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Cisco Catalyst Center vs HPE Intelligent Management Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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

Cisco Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Intelligent Management ...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
7th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 6.8%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Intelligent Management Center is 4.8%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Center6.8%
HPE Intelligent Management Center4.8%
Other88.4%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has improved infrastructure management with customizable reporting and automated deployment
Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere. Historical data can be stored in Cisco Catalyst Center, and dashboards and widgets can be configured to personal preference. Device deployment can be automated to the point where all someone needs to do is plug it in. Zero Touch Provisioning, while requiring some initial work to set up properly, provides significant benefits. Once configured, it reduces the need for travel by specific network personnel, allowing on-site or other staff to handle device deployment by simply plugging in the cable.
Muhammad_Faisal - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager ITSM at Lucky Cement Limited
Achieve seamless network and link monitoring with comprehensive device management
The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them. The really beneficial feature is the link monitoring. I had checked Check Point's product, however, my requirements are better fulfilled by IMC. The main feature is that IMC automatically configures the device for my use. I have over 200 features in my network, and IMC manages the complete environment. Automation is good, but I mainly use it for monitoring. I am too satisfied with this product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Catalyst Center was flexible in terms of scalability, offering advanced security features and reliable performance."
"The analytics feature is quite good, and the hardware is very performant."
"The architecture and the way Cisco designs it, VXLAN and Cisco Express Forwarding are some of the features I like."
"Cisco Catalyst Center allows me to manage all the fabric SD Access from one location."
"Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"The customer service is very good. They are excellent and efficient."
"Catalyst provides a reliable and mature network solution, which has stabilized all features and improved productivity."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
"The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them."
"The most valuable function is that the IMC takes an entire backup of my network devices, and I can also redeploy them."
"This is far and away the best tool of this type I have ever used."
"The most valuable feature is the interface and its ease of use."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
"One of the notable advantages is its ability to provide quick responses, especially in critical situations."
"It's a very complete product with a lot of functionality."
 

Cons

"The deployment process is pretty complex"
"Current pricing is too expensive for features that users may not be sure they will use, pricing the company out of the market."
"The main drawback of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it can only manage and monitor Cisco devices with a DNA license, specifically the Catalyst 9000 series."
"There is room for improvement in introducing auto-heal AI capabilities. In the current setup, incidents are always reactionary, and it would be beneficial if Cisco Catalyst Center could proactively handle issues such as bandwidth crunches and packet drops."
"My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues."
"It is a little more expensive."
"Regarding the cons of Catalyst, it is a little more expensive. With other vendors, you have one license for all features. In the case of Catalyst, there are many licensing options."
"The only limitation is when integrating with other products due to Cisco's proprietary protocols."
"One notable deficiency is the lack of online support for the product."
"HPE Intelligent Management Center is a bit slow."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
"I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall."
"Technical support is the one area where I have to rate HPE fairly poorly; when we have encountered issues, particularly around inconsistencies in the topology views, getting them fixed can be a cumbersome process."
"I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall."
"The integration with other network devices needs improvement."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of this solution is not at all cheap, but it's reasonable compared to SolarWinds."
"There are licensing costs and they are quite expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
During license renewal, the pricing for Catalyst licensing increased significantly. For a hardware refresh, the site switched to Fortinet switching because the cost difference was approximately six...
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco Catalyst Center would benefit from different licensing tiers instead of an all-or-nothing model. Some tiers could focus on monitoring and tracking licenses with minimal configuration automati...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
The product was used with Catholic schools because that was their primary infrastructure. This is an enterprise-level product rather than an SMB-grade solution.
What needs improvement with HPE Intelligent Management Center?
I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall. This will be sorted out with the help of IMC, and now I have a modem dialing as per my needs.
What is your primary use case for HPE Intelligent Management Center?
I am using this solution for network monitoring, links monitoring, and complete monitoring of my infrastructure. I also deploy FortiVAF, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiManager as part of a complete securi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
HPE IMC
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. HPE Intelligent Management Center and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.