We compared Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
Users have mentioned the need for improved integration capabilities with third-party tools and additional customization options to better suit their specific requirements. Additionally, users have highlighted the importance of enhanced documentation and training resources to facilitate platform adoption and understanding. Some users have also suggested improvements to the user interface for a more intuitive and streamlined experience.
Features: Cisco DNA Center stands out with its unity of configuration, versatile analytics, enhanced security, AI and machine learning capabilities, VXLAN and SD-Access features, and wireless assurance. On the other hand, Cisco Prime shines with its comprehensive network management, efficient automation and fault detection tools, intuitive interface, robust security features, and effective performance monitoring.
Pricing and ROI: The setup costs for Cisco DNA Center are mentioned as straightforward and hassle-free, ensuring a smooth implementation process. Users appreciate the flexibility in licensing options. Cisco Prime also has a straightforward setup cost that does not require excessive time or resources. The licensing process for Cisco Prime is also commended as seamless and hassle-free., Cisco DNA Center provided a significant ROI by streamlining network management, improving operational efficiency, and optimizing network performance. Users praised its comprehensive monitoring and automation features. On the other hand, Cisco Prime demonstrated its value by improving network management capabilities, enhancing network visibility, and reducing downtime. Users appreciated its user-friendly interface and effective troubleshooting capabilities.
Room for Improvement: Cisco DNA Center users have requested a more intuitive and streamlined user interface, improved documentation and training resources, better integration capabilities with third-party tools, and customization options. Cisco Prime could also benefit from enhancements according to user feedback.
Deployment and customer support: The reviews for Cisco DNA Center suggests varying timeframes for deployment, setup, or implementation phases, with some users mentioning spending a week for both, while others spent three months on deployment and an additional week on setup. In contrast, the reviews for Cisco Prime show that some users spent three months on deployment, while others only required a week. The term "setup" is used alongside deployment, indicating they refer to the same period for some users. Understanding the context is important when evaluating the time required for each phase., Cisco DNA Center product has been highly praised for its customer service and support. Users appreciate the knowledgeable and responsive staff who quickly address queries. On the other hand, Cisco Prime's customer service has also received positive feedback, with users highlighting the promptness and helpfulness of the support team.
The summary above is based on 58 interviews we conducted recently with Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"The solution has the capability to scale."
"The product gives a consolidated view."
"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."
"The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
"We use Cisco Prime for network mapping and surveys."
"The technical support team is very good."
"The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."
"Cisco Prime allows us to manage all the wireless controllers and access points."
"The product's most valuable features are monitoring and configuration."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management."
"If an AP or any wireless device goes into critical mode, Cisco Prime sends an alert. That is the most helpful feature."
"It seems to be a little bit more centered toward wireless than wired. You've got more options you can do wirelessly than you can with the wired switches, but it works for what we need it to do. We would like to see a little bit more about the traffic, and we're looking at what's out there to see about that. We are looking at something that might give us a bit more insight into the actual traffic. If they had the full functionality on the wired side, as they do on the wireless side in terms of being able to view traffic and everything, it would be good."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."
"The network, data center, and SD-WAN are all being treated as different services, but I would like to have only one solution to manage all of them."
"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."
"The product needs to improve its stability."
"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"Cisco Prime could improve the notifications in the system. Having more details about what is happening would be useful, such as traffic numbers or who is connected. We can see them through the firewall controller, but it would be better if you can see them from one place."
"Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."
"The user interface of Cisco Prime could be more user-friendly and increase its performance."
"It should be able to monitor Palo Alto, Juniper, and Check Point products - not just Cisco solutions."
"The onboarding process could be improved and developed to enhance compatibility for non-Cisco devices."
Cisco DNA Center is ranked 1st in Network Management Applications with 37 reviews while Cisco Prime is ranked 2nd in Network Management Applications with 35 reviews. Cisco DNA Center is rated 7.8, while Cisco Prime is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Cisco DNA Center writes "Practical implementation of VXLAN is good and provides centralized control". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Prime writes "Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve". Cisco DNA Center is most compared with Aruba Airwave, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, Juniper Mist Wired Assurance, Huawei eSight and Fortinet FortiManager, whereas Cisco Prime is most compared with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, Aruba Airwave, Huawei eSight, Fortinet FortiManager and HPE Intelligent Management Center. See our Cisco DNA Center vs. Cisco Prime report.
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