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Cisco DNA Center vs OpenText Network Automation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 6, 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 Automation
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (19th)
OpenText Network Automation
Ranking in Network Automation
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Automation category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.7%, down from 13.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Network Automation is 3.2%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.7%
OpenText Network Automation3.2%
Other87.1%
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.
reviewer1480065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Operations Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Allows to upload necessary firmware to your device and perform the upgrade
With OpenText Network Automation, firmware can be uploaded for specific devices. If you need to upgrade a device, you can use this tool, though it may not apply to all devices. The software allows you to upload the necessary firmware to your device and perform the upgrade. Additionally, it enables you to check multiple devices for specific configurations and automates the search process and the configuration of multiple devices.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."
"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"
"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
"We're able to set security policies and configure devices exactly how we want them."
"Pushing the network configuration to bulk devices. This saves a considerable amount of time that the engineer spends in pushing the network configuration."
"Micro Focus tools are mature tools, that are well developed."
"It's great because you have a one-unit solution to aggregate network data, so it's one entry point for getting all the configuration into the same dashboard or same application."
"With OpenText Network Automation, firmware can be uploaded for specific devices. If you need to upgrade a device, you can use this tool, though it may not apply to all devices."
"When compared with SolarWinds, it is more user-friendly, and tasks can be completed more quickly."
 

Cons

"The pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco DNA Center are expensive."
"They should include UTM features in the product."
"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"Better compatibility with third parties and to other Cisco products because if versions are not perfectly matching requirements, it gives a lot of problems."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"When compared to other automation tools that are available in the market, more can be done to improve this solution."
"Level one administration task can be defined in Micro Focus Network Automation but it could be more simplified."
"We've found some problems that may or may not have to do with our infrastructure. There are also some software defects that we've found."
"We just spoke with some of the product managers. We are getting some serious performance issues that have some serious repercussions for support."
"The tool performs slowly."
"Compatibility of the devices needs to be enhanced, as it seems to be limited."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"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."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"Pricing is reasonable, but if you compare it with other network Operation Management tools that are available on the market, it's expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Performing Arts
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Government
8%
 

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. ...
What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Network Automation?
There is a team responsible for network automation to check devices for compliance. I connect to the device, make the necessary configurations, and inform the team that certain rules must be remove...
What advice do you have for others considering Micro Focus Network Automation?
When managing a large number of devices, network automation simplifies the process of locating specific configurations. For example, if you need to find a particular configuration, network automati...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Micro Focus Network Automation, HPE Network Automation
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Tech Mahindra, Avea, China Merchants Bank, NNIT, Distinctive Software Solutions, Virgin Media, NEC Australia, Osiatis, Hostworks, Retegal, Allianz Shared Infrastructure Services SE (ASIC), State of Kansas Division of Information Services and Communications (DISC)
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. OpenText Network Automation and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.