Splunk Enterprise vs. Symantec Asset Management Suite

Pros: Splunk is very well suited if you have multiple log sources of related data. All of them can be correlated and tasks can be automated based on the requirement. Other than alerts, Splunk can also run a specific script of your choice, based on some defined conditions. Cons: If you have a few logs but a large number of log sources, Splunk can be very expensive.

Incentivized

If your organization has more than 50 computers and you have a dedicated IT Staff to manage the software then Symantec Asset Management Suite would be a great fit for your organization. The IT Staff can customize and configure the software and console to fit your organization's direct needs. It will speed up software installations and help to keep your computers running smoothly by applying patches and other necessary software updates in a timely manner. It will also help you manage your asset inventory so you know exactly where each computer is located, its IP address, and the users logging into the machine. If your organization is small and only has around 20 computer users then I would not recommend investing in the Symantec Asset Management Suite. Managing 20 computers is a task that is pretty easy to manage even if you do not have a dedicated IT Staff within your organization.

Incentivized

• Real-time + Scheduled alerts - i-e you can set up alerts which are actively monitoring your logs
• Pretty good response time for search results. With our key/value logging, Splunk makes it blazing fast to query the data.
• Dashboards provide insights into historical data
• Love how Splunk indexes all of the data and provides keys to search on

Incentivized

• Asset tracking - Very important in a business
• Reports - Keep track of what programs are installed, who has which computer, etc.

Incentivized

• At times some queries can run slowly if indices are not on a portion of the query you use.
• Setup time initially can be difficult if your logs aren't stored in common locations or in a common way to write the log.
• Ability to ingest logs from different locations without having to change code to put logs in a certain place (pro and con).
• Searches can be a bit more difficult to look through if your log isn't pulled in a manner that is easy to read through splunk.

Incentivized

• Ability to tie into and be supported by RHEL, CentOS, and any other Unix based OS. I know that they could tie into some different systems, but weren't truly supported.
• Altiris was how we deployed to multiple computers all at once, Altiris Agent sometimes stops, and can be an issue to have it update in the Console.

Incentivized

We are using Splunk extensively in our projects and we have recently upgraded to Splunk version 6.0 which is quite efficient and giving expected results. We keep track of updates and new features Splunk introduces periodically and try to introduce those features in our day to day activities for improvement in our reporting system and other tasks.

You can literally throw in a single word into Splunk and it will pull back all instances of that word across all of your logs for the time span you select (provided you have permission to see that data). We have several users who have taken a few of the free courses from Splunk that are able to pull data out of it everyday with little help at all.

Incentivized

When properly setup and configured, Splunk is extremely reliable.

Incentivized

Splunk maintains a well resourced support system that has been consistent since we purchased the product. They help out in a timely manner and provide expert level information as needed. We typically open cases online and communicate when possible via e-mail and are able to resolve most issues with that method.

Incentivized

The online course was simple clear and described the main capabilities of the solution. There is also an initial module that can be done for free so anyone can familiarize themselves with the functionality of this solution. On the other hand, however, there could be more free online courses. Maybe even with a certificate, this would broaden the group of people who are familiar with the platform while increasing familiarity with the solution itself.

Smooth without too many major issues.

Incentivized

I wanted to learn a new language that I can quickly master and implement. Splunk is easy, fun to use and best of all, it can be developed in hours not days or weeks. Splunk is fundamentally a programming language that is minimal but yet powerful enough to collect, analyze and visualize data.

Incentivized

We compared a lot of products Pulseway, Asset Panda, GoCodes, Service Now, BMC TrackIT, Sysaid, Landesk. After checking all these, found Symantec is the only one which fulfills all my organization's requirements. Glad to find a great choice by doing a proper survey. I would suggest others to go for this too.

Incentivized

Splunk can scale in to the petabyte per day range which of course is awesome

• Overall very positive. It has provided visibility to what is going on within our network.
• One drawback is the time it takes to get up to speed with the application, but this is up to the user, and Splunk education is excellent.
• In my field, IT Security, there are few other friends to have in your back pocket better than Splunk. They are just that good.

Incentivized

• Increased productivity by PC Support
• Faster compliance in a zero day situation
• Reporting and visibility that lead to tangible action
• Implementation can be cumbersome and technical support may be required.

Incentivized