Sentinel vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager comparison

OpenText and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category. OpenText is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.5, while SolarWinds is ranked #34 with an average rating of 7.7. OpenText holds a 3.1% mindshare in SIEM, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 82% of OpenText users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Sentinel

Read 17 Sentinel reviews

4,240 Views
4,155 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Security Event M...

Read 27 SolarWinds Security Event Manager reviews

1,612 Views
1,531 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

Sentinel

SolarWinds Security Event M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

SolarWinds Security Event Manager and Sentinel both compete in the security solutions category. Based on user reviews, SolarWinds is noted for its cost-effectiveness and support, while Sentinel is preferred for its advanced features and comprehensive capabilities.

Features: SolarWinds Security Event Manager includes straightforward integration, real-time monitoring, and user-friendly implementation. Sentinel offers extensive reporting tools, advanced threat intelligence, and sophisticated features for complex requirements.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds Security Event Manager could enhance its scalability, alerting system, and up-to-date feature set. Sentinel needs more transparent documentation, streamlined configuration processes, and clarity in user guides.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Security Event Manager is noted for its seamless deployment process and responsive customer service. Sentinel has comprehensive support but could simplify initial deployment for easier setup.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Security Event Manager is valued for its affordability and quick return on investment. Sentinel, though higher in initial setup cost, is seen as worth the investment due to its extensive features and long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Sentinel vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Sentinel vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

February 2026

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Helped 882,333 peers since 2012

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

Sentinel

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Security Event M...

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

34th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of Sentinel is 3.1%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Security Event Manager is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sentinel	3.1%
SolarWinds Security Event Manager	0.9%
Other	96.0%

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Featured Reviews

Simon Johnston

Manager, Customer Success at Coltek Business Soltuions

Simple antivirus solution integrates well but could improve pricing and currency options

I don't really have experience working with these solutions. I promote them for our clients, but I don't work with them. I can't share my experience with these tools as I make assumptions about that. For both Adlumin and CrowdStrike, both confirm that they're scalable and enterprise-ready and all those kinds of things. We haven't had any specific problem with either of those. We just have a preference for which one we would prefer. If somebody says they want to use a different one from the one that we prefer, then we have to find reasons why they aren't. But scalability is not one of the reasons that one is better over the other. I don't really have advice for people that are looking into using Sentinel; just do your research across what is available. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Sentinel a seven.

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Yashokanth Partkunan

Managed Services Engineer at Loop1 Systems

Has supported client needs efficiently but requires deeper analysis features and faster support

The log analyzing capability of SolarWinds Security Event Manager should go into more depth than the current environment. More modification and enhancements are required on the dashboard side in order to make it closer to optimal performance. From observation and feedback from users, they need more functionality related to monitoring, and in-depth analyzing needs to be improved.

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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 native integration with out-of-the box format is hassle free and allows data to be used advantageously."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it provides a central locking system for many event sources."

"We can do advanced hunting queries and modify SQL queries to get desired results based on the rules triggering over the console."

"It makes everything easier by automating some tasks and growing with our needs."

"The tool is simple to use."

"In my opinion, Sentinel's best features include that it's a very easy product to use, it's very simple, and the after-sale service is very good."

"The most valuable feature is the flexible log for identifying security threats inside an application. Sentinel is very good at this."

"The solution lets us get all the logs properly and regularly monitor customer infrastructure."

More Sentinel pros

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Security Event Manager is the analysis and the knowledge about the incidence that we trace."

"The most valuable feature is the reporting."

"This tool is simple to use."

"The solution helps me to go back in time and search for different events. For example, if you wanted to know who activated an account; you could go back in time and find out."

"We had to integrate with other teams, and the infrastructure deployment didn't take long. The integration involves learning with different teams, networking, and configuring various network devices and servers. Infrastructure deployment only took one or two days."

"Some of the rules are most valuable because you can be notified about various things, such as spyware or things that are going on in the internal network."

"User-friendly configuration is key, and the configurations are simple, not complex."

"It supports high availability, which is very helpful."

More SolarWinds Security Event Manager pros

Cons

"It is an ancient product."

"The dashboard and customer view should be improved"

"Price is always a consideration, so the price would be nice if it were lower."

"Creating a drag-and-drop dashboard or workbook in Sentinel is a little more complex compared to other tools like LogRhythm and IBM QRadar."

"I would like to see a better reporting work structure on the dashboard."

"You need a lot of Unix scripting knowledge in order to manage the tool, which is one of the main issues that we faced."

"There is no integration in the web-side of the tool."

