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Cisco DNA Center vs IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco DNA Center enhances efficiency by reducing configuration time, despite licensing costs, with positive but varied ROI evaluations.
Sentiment score
7.4
IBM SevOne enhances network monitoring and issue resolution, ensuring cost efficiency and improved operational performance for businesses.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco's DNA Center support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for slow responses and challenges with complex issues.
Sentiment score
8.0
IBM SevOne NPM customer service is praised for responsiveness, expertise, friendly communication, fast response, and handling complex cases effectively.
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
The technical support from IBM for SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is very good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco DNA Center is highly scalable, effectively supports small to large networks, but licensing costs can be high.
Sentiment score
8.1
IBM SevOne NPM offers scalable, flexible network monitoring, easily integrating devices and expanding for diverse business sizes and needs.
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
It is suitable for small, medium, and enterprise-level companies.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco DNA Center is generally stable, with some users reporting occasional bugs and needed updates affecting stability.
Sentiment score
7.9
IBM SevOne NPM is stable and reliable, with most issues arising from non-SevOne components or specific scenarios.
The stability of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is excellent.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco DNA Center needs better integration, user-friendliness, and support, with pricing, scalability, and compatibility issues impacting its effectiveness.
IBM SevOne struggles with upgrade complexity, reporting detail, integration, visualization, and seeks enhanced analytics and cloud monitoring improvements.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improvements in correlation features.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco DNA Center is costly, justified for enterprises, challenging for mid-market, with SaaS and promotions occasionally aiding affordability.
IBM SevOne NPM provides scalable, flexible licensing, though upfront costs can be high; negotiation is advised for cost management.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, security, AI-driven insights, and automation, enhancing network control and operational efficiency.
IBM SevOne NPM offers scalable, real-time monitoring with integration, alerting, and reporting for proactive network management and optimization.
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
The most valuable features of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) are its stability, usability, visibility, and user-friendly interface.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
IBM SevOne Network Performa...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
46th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (20th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (45th), Log Management (47th), Cloud Monitoring Software (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) is 1.0%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed  Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
Grzegorz Nowak - PeerSpot reviewer
Improves infrastructure planning by helping us analyze network traffic
We use SevOne to collect and report on network flows SevOne improves infrastructure planning by helping us analyze network traffic. We can look at bandwidth for specific endpoints on the customer's network and analyze traffic to identify issues. For example, maybe some connectors are unavailable.…
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861,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Legal Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
We have utilized the software-defined access (SDA) feature of Cisco DNA Center. The AI-driven needs enhancements and Integration and unification of visibility and monitoring to include other areas ...
What needs improvement with SevOne Network Data Platform?
There is room for improvement in the integration with different vendors and the reporting capabilities. It would be beneficial to have out-of-the-box integration with third-party vendors and improv...
What is your primary use case for SevOne Network Data Platform?
The primary use case of IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) ( /products/ibm-sevone-network-performance-management-npm-reviews ) is network monitoring. It helps to maintain the infrastru...
What advice do you have for others considering SevOne Network Data Platform?
To compete with custom-built tools, IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) should accommodate the desired features and be timely in the delivery of feature updates. I would rate the overal...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
SevOne
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
ATOS, Devereux, Spark New Zealand, Access4, Rogers Communication, Lumen (formerly known as CenturyLink)
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.