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Principal Systems Engineer at Aricent
Real User
A reliable and complete solution, but the pricing model is complex and it's expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The completeness of the solution is what we like the most."
  • "It's difficult to set up initially, and their billing model is also a bit complicated."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the mobile SDK to check the stability of mobile applications.

What is most valuable?

The completeness of the solution is what we like the most.

What needs improvement?

It's difficult to set up initially, and their billing model is also a bit complicated. 

We have to predict in advance how much data we will have and what the storage would be that we don't have. This makes the licensing complicated because when you start you don't have these numbers.

In order to know how much it will cost, you need those numbers.

I really wish that it was an application that was easier to use.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Splunk for more than five years.

Buyer's Guide
Splunk Enterprise Security
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Splunk Enterprise Security. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not experienced any issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For our use cases, we have not required any scaling.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is fine. At times, they take time to respond back but it may have been the support contract that our client had.

I would assume that they are not as responsive as we want them to be.

How was the initial setup?

We have a team of approximately 100 people who are responsible for the development of mobile applications, DevOps, and application development.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing cost model is complicated.

I think that most of the monitoring solutions are expensive. I wish they were less expensive, for all types of products for monitoring.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We work with Splunk, but we are looking for some LOG Kinetics solutions for our clients.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely suggest sending people to analyze or evaluate Splunk.

Because the licensing model is very complicated to understand, it would be better to start with another product that provides a better licensing model. Later, if the product is not working well, they can consider using Splunk and may have a better understanding of the cost.

For me, I would not recommend Splunk as their first solution unless they have all of the data that is required.

I would rate Splunk a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Technical Project Manager at Altran
Real User
Enables us to pull up reports very easily, take action, and notify stakeholders
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very flexible. If you look from the cloud implementation it is there. Reports are made quickly. Unlike other tools, it caters to all kinds of technical information on the front very easily. There's no need to put in any technical information. You can pull on the reports very easily, take action, and notify stakeholders."
  • "It does not give us permission to implement on-premise so we implement them on the cloud."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was really as a client organization, like the government and the IT industries, we are in the telecoms sector. We analyze security reports. We use Splunk to order them and put them in a system and we use the various kinds of integration with Oracle Cloud which is helpful.

How has it helped my organization?

Every tool has a drawback. Some aspects of this solution are secure but getting clean data from the cloud takes time. Looking towards the future, I'm looking for a tool that is the most secure in the cloud environment. 

What is most valuable?

It's very flexible. If you look from the cloud implementation it is there. Reports are made quickly. Unlike other tools, it caters to all kinds of technical information on the front very easily. There's no need to put in any technical information. You can pull up the reports very easily, take action, and notify stakeholders.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see them develop integration with the help of a rack rest API. Which is an API that helps to secure communication with oracle cloud and pull down records from there.

This integration is currently missing in current version of splunk. I'm looking forward to see this feature getting implemented  in next version of Splunk and so that organizations can get benefit of this  feature in future.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability is very good. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. It's scalable enough. You can play around with this tool. Scalability is one of the main criteria we look for when considering solutions. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup depends on the organization. It is very simple here. You can easily install all of the businesses in the company network. Previously, it was suggested that this solution is not flexible enough. It does not give us permission to implement on-premise so we implement them on the cloud. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at HP ArcSight and two other solutions. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. I rated it a nine because every tool will have its drawbacks but ultimately it's a very good tool in comparison to HP ArcSight. If we can add on a scalability feature it would significantly improve the solution. 

I would advise someone considering this solution to use it at least for a year to get a hands-on and technical understanding because it's a good product. Then decide whether or not to move forward with Splunk - but I would advise to stick with Splunk. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Splunk Enterprise Security
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Splunk Enterprise Security. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
DevOps Engineer at Amplify Education, Inc.
Real User
It is easy for our developers to use if they want to search their logs. Something should be built into the product that if you're close to your license, then it shuts things down.
Pros and Cons
  • "Its usability is the best part. It is easy for our developers to use if they want to search their logs, etc."
  • "A problem that we had recently had was we licensed it based on how much data you upload to them every day. Something changed in one our applications, and it started generating three to four times as many logs and. So now, we are trying to assemble something with parts of the Splunk API to warn ourselves, then turn it off and throttle it back more. However it would be better if they had something systematically built into the product that if you're getting close to your license, then to shut things down."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for application log monitoring.

It is a logging product. Our application generates log files, then we upload them to Splunk. We run their agent on our EC2 instances in AWS, then we view the logs through their product, and it is all stored on their infrastructure.

How has it helped my organization?

We have used the alerts for a lot of things. They gave us the ability to kind of make an alert simply. So, we did one for SQL injection. We also had some services which were problematic that would fail, but we figured out what log line that we could look for, so it was easy to make an alert for that.

What is most valuable?

