Fortify Software Security Center vs HCL AppScan comparison

OpenText and HCLSoftware are both solutions in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category. OpenText is ranked #21 with an average rating of 9.0, while HCLSoftware is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.3. OpenText holds a 0.9% mindshare in SAST, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of OpenText users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

Fortify Software Security C...

Read 8 Fortify Software Security Center reviews

890 Views
828 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 44 HCL AppScan reviews

4,387 Views
3,334 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Fortify Software Security C...

HCL AppScan

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

HCL AppScan and Fortify Software Security Center compete in the security solutions category. Fortify seems to have the upper hand in features due to its comprehensive offerings, justifying its higher price point, while HCL receives praise for pricing and support.

Features: HCL AppScan offers effective risk assessment tools, integration capabilities, and a user-friendly interface. Fortify Software Security Center provides extensive language support, detailed vulnerability reports, and a broader feature set appealing to enterprises with complex needs.

Room for Improvement: HCL AppScan requires better scalability, enhanced integration with third-party tools, and improved performance speed. Fortify Software Security Center needs a more intuitive setup process, a streamlined user interface, and reduced complexity in certain features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL AppScan is noted for straightforward deployment and responsive customer support. Fortify Software Security Center comes with a steeper learning curve but offers dedicated support once the process is navigated.

Pricing and ROI: HCL AppScan users appreciate its competitive setup costs and view it as a cost-effective solution with satisfactory ROI. Fortify Software Security Center, despite higher initial expenses, offers a return that justifies its investment for enterprises using its capabilities fully, making it worth its premium due to strategic benefits realized over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan

December 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

Fortify Software Security C...

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

21st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

HCL AppScan

Ranking in Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (20th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Fortify Software Security Center is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.3%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HCL AppScan	2.3%
Fortify Software Security Center	0.9%
Other	96.8%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Diego Caicedo Lescano

Chief Innovation Officer at SAGGA

Enables centralized analysis and improves governance through seamless tool integration

The main use case for Fortify Software Security Center is exceptional because we have governance and control through that console. You can centralize both static analysis and dynamic analysis, and correlate both analyses in one tool to get better results by combining those independent results from each solution. That is outstanding, and there is no tool I have seen on the market that offers these capabilities. I appreciate the interoperability with other solutions from Fortify Software Security Center. Because we are using Kiuwan, you can run Kiuwan analyses and integrate them with Fortify Software Security Center to get those results in a single console. That is a good console for centralizing things in one point. That is one of the best features of the on-premises Fortify.

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Ravi Khanchandani

Founder Director at Techsa Services

Has improved identification of encryption and authentication issues across cloud and on-prem applications

During the learning curve of onboarding HCL AppScan, we learned that HCL has altered the portfolio and now offers HCL AppScan 360, which has a much better look and feel with an improved user interface. However, there is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved. When I'm doing an application scan, HCL AppScan has the ability to generate information about what components are in use. For example, if I'm scanning a web application, it shows me the various components being used. It tells me whether I have Java libraries, .NET frameworks, or other log management libraries such as Log4j, and what versions of those specific components are present. I would like to see more detailed reports from the tool. Currently, you can find out the components belonging to a specific software, but if detailed reporting became available, you would be in a better position to identify vulnerabilities. For instance, I could identify that I had the Log4j vulnerability and know that I need to fix my application accordingly. If they add the features I'm describing, I would consider giving them a higher rating. However, I've only been experienced with the product for three months.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the explanation of issues provided by Fortify Software Security Center."

"Fortify Analytics' AI function helps scan and provides more detailed explanations and recommendations about vulnerabilities."

"You can easily download the tool's rule packs and update them."

"The overall rating for this tool is ten out of ten."

"The reporting is very useful because you can always view an entire list of the issues that you have."

"This is a stable solution at the end of the day."

"The main use case for Fortify Software Security Center is exceptional because we have governance and control through that console."

"Software Security Center is highly customizable and helps me test all vulnerability data against the latest conventions like OWASP Top Ten, CVE Top twenty-five, and several other legal compliances."

More Fortify Software Security Center pros

"IBM AppScan has made our work easy, as we can do four to five scans of websites at a time, which saves time when it comes to vulnerability."

"It has certainly helped us find vulnerabilities in our software, so this is priceless in the end."

"It comes with all of the templates that we need. For example, we are a company that is regulated by PCI. In order to be PCI compliant, we have a lot of checks and procedures to which we have to comply."

"This is a stable solution."

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution...The initial setup or installation of HCL AppScan is easy."

"The solution is easy to use."

"You can easily find particular features and functions through the UI."

"For me, as a manager, it was the ease of use. Inserting security into the development process is not normally an easy project to do. The ability for the developer to actually use it and get results and focuses, that's what counted."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"We are having issues with false positives that need to be resolved."

"The product's overlap feature is restrictive and requires more customization efforts, which can be expensive."

"Fortify Software Security Center's setup is really painful."

"The support for Fortify on-premises is the same as for the other products. I would say the support is not good and I would rate it a three out of ten."

"Improvements needed for Software Security Center include better aggregation views of datasets."

"This solution is difficult to implement, and it should be made more comfortable for the end-users."

"I am not satisfied with the percentage of false positives, which is around eighteen percent."

"Improvements needed for Software Security Center include better aggregation views of datasets."

"A desktop version should be added."

"Improving usability could enhance the overall experience with AppScan. It would be beneficial to make the solution more user-friendly, ensuring that everyone can easily navigate and utilize its features."

"AppScan needs to improve its handling of false positives."

"The solution could improve by having a mobile version."

"We have experienced challenges when trying to integrate this solution with other products. When you compare it with the other SecOps products, the quality of the output is too low. It is not a new-age product. It is very outdated."

"I would love to see more containers. Many of the tools are great, they require an amount of configuration, setup and infrastructure. If most the applications were in a container, I think everything would be a little bit faster, because all our clients are now using containers."

"We would like to see a check in the specific vulnerabilities in mobile applications or rooted devices, such as jailbreaking devices."

"Visibility is an issue for us. Our partners do not know we have integrations with some of IBM products."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is priced fair."

"As a Fortify partner company providing technical support, I find the product expensive in our country, where local, inexpensive products are available."

"This is a costly solution that could be cheaper."

"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."

"Our clients are willing to pay the extra money. It is expensive."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high. HCL AppScan is an expensive tool."

"The price is very expensive."

"The tool was expensive."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	31

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Software Security Center?

The pricing for the on-premises Fortify is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Software Security Center?

In my opinion, there are no areas that could be improved with Fortify Software Security Center. I would say it is a good product and a mature product. However, the SAST has many improvement areas. ...

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What is your primary use case for Micro Focus Software Security Center?

We have installed Fortify Static Code Analysis, SAST, in Ecuador in two customers. The Fortify ScanCentral includes three components: SAST, Fortify Software Security Center, and the WebInspect.

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

I'm currently working with BigFix and HCL AppScan. At least three people in my company are using HCL AppScan. Since we are a reseller, we run it in both lab environments and live production applica...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

January 2026

Download Fortify Software Security Center product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

January 2026

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

Micro Focus Software Security Center, Application Security Center, HPE Application Security Center, WebInspect

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

Software Security Center enables management, development, and security teams to work together to triage, track, validate, automate, and manage software security activities.

OpenText

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

Neosecure, Acxiom, Skandinavisk Data Center A/S, Parkeon

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan

December 2025

Free Report: Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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