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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs IBM Security Network IPS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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 Secure IPS (NGIPS)
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Security Network IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
22nd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is 3.4%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Security Network IPS is 2.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)3.4%
IBM Security Network IPS2.0%
Other94.6%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer373227 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Marketing strengths shine but regaining user trust needs significant effort
There are numerous things that could be improved about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) to get it back on track. Sollution for small branches: when we have to connect a lot very small branches (or sometimes only an ATM) we need something small, with LTE and with reasonable price. Cisco response is SDWAN but it is not always the case. Recently Cisco released some small firewalls but I have not tried them yet. Central management with FMC is a very good idea, but sometimes local management or monitoring is helpfull. With Cisco You have to decide: central or local. You cannot have both. Regarding usability, when you commit configuration on Cisco, it sometimes takes very long. Commits also take some time for the competition, but Cisco is definitely lagging behind the rest in this respect. Last but not least, for me as a professional is lack of CLI. With CLI, I can configure every firewall on the market except Cisco. CLI is very important in professional working, and IMHO it was an unwise decision by Cisco to remove it. Graphical interfaces are very nice, but when you've got thousands of objects in a big installation and have to configure many things, CLI is a much faster way to do it.
Jacob_Koithra - PeerSpot reviewer
Project & Program manager at Shell Grp
User-friendly and has a good blocking feature but is quite expensive
Defining the new security rules and policies sometimes becomes a challenge. Integration with other platforms becomes a challenge as well. I'd like to see more integration with other tools and technologies. XGS 7100 has an end of support for the 30th of December 2022. Many are losing support. All the products of the XGS, including XGS 3100, 4100, 5100, and 7100, support is ending in December 2022. We need to know what is the plan post that? Do we need to spend money on them? Will that be extended? There has been no communication on the website either. It's an expensive device.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable and reliable, it does the job well."
"The IPS functionality is useful if you have offices all over the place. It's nice to have centralized management instead of going to a separate ASA or FirePOWER device."
"The threat detection and prevention feature is particularly important for us."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the support."
"Cisco NGIPS dropped network Troyans and web application attac almost every day."
"Cisco NGIPS is a stable tool...The technical support provided by Cisco NGIPS is okay."
"If they're looking for a platform that can protect from attack, from external or insiders who want to attack the network, I think Firepower is a good solution."
"It is salable and technically sound."
"IPS has helped us in understanding more about the latest threats out there and made us realize that we need to be proactive when it comes to security rather than reactive."
"Signature based analysis and preventing different types of network attacks."
"The most valuable feature is its simplicity."
"This is definitely a product that I recommend, especially for organizations that want a quick integration of data from the transaction systems, with a very low cost of operations."
"The blocking feature is great; it acts as an in-line blocker, and any malicious traffic that you see, or anything really, it can block the traffic."
"The initial setup is simple."
 

Cons

"The solution requires better management. When it comes to central management capabilities, improvements can be made."
"The SSL decrypt could be improved, but it's normal. All the devices in our platform need a lot of memory or CPU to do the SSL decrypt. This is an issue to improve in all platforms, not only in Cisco."
"The file trajectory, the trace in contamination files, could be improved."
"Cisco NGIPS' performance could be better."
"Cisco NGIPS should work on its shortcomings related to the issues that stem from bugs and performance."
"The only thing I think they may need to improve on a little bit is identifying software more correctly when you do network discovery."
"Currently, this product is difficult to manage. It needs to be more user-friendly."
"It is no longer scalable because it has gone end of life."
"The configuration of this product is complex. It could be made more user friendly."
"The management server can be made more user friendly and also the database configuration could be made simpler."
"In the future, I would like to see a hybrid option so that we can work both on-premises and in the cloud."
"I'd like to see more integration with other tools and technologies."
"It's an expensive device."
"In terms of scalability, I would say that it is a little on the poor side."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When it comes to pricing you pay for a permanent licensing structure. One, three, and five-year options. There are no extra costs."
"The weakness of Cisco Firepower is the cost. Some of the customers see it as very expensive."
"It could be less expensive."
"Cisco products are always expensive, but if you can afford the price then it's a great solution."
"We get cut in price since we use other Cisco products. We have the whole bundle of Cisco solutions."
"Licensing fees for this solution are $3,500 USD, and there are no additional costs."
"The cost of the license depends on the level of support that you have with Cisco."
"In our company, we know that the price of Cisco products is high, especially for its switches, routers and IOS. The price of Cisco products may be twice its original price if you plan to extend some of its features."
"The cost of operations is very low."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Performing Arts
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise26
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco NGIPS?
I would rate the price for Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) as high.
What needs improvement with Cisco NGIPS?
I am aware that we are not measuring some metrics or tracking access through Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS). In my opinion, Cisco could improve the Web GUI for Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS).
What is your primary use case for Cisco NGIPS?
Our main use case for Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is in-line traffic control, and we are using IPS in an in-line mode.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Sourcefire NGIPS, Firepower NGIPS
Security Network Intrusion Prevention System, IBM Security Network Protection, XGS, GX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Electric Power, Huntington Bank, Keycorp, Nationwide, Transunion, Marriott, Inova Health, Ford, Thomson Reuters, Dow Chemical, Equifax, Chevron, Walmart, Coca Cola
Equifax, Christian Hospital Centre
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs. IBM Security Network IPS and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.