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ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager (ESM) vs NetWitness Platform 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

ArcSight Enterprise Securit...
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetWitness Platform
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
24th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager (ESM) is 1.3%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetWitness Platform is 0.7%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ramnesh  Dubey - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows for monitoring logs according to industry standards within ESM but has a total capacity capped at 12 TB, limiting real-time data retention periods
The first limitation is with the ArcSight Data Storage Manager (ADSM). ArcSight's total capacity is currently capped at 12 TB. This becomes an issue if a customer needs a longer real-time data retention period, such as exceeding 90 days or reaching a year or even ten months. Increasing the disk space beyond 12 TB is not currently possible. So, increasing the storage capacity is one area for improvement. Additionally, the real-time data retention is limited due to the 12 TB restriction. Depending on the Events Per Second (EPS) you receive, you might only be able to retain data for seven to ten days. Overall, the 12 TB limit is the main issue we face in terms of maximizing real-time data storage. Moreover, there are a few improvements I would like to see in future releases. My main suggestion for ArcSight is to simplify the deployment process. Currently, the installation process is quite complex. There are various components involved, including transformations, multiple installations, and containerization for various components. Ideally, I'd recommend that ArcSight allow the entire installation, including the ESM and database, to be completed within a single unified setup process for a streamlined experience. Additionally, having readily available and well-organized documentation for the step-by-step installation process would be incredibly helpful. I would also like to see better support.
MdZaman - PeerSpot reviewer
Really scalable for enterprise customers
The solution should have more integration capabilities with different platforms. The API is nearly open and scalable, so the solution can integrate with many platforms. The solution has more than 200 log sources in the scalability to support, but this is its limit. Installation is pretty easy. However, there are a couple of modules involved, so it is not as easy as it could be. We are talking about a distributed module, not a single-module type. This is what makes things a bit complex, instead of easier. I rate it as a seven out of ten on its installation and configuration capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"On the positive side, ArcSight ESM's performance was excellent. It was very fast when writing queries. It provided good performance monitoring and had built-in rules to show which rules triggered most often and impacted performance. This performance monitoring was well-implemented."
"The real-time analysis adds value."
"The tool is good for correlation and aggregation. We use it as a collection platform."
"I think that the overall experience with this solution is good, but in particular, I think that the dashboards are quite interactive."
"It is a very useful tool for intelligence building because it has many use cases and many rule sets."
"The most valuable features of ArcSight ESM are ease of use and readily usable components."
"The correlation feature is good."
"It makes maintenance very easy."
"The most valuable feature is that we can create our own connectors for any application, and NetWitness provides the training and tools to do it."
"Incident management is its most valuable feature."
"The packet capture aspect of it is a valuable feature because it is quite different from a traditional SIEM solution that only carries out investigations based on captured logs."
"The development of use cases on the SSA console is quite user friendly. This means that the security analyst or the researcher does not have to learn another language."
"The newer 11.5 version that my team is using has found it to have good mapping."
"The software is scalable to whatever is required, and you can also put a lot of resources in the cloud."
"NetWitness Platform is valuable for creating rules that the solution must detect."
"NetWitness can be highly beneficial for incident detection and response."
 

