Qualys VMDR vs ServiceNow Discovery comparison

Qualys and ServiceNow are both solutions in the IT Asset Management category. Qualys is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while ServiceNow is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2. Qualys holds a 3.5% mindshare in IAM, compared to ServiceNow’s 5.0% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Qualys users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

Qualys VMDR

Read 92 Qualys VMDR reviews

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772 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

ServiceNow Discovery

Read 40 ServiceNow Discovery reviews

1,231 Views
605 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Qualys VMDR

ServiceNow Discovery

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Qualys VMDR and ServiceNow Discovery both compete in the IT security and management category. Based on features and capabilities, Qualys VMDR seems to have the upper hand with its focus on vulnerability management and integration options, while ServiceNow Discovery is more focused on asset mapping and integration within the ServiceNow platform.

Features: Qualys VMDR is praised for its comprehensive vulnerability management, cloud integration, and automation in scanning and reporting. Users value its continuous monitoring and user-friendly dashboard. ServiceNow Discovery excels at mapping IT assets, understanding dependencies, and has robust data collection capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with the broader ServiceNow platform and offers script-based customization.

Room for Improvement: Users of Qualys VMDR mention a need for improved reporting customization, faster API responses, and enhanced patch management. False positives and complex asset tagging have been highlighted as areas for improvement. ServiceNow Discovery users seek better data quality management, a more advanced application discovery process, and an improved reporting UI. Its high cost is frequently cited as a potential barrier.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qualys VMDR is noted for its flexible deployment across cloud environments but lacks sufficient documentation. ServiceNow Discovery, while often more expensive and requiring more initial setup, is valued for its agentless capabilities. Qualys sees mixed reviews in customer service, with both praise and criticism for response times. ServiceNow is recognized for reliable support but could benefit from quicker technical responses.

Pricing and ROI: Qualys VMDR is considered more suitable for medium to large enterprises due to its pricing model, which, although competitive, is on the higher side. It offers a subscription-based model with flexible pricing, beneficial for larger asset management. ServiceNow Discovery is perceived as costly, with pricing potentially being a significant investment for smaller businesses. Both solutions are acknowledged for delivering ROI through improved security and operational efficiency, with Qualys highlighted for providing clear vulnerability insights.

To learn more, read our detailed Qualys VMDR vs. ServiceNow Discovery Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR vs. ServiceNow Discovery

January 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

Qualys VMDR

Ranking in IT Asset Management

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (2nd), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (12th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (3rd)

ServiceNow Discovery

Ranking in IT Asset Management

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (2nd), Cloud Resource Discovery Services (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the IT Asset Management category, the mindshare of Qualys VMDR is 3.5%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Discovery is 5.0%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Asset Management

Featured Reviews

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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Kaustubh Partha

Technical Support Analyst at CLSA

Scans servers and network devices through SNMP and reduces manual maintenance for our infrastructure team

I like how ServiceNow Discovery scans servers and network devices through SNMP. Most fields on our forms are auto-filled, reducing manual maintenance for our infrastructure team. Post Discovery implementation there is hardly any maintenance. There are three to four fields that are customized. Otherwise, 90% of the data is auto-filled. Discovery can also run in bulk, which is helpful for organizations that cannot run it during weekdays. With identification rules, if a configuration item (CI) isn't in the CMDB, you can simply add the IP address, and it will be automatically added based on criteria like name or serial number, making CMDB maintenance easier.

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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

"I find Qualys VM very robust, and it's very useful for vulnerability management and patch management. The value that it brings to my environment is economies of scale. There is no limitation on adding any endpoints. You go by the rule, and it's added once another endpoint is added to our environment. It's automatically installed, and it's less work from our end. It frees up my license automatically if I don't need an endpoint or if my machine is decommissioned. I like the dashboard displays because I don't see any duplication. The most important part is vulnerability management and prioritization. Unlike Symantec, it shows the kind of vulnerability I would want to patch first. It provides a holistic view of the kind of vulnerabilities and the ones I should remediate first. I don't have to do a scan; it just brings up those critical kinds of vulnerabilities like zero-day vulnerabilities and tells me to prioritize them. You have to prioritize these vulnerabilities first and go on with the rest. The dashboard shows me the ones that have been fixed, so I don't have to complete an aging report. The user experience and the graphical interface are good. As it's user-friendly and understandable on an executive level, it brings real value. We also use this solution because it's robust and flexibile."

