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Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs Cisco Secure Network Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 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

Broadcom Network Flow Analysis
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
81st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (24th), Network Troubleshooting (11th)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
36th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th), Cisco Security Portfolio (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Broadcom Network Flow Analysis is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics0.9%
Broadcom Network Flow Analysis0.5%
Other98.6%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Purneswara Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Consultant at KyndleIT Consulting
A stable tool that helps identify the complete flow analysis in a network
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the complete flow analysis can be identified through the tool. The classification of each protocol and how the bandwidth utilization is happening with the protocols while managing to get SLAs, IP protocols, and QoS metrics is possible because of the product.
Muhammad Harun-Owr-Roshid - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
Have streamlined network visibility and troubleshooting while seeing benefits from AI integration
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database. When precise manual analysis is needed, it's sometimes difficult, so having a centralized database will allow network admins to find actual scenarios more effectively, especially since some information may not be visible on the GUI. Cisco should upgrade their hardware part to run the database, because sometimes it cannot handle the load while all features are running in the network. The database management should indeed be centralized because while AI runs behind the systems, central management is essential. For example, in a network with 100 Cisco switches, a few routers, firewalls, and access points, all data generated should be preserved in a central database. This approach simplifies management and analysis for troubleshooting, as GUI interfaces may not always provide visible information. Centralizing the database will allow for better understanding of which information is preserved for each specific device.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution has helped our organization by allowing us to have visibility. We deal with cybersecurity, so visibility is very important."
"Despite the low level of support, I would still fully recommend this product, because even when not all the features are used, the advantage of having such a wealth of useful information about the network traffic in real time, together with such flexibility of its presentation, is undeniable."
"Anomaly Detector - This detects the anomaly flows in infra environment and makes job easy to analyze issue."
"The custom report is the most valuable feature."
"It is an overall stable solution."
"For supporting flow-traffic monitoring, this product is the best option."
"The solution has been beneficial because it's cut down the amount of time involved in doing complex scenarios and research."
"The deployment was a breeze. It is a very innovative and robust platform that allows us to bi-directionally stitch together data elements from Netflow-enabled devices to provide a context for network utilization."
"We find that Stealthwatch can detect the unseen."
"This solution has increased our threat detection rate by forty to sixty percent."
"This solution enables us to find them and shut them down, and it has reduced our incident response time because we can now narrow down where incidents are happening, so it is very helpful for our organization."
"The most valuable features provided by this solution are visibility and information."
"It's a dependable product that is able to pinpoint where we have vulnerabilities if they occur."
"There are already many functionalities, so I don't think there is anything to improve."
 

Cons

"Prefer this product only if the scope of flow analysis is vast and for a limited scope I don’t prefer this product since the product licenses are very costly and it is a waste of money."
"If one is able to find it at all, the documentation is often no help."
"I would like to see more security features, like a lost protection package."
"Currently, Broadcom Network Flow Analysis does not support high-availability solutions, making it an area that needs improvement."
"Sometimes the custom report jammed in the MYSQL database."
"Enhanced support should be given with APIs that work to maintain collected information."
"I would like to see interoperability with other Cisco products because we have ThousandEyes, Cisco Prime, and others. The interaction among these is important to us."
"This is an expensive solution and the license is expensive."
"We need to be able to filter out internal IPs as non-threats."
"Stealthwatch is still maturing in AI. It uses artificial intelligence for predictions, but AI still needs to mature."
"We determined that Stealthwatch wouldn't provide the machine learning model that we required."
"It is time-consuming to set it up and understand how the tool works."
"We would like the solution to make more advances in the way that Extreme Networks has been doing."
"Cisco Stealthwatch needs more integration with device discovery. We have to do a lot of hard work to figure out what things are. Better service integration is required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you make a DX NetOps-based purchase and the complete suite of products that fall under DX NetOps from Broadcom, then you get Network Flow Analysis along with DX NetOps Performance Management and DX Spectrum."
"The solution is expensive. It costs several hundred thousand dollars per year (depending on how many flows you are collecting)."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"There are additional licenses needed for the number of so-called network flows. It's hard to plan the number of flows you need in the network, this is a problem. The price of the Cisco Stealthwatch is relatively inexpensive"
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"Our fees are approximately $3,000 USD."
"The licensing costs are outrageous."
"​Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside (in traffic)."
"Today, we are part of the big Cisco ELA, and it is a la carte. We can get orders for whatever we want. At the end of the day, we have to pay for it in one big expense, but that is fine. We are okay with that."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Construction Company
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise52
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
Regarding cost, for the Bangladesh context, Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a little bit high-priced because we are a developing country, making it tough to manage affordable solutions. However, ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper m...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Stealthwatch?
Our customers mainly use Cisco Secure Network Analytics to get whole network visibility and easy troubleshooting to find actual problems and also to mitigate loopholes or findings immediately to pr...
 

Also Known As

CA NetQoS Reporter Analyzer, CA NFA, CA Network Flow Analysis
Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Empowered, BCBST
Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom Network Flow Analysis vs. Cisco Secure Network Analytics and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.