IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

"NetCool has a huge database that can collect and process about one million alarms a day."

"The scalability of monitoring, the breadth of supported network components, the scale of the number of monitoring events, and the flexibility in customization make this a well-rounded product."

"The tool had many built-in automation capabilities."

"Support is one of the best aspects of this solution. NetCool is a good product that has good flexibility. There are a lot of documents available online which is one of the best features of IBM Tivoli Suite. Whenever an issue happens, rather than going to technical support, if you find the exact issue in Google, you can get tech notes for that particular issue."

"It's very easy to use."

"The feature I have found most valuable with NetCool is how it collaborates all the alarms, and then it does a predictive analysis, providing a consolidated alarm view and management."

"Tivoli NetCool allows us to grasp a lot of data that can be applied toward predictive analytics and auto-remediation."

"It's very easy to use."

"The features we find most valuable is the configuration backup automation, the configuration compliance, the security vulnerability detection and upgrading devices."

"The feature that I really enjoy is the ability to script changes across all of your devices."

"SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager improves the mean time to repair significantly, bringing measurable benefits to customers."

"Compared to other vendors, like NetBrain, managing the solution is easy. They made it very user-friendly."

"We push all our configurations to the servers with ease and the logs capture almost all the transactions needed for an internal audit."

"The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and best practices. Automation capabilities have greatly impacted workflows, enabling tasks such as configuration backups, template deployment, and firmware upgrades to be automated, thereby streamlining processes and saving time. Compliance reporting features provide valuable insights into network compliance, offering pre-built security audit reports and customizable options to meet specific requirements."

"Its main functionality is highly beneficial as it centralizes the management of configuration items across the network."

"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."

"Tivoli NetCool is based on a Linux platform, it would be beneficial if they moved it to Windows because not everyone is acquainted with Linux."

"The installation could be simplified, and technical support could be faster."

"UI is outdated, very old legacy."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

"Customization and integration that you need to do to make the product fit your needs is very complex. It is not a product that somebody could easily pick up without any prior training or experience."

"Tivoli NetCool's has medium scalability - there are some problems with its replications not being mature."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The network flow is a problem for this solution."

"The solution could have better integration."

"I'd like to see additional features like support for devices that don't use CLI for configuration backups, expanded inventory support for other vendors beyond Cisco, and compatibility with newer SD WAN devices. These enhancements would further improve the product's versatility and utility for users. we hope for future enhancements, especially in supporting security devices that lack CLI backup options."

"The only thing that requires some experience, and training doesn't fix, is how to set up your custom policy-based reports to check compliance."

"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."

"I would like to see more features in terms of wireless reporting and more historical information for client connectivity in SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"Further improvements in automation are needed. Currently, there are limitations in performing tasks without logging into routers directly, and we expect more comprehensive device control."

"I would like to see more integration tools. Something like dialysis, for example."

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"It costs around 100k for every ten servers, which is lower than similar products from other vendors."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."

"With a minimal bundle, we pay about $3000 a year in licensing costs. If you have multiple devices in your network, you must buy the bundle, which is 100% identical for your infrastructure. If you have 15 devices, you need 15 licenses, for example. That's one bundle. You don't pay for anything over and above that."

"I have a yearly subscription."

"There is a license for the use of this solution and it is priced well, there is a lot of value for the money."

"You have a base license for 50 devices, and then you can add more licenses as you go."

"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."

"The pricing is good."