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Cisco DNA Center vs Forward Enterprise comparison

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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
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (2nd), Network Monitoring Software (36th)
Forward Enterprise
Ranking in Network Automation
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (22nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.9%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forward Enterprise is 2.2%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.9%
Forward Enterprise2.2%
Other87.9%
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

"One of the advantages is Cisco support."
"The biggest lesson that I have learned from working with this solution is that this technology is much easier now."
"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."
"Cisco DNA Center is a user-friendly solution."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"Cisco VXLAN is a protocol that has been around for some time, but the practical implementation and operational capability of Cisco DNA Center bring it to life."
"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
"All the features are valuable in Forward Enterprise."
"Forward Enterprise has improved the way my organization functions."
 

Cons

"It seems to be a little bit more centered toward wireless than wired. You've got more options you can do wirelessly than you can with the wired switches, but it works for what we need it to do. We would like to see a little bit more about the traffic, and we're looking at what's out there to see about that. We are looking at something that might give us a bit more insight into the actual traffic. If they had the full functionality on the wired side, as they do on the wireless side in terms of being able to view traffic and everything, it would be good."
"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."
"The deployment part is definitely an area for improvement; Cisco DNA Center has some weaknesses that require improvements in that area."
"Cisco DNA Center isn't as stable, particularly with the logs, because it doesn't replicate the exact logs."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
"The solution’s security side could be improved."
"We have had a lot of problems with the Cisco switches and have needed to upgrade the operating systems, which means that we have to upgrade the DNA."
"Forward Enterprise could improve by increasing flexibility. Additionally, there should be an Android version or desktop."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"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."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"We pay for the solution annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco DNA Center?
In my organization, we currently have some Cisco devices such as access switches, and we also have infrastructure, but that is not part of our responsibility. We do not manage that infrastructure. ...
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, Infoblox, Cisco and others in Network Automation. Updated: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.