IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

The compared IBM and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. IBM is ranked #13 in NMA , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 2.8% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #15 in CM , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Read 13 IBM Tivoli NetCool reviews

1,120 Views
896 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Read 27 SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reviews

2,268 Views
635 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli NetCool

SolarWinds Network Configur...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Tivoli NetCool and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Management Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Report (Updated: April 2023).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

April 2023

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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

IBM Tivoli NetCool

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (13th)

SolarWinds Network Configur...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Configuration Management (15th), Network Automation (5th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Tivoli NetCool is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.8%, up 1.8% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Configuration Management, holds 2.1% mindshare, up 1.4% since last year.

Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Tivoli NetCool	2.8%
Cisco DNA Center	13.1%
Cisco Catalyst Center	7.2%
Other	76.9%

Network Management Applications

Configuration Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager	2.1%
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform	12.2%
Microsoft Configuration Manager	9.5%
Other	76.2%

Configuration Management

Featured Reviews

Petar Ganev

Senior Enterprise Monitoring Engineer at Commerzbank

Reliable for enterprise monitoring but no longer actively developed

There are problems with the latest security requirements because many things have changed in recent years, and now the security audits are very strict. And we need to switch to something else. We need to patch it constantly. Moreover, it is a very old tool and a little bit difficult to support. Otherwise, they work okay.

Read full review

Alastair Brand

MD at Thembanet

Flexibility and reliability enable effective network monitoring with integrations and compliance reporting

The flexibility and reliability of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are particularly valuable. It allows for a significant amount of integrations, including with collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Telegram, as well as ServiceNow and Microsoft BI. The solution facilitates compliance reporting through an NCM module, effectively generating out-of-the-box reports on software vulnerabilities and outdated software versions. Additionally, the real-time change detection feature significantly reduces the time to resolve issues by allowing alerts to be tracked through to resolution. The use of templates helps in deploying configuration standards, preventing configuration errors.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

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

"It's very easy to use."

"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."

"Anything is possible with Tivoli. It's quite a robust system."

"The tool is much easier to manage than running scripts and figuring out how many endpoints have been exceeded."

"It's very easy to use."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool pros

"It allows us to manage backups in big companies. It is also useful in managing the configuration changes."

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

"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."

"The most valuable Real-time fault detection is beneficial as it enables the identification of changes made to a device's configuration through the SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. This makes it easy to pinpoint which configurations were added or removed, potentially causing network issues. Such changes are saved in logs for future reference."

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

"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."

"The network performance monitoring of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is a vital feature"

"The installation is straightforward."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros

Cons

"In terms of improvement, I would like to see more AIOps, Artificial Intelligent Operations in the next release. IBM develops new features for Power BI or Cognos Analytics, which is good. As of now, we use Cognos Analytics, we are not using Power BI. They have the Insight concept but we don't like that."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

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

"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."

"UI is outdated, very old legacy."

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

"The solution is not user-friendly."

More IBM Tivoli NetCool cons

"Its customer service response could be faster."

"Our experience has shown that most of the problems we've had with SolarWinds NCM are related to software issues."

"On NCM, reporting could be a bit better. It's completely become just one report. When I try to create a custom report, the solution just commits old server data."

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

"Improvements are needed in the automatic network mapping function."

"The solution could improve by being more secure."

"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."

"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."

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

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

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

"The pricing is good."

"In Africa, the cost is a major factor in decision-making for many companies. As a result, some companies may choose cheaper solutions, even if they are open-source, over more expensive ones, such as SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager. However, as an engineer, I believe that the functionalities and services offered by SolarWinds justify the cost. Nonetheless, many companies in Africa may still view the prices as unaffordable."

"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."

"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 price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."

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

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

27%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Government

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...

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What do you like most about IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The tool had many built-in automation capabilities.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Tivoli NetCool?

The main challenge is its licensing model, which is very complicated.

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and b...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

The licensing costs of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager are expensive, but considering its reliability, feature enhancements, and support, it is worthwhile.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?

NCM could benefit from enhanced automation capabilities — for instance, enabling workflow-based configuration automation tasks. While regex and command-line scripting are available, they require sp...

See all answers

Comparisons

DataMiner vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 17% of the time

OpenText Network Node Manager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 15% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs IBM Tivoli NetCool

Compared 8% of the time

More IBM Tivoli NetCool Competitors

Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 9% of the time

HashiCorp Terraform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 5% of the time

OpenText Network Node Manager vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Unimus vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool

February 2026

Download IBM Tivoli NetCool product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

January 2026

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager report

Download SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report

Also Known As

Tivoli NetCool

SolarWinds NCM

Overview

IBM Tivoli Netcool delivers near real-time, consolidated event management across business infrastructure, data centers, complex networks and IT domains. The software provides full management and automation to help you deliver continuous uptime of business services and applications.

IBM

Before you monitor your network, configure it! A reliable and secure network starts with carefully planned, executed, and monitored network configuration and change management. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) saves time and improves network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices from Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, Brocade, Aruba, Rukus, and more.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Claranet, Consolidated Communications, Telus, €sterreichische Bundesbahnen (€BB), Telekom Srbija, Bendigo Community Telco, Capgemini, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)

United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

April 2023

Free Report: IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Tivoli NetCool vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2023.

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