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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Vectra AI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Network Analytics boosts incident detection and recovery, offering cost savings and labor efficiency for enhanced security.
Sentiment score
7.1
Vectra AI improves security efficiency, reduces attack response time, and offers cost-effective risk mitigation, justifying investment with ROI.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Network Analytics support is praised for technical expertise and responsiveness, despite occasional local support challenges and delays.
Sentiment score
8.3
Vectra AI's support team is responsive and expert, offering timely assistance with high satisfaction scores from users.
There is a lack of adequate local support from the Indian side.
The support is quite reliable depending on the service engineer assigned.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco Secure Network Analytics excels in scalability and adaptability, though it can be costly and challenging in data management.
Sentiment score
7.5
Vectra AI offers scalable solutions, efficiently managing large environments with flexible integration for cloud or on-premises deployments.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is stable, reliable under complex conditions, but users seek less Java and better product integration.
Sentiment score
8.0
Vectra AI is reliable with minimal downtime, smooth updates, resolved issues, and proactive support ensuring effective performance.
Cisco products are incredibly stable, boasting a 200% stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Network Analytics needs enhanced usability, integration, filtering, AI, reporting, training, cost-efficiency, and endpoint management for better security.
Vectra AI requires better integration, detection algorithms, user interface, and enhanced threat response, network analysis, and reporting capabilities.
The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers.
You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end.
Neither Vectra nor Darktrace have a function like a status health check on my log sources and traffic sources.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Network Analytics pricing is high, influenced by network flow requirements, with mixed user experiences on cost and licensing.
Vectra AI offers competitive pricing based on IP addresses, justified by threat detection performance despite licensing complexities and additional costs.
Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
Vectra is cheaper in terms of pricing and features compared to Darktrace.
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Network Analytics enhances security with visibility, real-time anomaly detection, automation, and intuitive management for improved threat response.
Vectra AI enhances threat management with AI-driven detection, alert consolidation, seamless integration, and an intuitive dashboard design.
The most valuable features include encrypted traffic analytics and the ability to fulfill requirements at the network level.
There are extensive out-of-box detection capabilities.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (22nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Vectra AI
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (9th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (5th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Network Detection and Response (NDR) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 7.6%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Vectra AI is 16.8%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Detection and Response (NDR)
 

Q&A Highlights

CW
Feb 11, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Sudhakar T - PeerSpot reviewer
Strong network security analytics with excellent encrypted traffic analysis features
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers. There's a need for a more comprehensive licensing model where all necessary licenses are included by default.
Mohammad Alkurdi - PeerSpot reviewer
Innovative detection features enhance monitoring
The advantages of the integration are not entirely out-of-the-box. You have to do it manually. When I'm doing tier response, an out-of-the-box solution is not available. You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end. This is a major consideration about them. The recall feature, if it can be placed in some areas instead of the cloud, and charged for, would be better. Recall the storage where you watch all the traffic, and you can recall it and try to analyze it in the back end. It’s cloud-based. If they offer it on-prem, it would be better. I think they have a solution, but I have never tested it, to be honest with you.
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Answers from the Community

CW
Feb 11, 2020
Feb 11, 2020
I that feel there are two old problems still there in the market: 1-Vendors don't talk to each other. 2-Whoever is focusing on endpoint is missing the network and human side and the opposite is also true. I love, for example, what Darktrace is doing in the network side and the playback option to know what happened in my network during a long holiday, for example, things will never be caught by...
2 out of 9 answers
reviewer973458 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 26, 2019
Raffael Marty, Vice President, Forcepoint Research and Intelligence, said: "There is no artificial intelligence in the field of information security, and it is unlikely to be developed in 2019." Most of unsupervised machine learning-based network anomaly detection solution does not provide why the anomaly has been aroused and whether the anomaly is malicious or not. Most of such solution's pricing model is based on number of endpoints but I prefer to have flat fee subscription-based.
IT
Aug 26, 2019
I that feel there are two old problems still there in the market: 1-Vendors don't talk to each other. 2-Whoever is focusing on endpoint is missing the network and human side and the opposite is also true. I love, for example, what Darktrace is doing in the network side and the playback option to know what happened in my network during a long holiday, for example, things will never be caught by a second-generation AV but I need to have a solid 2nd gen. AV besides the total high cost of Darktrace which by the way is worth it for IT pros but not for business owners. We need to have something like virus total but for risks and threats beyond viruses where all vendors work on this and all endpoint customers with different vendors connect to it to be secured.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
30%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 sectors want NDR solutions, so you cannot deploy such tools everywhere, as they are ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
The expensive nature of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required.
What is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Vectra AI?
The solution is currently used as a central threat detection and response system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vectra AI?
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
Vectra Networks, Vectra AI NDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Tribune Media Group, Barry University, Aruba Networks, Good Technology, Riverbed, Santa Clara University, Securities Exchange, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Vectra AI and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.