Its usability is the best part. It is easy for our developers to use if they want to search their logs, etc.

What needs improvement?

A problem that we had recently had was we licensed it based on how much data you upload to them every day. Something changed in one our applications, and it started generating three to four times as many logs and. So now, we are trying to assemble something with parts of the Splunk API to warn ourselves, then turn it off and throttle it back more. However it would be better if they had something systematically built into the product that if you're getting close to your license, then to shut things down. This sort of thing would help out a lot. It would help them out too, because then they wouldn't be hollering at us for going over our license.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability has been great. I don't think we have ever had an outage from it.

We don't do a lot of searching. If there is somewhere with problems, it will probably have to be with a lot of searches, and we don't have that. We don't have many developers searching every day. It is mostly when there is a problem, then we use it for diagnostics. So, we don't put a large search load on it. However, the reliability of it has been great. It hasn't been down for us at any point.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It seems to have worked out great. We haven't had any problems yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

I haven't used the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before Splunk, we used Kibana and Elasticsearch. Sometimes, with them, logs wouldn't even be there. We have received an infinite time reduction there. We couldn't use what we had before, so Splunk being there and working does a lot.

How was the initial setup?

The integration and configuration with the AWS environment was easy. They had the documentation. All we had to do was get their agent running on our EC2 instance, and their documentation was good for that. It worked, which was great.

The product is also integrated with PagerDuty, Slack, and AWS. Those integrations are good and seamless.

What was our ROI?

It has made life easier for us through use, then by troubleshooting problems. It reduces the cost of the intangibles.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing seems good relative to the other vendors that we have had here. However, they need to find ways to be more flexible with the licensing and be able to deal with situations where we start generating more logs. Maybe having some controls in the Splunk interface to turn it off, so we don't have to change anything in our application.

We have an existing contract with Splunk, so it makes sense to stay with them for now. Our license is for a 100 GB/logs a day.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are a lot of vendors in the space at the conference this year. Therefore, we probably talked to six or seven different ones, and the market seems to be consolidating. The market's metrics and log monitoring all seem to be rolling up into a single provider. It looks like that is what will be happening in the next few years.

Right now, there are a ton of different smaller providers doing little pieces of this and that. All the big players, like Splunk, New Relic, and Datadog, seem to be rolling them all up into one offering. 

What other advice do I have?

Implement something and watch how much data you are sending to it, then have some way to shut it off without redeploying your app in case things get hairy.

We use the cloud version of the product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
AKHIL Kumar Guttapalli - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Sales Specialist(Asst.Manager) at Redington India Limited
Real User
Knowledgeable support, reliable, and useful reports
Pros and Cons
  • "Splunk is stable, and this is why many customers want it."

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature of Splunk is security information and event management(SIEM). Additionally, the solution is easy to use, has useful reports, and good interface.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used Splunk within the past 12 months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Splunk is stable, and this is why many customers want it.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of Splunk is good. Customers can purchase 100 GB now and if they wanted more, they can immediately add an additional 100. The customer will have to only pay for additional licenses.

    How are customer service and support?

    I hear that customers usually have support on time from the Splunk team. Generally, they are satisfied with the response they receive from Splunk.

    How was the initial setup?

    The total time of the implementation depends upon the customer's requirement. The factors that affect the implementation time are the type of use case, the environment of deployment, one location or multiple locations, number of devices, and applications. The requirements play a large role in the time it might take for implementation. You cannot simply explain in one week or one month.

    What about the implementation team?

    There are two to three people required for the implementation of Splunk.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price of this solution is expensive. However, it has great features. If you want a great solution you need to pay a price matching the features.

    What other advice do I have?

    If this solution matches the needs of your use case then I would give it a try.

    I rate Splunk a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    CHRO at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    MSP
    Can be easily scaled and integrated with other solutions, but underscores in comparison with QRadar
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is stable and reliable."
    • "The solution should also have more advanced capabilities in comparison with QRadar, which offers Watson."

    What is our primary use case?

    As there is no SIEM solution here at present, we are building it up through the assistance of a vendor. In the past I worked in the Splunk Cloud, which was seven-point something. With QRadar I worked on version 7.3. 

    We use Splunk Cloud as a SIEM solution and to monitor traffic and the network for detection purposes. We can create use cases so that if the solution picks up on anything entering our organization, the malicious IP can be blocked. 

    In respect of ones which are suspicious, based on the logs we pull from the data source, we can build the use cases accordingly and have our analysts work on these. 

    What needs improvement?

    In the several years I have worked with the solution, I have felt there to be a need for practice of queries and understanding. As with other areas needing practice, the more one learns and practices, the easier things become. 

    While this is not terribly difficult, it is so when compared with QRadar. This holds true when we don't know the queries at all. Other than this, it is a great tool. 

