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Cisco DNA Center vs Forward Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (18th)
Forward Enterprise
Ranking in Network Automation
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.6%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forward Enterprise is 3.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.6%
Forward Enterprise3.0%
Other87.4%
Network Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
RA
IT Architectural System Expert at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Plenty of useful features, and simple implementation
Forward Enterprise has improved the way my organization functions All the features are valuable in Forward Enterprise. Forward Enterprise could improve by increasing flexibility. Additionally, there should be an Android version or desktop. I have been using Forward Enterprise for approximately…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"DNA Center is scalable."
"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"Scalability in Cisco DNA Center is good; we are using it for Software-Defined Access solution, and we haven't reached our device limit yet— from my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"It is a stable solution."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
"All the features are valuable in Forward Enterprise."
 

Cons

"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days."
"The solution can be quite pricey."
"The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center."
"They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed."
"Forward Enterprise could improve by increasing flexibility. Additionally, there should be an Android version or desktop."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The product is very costly."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"The solution is expensive."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"We pay for the solution annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
22%
Non Profit
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days. I am using it in a huge factory in Turkey, and sometimes I need to see what occ...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Cisco, Broadcom and others in Network Automation. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.