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AlienVault OSSIM vs USM Anywhere comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 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

AlienVault OSSIM
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
8th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
USM Anywhere
Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
31st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (46th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (52nd), Compliance Management (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of AlienVault OSSIM is 3.4%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of USM Anywhere is 0.9%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

Aman Aijaz - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-scale open-source solution used for monitoring events on devices
The area for improvement is a lot. When I started using it on our enterprise side, the issue we faced was, for example, if we were running at that time on AlienVault OSSIM v5.7.4. So, for some orders, we had to install some packages, and when we tried installing that package, some dependencies got upgraded to a new version. Now once that dependency got upgraded, the SQL, since you might be aware that OSSIM uses SQL database, now SQL and all the dependency in everything was not on the same version, and that caused the database to crash. The aforementioned area should be eased out by upgrading the patches and upgrading dependencies. This kind of thing is a disadvantage of OSSIM, and I would like them to work on this. But I have also raised service requests many times and gave it a push on the community section too. However, since it is a local source, they don't reply much over there. That is why I don't like to work on OSSIM because it is unpredictable. Once the storage goes above 50 percent, it starts behaving unpredictably. If you get stuck with a situation, then you need to drill a lockdown into that. Sometimes you get no luck. Then you have to just reimage the server with the new fresh OS of AlienVault. As for additional features, not much because if you move to the newer version, it is kind of getting more stable. But, to make my life easier, then I would say try to give more features. I know it's open source, so they also cannot provide me with more features. But still, if they can provide me with more features because right now it's becoming old. Right now, we are even moving from SIEM to Security Data Lake. So when we move to it, this will be literally outdated. No one can even expect anything out of it. The way security is moving, it will be outdated very soon. They have to also provide something new to keep this going for the future also.
Kris Nawani - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software
USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools The solution offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software, as it is maintained by the vendor. It helps in saving…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AlienVault OSSIM's GUI is very user-friendly."
"The threat policies of the solution are always very advanced and the best in the market. They are very persistent in terms of keeping up with security protocols."
"The tool's security detection is good. It helps us with login tracking and generating reports. We aim to identify potential issues, such as brute-force attacks on user accounts or server-level anomalies. For instance, if I receive a report indicating a server is at an abnormal level, I investigate and address the issue."
"With AlienVault you get everything in one box."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"There are a lot of people you will find using OSSIM since they are also offering OTX as a service"
"Better than other SIEM solutions because almost everything can be integrated."
"The solution is free to use."
"It has powerful threat detection, incident response, and compliance management."
"The most valuable feature is vulnerability management because it gives you insight into your environment to know what systems need to be updated or patched."
"AlienVault has an advanced component within one package. With this, we can cover more area with one solution."
"Allowed us to help our customers satisfy compliance needs around logging and monitoring."
"We had used previous products and found AlienVault centralized the logging for our security."
"The other big selling feature for us was its integration capabilities with all the other security-based products."
"I can easily check (in one place) all the logs and data in relation to attacks. It also gives me an overview if a server is not configured properly."
"The solution has all the features that we need, however they do not work correctly."
 

Cons

"The price of this solution is very high and it could be cheaper."
"The incidence reporting could be better."
"AlienVault OSSIM should improve the deployment and make it unified like the USM."
"AlienVault OSSIM is costly."
"When comparing AlienVault OSSIM to other solutions it looks a bit outdated. Additionally, they need to improve their integration."
"It's so hard to configure and explore something new on it."
"GUI could be improved."
"The user interface could be improved."
"More complimentary training needs to be done for use with this tool. If you get into a bind, then it will cost you."
"It should be able to communicate with other security solutions to stop threats."
"As this software is in the cloud, you do not have control on updates and general changes which are happening."
"The GUI needs to improve because it's not user-friendly."
"Maybe logs are the problem, as the database query is too slow. If you want to search something, you need time to find it."
"The reporting module could be a little easier to handle, as it requires quite some trial and error until you get the reports you want. Also, it would be great to have a graphical interface for the Network Intrusion Detection System's rule management."
"The only complex area of the setup was writing the custom scripts."
"AlienVault needs to continue to integrate with other third-party technologies that clients want to have monitored."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of AlienVault OSSIM is too high sometimes for us to present to our customers. The price should be lower. We are on a three-year license to use the solution. We had to pay extra for the support."
"We are using the community version, which can be used for free."
"AlienVault OSSIM is free."
"OSSIM is open source, and USM is the paid license. So, if you want, you can switch to USM. There you will have to buy a license, and they have a support team that helps you out on issues you face."
"OSSIM is free."
"The licensing fees for the non-community edition are paid on an annual basis, and there are no costs in addition to this."
"When comparing AlienVault OSSIM to Microsoft Sentinel, AlienVault OSSIM incurs additional costs due to its licensing price structure. If you are using AlienVault for security purposes at a certain level it can have a higher price point than the current pricing of Microsoft Sentinel."
"AlienVault OSSIM is an open-source solution."
"It is a product that is priced in a medium range, making it neither a cheap nor a costly product."
"It's affordable for most customers."
"So far, I feel the product's pricing is a good value. The technology is decent. You get what you pay for. I think it's fair."
"AlienVault is certainly not nearly as expensive as Splunk or QRadar. It's decently priced, but I don't have the exact figure."
"Its price is much lower than McAfee ESM."
"I rate the price of AT&T AlienVault USM a four out of five."
"They charge a license based on the storage. ATT AlienVault USM is a less expensive solution than IBM QRadar."
"AlienVault is flexible on their pricing for unlimited licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlienVault OSSIM?
It depends. I would need to review their cost models, but generally, they are on a scaled basis based on throughput usage. Because it's a software as a service solution for their core product for U...
What needs improvement with AlienVault OSSIM?
Scaling for USM is always challenging for any product unless it is purpose-built or overbuilt at the front end. They will use Palo Alto and its competitors, and LevelBlue will manage that implement...
What do you like most about AT&T AlienVault USM?
The most valuable feature of the solution is the ease of deployment that it provides to users. The integrations that the product has with third-party applications are useful.
What needs improvement with AT&T AlienVault USM?
There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks. It is also limited when used with bigger products and has complex password requirements.
 

Also Known As

OSSIM
AT&T AlienVault USM, AlienVault, AlienVault USM, Alienvault Cybersecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Council Rock School District
Abel & Cole, Bank of Ireland, Bluegrass Cellular, CareerBuilder, Claire's, Hays Medical Center, Hope International, McCurrach, McKinsey & Company, Party Delights, Pepco Holdings, Richland School District, Ricoh, SaveMart, Shake Shack, Steelcase, TaxAct, Taylor Morrison, Vonage and Zoom
Find out what your peers are saying about AlienVault OSSIM vs. USM Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.