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Cisco DNA 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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (19th), Network Automation (2nd)
HPE Intelligent Management ...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
9th
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 June 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 8.7%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Intelligent Management Center is 4.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center8.7%
HPE Intelligent Management Center4.2%
Other87.1%
Network Management Applications
 

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.
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 DNA Center is something that I recommend."
"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that provides us with valuable information."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"My advice to others is if you are a large enough company to have the Cisco DNA Center technology, you must try it because for a large enterprise or multi-site organization it's impressive and it saves a lot of money and time."
"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."
"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 feature is the interface and its ease of use."
"This is far and away the best tool of this type I have ever used."
"It's a very complete product with a lot of functionality."
"One of the notable advantages is its ability to provide quick responses, especially in critical situations."
"We chose HPE for its interoperability with non-Cisco equipment, interoperability with non HP equipment, and customizable, and a deep feature set that Cisco Prime just didn't have because it's focused on Cisco stuff only."
"The most useful feature is infrastructure monitoring including switches and servers."
 

Cons

"When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."
"The network, data center, and SD-WAN are all being treated as different services, but I would like to have only one solution to manage all of them."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"The integration with other network devices needs improvement."
"One notable deficiency is the lack of online support for the product."
"I would like to see additional modules included."
"It's horrible. 90% of the time we're figuring out the solution ourselves."
"I face the issue with the integration with links on Fortinet Firewall."
"HPE Intelligent Management Center is a bit slow."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."
"The product is very costly."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"There are licensing costs and they are quite expensive."
"The price of this solution is not at all cheap, but it's reasonable compared to SolarWinds."
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902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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. ...
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

DNA Center
HPE IMC
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. HPE Intelligent Management Center and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.