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 #19 with an average rating of 9.0, while HCLSoftware is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.3. OpenText holds a 1.5% mindshare in SAST, compared to HCLSoftware ’s 2.6% 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

1,864 Views
1,789 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 44 HCL AppScan reviews

6,267 Views
4,512 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: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan

April 2026

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Helped 893,244 peers since 2012

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)

19th

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)

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (19th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) category, the mindshare of Fortify Software Security Center is 1.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL AppScan is 2.6%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HCL AppScan	2.6%
Fortify Software Security Center	1.5%
Other	95.9%

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.

Read full review

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It's very important because they want to scan their source code every day, so we provide CICD integration to our customers so they can auto build and auto test every day, get reports, and fix issues."

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

More Fortify Software Security Center pros

"It's generally a very user-friendly tool. Anyone can easily learn how to scan"

"Technical support is helpful."

"For its first initial release, the integration was pretty good."

"The static scans are good, and the SaaS as well."

"This is a stable solution."

"AppScan seems to be very good at detecting reflected XSS vulnerabilities."

"AppScan is within the top three or four static analyzers."

"It was easy to set up."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

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

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

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

"The initial setup of this solution is very complex. Specifically, the integration between other parts of the solution is difficult."

"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."

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

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

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

More Fortify Software Security Center cons

"I think being able to search across more containers, especially some of the docker elements. We need a little tighter integration there. That's the only thing I can see at this point."

"The databases for HCL are small and have room for improvement."

"Currently, we are satisfied with AppScan but I am sure there are better alternatives available because this is a very old product."

"I think it's a little bit complex, and that's quite a common issue with most of the IBM products."

"One thing which I think can be improved is the CI/CD Integration"

"They could add a software component analysis tool."

"A desktop version should be added."

"There is not a central management for static and dynamic."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"The solution is moderately priced."

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

"Pricing was the main reason that we went ahead with this solution as they were the lowest in the market."

"The tool was expensive."

"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten. The product's pricing is expensive compared to the features that they offer."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

"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."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

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)

April 2026

Download Fortify Software Security Center product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

May 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

Fortify Software Security Center offers comprehensive application security through a centralized console that integrates static and dynamic analysis, making it essential for organizations focused on robust security operations.

Fortify Software Security Center delivers extensive capabilities that facilitate application security testing, code audits, and bug fixes. Its centralized console enhances governance and control, while its interoperability with tools like Kiuwan and Azure strengthens its functionality. The dashboard's intuitive data customization, along with the ability to store and report data on-premises, further complements its integration capabilities. Although improvements in dataset aggregation, integration with tools like Jira, and resolution of false positives are required, its ability to scan and analyze source code to identify security violations is acknowledged.

What are the key features of Fortify Software Security Center?

Centralized Console: Streamlines governance and control through combined static and dynamic analysis.
Interoperability: Enhances functionality with tools like Kiuwan for comprehensive testing.
Customizability: Tailors vulnerability testing to standards such as OWASP Top Ten.
Macro Recording: Facilitates multi-factor authentication processes.
CI/CD Integration: Ensures seamless integration with development workflows.
Collaboration Module: Supports teamwork with clarification on issues.
Daily Scanning: Elevates code quality through regular evaluations.

Why should users consider Fortify Software Security Center for ROI?

Code Quality Enhancement: Improves coding practices through continuous deployment and daily scanning.
Seamless Deployment: Enhances implementation success and mitigates security threats effectively.
Customization Flexibility: Offers tailored solutions for overlapping features despite increased costs.
Collaboration Efficiency: Boosts teamwork through detailed issue explanations and analysis.

Fortify Software Security Center is adopted in software-driven industries for its robust application security capabilities. Users in technology sectors rely on its static code analysis for auditing and security testing. Its on-premises deployment model and integration with platforms like Azure make it ideal for storing and reporting data, providing customization that aligns with industry standards.

OpenText

HCL AppScan offers quick vulnerability detection with effective SDLC integration and is known for its user-friendly interface and seamless security integration.

HCL AppScan provides dynamic and static scanning to identify vulnerabilities like XSS and SQL injection. It integrates well into CI/CD pipelines, supports multiple languages, and offers web and dynamic scanning, helping businesses ensure security across development lifecycles. Users benefit from API coverage, Postman integration, and its ability to function in cloud and on-premise environments, facilitating a shift from DevOps to DevSecOps practices.

What features define HCL AppScan?

User-friendly interface: Simplifies navigation and usage.
Vulnerability detection: Quickly identifies issues like XSS and SQL injection.
Integration with SDLC: Seamlessly blends with development processes.
Dynamic scanning: Offers comprehensive security evaluations.
Multiple language support: Supports diverse programming environments.

What benefits should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts to growing needs and projects.
Low false-positive rates: Delivers accurate and reliable results.
Detailed reporting: Provides comprehensive vulnerability insights.
Effective integration: Enhances CI/CD pipeline security.

HCL AppScan is leveraged in sectors requiring rigorous security checks, such as finance and healthcare, where it conducts comprehensive scans and offers insights into potential vulnerabilities. Its robust scanning capabilities aid companies in maintaining compliance and security standards.

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

April 2026

Free Report: Fortify Software Security Center vs. HCL AppScan

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