    The solution should also have more advanced capabilities in comparison with QRadar, which offers Watson. The product should have add-ons. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable and reliable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is easy to scale, to add on and to integrate with other solutions. I am familiar with app integrations. Many solutions can be integrated with Splunk Cloud, such as CrowdStrike or Symantec. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The solution's response time is not that fast. The experience of some of my peers is that the vendors have actively offered help. By contrast, when I tried Splunk Cloud's technical support I did not receive a response. 

    How was the initial setup?

    We have not yet undertaken deployment. For the moment, we are on the EPS and discussing the proposed structure with the vendors. Our team is conducting talks with the vendors of QRadar. 

    We are exploring multiple avenues in search of a one-SIEM solution. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I am not in a position to comment on the pricing. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    By comparison, I feel QRadar to be better than Splunk Cloud, since it comes with Watson. 

    Another advantage is that QRadar works like a threat intelligence tool. It, also, does not require queries, which Splunk Cloud does. It is important that we have an understanding of the queries for the purpose of pulling the logs which we seek. I feel QRadar to be better than Splunk Cloud, as it does not require us to work on the queries. 

    I have worked on Splunk Cloud in the past, as well as on QRadar. As there is no SIEM solution in my current organization, we have plans to build it up. This is an ongoing process. I have suggested QRadar to my team and others are considering Sentinel. 

    What other advice do I have?

    The solution is deployed on-cloud. 

    I would recommend the solution to others since there are a couple of companies with many clients that are looking for Splunk Cloud, with which they are familiar. We must consider client demands when it comes to attracting projects. 

    Even in India, most of the companies employ Splunk Cloud as the most prevalently used SIEM solution. Then comes QRadar, which is easier. So too, Splunk is less cost-effective than QRadar, although it is more in demand. There are a couple of companies with call centers that request Splunk Cloud. 

    I rate Splunk Cloud as a seven out of ten. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1463439 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Informatica Administrator at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    The logging features are useful as are the dashboards and alerts
    Pros and Cons
    • "Splunk is a user-friendly solution."
    • "In terms of the interface, it could include some improvements for the look and feel."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Splunk on-premise. We mostly use it for log analysis and fraud detection. We are also testing using it in machine learning and other solutions. We have 10 people managing Splunk and we have approximately 150 people using the product in total.

    How has it helped my organization?

    With Splunk, we got more insights out of our data as it includes machine and secure data. It also has a logging attendance system and this helps to protect our resources from any  attackers hacking system information at a granular level

    What is most valuable?

    The logging features are useful as are the dashboards and alerts in addition to the organization of data. It has options for creating dashboards and alerts. You can also create queries in the SQL language. Splunk is a user-friendly solution.

    What needs improvement?

    Index performance is a bit slow but this is partly due to the huge volumes of data for our industry within our environment This makes the index very large and inefficient in terms of performance. Performance could be improved to cater to this, however. We have also had problems with the compatibility between Splunk and other systems. We have previously been on 5.3 and migrated to 5.5. We are now planning to migrate to version 7.7. It has been difficult to find documentation about the compatibility with Linux. In terms of the interface, it could include some improvements for the look and feel.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Splunk for one year in our infrastructure environment.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The users access the native cloud solution. So we are taking advantage of the native cloud solution provided, and by using the gentle scaling approach this has helped stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We scaled up gradually from three processes up to five, and the performance is okay. So we used gentle scaling  but this also helped stability.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have used Splunk tech support often. If we have a critical issue such as server down or frequently occurring issues they are always reliable and provide us with solutions to our problems. Technical support for Splunk is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    Setup is complex. We tried to cluster five indexes. This helped us migrate our data into the Splunk environment. We are using 20 applications which make use of this indexed data. The actual deployment took us about two to three weeks because of some problems getting the data into the system.

    What about the implementation team?

    We worked with a Splunk consultant who shadowed us to help ensure we performed the process correctly. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Licencing occurs yearly. We now have a three-yearly support contract as of now.  Licensing is a yearly, one-time cost.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We considered a few alternative products because the logging was faster. In the end, we decided to go to Splunk.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would definitely recommend Splunk. We will review performance within two years of our three-year contract and then decide at that point what other aspects we need to consider. I would rate Splunk 8 out of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1454661 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Automation Specialist, Analytics at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Identifies data patterns and provides metrics and intelligence for business operations
    Pros and Cons
    • "Splunk can extract all kinds of data. There's no limitation on what kind of structured and unstructured data one needs to extract — it can access any kind of data, including machine-generated data."
    • "I'd say I am happy with the technical support, not elated. They provide great support, but sometimes they don't have the answers that I need."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use Splunk on-and-off — I started with in-house projects, then moved up to commercial projects. 

    What is most valuable?

    Splunk can extract all kinds of data. There's no limitation on what kind of structured and unstructured data one needs to extract — it can access any kind of data, including machine-generated data. 

