Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Symantec Data Center Security vs Symantec Endpoint Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Symantec Data Center Security
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (11th)
Symantec Endpoint Security
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Symantec Data Center Security and Symantec Endpoint Security aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Symantec Data Center Security is designed for Cloud and Data Center Security and holds a mindshare of 1.5%, down 3.3% compared to last year.
Symantec Endpoint Security, on the other hand, focuses on Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), holds 4.0% mindshare, down 4.9% since last year.
Cloud and Data Center Security
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Atul-Vats - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a complete system lockdown feature and the ability to restrict users but has a complex policy structure
The negative aspect of that particular product is the fact it has a very, very, very complex policy structure. A user or administrator making the policy in the DCS should have a very thorough knowledge of the operating system or policy making. You have to be very specific about the data structure. If you want to secure a Linux server, an administrator should be very confident about how the directory structure of Linux, how Linux works, and where it puts the important logs. You have to be very cautious about the complete path, and you have to write it over there in the policy part. If you are not very specific, there will be a lot of noise in the system. You're going to receive thousands of events that are false positives. The fine-tuning of the policy is a very complex thing in the DCS itself. Another negative aspect that I have observed is if the product gets installed on the kernel level of any non-Windows server, it has some issues, comparability issues. Sometimes the product doesn't work properly, so it shuts down the machine and crashes the system. There are many cases in which I've observed the DCS crashing the system.
Hakeem_Abdulkareem - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has given us visibility into compliance within our whole system and helped us ensure everything is updated
Symantec's application security module needs some improvement. You need to create a lot of fingerprints for application security. For instance, let's say I have different brands of ATMs in my environment, like Wincor and NCR. I use GRG to deploy an application control to whitelist some applications. I have to get the exact image of the different models of ATMs. When I tested in the past, some machines would not connect to the server without that. Only the approved software on the ATM should run. Anything outside that should not even come up at all. We did this so that an outside person doesn't introduce malicious software to the ATM. That's the essence of locking down with application control. Using Symantec for application control has been hectic, so I use Carbon Black to do the lockdown. Checking that data security will work fine with Carbon Black. Carbon Black worked fine. Setting up approval in Carbon Black works differently than Symantec. In Symantec, we first need the fingerprints of the applications running underneath. Before setting up Carbon Black, you first install the agent, allowing it to learn the environment. It will analyze all the software's behavior and provide recommendations for what should be allowed. It's more straightforward, whereas configuring application control in Symantec is a bit cumbersome.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to finely control permissions and restrictions on servers or assets through a customizable rule set is a key strength."
"We use the product to prevent unauthorized access to data, systems, and servers. It provides essential features for data center security."
"The monitoring in the management console allows us to find out what is going wrong, and it gets reports even before the user reports it."
"The tool will then detect any anomalies, such as an intruder who has breached the network, which can trigger the system lockdown feature if it's enabled and meets the defined threshold."
"The granularity of applying the policies is valuable."
"The advantage of Data Center Security is its ease of use and that it serves as a single unified platform, where I can apply all my security policies to protect that server."
"The most valuable feature is the centralized console, which can handle different products that we have."
"The real strength lies in its straightforward approach, offering just two key policies: prevention and detection."
"I like the additional features that come with it. The firewall feature and the encryption feature that they throw in are good as well. Another thing that I like about Symantec is that it runs on different platforms, not just on Windows."
"Helps to protect our organization from known attacks."
"The administrator's console is very good and easy to manage with it. Deploying patches, definition updates and report is simple."
"The most valuable features of Symantec Endpoint Security are endpoint protection, antivirus, firewall, and policy creation."
"It just works. We have a console, and I can see it at a glance. I don't have any problems with it at all."
"One of the features is the ability to frequently get virus signature updates."
"One of the most valuable features is its antivirus database, which is current and updated daily. Another valuable feature is its capacity to be managed by a single server. The solution is managed by a secure server, so all the endpoints are managed from a central point."
"The feature I find most useful is the console for reporting."
 

Cons

"Agent management is a challenging task."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing its graphical user interface for a more user-friendly experience."
"Adding more compatibility with common products like Microsoft would be a plus."
"They need to develop a more flexible product that can be scaled such that it fits well into a small business or a bigger, enterprise-level solution."
"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."
"It would be advantageous if Symantec or Broadcom, given the rebranding, could simplify the process, enabling users to leverage the antivirus functionality more easily."
"This solution clashes with Microsoft defender, which results in performance degradation on the machine."
"A user or administrator making the policy in the DCS should have a very thorough knowledge of the operating system or policy making. You have to be very specific about the data structure."
"Symantec needs to develop some reporting features and notifications. For instance, if the server is not on or it's shut down. There should also be time-based USB control."
"Every time an OS comes out, I have to upgrade the Symantec product. They don't know how to patch it. If they would produce a patch instead of uninstalling or installing over the current version and rebooting I'd be a lot happier with the product."
"The solution could be more secure and scalable."
"It would be nice to be able to manage the endpoints a bit further. A valuable attribute would be the management of software inventory, software deployment, and third-party software deployment. I would like to see the ability to deploy and delete unlicensed software. Many users try to install what they shouldn't, so that would be really useful."
"It would be nice to have customized reports integrated on the main console with no additional DB server or BI server."
"SONAR could be improved. The false/positive rate is a little high."
"If the agent can be minimized so that it can work with in-memory concepts, that would be ideal. As of now, it is file-based, signature-based."
"The virus definitions could be updated more frequently."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to some other solutions, such as CrowdStrike, Symantec is more expensive."
"The product is a bit costly."
"It is notably more expensive when compared to other solutions."
"What we have paid for this product is good value for the work and the services that they are providing to us."
"Pricing and licensing are important to us when choosing a product."
"Zero-day threat or advanced attacks should be part of the endpoint. The product should not require you to buy a separate license."
"It is normal. If you are an educational institute, they give you a very good discount. If you are coming from the banking side, they may or may not give you a discount. I'm working with seven companies, and normally, they get a 65% to 70% discount on everything."
"Symantec is expensive."
"It is the better product, even if it is a little on the higher side."
"I am not sure of the initial cost, but the yearly renewals are quite affordable, which is a good thing. The price seems to have come down in recent years, and with the alternatives that are out there, such as Microsoft Defender, it needs to maintain that affordability to make it attractive."
"Each annual client license is around 1200 or 1600 INR."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud and Data Center Security solutions are best for your needs.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Symantec Data Center Security?
The granularity of applying the policies is valuable.
What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?
Agent management is a challenging task. We cannot do it from the console. We will have to use other tools.
What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?
One key use case for data center security is protecting files within the data center. This is especially important for Linux systems, where locking down specific files is essential to prevent unaut...
Which is better - Cortex XDR or Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valuable feature and their speed of integration is very good. The initial setup was ...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
What do you like most about Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Symantec have everything – documentation, videos, data sheets.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai, Illumio, VMware and others in Cloud and Data Center Security. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.