Kentik and Cisco Secure Network Analytics compete in the network analysis and security category. Kentik appears to have the upper hand in pricing and ROI due to its cost-effective solutions and significant ROI metrics.
Features: Kentik is a robust SaaS solution known for not requiring server maintenance, offering exceptional NetFlow visualization tools and a highly flexible Data Explorer. Its DDoS Alarming provides valuable network flow insights, and its API integration is a standout feature. Cisco Secure Network Analytics is strong in threat detection and analytics, integrating seamlessly with other Cisco tools. It offers comprehensive security intelligence and has the unique ability to view network traffic at the application layer.
Room for Improvement: Kentik could enhance user role granularity, improve API usability, and offer more intuitive anomaly detection features. Its interface could be refined with cost analysis tools. Cisco Secure Network Analytics could benefit from improved integration with Cisco products, a more intuitive UI, and better machine learning capabilities. It also faces challenges with setup complexity, high licensing costs, and needs for enriched user training and clearer reporting.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kentik can be deployed on-premises and in private clouds, offering outstanding technical support with swift responses and proactive customer service. Cisco Secure Network Analytics is primarily on-premises, with reliable support but noted for deployment complexity and extensive setup requirements. User reviews emphasize Kentik's user-centric focus.
Pricing and ROI: Kentik offers cost-effective licensing with significant ROI through time savings and automation. Users value its ability to optimize network costs via direct peering and reduced transit expenses. Cisco Secure Network Analytics, despite its higher pricing and complex licensing, provides comprehensive security benefits that justify the expense for some users. Kentik provides clearer ROI metrics, focusing on operational efficiency, while Cisco's significant security value is a highlight for its users.
In production environments, especially for service providers on IP networks and data centers, Kentik helps in reducing the time to identify and resolve issues.
There is a lack of adequate local support from the Indian side.
For technical support of Cisco, the support they provide depends on how the client procures it, and so far, it's understandable.
I have mostly used forums for any support needed because the setup is straightforward and the documentation is quite good.
Kentik's integration with Kubernetes makes scaling easier.
Cisco products are incredibly stable, boasting a 200% stability.
Once resolved, the system works well, and overall I think it's good.
In production, however, dimensioning of the underlying platforms is something to be mindful of.
The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers.
Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database.
More work is required to integrate AI for troubleshooting, simplifying root cause analysis, and providing suggested solutions for network issues.
Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
Regarding cost, for the Bangladesh context, Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a little bit high-priced because we are a developing country, making it tough to manage affordable solutions.
The pricing is good and aligns with the market target.
Kentik’s pricing is competitive in the marketplace.
Every solution is gradually integrated with AI, and Cisco has already implemented AI building features in their solution.
The most valuable features include encrypted traffic analytics and the ability to fulfill requirements at the network level.
One of the most valuable features of Kentik, especially for service providers, is its ability to visualize all the BGP peering and the status of the BGP peering platform.
Overall, the ease of use and the fact that it meets client expectations are major positives.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a highly effective network traffic analysis (NTA) solution that enables users to find threats in their network traffic even if those threats are encrypted. It turns an organization’s network telemetry into a tool that creates a complete field of vision for the organization’s administrators. Users can find threats that may have infiltrated their systems and stop them before they can do irreparable harm.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics Benefits
A few ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy Cisco Secure Network Analytics include:
Cisco Secure Network Analytics Features
Some of the many features that Cisco Secure Network Analytics offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a solution that stands out even when compared to many other comparable products. Two major advantages that it offers are the way that it enables users to define the threshold at which the solution will issue a warning to administrators and the predefined alerts that it offers straight out of the box.
Gerald J., the information technology operations supervisor at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., writes, “StealthWatch lets me see the ports running in and out and the country. It has excellent reporting, telemetry, and artificial intelligence features. With the telemetry, I can set thresholds to detect sudden changes and the alarms go through the PLC parts. I can see all the ports running on that trunk.”
A senior security engineer at a tech services company, says, “Cisco Stealthwatch has predefined alerts for different types of security issues that might happen in the network. Whether it's PCs or servers that are used for botnets or Bitcoin mining we receive the alerts automatically. This functionality is what we receive from the solution out of the box.”
Kentik's AIOps Network Traffic Intelligence platform unifies network operations, performance, security, and business intelligence.
With a purpose-built big data engine delivered as public or private SaaS, Kentik captures a high-resolution view of actual network traffic data and enriches it with critical application and business data, so every network event or analysis can be tied to revenue & costs, customer & user experience, performance & risk.
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