    The ease of deploying the agent is great in Splunk. One can easily deploy the Universal Forwarder which can extract any amount of information and put it into an indexer. The flexibility of ingesting any kind of data is good with Splunk.

    In regards to action-oriented tasks, If an alert is triggered where I have to perform a certain action in the form of executing a Python script or invigorating a PowerShell script — this is easy to do with Splunk. 

    The Splunkbase is great. There are thousands of apps that are already available, I can install those apps with full-connectivity and use them to extract any form of data. The community in the Splunkbase is also really strong. 

    The ease of integration with third-party tools is great. In the Splunkbase, there are so many apps that are easy to integrate with. 

    The user interface is really good. There is a machine learning toolkit — I like it a lot. They have use cases in place so that people with little experience in machine learning can go through these examples of use cases and gain a better understanding. 

    What needs improvement?

    Sometimes we experience issues when formatting and configuring files; however, this is a very technical issue that's hard to explain.

    When extracting the data or structuring the data in the right format, sometimes it becomes challenging. It's up to the user to understand the regex commands. 

    Our customers often complain that the price of Splunk is too high.

    When Splunk is deployed on the cloud, there are certain considerations that cannot be met. Cloud-based configuration cannot be done by our Splunk admin team. It needs to be routed via a ticket. You don't have more control on the cloud from a configuration point of view, whereas, with on-premise, you are in control — you can define any configuration settings. 

    When you install on-premise, many types of configurations can be done but when Splunk is on the cloud, you're dependent on their specific configurations.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I started using Splunk in 2018.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is good. If you have the money, you can expand — it's volume-based, not instance-based. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I'd say I am happy with the technical support, not elated. They provide great support, but sometimes they don't have the answers that I need. I've only ever raised two big support issues, and both times they haven't been about to fully resolve the issue. In the end, I had to figure it out myself.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have one or two engineers that take care of all maintenance-related issues. It really depends on the scale of your project. One of our projects required a huge deployment — we needed a huge team to match. If it's a small deployment, then two people are enough.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Its cost model is dependent upon the amount of data used — how many GBs we extract in a day determines our price. The price is not dependent upon how many instances we installed in Splunk. I can install thousands of instances, but it will only charge me according to how many GBs I extract per day. 

    Overall, our customers complain that the price is too high.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would definitely recommend using Splunk. They have free learning models available. There are models available on their learning page where you can gain a better understanding of how to use Splunk. Within one month alone, you can at least understand how to operate Splunk, whereas, with other tools, it can take a lot of time to understand.

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Splunk a rating of nine. The only downside is the cost. Price is the only factor; sometimes, companies shy away from Splunk because of the price.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Principal Systems Engineer at Aricent
    Real User
    A complete solution that satisfies the needs of our clients, but it is complex to set up and use
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's the completeness of the solution that we like the most."
    • "Our two main complaints are about the difficulty of the initial setup and the licensing model."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a software development company and Splunk is one of the products that we have implemented for our clients. It is used for log analytics as well as the mobile SDK for checking the stability of mobile applications.

    What is most valuable?

    It's the completeness of the solution that we like the most. It has a solution for backend log analytics, but also one for mobile applications.

    What needs improvement?

    Our two main complaints are about the difficulty of the initial setup and the licensing model.

    The billing model is a little bit complicated because you have to predict in advance how much data you'll have and how much storage you'll need. When you start, you don't really have those numbers but to get the licensing, you need them. It is only at that point that you'll know how much the product is going to cost you.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Splunk for more than five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    There have been no issues in particular. What we are using has not been that heavy.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have not had any problems with respect to scalability.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Based on when we have been in contact with them, I think that technical support was fine.

    I'm not sure if they have different support models but I think it took a long time for them to respond. It may be a consequence of the support contract our client had with them.

    How was the initial setup?

    This is a complicated product to use and you need constant help to set it up. I really wish that it was easier to set up and use.

    What about the implementation team?

    We do not have any dedicated people who are working on Splunk, but we have a team of approximately 100 people that are responsible for the development of mobile applications, backend systems, DevOps, etc.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I think that most of the log analytics solutions are expensive and I'm not sure if it's worth it. However, I wish that they were less expensive. I am not talking about a single product but rather, all of the ones that are in the domain of log analytics.

    What other advice do I have?

    Splunk is a good product but I would definitely tell people to analyze their requirements to see if Splunk fits their use case, or not. The licensing model is very complicated, so if there is a product that has a better licensing model then it would probably be good to start with that. Then, later on, if the product is not working well enough, then they can switch to Splunk. At that point, they will have knowledge of the data they are using and will understand the costs that they might incur while using it. 

    The only way that I would suggest somebody use this as their first solution is if they already had all of the data that is required to get a cost estimate.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Splunk Enterprise Security Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: April 2025
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Splunk Enterprise Security Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.