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Symantec Data Center Security vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 14, 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

Symantec Data Center Security
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (7th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Symantec Data Center Security is 2.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 10.7%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware NSX10.7%
Symantec Data Center Security2.7%
Other86.6%
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Ejaz ul Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Continuous server hardening has protected critical legacy workloads and simplified security control
Symantec is lagging on the reporting side. I have been working for 10 years and I have identified many gray areas. As a user protecting your infrastructure, you need to sell the value to your management. Management buys the tool for preventing threats, and it works for them. However, you cannot sell it because every solution needs to show what happened in the last few years or how you will be protected in the future. Reporting is the most important thing for the CIO level, not the admin level. I have seen Symantec really lag in this area. I am creating my own tool to build a dashboard to share with the CIO level because they want to know what happened last week, last month, and last year. These reports will tell you about activities. Symantec changed the licensing when Broadcom acquired the company. The question of who will provide support became unclear. Support has now changed and they are making money. I have seen that most of the time when you ask implementation questions, they do not answer you. If you have a problem, they give you a low-level engineer at the first level. This delays resolution. Support has to be better.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool will then detect any anomalies, such as an intruder who has breached the network, which can trigger the system lockdown feature if it's enabled and meets the defined threshold."
"The ability to finely control permissions and restrictions on servers or assets through a customizable rule set is a key strength."
"Good file integrity monitoring features."
"The real strength lies in its straightforward approach, offering just two key policies: prevention and detection."
"The granularity of applying the policies is valuable."
"The monitoring in the management console allows us to find out what is going wrong, and it gets reports even before the user reports it."
"The console and tools are very user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint protection system."
"NSX is good in managing security or controlling the security and the access control for each single VM."
"The most valuable features are its security aspects, especially the IPS and IDS for intrusion detection and protection."
"Their technical support is very good. They help us figure out solutions when we have problems."
"NSX can reduce costs and has good service. It is easy for you and your users to use."
"The firewall is its most valuable feature."
"The installation is straightforward, it took a couple of hours."
"This is the most scalable product of its type."
"The micro-segmentation and the ability to create policy rules are valuable."
 

Cons

"Agent management is a challenging task."
"It would be advantageous if Symantec or Broadcom, given the rebranding, could simplify the process, enabling users to leverage the antivirus functionality more easily."
"The product blocks certain processes, even after allowlisting them."
"Could have better reporting capabilities and better support."
"There is plenty of room for improvement with this product, and it could start with platform metrics."
"The support is very bad. They're not fast at all. Trend Micro's support is much better."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing its graphical user interface for a more user-friendly experience."
"They need to develop a more flexible product that can be scaled such that it fits well into a small business or a bigger, enterprise-level solution."
"Our technical team is always looking for the solutions that they work with to offer more convenient integrations."
"I think that one of the more important things to see better integrated into the NSX product would be an IDS/IPS type solution."
"The support from VMware NSX could improve."
"The reporting functionality could be better, and there could be an easier way of forwarding events. There's room for improvement in the product."
"I want to see the solution expand to more than just the network, for example, perhaps it could provide some VLAN technologies."
"It's a good product, but the way that it has got so many multiple levels that need to be purchased makes it expensive and cumbersome."
"The solution could benefit from improvements in its pricing and scalability."
"A faster resolution time would be beneficial."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to some other solutions, such as CrowdStrike, Symantec is more expensive."
"It is notably more expensive when compared to other solutions."
"The product is a bit costly."
"We have saved man-hours and decreased our security exposure."
"The cost of the solution is a bit high."
"The price of VMware NSX is optimal. Additionally, the price of the solution can be negotiated with the vendor. Many areas of the solution can impact the cost, such as features, time for onboarding, and support needed."
"We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
"The solution is reasonable at the local level."
"VMware has always been geared towards enterprise and their pricing options are a bit high. Their price is higher than other options in the market."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"This solution requires a licence."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Symantec Data Center Security?
Symantec is lagging on the reporting side. I have been working for 10 years and I have identified many gray areas. As a user protecting your infrastructure, you need to sell the value to your manag...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Data Center Security?
As a partner support, we handle all Symantec products for various clients. Currently, we work with DLP, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Data Loss Prevention, Data Center Security, Email Security, and...
What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Data Center Security?
I am still a Symantec partner. Price rating is five out of ten. Symantec Data Center Security is a perfect solution, but it needs to elaborate its functionalities and functions to the market. Peopl...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Data Center Security vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.