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Cisco Secure IPS vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Secure IPS

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ACisco Secure IPS (formerly Firepower Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System, or NGIPS) is an intrusion detection response system that produces security data and enhances the analysis by InsightOps. The technology replaces the former Sourcefire 3D IPS. Cisco acquired Sourcefire in 2013.N/A

    SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ASolarWinds LEM is security information and event management (SIEM) software.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    SolarWinds
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    88%
    Would buy again
    30 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    28 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    31 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    16 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    25 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
    Comparison of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) features of Cisco Secure IPS and SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Feature
    Cisco Secure IPS
    -
    Ratings
    SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    8.9
    18 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Centralized event and log data collection00 Ratings9.018 Ratings
    Correlation00 Ratings8.015 Ratings
    Event and log normalization/management00 Ratings8.018 Ratings
    Deployment flexibility00 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Integration with Identity and Access Management Tools00 Ratings8.013 Ratings
    Custom dashboards and workspaces00 Ratings9.017 Ratings
    Host and network-based intrusion detection00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Snort
    Score9 out of 10
    IBM Security QRadar SIEM
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Proofpoint Advanced Threat Protection
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Microsoft Sentinel
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (6 ratings)
    8.0
    (46 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.5
    (17 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Secure IPSSolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Cisco Secure IPS is required for every organization and it gives us all the advanced security features for more visibility and control on our incoming and outgoing network traffic. We can easy to configure and management is also very easy. You can deploy in the existing network very easily. The price is very low and performance is very high and it works very quickly on threats and takes the necessary action.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    Optimal for SolarWinds Security Event Manager needs for smaller companies - it is a very cool product but has some limitations around EPS (which gets chewed up quickly if you're doing it the right way & adding servers/storage/FW & other network devices)... Also pricing model is GREAT (not consumption-based, which is the greatest grift the SIEM industry has created).
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • The option to deploy it as a virtual machine in a UCS-E inside a Cisco Router is something to consider a lot. It simplifies a lot the deployment in places where you need to optimize resources and keep things simple. It also saves some money on unnecessary hardware.
    • Having the most complete license, we can have in the same box IPS, inspection for malware and URL filtering. As Cisco uses Talos Intelligence network to mitigate and evaluate risks, having this complete set of security features turns the box into a powerful resource to protect our remote locations. Considering the hyper-connected business we have today, it's almost impossible to think that we can run a business without this kind of protection.
    • The integration between Firepower NGIPS and other products, like Cisco ISE and Splunk, is also a key feature for this solution. In both cases, you can integrate the product to have the best of both. As a security appliance, it's very important for us to have all the logs centralized in Splunk and this is done simply connecting FMC (Firepower Management Console) to the Splunk collector.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    • It does a great job of notifying us when accounts have been locked out. We can then find out the device on the network where the login attempt occurred.
    • Searching for incidents is now a lot faster with the implementation of the HTML 5 interface.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Wish additional modules were included such as FireAmp.
    • Wish it was easier to include customized signatures if needed. Required to know how to code with Snort in order to add real customization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    • All SolarWinds product suffer from slow response times in management portals. SolarWinds SEM is no exception. While it is much preferred over a "thick client" there is much room for improvement in speed.
    • If you use the email alert features with SolarWinds make sure to prepare you staff and team for the large amount of emails they could receive. Make sure to reduce the number of alerts so your team does not ignore the alerts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    We are in the middle of outsourcing and may not be able to keep this product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    It is pretty likely that we will renew SEM when the time comes up. It is easy to use and maintain so there isn't much of a need to replace this product. It is also a pretty fair price for the capabilities provided by the SEM
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    Very easy to navigate GUI in the FMC and very effective at performing the intending duties.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    If you are familiar with SolarWinds then you can use this product it's as easy as that. If you have never used a SolarWinds product then it will take a minute to get how they do reports and make dashboards but that being said the tool is great and can make things very easy once you get a feel for how it works and get everything setup how you like it.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    We didn't have any major issues that let us need support. Only, for this reason, I think Cisco Firepower deserves the rating. Even for small issues, the partner that helped us during the project could solve it quickly. There are also tons of documents and other online resources to help maintain, administer and support the product.
    Incentivized
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    SolarWinds
    The quality of support can vary depending on whom you end up speaking with. I was fortunate enough to work with a support representative who was very familiar with the product. He had even authored some of the support documentation on the website. On the flip side, I had two other experiences where I was simply directed to online training material.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    Cisco Secure IPS is our first product. We were not using any other tools before. We are very happy with the Cisco Secure IPS features and customer support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    Fortianalzyer can only do logs from FortiGate so usefulness is limited. Elasticsearch was a lot slower than Solarwinds and the filters were a lot harder to set up and use. The connectors for SEM were far more stable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Has made it much easier to determine when incidents have occurred
    • Has been effective in reducing false positives and making solution management more efficient and cost effective
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SolarWinds
    • For the price, it produced a decent value. It did a lot of the easy stuff well. I can't give any specific data given the objective of the product was to monitor very basic events in the environment.
    • There are free options that can do a better job.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot