Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM) vs Qualys VMDR comparison

Cisco and Qualys are both solutions in the Risk-Based Vulnerability Management category. Cisco is ranked #18, while Qualys is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. Cisco holds a 2.2% mindshare in RBVM, compared to Qualys’s 17.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Qualys users who would recommend it.

Cisco Vulnerability Managem...

Read 1 Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM) review

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478 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Qualys VMDR

Read 93 Qualys VMDR reviews

5,702 Views
4,310 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Cisco Vulnerability Managem...

Qualys VMDR

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Qualys VMDR and Cisco Vulnerability Management compete in vulnerability management solutions, offering robust security measures for organizations. Qualys VMDR has an edge due to its seamless integration and extensive vulnerability data, while Cisco Vulnerability Management is recognized for providing actionable intelligence that prioritizes remediation.

Features: Qualys VMDR offers comprehensive vulnerability assessment, continuous monitoring, and visibility across all assets. Cisco Vulnerability Management focuses on data analytics to prioritize critical vulnerabilities, risk insights, and effective threat remediation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR provides straightforward deployment with strong support, easing onboarding. Cisco's flexible cloud-based deployment is supported by analytical resources, though it may require more time to adjust.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR generally has a lower initial setup cost, providing a better upfront ROI. Cisco Vulnerability Management's emphasis on risk-based intelligence can lead to greater long-term value despite higher implementation costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Risk-Based Vulnerability Management Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

February 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 Vulnerability Managem...

Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cisco Security Portfolio (11th)

Qualys VMDR

Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Asset Management (5th), Vulnerability Management (3rd), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Risk-Based Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM) is 2.2%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 17.9%, down from 18.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

AshishPaliwal

Self-employed at Self-employed

Offers contextual prioritization and risk-based remediation of vulnerability

An improvement would be some sort of an integration with any GRC suite. There are a lot of GRC suites available, like Archer, MetricStream, Rsam, Protiviti, for example. So how would a solution like this work if my company has already invested thousands or maybe millions in a GRC solution? Do I still need it and how does it fit into an existing SAP environment? There could be interoperability, having more data sources, integrating Splunk, Qualys, FireEye, Rapid7, Carbon Black. I'm sure all that can be done to an extent, with a little more insight and a little more accuracy on the industry numbers and trends. I'd like the solution to offer any sort of assistance in any way with the remediation part, not just identification of vulnerability risk, and that is second.

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Harold Jensen

Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at 3M Health Information Systems

Good visibility but expensive and needs better support

Support: It's often overseas and often following a script, basically asking us to redo what we opened the case with. Multiple APIs: There seems to be a lack of easy onboarding into Qualys. We had to use manual inputs and some API calls to get items in place. Dashboard: It is very rudimentary with very little customization. The Qualys Scripting Language (QSL) works differently in different Qualys modules, so when you get it working in one area you have to modify the syntax in others. User account management: We often have to give users more rights than needed just to give them what they need. Integration with the various Qualys Modules: You can tell the UI is different based on of the different teams that created them. QSL syntax same in all modules Responsiveness of some of the components: They time out, you get a blank screen, etc. Backend updates between the various modules: You update connectors and information takes a few minutes to show in VMDR or Global Asset View Connectors: Connectors have a throttling issue with AWS which causes them to frequently fail unless you manually run them again.

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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 risk context of any vulnerability is a valuable feature."

"The most valuable feature is the certificate management."

"It's really beneficial for scanning and interacting with the agent."

"The most valuable feature is automation."

"The most valuable feature is the vulnerability assessment."

"It is quite easy to implement."

"I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even if tags aren't made."

"We also like the flexibility in their licensing."

"It's a good product. After the scan our internet works well. It scans our security posture."

More Qualys VMDR pros

Cons

"An improvement would be some sort of an integration with any GRC suite."

"Finding things in management can be quite difficult."

"Some of the older features could be polished instead of focusing on releasing new features."

"While Qualys VMDR is comprehensive, improvements in asset management functionality would be beneficial."

"Certain integration factors between different options could be improved."

"One area for improvement is the simplification of the process to ignore certain vulnerabilities on specific devices."

"From the application security perspective, Qualys has a way to go."

