlation. Launched by security engineers because of the lack of available open source products, AlienVault OSSIM was created specifically to address the reality many security professionals face: A SIEM, whether it is open source or commercial, is virtually useless without the basic security controls necessary for security visibility.

AT&T

Sentinel is a full-featured Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution that simplifies the deployment, management and day-to-day use of SIEM, readily adapts to dynamic enterprise environments and delivers the true "actionable intelligence" security professionals need to quickly understand their threat posture and prioritize response.

OpenText
 

Sample Customers

Council Rock School District
Faysal Bank, GaVI, Handelsbanken, ISC Mªnster, Lambeth Council, Swisscard, The Municipality of Siena, Tukes, University of Dayton, University of the Sunshine Coast
Buyer's Guide
AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel
April 2026
Free Report: AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel
Find out what your peers are saying about AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
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