NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Network Instruments Observer comparison

"We build application dashboards and performance indexes for locations, and this solution provides us with increased visibility while conducting IT deployments, such as data migration."

"The solution transforms packet wire data into real-time data that is ready to act on."

"It's easy to detect unwanted traffic with all the detection tools available."

"When we have any type of outage, and we dig into it, we are able to tell what the root cause is instead of having to go through Wireshark, etc."

"The biggest benefit is the ability to do low-level packet inspection, which reduces troubleshooting time because you can get a much better view into the communications path between servers, database servers, web servers, and understand what's going on."

"Deep packet inspection is a very useful tool as it works in real time and uses serial packet-level analysis."

"Before we were pretty weak in network KPIs; the solution transforms packet wire data into real-time data that is actionable, helps us with faster detection of issues, allows us to create alerts, provides the right people in our company with the right information in a single pane of glass view, and gives us increased visibility while conducting an IT deployment."

"These vendor interlocution situations have gone from a couple of weeks to a couple of days."

"The product has allowed us to have a recording of all business critical network data."

"Some of the filters could be easier to see and to set up. That's the only thing that I've ever had any trouble with."

"The solution is not easy to install."

"There is a big issue with the special way they use InfiniStream to store data."

"They can improve still on the workflows, document their workflows that are commonly used... We don't know some of the workflows yet, and it's not something that you can just read up in the manual. There is some stuff in the help manual and online, but it's to a point where you need to purchase extra training and services from them. You can't just go and read up on it yourself and learn from A to Z..."

"Some help screens would be nice, especially if we bring on new operators. It would be great to see if they have more helpful tips available."

"While it is good, the single pane of glass view is too high level. It is better for management or someone doing sanity checks. A lot of times, I need to go deeper into the additional screens to get what I want out of it."

"In previous versions, we used to have an icon on the dashboard when the situation analysis would present an alert. It would be nice if that would be made available on the dashboard again. Something that could be customizable to only illuminate on certain applications."

"The single pane of glass view is a challenge. I like the graphics, they're easy to understand, but when more digging is required, it's more complicated to get what I'm expecting."

"Customer service was below average and the local value added reseller did not know the product very well."

"Their pricing is very competitive with other solutions... But what I like about NETSCOUT's licensing is that it's shared across all their platforms. They don't create a new licensing scheme for every one of their products. So for nGeniusONE, you buy a certain license level, and it works on all of their products."

"Cost is probably the biggest drawback. Compared to some of the newer vendors that have popped up in the space, it's definitely more on the expensive side... [But] it's been able to keep its value, even in the face of the cheaper competition."

"The biggest problem we have with this product is the expense."

"Like any company, we always want better pricing. The pricing is okay, but it's not a cheap solution. When you want to deploy it across an enterprise as large as ours, you go into seven figures. It's not a cheap solution to get out there."

"The product is too expensive compared to other products."

"We have a premium customized contract for the solution."

"If you are able and you are willing to use everything that Netscout provides to you, it's probably a relatively fair price. The problem is that it's such a large and such a complex tool that I'm not sure that many companies would be able to use it entirely, the way it's expected to be used."

"I rate the price of NETSCOUT nGeniusONE a four out of five."