"It's quite complex on the way it is set up, so it takes a fair bit of time in order to get your head around it in order to deploy it. Once you've deployed it, then you're never confident on the versions of the browsers and the SSL certificates, etc. You have to always go back into Qualys and check."

"I would like to see more accuracy in detections, better reporting capabilities, and better dashboard download capabilities."

More Qualys VMDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the pricing is based on the number of endpoints, so it's more subscription-based."

"It is a high cost product. Compared to the other solutions, it is around 15 to 20% higher in cost."

"I used to work there, so I never paid for the product. As an employee, we get a lifetime license for personal use, and that's what I'm using. It is a comprehensive platform, so there is a lot more to it. There could be other solutions that are probably a little bit cheaper, but it depends on what people need. Different people have different needs. It offers many things on the same platform. If you add all the things up, it should be cheaper, but I have not done any analysis specifically."

"We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years."

"It's very expensive, especially if you want to use multiple modules of Qualys."

"There is a license for the use of this solution. We pay annually instead of monthly to receive a better discount on the price."

"The solution is reasonably priced for the value it provides."

"The product is more expensive than that of any other vendor."

"Qualys VM is quite expensive. It's a subscription-based license, and it's yearly. Right now, it's open for me, and I don't have any limitations or caps on the licenses. They are seeing if the product is viable for 4500 users. I can add as much as I want, and at the end of the subscription, they'll let me know how many licenses were actually used and bill me accordingly. On a scale from one to five, I would give their pricing a three. It's still expensive."

More Qualys VMDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

25%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Retailer

Insurance Company

Educational Organization

37%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Qualys VMDR?

I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?

For smaller enterprises, the pricing is on the pricier side. However, for larger enterprises, it's considered okay. I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?

Regarding improvement, compliance features haven't been utilized much. I anticipate more benefits in this area in the future. Integrating other teams, such as GRV, with Qualys would be very benefic...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM)

Compared 11% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM)

Compared 10% of the time

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Tenable Nessus vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 16% of the time

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 8% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 6% of the time

Wiz vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

February 2025

Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM) report

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Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR

February 2025

Download Qualys VMDR product report

Also Known As

Kenna.VM, Kenna Security, Kenna, Kenna Security Platform

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security

Overview

Cisco Vulnerability Management equips you with the contextual insight and threat intelligence needed to intercept the next exploit and respond with precision.

Prioritization is no longer a dark art—it's data science. Advanced algorithms, combined with rich internal and external intel, offer recommended fixes that will lower risk in as few moves as possible.

Track vulnerability fluctuations and forecast weaponization with up to 94% accuracy, giving you the chance to remediate high-risk vulnerabilities before bad actors can mount an attack.

With more than 19 threat intelligence feeds at your fingertips, you gain a comprehensive view of emerging threats, shifting trends, and your own risk profile.

A single source of data-verified truth aligns security and IT, eliminating friction and freeing up resources. And intuitive, simplified risk scores help you generate reports anyone can understand.

Cisco

Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response (VMDR) is a cornerstone product of the Qualys TruRisk Platform and a global leader in the enterprise-grade vulnerability management (VM) vendor space. With VMDR, enterprises are empowered with visibility and insight into cyber risk exposure - making it easy to prioritize vulnerabilities, assets, or groups of assets based on business risk. Security teams can take action to mitigate risk, helping the business measure their actual risk exposure over time.

Qualys VMDR offers an all-inclusive risk-based vulnerability management solution to prioritize vulnerabilities and assets based on risk and business criticality. VMDR seamlessly integrates with configuration management databases (CMDB), Qualys Patch Management, Custom Assessment and Remediation (CAR), Qualys TotalCloud and other Qualys and non-Qualys solutions to facilitate vulnerability detection and remediation across the entire enterprise.

With VMDR, users are empowered with actionable risk insights that translate vulnerabilities and exploits into optimized remediation actions based on business impact. Qualys customers can now aggregate and orchestrate data from the Qualys Threat Library, 25+ threat intelligence feeds, and third-party security and IT solutions, empowering organizations to measure, communicate, and eliminate risk across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments.

Qualys

Sample Customers

TransUnion

Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx

Buyer's Guide

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

February 2025

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