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: December 2024).

Cisco DNA Center vs. Pulseway

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Helped 825,399 peers since 2012

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

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

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

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.5%, 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

"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."

"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."

"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."

"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."

"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"

"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."

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

"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

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

"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."

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

"The setup is simple."

"The solution has great workflow and server modules."

Cons

"As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center."

"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."

"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."

"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."

"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."

"The solution's integration feature can be better."

"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."

"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

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

"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."

"There are some bugs or glitches."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very costly."

"The tool is medium-priced."

"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."

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

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

"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."

"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%

Healthcare Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

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.

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Product Reports

Cisco DNA Center

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

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Also Known As

DNA Center

No data available

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Cisco

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.

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

Cisco DNA Center vs. Pulseway