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Cisco UCS Manager vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications comparison

Cisco and VMware are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.5, while VMware is ranked #29 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 1.5% mindshare in IM, compared to VMware’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of VMware users who would recommend it.
Cisco UCS Manager
Read 27 Cisco UCS Manager reviews
  • 1,734 Views
  • 1,468 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Read 12 VMware Aria Operations for Applications reviews
  • 1,344 Views
  • 1,198 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Cisco UCS Manager and VMware Aria Operations for Applications compete in IT infrastructure management. Cisco has an advantage in networking and compute integration, whereas VMware stands out for its monitoring capabilities.

Features: Cisco UCS Manager includes comprehensive network, storage, and compute unification, ease of server deployment and management, and robust support for enterprise environments. VMware Aria Operations for Applications provides strong application monitoring, extensive metrics for cloud environments, and container platform support.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS Manager needs improvements in firmware upgrade processes, user interface complexity reduction, and streamlined update procedures. VMware Aria Operations for Applications could offer enhanced integration with Kubernetes, improve predictive abilities, and simplify licensing complexities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco UCS Manager typically involves on-premises deployment with highly rated technical support. VMware Aria Operations for Applications supports both on-premises and hybrid cloud deployments and is praised for its proactive support model.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS Manager is regarded as expensive but offers good ROI with fewer hardware failures. VMware Aria Operations for Applications involves high licensing costs yet is valued for its comprehensive capabilities, offering efficient management that can save development time. Both products ensure good ROI when suited to the organizational needs, though Cisco may have higher initial costs.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS Manager vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS Manager vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
March 2025
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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 UCS Manager
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
17th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Aria Operations for ...
Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring
29th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (27th), Container Monitoring (7th), Cloud Monitoring Software (22nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager is 1.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IT Infrastructure Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

Edwin Mwosa - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced network oversight with rapid issue identification and good efficiency
We mainly use Cisco UCS Manager to integrate and manage our Cisco switches across the building. We also utilize it for network integration. It provides an integrated solution for our Cisco environment, streamlining our operations and managing multiple Cisco devices like switches and routers Cisco…
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ToniLindberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Troubleshooting capabilities have improved application monitoring and support engagement
I can see what happens end to end, which is pretty beneficial. The solution has troubleshooting capabilities, providing a direct connection to knowledge base articles from VMware Broadcom. When I encounter an error, I can search directly within the system to see what solutions have been employed by others. It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like most about Cisco UCS Manager is the ease of administration. It also allows the central management of maintenance, installation, and configuration activities."
"Cisco UCS has different layers of security, and you can do multiple installations of your LIAMs on top of the server and Blade. You can install VMware, Windows Server, Hyper-V, etc."
"A main feature of Cisco UCS Manager is its reliability, as all of the computing blades are in cluster mode."
"It is more robust than other solutions. So, the stability is good."
"The solution is highly scalable, mainly because of the templates that make it easy for you to actually edit on the system."
"When one server fails, we can attach the service profile to a new server, which saves a lot of time."
"Cisco UCS Manager is overall a good package because it gives a GUI interface and a CLI."
"From a usability and functionality perspective, Cisco UCS Manager is very good."
More Cisco UCS Manager pros
"Tanzu itself, integrated with multiple solutions, bestows support and security upon a container platform, especially when it comes to managing open-source container platforms such as Kubernetes."
"It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started."
"The features I find most valuable is the querying and alerting capabilities."
"VMware comes with a support team, and if you have trouble, you can easily create a ticket, and VMware will help you. Therefore, the best aspect is the support."
"I find VMware Aria Operations for Applications to be very stable, and I would rate it a ten out of ten."
"No issues with stability."
"The stability of Aria Operations for Applications has improved significantly over the years."
"This solution allows me to have true visibility for any metrics when it comes to my cloud, and private."
More VMware Aria Operations for Applications pros
 