Cons

"Administration of ArcSight is not an easy job. The admin needs to be well experienced in it to identify the root cause and fix it."
"The API integration could be better, and I'd like to see more machine-learning capabilities in the future."
"I am having issues with report generation with older versions. I don't know if this is because of compatibility issues, but report generation has been a little bit difficult in older versions. It is not similar to the newer and current versions. We are looking at moving to the cloud. It would be good if ArcSight ESM can move to the cloud. They already seem to be working on this. It would also be very helpful and great if we can integrate external threat intelligence, machine learning, and AI into this solution. It has good dashboards, but they can always be better. Its stability can also be improved."
"The correlation engine effectively connects different events, significantly improving our detection reach. However, limitations exist with non-default alerts, where additional costs arise for integration."
"It would be nice to have it on the cloud so that you can deploy it easily, saving time and resources."
"When I asked our networking juniors for a comparison between LogRhythm and ArcSight, they said that both platforms are almost the same. It is just that LogRhythm is more modern with a digital platform, which probably gives it some advantage over ArcSight. ArcSight is a very old and mature product that is running on an old platform. It is an old legacy platform. In terms of new features, it just requires platform upgrades so that it becomes lighter and easily adaptable, specifically in the cloud. It would be a good thing if they can also make reporting easier."
"The product should include a lot more predefined scenarios so the adopted company will have knowledge and a broader skill set in security and network."
"The centralized dashboard for the hybrid cloud environment needs to be more focused. It needs to be redefined because it's missing most of the information. It should be a little bit easy to use. Currently, integration with various applications and connectors is not that easy. Deployment is easy, but integration is not that easy. ArcSight also has a very high bandwidth consumption to pull the local servers. It should have some kind of better process or ability to transfer files from on-premises to the cloud, from the cloud to on-premises, and from a cloud to another cloud."
"I'd like to see improvement in its ease of use. It's basically unusable. It's overly complex."
"The implementation needs assistance."
"It is not so easy to customize this product."
"The documentation is not as structured as I would like, personally, and I think that it can be improved and made much more user-friendly."
"The tool's integration capability isn't so great."
"The solution should have more integration capabilities with different platforms."
"Technical support could be improved."
"The system looks like it is a mix of a bunch of different systems, and nothing looked like it was quite together."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"ArcSight can be a little bit expensive because of the area that we work in and the cost. Licensing is mostly on a yearly basis, not monthly."
"​It is best to be an institutional buyer and directly contact the sales team, as they can provide over-the-top discounts for bulk orders.​"
"HPE ArcSight pricing might be more expensive than other SIEM solutions, but in my opinion it has powerful features and great flexibility in developing complex use cases."
"The licensing cost is affordable if you get an enterprise license. The licensing is based on EPS, so you can probably provide a package of license for multiple ESMs with their correlational end fees. It is cost-effective."
"We have a license to use this solution. The price of ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager is expensive."
"The pricing is great compared to others."
"It's a good price, it's one of the cheaper solutions."
"We're paying a fee for an MSSP, and the cost of the total cost of ArcSight ESM was approximately three to four million dollars a year. The price was less than similar solutions. We did not have additional fees."
"The product is expensive."
"Compared to the competition, the is price is not that high."
"We have yearly licensing costs. The license fee can be based on the volume of EPS. Some organizations may have, as a gentlemanly gesture, 10,000 EPS and get a 3,000 EPS license but actually use 5,000 EPS."
"There is a licensing fee and the customer can choose whether he wishes this to be subscription-based or perpetual."
"In comparison to other SIEM solutions such as Splunk, NetWitness is less costly."
"It’s cheaper to run virtual machines in a VMware environment."
"It is cheap."
"RSA NetWitness Logs and Packets do not have a subscription model, it's a one-time purchase. There is only a perpetual license."
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Comparison Review

VS
Feb 26, 2015
HP ArcSight vs. IBM QRadar vs. ​McAfee Nitro vs. Splunk vs. RSA Security vs. LogRhythm
We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
17%
Insurance Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best SIEM tool for a mid-sized financial services firm: Arcsight or Securonix?
In my market, a lot of financial companies had or have an ArcSight installation. Just because in former times it was pretty good. Now a lot of them are looking for a more effective solution due to ...
What do you like most about ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager (ESM)?
We utilize ArcSight ESM for real-time threat detection in our organization. We have custom rules that we've developed on top of the WAN services, along with scheduled licensing activities.
What do you like most about NetWitness Platform?
The product's initial setup phase was not at all difficult.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetWitness Platform?
The product price was reasonable for my region and the market.
What needs improvement with NetWitness Platform?
From an improvement perspective, the NetWitness Platform needs to release new features and improve in areas like log correlation. The tool needs to have easier integrations with the cloud. Building...
 

Also Known As

Micro Focus ArcSight, HPE ArcSight, ArcSight
RSA Security Analytics
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lake Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bank AlJazira, Banca Intesa, and Obrela.
Los Angeles World Airports, Reply
Find out what your peers are saying about ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager (ESM) vs. NetWitness Platform and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.