"There are fewer false positives when using this solution."

"The solution shows us classic categories, including high, medium, and low risks. It also shows critical items, and that gives us the advantage of prioritizing things."

"It allowed us to divide tasks easily among teammates, significantly improving efficiency."

"The solution is easy to use."

"It's also highly customizable, allowing us to tailor it to our needs."

"Qualys VMDR provides a real-time response and reporting feature, which is excellent."

"This is one of the best products I have worked with so far. I like the power of Qualys, and it's a better solution because you can scan a compact file, a BIT file, or batch files. The product already knows what's happening inside, and you don't need to expand the package. Tenable will do the same thing, but you need to have a package issuance claim. With Qualys, we can immediately understand the file, even a compact file. If there's some kind of discovery or incident, you will know what happened in the environment."

More Qualys VMDR pros

"Most fields on our forms are auto-filled, reducing manual maintenance for our infrastructure team. Post Discovery implementation there is hardly any maintenance."

"I like ServiceNow Discovery's overall structure and the way data comes in without creating a different dashboard or interface."

"I am impressed with the tool's incident problem change management."

"The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB."

"The solution finds public cloud infrastructures globally and updates the integration management database, service catalogs, and asset management details."

"In the past, I found troubleshooting difficult in ServiceNow Discovery because I didn't have much exposure to the platform during that time, but then I explored some troubleshooting features, and I found that it wasn't that tough, so this is one of the qualities I like about ServiceNow Discovery. I also like that log reading in ServiceNow Discovery is much better than other tools. Another valuable feature of the tool is that you don't need to install many tools to deploy ITSM. You only need to subscribe to the modules to deploy the proper ITSM in your organization."

"I find that the Discovery and scripting features are the most useful."

"ServiceNow's Discovery feature is quite significant because it allows for service mapping and integrates with VIN management. It involves adding a business context to servers, routers, switches, and data centers. This means understanding not only what's installed on these systems and how they function together but also recognizing their significance in terms of business applications from the business's perspective and how they impact business processes and capabilities. So when we delve into these aspects and connect them to the essential components, it can help you engage in more meaningful discussions to enhance capacity management practices. In essence, it contributes to the overall IT portfolio, almost functioning as a business platform. This platform is accessible to users who leverage the data to initiate incidents, implement changes, and resolve problems. Consequently, consolidating all configuration items or assets into a unified platform makes sense, especially considering you already have Discovery in place. If the cost is reasonable, the other two components might not provide much value, except for their user-friendliness, which is often less important to leaders compared to the desired outcomes."

More ServiceNow Discovery pros

Cons

"Could use additional security for the app."

"I would like to see this solution simplified to work more easily in a multi-cloud environment."

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

"They're still evolving their platform in terms of reporting capabilities."

"We face issues while scanning multiple assets."

"One of the biggest issues from the clients' perspective is that all Qualys computing is on the cloud."

"Its integration with ServiceNow and other similar products is complicated and can be improved. It should also have virtual batching. They should support more standards and compliance requirements and more customizations. For policy compliance, they can add the standards required by the countries in the Middle East. Each country generates its own standards and frameworks, and those frameworks should be there in all products, not only in Qualys. The market here is huge, especially in the cybersecurity field. Qatar has a framework for Qatar 2022, and each and every company in the public or private sector has to follow the Qatar 2022 framework."

"The response time of technical support takes a while."

