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BigFix vs Symantec Endpoint Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

BigFix
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (5th), Patch Management (2nd), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (4th)
Symantec Endpoint Security
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
141
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of BigFix is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Security is 4.2%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Bella Yakoby - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers third-party patching feature, good scalability, and enhance endpoint management capabilities
From the perspective of the team that's handling the environment, it's not so user-friendly compared to other solutions, the competitors. We hire new teams from time to time, and they are complaining, look, although BigFix is very robust and cross-platform, it's not so fun to work with. The user interface for the technical teams is not so advanced. It's not so intuitive compared to SCCM, compared to ManageEngine. And this is the fact that they have, with the teams, because they have the rejection. The look and feel of the system are old-fashioned. For new employees, it's less easy to find someone I don't need to educate on how to work with BigFix. Although it's easy, it's not as intuitive as the other solutions, and the functionality of the other solutions is less advanced. Let's summarize: The user interface has to be changed from the perspective of the teams that are managing the product. It's old school.
PedroSoares - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us block ports, like TCP and UDP, and we don't need to use Active Directory GPOs to block anything
One suggestion I have for both regular and mobile would be to collect all the information about installed software, such as versions, and give that information to the manager to help with software management. That would be a huge advantage for everyone who administers these tools. For example, EDR gives me some applications with a version linked to a CVE or a MITRE attack. That's really interesting, But we don't know about other software that is installed and that means we need to install and use other software on the workstation to collect that information. If Symantec could do that, it would help managers improve their security, as they would know all the software installed on each device. Because Symantec is already installed on a workstation, it would not be difficult for the agent to collect information about the software installed. It wouldn't need to do anything other than collect and share the information. That would be a huge advantage for the administrator. The more information we have about a device, the more secure we can make it. For example, there are types of software that can open a port that an attacker can use. If we know that such software is installed, we could just act before something happens. If Symantec could collect that software information, it would be amazing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It covers multiple operating systems and helps with patch management."
"We receive the patches automatically, and BigFix spreads them automatically to our endpoints."
"The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory."
"Prior to BigFix we used Altiris, which was distributed. We had to manage multiple servers, and duplicate the tasks that we did on each server. BigFix tremendously reduced the amount of work that we had to do on each server in a centralized manner. We could minimize the work that we had to do, and we had a lot more control over the tasks and what machines they ran on."
"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to manage TWS, the relevance is really what sets it apart. Also, using it as a software deployment tool is the key for us."
"BigFix helped us to identify the compliance of devices and has also improved the way that we manage our software inventory for reporting to vendors."
"My company provides support services to a lot of customers and companies. We have reduced a huge amount of man-effort. Along with the man-effort, we have reduced the timeline to fix the compliance and security gaps. We have an unbroken record. The documentation clearly says that we have done the patching of newly released patches, including Microsoft and third-party patches, in up to 80% of the computers, within 72 hours of the release of the production. That was a very massive benefit that we have seen. When I talk about the 80% endpoints, it is 100 or 200. I am talking about 25,000 endpoints."
"We've had no issues with stability."
"The most valuable feature is the automated updating feature."
"The best thing about Symantec is its ability to control our endpoints from a single point. You can manage the antivirus definitions, upgrades, remote scanning, etc., from one console."
"Endpoint protection has improved our operations by protecting our servers from potential cyber threats."
"Symantec End-User Endpoint Security is a stable solution."
"If there is exposure, we need to investigate the source of the attack, e.g., whether it came from the network or externally. We view the firewall logs, and if there has been exposure, then we use the Application Isolation feature. When there is an attack with on-prem, that system will go into isolation mode, removing connectivity to other internal systems. We also restrict the WLAN part to avoid that system broadcasting to other networks."
"It is a scalable product and is average stability-wise."
"The mobile application is valuable. You are able to see the reports of intrusions and the like on mobile devices. That is one of the coolest aspects."
"The solutions' main features are patch management and security."
 

Cons

"It can be improved speed-wise. They can make it a little bit light. If you do any query for servers in bulk, it can take some time. Similarly, creating a job can take some time."
"There is no support for patch management on SLES on IBM pSeries (only the Intel platform is supported)."
"I'd like to see better API integration with BigFix. We have some tremendous API capability inside of CyFIR and the ability to take textual search results, for example, and bring that back into the BigFix dashboard. This would be of extreme interest to us and our customers."
"I would like better support on the backend."
"The solution’s pricing could be improved."
"I would like to see more custom content."
"They need better integration."
"They don't have a proper mobile device management capability. They're working on it, however, that's the one thing that needs improvement so that you can have full unified endpoint management."
"The solution should have more integration with other platforms."
"It is only available to use on computers with higher-end specs."
"The tool switches off automatically, and I have to restart it. Also, we had to manually fix some issues that cropped up while using the tool."
"Managements' number one item on the "Wish List" would have to do with the real-time scan of external media inserted into any client."
"After selling this product, what we have observed is that the system gets slower, which is a major issue."
"I know they were just bought out by Broadcom and there have been some difficulties with Broadcom as far as getting license renewals, etc. Mostly, due to the fact that it's confusing, even for the vendor, people are turned off by it. The vendors are telling us that it can take weeks for them to get a renewal quote, nevermind the actual renewal."
"I find the documentation on Symantec.com to be not very updated. It seems like Symantec focuses more on their product than on documentation."
"Symantec has not properly promoted Symantec Endpoint Security in the market. In my opinion, the product should be properly promoted."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is less costly when compared to other solutions, and this is a good solid solution for what we have paid."
"I would stay with the Managed Virtual Server license model, which is a 1-to-1 license per OS whether it is virtual or physical."
"It is too costly. It is one of the best tools, but because of pricing, not all clients support it. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"You get what we call the Platform Edition, which you get for free. The patch service is maybe $0.50 per workstation per month. Then there's the basic server cost, which is about $1.50 per server per month. You also get into Lifecycle which does power management, OSD remote control, and those types of things, and that might be about 10 times the price - which works out to about $13 per server and, maybe $5 per workstation per month."
"The cost is slightly high."
"So, the pricing is slightly more expensive than the others. I have to keep buying licenses every time I add a new device."
"Compliance, inventory, and licensing are really pricey. They should lower the price. It discourages users from getting onboard."
"The license is subscription-based."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"When it comes to pricing, Sophos is preferrable to Symantec."
"We pay on a yearly basis..."
"Pricing and licensing for our country is very good. It's not that expensive and the endpoint security is very good. It's not as cheap as some others, but they are not as good."
"Symantec is expensive."
"Its price should be reasonable."
"I thought the pricing was reasonable."
"It provides a good solution at a good price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
49%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BigFix?
The most valuable features of the solution are Windows patching and the hardware and software inventory.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BigFix?
The pricing is competitive, but not the most competitive.
What needs improvement with BigFix?
BigFix could improve its asset management capabilities to discover assets, including hardware. More improvements could be made in asset management.
Which is better - Cortex XDR or Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valuable feature and their speed of integration is very good. The initial setup was ...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
What do you like most about Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Symantec have everything – documentation, videos, data sheets.
 

Also Known As

Tivoli Endpoint Manager
Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

US Foods, Penn State, St Vincent's Health US Foods, Sabadell Bank, SunTrust, Australia Sydney, Stemac, Capgemini, WNS Global Services, Jebsen & Jessen, CenterBeam, Strauss, Christian Hospital Centre, Brit Insurance, Career Education Corporation
Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about BigFix vs. Symantec Endpoint Security and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.