Cisco DNA Center vs Pulseway comparison

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Cisco DNA Center

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Pulseway and Cisco DNA Center compete in the IT management category. Pulseway has the edge in ease of use and cost-effectiveness, while Cisco DNA Center excels in comprehensive network management.

Features: Pulseway offers real-time remote management, mobile-first capabilities, and versatile system monitoring. Cisco DNA Center provides advanced network automation, security analytics, and wireless management capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Pulseway could enhance network-related functionalities, expand its integrations, and improve scalability. Cisco DNA Center might increase user-friendliness, shorten deployment time, and lower costs for smaller businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Pulseway is fast to deploy with a straightforward setup process supported by responsive customer service. Cisco DNA Center, with its extensive features, requires more complex implementation but is well-supported during deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Pulseway is more cost-effective with quicker ROI due to lower setup and subscription costs. Cisco DNA Center is more expensive initially but offers substantial ROI for large enterprises through improved network performance.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. Pulseway Report (Updated: January 2025).

Cisco DNA Center vs. Pulseway

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

Cisco DNA Center

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)

Pulseway

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

56th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (18th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pulseway is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal

Senior Network Engineer at Inside Global

Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features

The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.

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Pieter Plas

Owner at Beerepoot Automatisering B.V.

A solution with a great monitoring system and ability to control access remotely

The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment depends on the size of a customer. We make the customer in the enterprise server, and there is a download per customer for the installation package. We can also roll it out very easily, and when we install it on one or two systems, it explores the network for more systems. We can then fire a deployment package on the other systems. So in one hour, we can do a lot. Most of the time, 90% of the work is very easy, and the last 10% are the business-critical systems from a customer. Also, we manually install important customer systems, like special applications where we like to monitor specific services in the server itself.

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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 monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."

"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."

"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."

"The monitoring is very valuable to me."

"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."

"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."

"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."

"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"It has been very helpful to get notifications about various issues with my servers and network to help me take action to resolve problems before they become major issues."

"The setup is simple."

"It gives you remote control and has a mobile app."

"The solution has great workflow and server modules."

"We like the patching of the window updates in the client's systems. You can automatically do updates with a single click."

Cons

"I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."

"The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."

"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."

"They should include UTM features in the product."

"It seems to be a little bit more centered toward wireless than wired. You've got more options you can do wirelessly than you can with the wired switches, but it works for what we need it to do. We would like to see a little bit more about the traffic, and we're looking at what's out there to see about that. We are looking at something that might give us a bit more insight into the actual traffic. If they had the full functionality on the wired side, as they do on the wireless side in terms of being able to view traffic and everything, it would be good."

"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."

"When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."

"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"GUI needs to be improved and the solution lacks a process for monitoring VOIP calls."

"It would be nice if it also had a desktop application, similar to the phone app, which would allow me to monitor and control computers from my desktop."

"They have good technical support but it's not excellent."

"The solution does not allow you to make a script for just one customer."

"There are some bugs or glitches."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."

"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."

"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."

"The product is very costly."

"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."

"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."

"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

19%

Real Estate/Law Firm

10%

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?

I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process. The time required for downloading and installing packages during upgrades is too long, often taking around ten hours. This is a significant i...

What do you like most about Pulseway?

It has been very helpful to get notifications about various issues with my servers and network to help me take action to resolve problems before they become major issues.

What is your primary use case for Pulseway?

I use the product to monitor some servers and desktop PCs on my internal network. Mainly, I use it to get notified of certain events, like a server being offline, or a certain service being stopped...

What advice do you have for others considering Pulseway?

It's a good solution for monitoring servers/computers/networks from your mobile device. However, the lack of a desktop monitoring/management app may be less than ideal for many situations.

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Comparisons

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei eSight vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

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Compared 28% of the time

Zabbix vs Pulseway

Compared 27% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Pulseway

Compared 23% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Cisco DNA Center

February 2025

Download Pulseway product report

January 2025

Also Known As

DNA Center

No data available

Overview

Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?

Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

Cisco

Pulseway is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform designed to help MSPs and IT teams manage modern IT networks, reduce downtime, and achieve efficiency through automation, while increasing end-user satisfaction.

Pulseway’s intuitive interface provides real-time actionable detailed information on servers, workstations, and network devices. Using Pulseway’s customizable alerts, you can quickly identify problems, communicate with users, and automatically resolve issues with built-in commands and scripts.

Some of Pulseway’s benefits and features include:

Comprehensive monitoring: Pulseway’s remote monitoring feature provides a complete view of your entire network. Gain visibility into operational data for workstations, servers, virtual machines, network devices, and more. If necessary, resolve issues directly from the same interface.

Remote access: Get a real-time view across your network, receive alerts, and remedy problems from anywhere with any mobile device using Pulseway’s full feature mobile app.

Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and design auto-remediation workflows, ensuring that critical patches are automatically applied.

Quick setup: Get your team up and running in minutes with Pulseway’s simplified deployment and auto-discovery engine. See all the IT endpoints and then rapidly mass deploy Pulseway with pre-configured built-in policies and out-of-the-box scripts.

Patch management: Pulseway automates the discovery and application of operating systems and third-party patches to ensure all your applications are kept up to date.

Reporting: Use custom or ready-made templates to create reports on system status and events. Reports can be sent manually or emailed automatically on schedule.

Backup and recovery: Protect your users’ data wherever it is stored and restore it to anywhere. Pulseway Cloud Backup’s intuitive interface enables you to easily schedule and deploy backups, recover data, and check up on backup status from both the Pulseway web application and the Pulseway mobile application. Quickly deploy backup agents.

Vulnerability scanning: Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner is easy to use and alerts for vulnerabilities in real time. With Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner, organizations can easily perform standard vulnerability scans that are regarded as international best practice.

Eliminate data loss: Prevent data loss and downtime from ransomware attacks with built-in detection and safeguards that allow for fast recovery after an attack.

Service ticket management: Pulseway’s complete help desk and ticketing solution allows you to respond quickly and professionally to user issues.

CRM: Get the information and resources you need to focus on your customers and increase opportunities.

Project management: Receive real-time project status with details on resource usage and tasks.

Finance and billing: Automatically create and post invoices imported from timesheets and expense reports.

Time tracking: Log precise information on time and expenses by company, project, tasks, and employees. Automatically record how much time is spent on a ticket for accurate billing.

Integrations: Integrate with leading solutions, including:

Pulseway PSA
ConnectWise Manage
Autotask
Zendesk
Slack
IT Glue
Kasepersky
Bitdefender
WarrantyMaster

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Dell, Canon, Siemens, Harvard University, Northwestern University