BMC Helix Monitor vs IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus comparison

BMC and IBM are both solutions in the Event Monitoring category. BMC is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.7. BMC holds a 12.2% mindshare in EM, compared to IBM’s 8.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of BMC users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 78% of IBM users who would recommend it.

BMC Helix Monitor

Read 4 BMC Helix Monitor reviews

875 Views
756 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

Read 14 IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus reviews

1,228 Views
558 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

BMC Helix Monitor

IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus and BMC Helix Monitor compete in the IT operations management domain, with BMC Helix Monitor having the upper hand due to its advanced analytics and user satisfaction.

Features: IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus is recognized for real-time event management, customizable dashboards, and strong integration capabilities. Its event management capacity allows detailed examination and rapid response. The solution is known for handling multiple protocols and providing comprehensive system integration. BMC Helix Monitor is distinguished by its advanced analytics, agentless architecture, and cloud-native design. It offers automated asset relationship tracking and comprehensive server monitoring, suitable for modern IT ecosystems.

Room for Improvement: IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus could benefit from enhanced user interface modernity, more seamless integration with non-IBM platforms, and reduction in configuration complexity. BMC Helix Monitor might improve by addressing its cost efficiency, expanding support for more legacy systems, and enhancing user training resources for complex analytics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BMC Helix Monitor's SaaS model allows easy deployment and rapid scalability, with superior customer support praised by users. IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus requires more upfront configuration but integrates well with existing systems, offering dependable customer support to assist with setup challenges.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus typically involves a higher initial investment but promises long-term ROI through effective integration. BMC Helix Monitor, while more expensive, offers faster time-to-value with its SaaS model, appealing to businesses seeking quick and flexible returns.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC Helix Monitor vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Monitor vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

January 2025

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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

BMC Helix Monitor

Ranking in Event Monitoring

6th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

Ranking in Event Monitoring

3rd

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Event Monitoring category, the mindshare of BMC Helix Monitor is 12.2%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus is 8.4%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Event Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Jijil GHosh

ITSM Solution Architect at CyberMAK Information Systems W.L.L.

An agentless tool that offers great scalability and a straightforward setup phase

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that BMC Helix Monitor is an agentless tool, because of which you don't need to deploy agents on each and every system in your IT environment. If you want to install an agent on each and every system, manpower is needed, while there is no such need when one uses BMC Helix Monitor. BMC Helix Monitor provides you with details on asset relationships. If a particular printer is connected to a core network printer or a particular desktop is connected to the servers, the product scans and gives you a free structure of relationship, which doesn't need any human intervention, making it an automated process. BMC Helix Monitor gives you the entire information about your assets, because of which you can sit in one place and keep track of whether a particular asset is online or offline.

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Ahmed Salman

Performance & Monitoring Supervisor at Saudi Telecom Company

Aids in network performance monitoring and management

I am working as a customer, mainly using IntelliQ and another product, IBM NetCool, Watson AI. These products are used for monitoring network performance and management. The primary use case involves network performance monitoring, and it is compatible only with IBM DB2 IBM Tivoli NetCool…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"It is evolving more and more into artificial intelligence."

"The service operations monitoring features are valuable."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that BMC Helix Monitor is an agentless tool, because of which you don't need to deploy agents on each and every system in your IT environment."

"Offers very good event/alert drill-down and statistical reporting capabilities."

"The biggest plus points for me are the configurability and scalability of the solution, as well as the multi-tenancy of the platform."

"It's good for managed systems. The end query on the user interface is good. You can view lots of charts and graphs."

"It is customer-centric. Customers can access the event list from their location or desktop and view the event. There is no need to go and connect to any other server and run events to have a view of all the events happening in the environment. We get a good response from customers about this feature and the main architecture of NetCool. Its processing is very good. Deduplication and correlation functionalities are good in this solution as compared to other solutions. A big advantage of NetCool is that it also supports multi-layered protocols. We can receive multiple events from different protocols like UDP, HTTP, and those events can be captured in NetCool."