More Qualys VMDR cons

"The current limitation requires having mid servers or discovery servers in each data center for proper discovery, hindering the ability to discover assets across continents such as Asia Pacific and Europe."

"When you switch versions, for example, when you go from Paris to Quebec they will introduce many new things and occasionally things break when they do that."

"Technical support has not been helpful when we have come across problems."

"ServiceNow Discovery should improve its cloud capabilities."

"The service mapping component is less developed than it is in other solutions, and is in need of improvement."

"In a few instances, ServiceNow has failed to discover some basic things. Some other tools are better at network discovery than ServiceNow. I'm not talking about database servers or any other infrastructure—only networking. Cloud discovery could also be better."

"It's an expensive platform."

"Debugging is a bit tough in ServiceNow Discovery, so debugging should be made very easy."

More ServiceNow Discovery cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys VM is better suited for medium to large companies because the price can be too much for smaller customers."

"In Nigerian Naira, we spend about roughly four to five million to use this solution and this is expensive compared to solutions like Nessus."

"The price is very reasonable."

"The pricing and licensing for Qualys could be improved."

"An annual license for a single scanner costs around $3,000."

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

"The solution is expensive."

"They have recently changed the pricing model, which is now better than it was before."

More Qualys VMDR pricing and cost advice

"The solution is very expensive."

"There is a subscription for ServiceNow Discovery. It's expensive, but I think it's one of the best solutions on the market, so it's worth it."

"The product is not cheap."

"You need a subscription to ServiceNow Discovery, so you can use its features. You can also use specific plugins with the tool, and some of the plugins are free. I don't have information on how much my company pays for the subscription to ServiceNow Discovery."

"This is expensive, but it meets our needs."

"ServiceNow Discovery has very broad pricing, so it becomes costly. It would be better if it had a pay-as-you-use licensing model because the total cost of ownership is quite high."

"It costs a lot. It is probably close to over a hundred thousand. It's an expensive platform, but you can't compare ServiceNow's Discovery functionality to other discovery tools. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison of ServiceNow to a configuration management tool to an asset management tool because it does those things, but it's not those things."

"It's on a yearly basis. We renew our contract for three years at a time."

More ServiceNow Discovery pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

36%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Qualys VM?

Qualys VM is used for vulnerability scans for the internet and applications using application exchange. There are many applications. We also use the solution for asset management per team, and the ...

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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 ...

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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.

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What do you like most about ServiceNow Discovery?

The solution can prioritize the discovery of IP ranges. The product automatically places all Discovery CIs into the correct class within the CMDB.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Discovery?

The product pricing is fair and reasonable for the value it provides. However, it is important to factor in the ongoing maintenance costs, as the system requires professional upkeep to ensure optim...

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What needs improvement with ServiceNow Discovery?

The continuous improvement in the quality and customization of the product features would be beneficial, particularly as more customers rely heavily on its capabilities.

See all answers

Comparisons

Tenable Nessus vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 18% of the time

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 9% of the time

Tenable Security Center vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 7% of the time

Wiz vs Qualys VMDR

Compared 6% of the time

More Qualys VMDR Competitors

Tanium vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 28% of the time

Lansweeper vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 12% of the time

BMC Helix Discovery vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 8% of the time

Device42 vs ServiceNow Discovery

Compared 3% of the time

More ServiceNow Discovery Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR

December 2024

Download Qualys VMDR product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow Discovery

December 2024

Download ServiceNow Discovery product report

Also Known As

Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security, Qualys Virtual Scanner Appliance

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Qualys

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ServiceNow

Overview

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.

ServiceNow Discovery finds applications and devices on your network, and then updates the CMDB with the information it finds. Discovery is available as a separate subscription from the rest of the Now Platform.

Sample Customers

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

York, National Grid, DXC Technology, experian, BEACHBODY

Buyer's Guide

Qualys VMDR vs. ServiceNow Discovery

January 2025

Free Report: Qualys VMDR vs. ServiceNow Discovery

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