"This product's connection to certain types of cloud systems could be improved. We can do Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, but there are a lot of other things happening in the cloud that we do not connect well enough to. This product could be improved with better connection to cloud-based solutions."

More Sentinel cons

"Under the new system, it is not upgradable the way they say. When you try to do an upgrade, it doesn't really work unless you dump everything and start from scratch. You lose a lot of your nodes. Whenever you set your nodes up and everything else, they don't want to bring those nodes back in, so you have to really go back and restructure all your nodes. I went from version 6.5 to version 6.6 and then to version 6.7. I then went to version 2019, and now it is version 2020. It would be good if we can upgrade without having to delete everything and start from scratch. They can maybe build more KPIs and other things for the dashboard. Some of the other systems already have built-in KPIs. SolarWinds is starting to catch up, but it is not there yet. They can include some of the business or industry standards for tracking the time, that is, the meantime to detect (MTTD) and the meantime to resolve (MTTR). They can also find a way to build a KPI that measures the number of instances of port scans experienced in a week or a month."

"I would like to have a more customizable dashboard."

"It won't tell you when your backups are failing, but it will give you hints when your database is running on full recovery."

"We'd like more customization capabilities."

"The company had to use a third party for the implementation of the solution."

"It can be difficult for users who are inexperienced with the solution."

"We used the support from SolarWinds Security Event Manager and they are knowledgeable but challenging to get in contact with them."

"It is a very technical program. They can simplify it so that it isn't so hard to deal with."

More SolarWinds Security Event Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We receive a pricing discount because of our ongoing partnership with Micro Focus."

"Sentinel's slightly on the expensive side."

"The solution’s pricing is aligned with its competitors."

"Sentinel is moderately priced."

"Sentinel is a subscription-based solution."

"We inquired about getting support from the vendor, Micro Focus, but the cost was very high."

"The tool is available at a good price for customers compared to other solutions in the market. I rate the product's price as an eight out of ten."

"The pricing model would benefit from having package deals with other SolarWinds products."

"Licenses can only be purchased in blocks of fifty at a time."

"We do a yearly license renewal. For a year, the solution costs roughly $500,000 USD. There are no costs beyond this yearly fee."

"It is in the appropriate mid-range. It is not as expensive as some of the other solutions. It is also not cheap."

"The price of SolarWinds Security Event Manager is reasonable."

"Licensing is on devices, so if you have many, then this may be high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

10%

Marketing Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Sentinel?

I don't have too many comments overall about pricing as we're in South Africa, so it makes more sense if it's billed in rand. They nearly always bill it in dollars, so if it can be billed in our cu...

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What needs improvement with NetIQ Sentinel?

I'm not sure what the room for improvement is for Sentinel. It needs to stay current, and it does, so I suppose that's fine. I don't have a high demand for what it should do. Price is always a cons...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetIQ Sentinel?

It's our go-to choice for antivirus. I use Sentinel a lot.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

The tool is available at a good price for customers compared to other solutions in the market. I rate the product's price as an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

I work with all SolarWinds products mostly, including Network Configuration Manager and NPM. I am a reseller. I usually recommend SolarWinds products for Loop1. It's for the bigger ones; we are the...

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Google Chronicle Suite vs Sentinel

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

ManageEngine Log360 vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 8% of the time

SurfWatch Labs SurfWatch vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Sentinel

January 2026

Download Sentinel product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Security Event Manager

January 2026

SolarWinds Security Event Manager report

Download SolarWinds Security Event Manager product report

Also Known As

NetIQ Sentinel, Novell SIEM

SolarWinds LEM, Solarwinds SIEM, TriGeo, Log and Event Manager

Overview

Sentinel is a full-featured Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution that simplifies the deployment, management and day-to-day use of SIEM, readily adapts to dynamic enterprise environments and delivers the true "actionable intelligence" security professionals need to quickly understand their threat posture and prioritize response.

OpenText

When TriGeo was acquired by SolarWinds, TriGeo SIM became known as SolarWinds Log & Event Manager. This product is a leading Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) product and log management solution, which provides log collection, analysis, and real-time correlation.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Faysal Bank, GaVI, Handelsbanken, ISC Mªnster, Lambeth Council, Swisscard, The Municipality of Siena, Tukes, University of Dayton, University of the Sunshine Coast

NetSuite, EasyStreet, Legacy Texas Bank, and Energy Federal Credit Union, to name a few.

Buyer's Guide

Sentinel vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

February 2026

Free Report: Sentinel vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about Sentinel vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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