"It is an easy-to-use solution."

"The most valuable feature is the event management capability."

"Probes are the best feature because they are well written which rarely requires you to write additional rules. These probes monitor activity within your environment."

"IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus supports legacy protocols like CORBA, Huawei, and other telecom protocols, which I find beneficial."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus pros

Cons

"I feel that the tool's stability has some scope for improvement."

"The product must provide more information and dashboards."

"The solution's GUI and some patching-related information are areas with shortcomings where enhancements are needed, though I believe they are areas that fall under BMC's roadmap for the future."

"The initial setup of the solution is complex."

"Areas that could be better include the fact that the solution is only on-premises, lacks AI capabilities, and support response times could be quicker."

"The solution needs to invest in the development of a knowledge base and use of AI services for providing event resolution and intervention directions."

"There should be an easier-to-understand model, more of a flat-structured model rather than different tiers of licenses which complicates licensing."

"They could enhance the visibility to give us a unified view of our entire IT infrastructure."

"The solution has limitations in database integration as it cannot integrate with databases other than IBM DB2."

"Its integration could be better. They should provide an easier integration for all the monitoring stuff, and it will make things easier for us. Currently, there is a complexity in integrating it with a vendor application, and we have to use another tool to integrate it with a vendor application. To integrate some applications with NetCool, I need to install an IBM tool on top of it. It would be good if they can provide an API or any kind of interface that we can leverage while developing a new protocol interface or application. We should be able to use an API or interface with NetCool. Its GUI can also be better. As compared to other tools, it is not user friendly, and it is not easy to do stuff through GUI. Whenever we do anything on the GUI, it takes time. They need to focus on the GUI part, especially the dashboard. They should focus on how users can effectively drill down from one box to another. The visual appeal of the dashboard is as important as the data and functionality."

"I would like for the next release to be more user-friendly and out of date. The next release should focus on the cloud, AI, and ML technologies."

"The cost of the product is quite high. They should work to adjust their pricing models."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product’s price could be improved."

"Its license cost is a little bit more than other solutions. Our customers expect a standard market price that is comparative to other products. For each and every NetCool OMNIbus component, we have to purchase a separate license. These components are not free with the product."

"It is a costly solution."

"You have to have the right level of budget to afford this solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Computer Software Company

12%

Energy/Utilities Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

17%

Energy/Utilities Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix Monitor?

The service operations monitoring features are valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BMC Helix Monitor?

The product’s price could be improved. The company is quite flexible with pricing. Legacy products need to revise their pricing strategy without losing their position in the market. The legacy mode...

See all answers

What needs improvement with BMC Helix Monitor?

I feel that the tool's stability has some scope for improvement.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus?

The biggest plus points for me are the configurability and scalability of the solution, as well as the multi-tenancy of the platform.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus?

If the various HW elements are from the same vendor, a monitoring solution provided by that vendor or its partners will potentially result in lower licensing and operational costs. Moreover, for ve...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus?

IBM is working on converting NetCool to NetCool Operations Insight, which runs on Watson AI. There were areas needing improvement in terms of AI, however, they have migrated the entire NetCool suit...

See all answers

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Compared 15% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Event Monitoring

February 2025

Download BMC Helix Monitor product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

February 2025

Download IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus product report

Also Known As

Helix Monitor

Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

Overview

BMC Helix Monitor is a SaaS solution that combines broad monitoring and event management capabilities with a containerized microservices architecture. Improve performance across complex environments while supporting the agility and speed required by digital businesses.

BMC

Tivoli Netcool OMNIbus provides near real-time service assurance for business infrastructure, applications, servers, network devices and protocols, Internet protocols, storage and security devices.

IBM

Sample Customers

Grupo Moura, Goodman, Aspect, Telefónica Colombia, Fujitsu

Consolidated Communications, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Capgemini

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Monitor vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

January 2025

Free Report: BMC Helix Monitor vs. IBM Tivoli NetCool OMNIbus

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