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Cisco ACI vs Illumio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco ACI
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd)
Illumio
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (14th), Microsegmentation Software (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 11.0%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Illumio is 23.5%, up from 16.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Raj Metkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides scalability, ease of migration for future DC moves, multi-tenancy and programmability
Cisco's MSO (Multi-Site Orchestrator) or NDO has room for improvement. Cisco monitors ACI through a product called NDI. I find it very frustrating that Cisco has multiple monitoring platforms. It has DNAC for monitoring Cisco NX-OS, campus switches, and any other routers and switches you would have in the environment. That same thing does not work for Cisco ACI monitoring. MEraki cloudbasd platform for Meraki which will get extended to Campus monitoring, to be honest Cisco never got Monitoring 100% right from days of CiscoWorks to Prime to current platforms. To monitor and manage Cisco ACI, you need to have another platform called NDI and Cisco Dashboard Insights. What frustrates me about Cisco is that it never has a central, single pane of glass platform for all its solutions. It has one thing for Cisco ACI and another thing for campus switches. I would really appreciate it if Cisco came up with something centralized to monitor everything. I haven't thought about anything since the Cisco NDO is quite advanced, and you can deploy your cloud networking through it. I don't know how many people use it. I might explore it as my cloud orchestration tool in the future. We do a lot of cloud automation using our scripts like TerraForm, but I would like to see people using NDO more. We could have more case studies on how many people use NDO for their cloud orchestration. That might be a much easier journey for people when they move from an on-premises data center into a cloud and move from one cloud to another cloud. That is where I personally see an orchestrator being effectively used for multiple deployments.
Vincent TOH - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers real-time application dependency mapping that is useful
The product's initial setup phase is not difficult. We are using a cloud version of the tool. Picking up the PC for the setup was difficult because Illumio's service provider took care of it. In our company, we only installed the tool on our devices, so it wasn't much of a difficult process. On a scale of one to ten, one is difficult, and ten is easy, I rate the setup phase as nine. I didn't deploy Illumio. My company uses the cloud version of the tool. I created my account and paired my device, which was all that was required.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can support policy based on our intent, then that gets rendered into the policy that we will be using for Fabric."
"Because of its automation feature, when you configure scripts for Cisco ACI, it reduces human error."
"Configures from a single point and commands don't need to be configured on the spine and leaf side."
"Their technical support is very good. We had a problem and Cisco gave us the best engineer to resolve the issue."
"The best part of Cisco ACI is the server deployment and integration."
"Cisco's technical support team is very good."
"The integration with vCenter means that when I create something on the network, it only has to happen one time instead of many times for our many virtual hosts."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco ACI is that it is eay to manage. We can automate and it can be scripted. Virtual ACI is very good."
"The most valuable feature of Illumio Adaptive Security Platform is monitoring. When I have no requirement from the other application, I can use the web block traffic to build."
"The tool helps with my company's security posture."
"The Explorer allows you to know the traffic between source and destination."
"The flexibility of the solution is its most valuable feature."
"The product provides visibility into how the applications communicate and how the network protocols are being used."
"It has helped us to understand internal network visibility and firewall policy implementation. We use the product to simplify firewall policy implementation."
"The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging policies, which can be complex to devise. It's a matter that requires careful consideration and stakeholder involvement before implementing such policies."
"The solution is easy to use."
 

Cons

"Its graphical user interface (GUI) is not as user-friendly as it could be."
"Cisco ACI would be improved by providing a cloud offering; otherwise, it risks becoming a niche product."
"It needs more features for integrating with third-party vendors."
"The way the objects are oriented on it are not as straightforward as they should be."
"The initial setup was fairly complex and it looks terrifying when you first log in. That's one thing about ACI. It takes a bit to wrap your mind around how it works. It's not overly complicated once you understand the concepts, but someone who has never worked with anything like ACI, will initially find it difficult to grasp the complexity of it."
"I would really appreciate it if Cisco came up with something centralized to monitor everything."
"We have had two calls with technical support. They are not the best. We opened a case to diagnose issues and it's taken weeks to get someone on the case and to move forward."
"Its scalability and reliability capabilities should be enhanced."
"The interaction we've had with the support team hasn't been ideal. Technical support should be improved."
"The product’s agents don't work very well in OT environments."
"I would like to see better data security in the product."
"Some of the features that can be improved is offer additional guidance on creating an effective and risk-free tagging policy would be highly beneficial."
"We need more details on areas where there is an error or a traffic blockage. I would like the tool to offer a more detailed view."
"The solution is very basic and doesn't do anything other than the orchestration of layer four endpoint firewall rules."
"Illumio Adaptive Security Platform could improve by supporting more operating systems. For example, Cisco and Apache appliances."
"The customer service is lagging a bit. It could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We bought a package for hardware, software, and support. At that time, Cisco was simply selling that package to distributors, then we opted for it directly."
"We have seen time improvement using the product."
"This is an expensive solution."
"Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing."
"The price could be improved. It is expensive, but then again, it is Cisco. The price is worth what you pay for."
"The licensing cost for ACI is expensive - I would rate its price 2.5 out of five."
"Yearly, we pay around one point two million for the solution."
"The pricing and licensing are both high, particularly if you want a high level of functionality. It would be great if the price and licensing cost could be decreased."
"There is a subscription needed to use Illumio Adaptive Security Platform and we pay every three years. Overall the solution is expensive."
"The product's pricing is around 10,000-15,000 USD. The pricing is on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about Cisco ACI?
The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.
What do you like most about Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging poli...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The product's pricing is around 10,000-15,000 USD. The pricing is on a yearly basis.
What needs improvement with Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The log collection part needs improvement, and the tool should offer more details about the logs. We need more details on areas where there is an error or a traffic blockage. I would like the tool ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Illumio Adaptive Security Platform, Illumio ASP
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Plantronics, NTT Innovation Institute Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco ACI vs. Illumio and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.