

IBM Security QRadar and AlienVault OSSIM compete in the SIEM market. IBM Security QRadar seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and customization options, making it more suitable for environments needing extensive features.
Features: IBM Security QRadar offers efficient log management with advanced threat detection capabilities, highlighting its scalability and ease of integration with third-party solutions. Its effective correlation and analysis of large data sets provide a comprehensive SIEM solution. AlienVault OSSIM, being open-source, provides essential SIEM capabilities with integrated threat intelligence through its OTX platform and is valued for its cost-effectiveness.
Room for Improvement: IBM Security QRadar users suggest improvements in incident management capabilities, the complexity of analytics, and addressing setup challenges related to Java dependencies. Enhancing dashboard functionalities and integration capabilities are also noted areas. AlienVault OSSIM faces limitations with scalability due to its open-source nature and has room for improvement in integration with modern tools and reducing false positives.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Security QRadar supports diverse deployment models including on-premises, private, public, and hybrid clouds, providing global support, though response times may vary. AlienVault OSSIM primarily focuses on on-premises deployment and offers good community support. Users often report superior customer and technical support with QRadar, though both platforms have noted areas for improvement in response times and support accessibility.
Pricing and ROI: IBM Security QRadar is generally more expensive, with pricing based on event processing rates and additional features priced separately, making it less suitable for small businesses. However, it shows better ROI for large-scale operations. AlienVault OSSIM, being open-source, provides a cost-effective solution without licensing fees, appealing to smaller organizations or those with limited budgets, though potential paid add-ons might affect cost-efficiency.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| IBM Security QRadar | 5.6% |
| AlienVault OSSIM | 1.9% |
| Other | 92.5% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 18 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 9 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 91 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 39 |
| Large Enterprise | 105 |
AlienVault OSSIM, Open Source Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), provides you with a feature-rich open source SIEM complete with event collection, normalization and correlation. Launched by security engineers because of the lack of available open source products, AlienVault OSSIM was created specifically to address the reality many security professionals face: A SIEM, whether it is open source or commercial, is virtually useless without the basic security controls necessary for security visibility.
IBM Security QRadar (recently acquired by Palo Alto Networks) is a security and analytics platform designed to defend against threats and scale security operations. This is done through integrated visibility, investigation, detection, and response. QRadar empowers security groups with actionable insights into high-priority threats by providing visibility into enterprise security data. Through centralized visibility, security teams and analysts can determine their security stance, which areas pose a potential threat, and which areas are critical. This will help streamline workflows by eliminating the need to pivot between tools.
IBM Security QRadar is built to address a wide range of security issues and can be easily scaled with minimal customization effort required. As data is ingested, QRadar administers automated, real-time security intelligence to swiftly and precisely discover and prioritize threats. The platform will issue alerts with actionable, rich context into developing threats. Security teams and analysts can then rapidly respond to minimize the attackers' strike. The solution will provide a complete view of activity in both cloud-based and on-premise environments as a large amount of data is ingested throughout the enterprise. Additionally, QRadar’s anomaly detection intelligence enables security teams to identify any user behavior changes that could be indicators of potential threats.
IBM QRadar Log Manager
To better help organizations protect themselves against potential security threats, attacks, and breaches, IBM QRadar Log Manager gathers, analyzes, preserves, and reports on security log events using QRadar Sense Analytics. All operating systems and applications, servers, devices, and applications are converted into searchable and actionable intelligent data. QRadar Log Manager then helps organizations meet compliance reporting and monitoring requirements, which can be further upgraded to QRadar SIEM for a more superior level of threat protection.
Some of QRadar Log Manager’s key features include:
Reviews from Real Users
IBM Security QRadar is a solution of choice among users because it provides a complete solution for security teams by integrating network analysis, log management, user behavior analytics, threat intelligence, and AI-powered investigations into a single solution. Users particularly like having a single window into their network and its ability to be used for larger enterprises.
Simon T., a cyber security services operations manager at an aerospace/defense firm, notes, "The most valuable thing about QRadar is that you have a single window into your network, SIEM, network flows, and risk management of your assets. If you use Splunk, for instance, then you still need a full packet capture solution, whereas the full packet capture solution is integrated within QRadar. Its application ecosystem makes it very powerful in terms of doing analysis."
A management executive at a security firm says, "What we like about QRadar and the models that IBM has, is it can go from a small-to-medium enterprise to a larger organization, and it gives you the same value."
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