Cons

"I would like to see improved visibility into the operating system, enabling us to identify issues directly from the operating system itself."
"The pricing can be better."
"Upgrading the firmware is a difficult procedure."
"For improvements, while the current graphical user interface is satisfactory, it could be further simplified for different tasks."
"The automation within the solution needs to be simplified."
"Some settings are still fairly well hidden, even the basic ones."
"I found it a bit of a challenge to get training on UCSM. I've been trying to get that for some time now. I feel like I have to figure it out a lot of things myself. For years I've to log calls with support whenever I've got challenges that I cannot resolve. If I had some training or more manuals, I'd be better able to handle more things on my own."
"The installation and upgrade sytems need to be improved."
More Cisco UCS Manager cons
"The solution could be expensive, which might be a limiting factor."
"The return on investment is best suited for organizations that do not have the resources for a dedicated VM environment team. However, the cost of the product doesn't show significant benefits."
"Its billing model is consumption-based. I understand the consumption-based model, but it is not necessarily easy to estimate and guess how many points or how much we are going to consume on a specific application up until we get to that point. So, for us, it would be helpful to have more insights or predictability into what we can expect from a cost perspective if we are starting to use specific features. This can potentially also drive our consumption a bit more."
"The main problem I have is that the license cost is very high."
"It could use a URL document server. Everything in the market is moving towards automation and everybody's looking for the single click operations as well relational data locality."
"The documentation and integration with Kubernetes could be improved."
"The solution could be expensive, which might be a limiting factor."
"I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases."
More VMware Aria Operations for Applications cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We need to take a license for each port, which amounts to a big sum."
"Cisco UCS is more expensive than Dell and HP, but it is more reliable. I see less issues and it's quite stable."
"You buy the hardware and then you get Cisco UCS Manager for free."
"With product discounts which can be negotiated, the product is a great value."
"Cisco UCS Manager’s annual licensing fee is expensive."
"The pricing for Cisco UCS Manager is okay for its market, so it's a four out of five for me."
"Different locations require different setups. In your terms, around 300 to around 400K USD."
"I don't have the details. In our case, there is a mixture in place. We have production usage, and we are also doing training for VMware. So, we also have a training instance. It is worth the money you would spend on it. That's because if you were to build all of this yourself by using some of the open source tools, then you would need a lot of time."
"The licensing costs are very high, particularly when you consider that we have to purchase a level 1 license for every integration, such as the load balancer, HAProxy, and the MSSP. And if you want to use vSAN, that's another license. Then, of course, Tanzu Observability has its own separate license."
"I would rate the pricing as three out of five."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
27%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS Manager?
When one server fails, we can attach the service profile to a new server, which saves a lot of time.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS Manager?
My experience with the pricing of Cisco UCS Manager ( /products/cisco-ucs-manager-reviews ) is that it is reasonable. Recently, we acquired an excellent bundle with significant discounts, with offe...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS Manager?
For improvements, while the current graphical user interface is satisfactory, it could be further simplified for different tasks. While it has been improved from using Java to HTML, simplifying the...
See all answers
What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
VMware comes with a support team, and if you have trouble, you can easily create a ticket, and VMware will help you. Therefore, the best aspect is the support.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
The cost of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is fair and reasonable compared to what we receive in support and packages from VMware.
See all answers
What needs improvement with VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?
I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 7% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS Manager
March 2025
Cisco UCS Manager reportDownload Cisco UCS Manager product report
Buyer's Guide
VMware Aria Operations for Applications
March 2025
VMware Aria Operations for Applications reportDownload VMware Aria Operations for Applications product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Tanzu Observability, Wavefront, Wavefront by VMware, VMware Tanzu Observability
 

Overview

Cisco UCS Manager helps significantly reduce management and administration expenses by automating routine tasks to increase operational agility. Customers can extend the benefits of Cisco UCS Manager globally across an enterprise to thousands of servers in multiple domains with Cisco UCS Central Software.
Cisco

VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront is a powerful tool for monitoring and analyzing the performance and availability of applications and infrastructure in real-time. 

With its comprehensive monitoring capabilities, visualizing and analyzing data becomes effortless. The real-time alerting system ensures timely issue resolution, while scalability and a user-friendly interface provide a seamless experience for smooth operations.

VMware
 

Sample Customers

Management Science Associates, Peak 10, Virtual Consulting Professionals
1. Atlassian 2. Cisco 3. Databricks 4. DigitalOcean 5. Equinix 6. Fidelity Investments 7. Google 8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise 9. Honeywell 10. IBM 11. Intel 12. JetBlue Airways 13. LinkedIn 14. Lyft 15. Mastercard 16. Microsoft 17. MongoDB 18. Netflix 19. Nvidia 20. Oracle 21. PayPal 22. Pinterest 23. Qualcomm 24. Red Hat 25. Salesforce 26. SAP 27. Spotify 28. Square 29. TMobile 30. Twitter 31. Uber 32. VMware
Buyer's Guide
Cisco UCS Manager vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
March 2025
Free Report: Cisco UCS Manager vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications
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