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Symantec Data Center Security vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 14, 2024

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
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (7th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Symantec Data Center Security is 2.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 10.7%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware NSX10.7%
Symantec Data Center Security2.7%
Other86.6%
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Ejaz ul Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Continuous server hardening has protected critical legacy workloads and simplified security control
Symantec is lagging on the reporting side. I have been working for 10 years and I have identified many gray areas. As a user protecting your infrastructure, you need to sell the value to your management. Management buys the tool for preventing threats, and it works for them. However, you cannot sell it because every solution needs to show what happened in the last few years or how you will be protected in the future. Reporting is the most important thing for the CIO level, not the admin level. I have seen Symantec really lag in this area. I am creating my own tool to build a dashboard to share with the CIO level because they want to know what happened last week, last month, and last year. These reports will tell you about activities. Symantec changed the licensing when Broadcom acquired the company. The question of who will provide support became unclear. Support has now changed and they are making money. I have seen that most of the time when you ask implementation questions, they do not answer you. If you have a problem, they give you a low-level engineer at the first level. This delays resolution. Support has to be better.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Symantec Data Center Security, as a name, represents the perfect solution if you want to harden your servers."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint protection system."
"The console and tools are very user-friendly."
"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 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 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 most valuable feature is the centralized console, which can handle different products that we have."
"The alert features are the most valuable."
"I rate the scalability as ten out of ten."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The product has valuable features for security and network extension."
"One significant advantage of VMware NSX is the ability to provide advanced security at the micro-level, focusing on securing applications and workloads rather than just the network structure or virtualization-based network security."
"From a security standpoint, the customer was able to better secure critical workloads while routing L2/L3 worked normally, giving them more confidence that they would be ready for any potential security incident mitigation or outage (DR)."
"The dashboard is comprehensive and easy to use."
"The initial setup was straightforward. It follows a certain structure and you won't miss a step. It's all on the same level, step by step."
 

Cons

"Agent management is a challenging task."
"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."
"Symantec is lagging on the reporting side."
"It would be advantageous if Symantec or Broadcom, given the rebranding, could simplify the process, enabling users to leverage the antivirus functionality more easily."
"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 product blocks certain processes, even after allowlisting them."
"There is plenty of room for improvement with this product, and it could start with platform metrics."
"Adding more compatibility with common products like Microsoft would be a plus."
"Everybody needs a network to connect to, and VMware doesn't readily provide one."
"Since most people are very much used to physical networking, they find it difficult to use VMware NSX in the initial stage."
"Sometimes we face issues when a server is compromised or we have an infection. The isolation feature helps, but we need to work more on this aspect."
"Just being more knowledgeable about the different functions."
"The solution is complex but for the key user, it's not really complex. You just need to learn the standards and mechanics for your specific product."
"I have no complaints regarding the user interface or any technical issues."
"The setup is complex and should be made easier."
"Their licensing model should make it easier to purchase licenses."
 

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."
"I would rate the pricing of VMware NSX as seven out of ten"
"The pricing model for VMware NSX is good."
"There is a license required for this solution, we pay annually."
"The price of this product is too high."
"The price is pretty high."
"The solution is very expensive."
"VMware has always been geared towards enterprise and their pricing options are a bit high. Their price is higher than other options in the market."
"The product pricing ranges from medium to expensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?
Symantec is lagging on the reporting side. I have been working for 10 years and I have identified many gray areas. As a user protecting your infrastructure, you need to sell the value to your manag...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?
As a partner support, we handle all Symantec products for various clients. Currently, we work with DLP, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Data Loss Prevention, Data Center Security, Email Security, and...
What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Data Center Security?
I am still a Symantec partner. Price rating is five out of ten. Symantec Data Center Security is a perfect solution, but it needs to elaborate its functionalities and functions to the market. Peopl...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Data Center Security vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,637 professionals have used our research since 2012.