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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Meraki Dashboard comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Juniper Mist Premium Analytics
Sponsored
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
58th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
24th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Meraki Dashboard
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Juniper Mist Premium Analytics is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 1.5%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki Dashboard is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

ALEXANDRE VIANNA - PeerSpot reviewer
May 3, 2024
Has a single dashboard, but is expensive
We use this solution to manage our mission environment The single dashboard is a valuable feature.  The technical support needs improvement. The initial setup is straightforward. The solution is expensive. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.  Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of…
Rainier S. - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 22, 2018
You are able to drill down into a center's utilization, then create reports based on it
In the last year or two, we have been working with our Cisco NAS engineers to improve our security posturing. It is more our being proactive rather than reactive. While Stealthwatch and Lancope have this ability to look inside and give you visibility (a great feature), follow-up is the rule. We would like filters that you can put into place to tap onto certain types of behaviors, alerts out, and/or hopefully a block. This is sort of what we are looking for. I might be speaking too early, because we are not down this path yet. We know the feature set is there, we just do not know yet how to achieve it. That is proactive rather than more reactive. For Lancope Stealthwatch, we would like to see it more on the ASA Firewall platform. While this might already be available, this is more a failing of Cisco to inform us if it is there. For example: * Are we on the right or wrong version of the code? * What does the code look like? * Are we are really looking at firewalls? Or is it more about the foundation and route switches that we are seeing? It is about visibility.
Pete Grimshaw - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 21, 2023
It's intuitive and allows you to manage your devices from a single pane of glass
We're refreshing our networks and looking at the new Meraki MX250 firewall, one of the higher-end security devices. We're happy with what the devices can do, but they lack a few features found on older firewalls or competing products. For instance, you should be able to see if something has been blocked by a firewall rule by looking at a live log of traffic moving through the device. It helps you troubleshoot issues and understand if your rules are working. You need to ensure the firewall is blocking the right things. That's unavailable in the Meraki Dashboard. You have to send the logs to a log server. We use SolarWinds locally, but it's not natively built into Meraki. We're also using Cisco ISA and another tool called Smoothwall.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can manage the entire system across the network and troubleshoot the pain points."
"The single dashboard is a valuable feature."
"Being able to graph and show data to management has improved our organization. We can show the data to the higher-ups. It shows them that it's picking up on these anomalies and doing its job."
"The most valuable feature is NetFlow. The beginning of any security investigation starts with NetFlow data."
"It does change the way we troubleshoot and it is relatively easy to use once you learn it. I would recommend it to someone considering it."
"It is a good application, providing for real-time monitoring of the organization of data. It can basically identify points of peak traffic where possible issues are being caused."
"Provides easily identifiable anomalies that you can't see with signature detections."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its reporting and mitigation capabilities."
"Another notable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is its Layer 7 visibility, which allows us to monitor and analyze network communications at the application layer."
"It's easy to set up. The deployment takes one or two days. You need to collect the data from a device and then direct it to the portal."
"The initial setup was easy."
"The solution scales well."
"Scalability is one of Meraki Dashboard's strongest features. We have thousands of users if we're counting the end-users on our clients' network, but we have hundreds of clients."
"The dashboard itself is very simplified and easy to navigate."
"Great visibility on the dashboard."
"Meraki Dashboard centralizes control of all our equipment into one cloud-based console, so we can manage it from anywhere. We can resolve problems remotely outside of business hours because it is on the cloud. You can use the dashboard to change security settings or configure routers and switches."
"We like the visibility this solution gives us of the infrastructure."
"We've been spending a lot less time on tickets and deployments, so we have more time to do other things."
 

Cons

"The technical support needs improvement."
"The Wi-Fi side needs improvement."
"It's not great as a standalone solution."
"We determined that Stealthwatch wouldn't provide the machine learning model that we required."
"Its granularity for RBAC roles-based access control needs improvement."
"The initial setup was straightforward but required a lot of data entry, to begin with building out the server types and network types."
"I would like to see better filters."
"It would be better to let people know, up front, that is doesn't give you nice, clear information, as seen in the demos, without Cisco ISE installed."
"There could be better integration on the programming side, which uses Python. StealthWatch could provide a template for Python to manage the switches. For example, it would be nice if StealthWatch bounced a port automatically it detected something anomalous."
"Stealthwatch needs improvement when it comes to speed."
"Lacks an alert notification when there are IP or DNS issues."
"There are some issues with the NAT configuration, it is now impossible to some operations with the solution."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms."
"The solution can be expensive."
"For instance, you should be able to see if something has been blocked by a firewall rule by looking at a live log of traffic moving through the device. It helps you troubleshoot issues and understand if your rules are working. You need to ensure the firewall is blocking the right things. That's unavailable in the Meraki Dashboard. You have to send the logs to a log server. We use SolarWinds locally, but it's not natively built into Meraki. We're also using Cisco ISA and another tool called Smoothwall."
"It is not appropriate for large, enterprise businesses."
"The downside to the simplicity is that you can't get as granular as you could with the Cisco APs."
"I’d like the product to allow for other solutions to be integrated with the dashboard as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"NetFlow is very expensive."
"It is worth the cost."
"One of the things which bugs me about Lancope is the licensing. We understand how licensing works. Our problem is when we bought and purchased most of these Lancope devices, we did so with our sister company. Somewhere within the purchase and distribution, licensing got mixed up. That is all on Cisco, and it is their responsibility. They allotted some of our sister company's equipment to us, and some of our equipment to them. To date, they have never been able to fix it."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"The licensing costs are outrageous."
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside>in traffic."
"The price of Meraki Dashboard is not expensive because knowing that it is a cloud-based solution has its benefits."
"Meraki Dashboard is a utility and portal that's part of the Meraki solution."
"My view is that it's expensive, but it's the best."
"Typically, the license model is for one, three, and five years. They can just be a bit more flexible around it and look into providing an option for 24 months."
"The licensing fees are $180 USD, per AP, for three years."
"From a pricing perspective, they are still expensive."
"Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"I’m not sure of the exact cost, however, it’s my understanding the Meraki WiFi is around $800. That’s for a three-year license. It’s about $150 a year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
31%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
25%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Mist Premium Analytics?
We can manage the entire system across the network and troubleshoot the pain points.
What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
The tool is not cheaply priced. In cybersecurity, you want an extra layer of security in your organization. Some sect...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
The expensive nature of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required.
What do you like most about Meraki Dashboard?
We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Meraki Dashboard?
Meraki Dashboard's pricing is reasonable. It is sold yearly, typically for one, three, or five years. I rate its pric...
What needs improvement with Meraki Dashboard?
They could improve the product by providing enhanced utilization reports and more detailed independent access reports.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Coop eG, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Priefert Manufacturing, Century Care Management, Clifton College, Zürs Ski Resort, Capital FM Arena, MAXI Autohöfe
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Meraki Dashboard and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.