IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

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

"The solution has very good integration capabilities."

"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."

"It's very easy to use."

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

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

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

"What's nice with NCM is you can set up policies that you can then check against the configs to ensure that your device configs adhere to a baseline or standard that you've set in place."

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

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

"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."

"It's perfect for network configuration management. It's easy to use."

"SolarWinds NCM provides updates on the status of your network infrastructure. If any issues arise, such as a link failure or a device going offline, you will receive notifications and alerts. Additionally, if someone unplugs a cable, SolarWinds NCM will detect it. It also features a Topology Mapper that displays the connectivity of your network devices, giving you a visual representation of the network's structure. With SolarWinds NCM, you have a clear understanding of what's happening within your network and can generate comprehensive reports."

"The installation is straightforward."

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

"The solution is too expensive."

"The solution does not have any AI capabilities."

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

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

"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."

"UI is outdated, very old legacy."

"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."

"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."

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

"When we run the SolarWinds NCM jobs at the cellular line, it runs in the morning. They're just not finishing. We're getting false processing."

"Its look and feel can be improved. They can also put in more effort into building the THWACK community and use the information about various customer issues and requests to build the new releases."

"The interface of solar winds could be improved."

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

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

"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."

"The solution could have better integration."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

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

"The price of the product is too expensive."

"Customers are required to pay a licensing fee."

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."

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

"The pricing is good."