Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs ServiceNow Security Operations comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR and ServiceNow Security Operations based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs. ServiceNow Security Operations Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The automation rules and playbooks are the most useful that I've seen. A number of other places segregate the automation and playbook as separate tools, whereas Microsoft is a SIEM and SOAR tool in one.""Native integration with Microsoft security products or other Microsoft software is also crucial. For example, we can integrate Sentinel with Office 365 with one click. Other integrations aren't as easy. Sometimes, we have to do it manually.""The main benefit is the ease of integration.""The ability of all these solutions to work together natively is essential. We have an Azure subscription, including Log Analytics. This feature automatically acts as one of the security baselines and detects recommendations because it also integrates with Defender. We can pull the sysadmin logs from Azure. It's all seamless and native.""Microsoft Sentinel comes preloaded with templates for teaching and analytics rules.""It's pretty powerful and its performance is pretty good.""In Azure Sentinel, we have found, they do have a store in their capability. AI and intelligence features. We found that to be very helpful for us because some other things we do need to integrate again or find another vendor for the store""It is always correlating to IOCs for normal attacks, using Azure-related resources. For example, if any illegitimate IP starts unusual activity on our Azure firewall, then it automatically generates an alarm for us."

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"It was useful as a ticketing tool.""The repository of playbooks and the integration between Palo Alto and IBM QRadar are some useful features""What I like most about Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is how user-friendly it is for development. It is much simpler to work with compared to similar tools I've used.""The most valuable features of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR are its overall track record and features that fit our use case.""It’s easy to install.""Palo Alto is easy to use.""The most valuable features are simplicity and ease of integration.""It is quite scalable. I would rate it a ten out of ten."

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"The product has a very simple UI.""Reduces time to closure and closure metrics for vulnerabilities.""ServiceNow Security Operations also takes care of GRC, governance, risk and compliance, enabling it to provide risk assessment.""The ease of use is great.""My favorite feature is the application vulnerability scanner.""​Integration to other security tools allows for a consolidated view of all vulnerabilities, incidents, etc. for all sorts of leverage in a single platform to assess governance risk and compliance as well as an enhanced, enriched intelligence.​""It gives you the ability to bring data into the system. The workflows are out of the box, and it gives you the ability to auto-assign the incidents based on criteria and vulnerabilities.""It's stable."

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Cons
"The built-in SOAR is not really good out-of-the-box. The SOAR relies on logic apps and you almost need to have some kind of developer background to be able to make these logic apps. Most security people cannot develop anything...""The KQL query does not function effectively with Windows 11 machines, and in the majority of machine-based investigations, KQL queries are essential for organizing the data during investigations.""The playbook development environment is not as rich as it should be. There are multiple occasions when we face problems while creating the playbook.""They only classify alerts into three categories: high, medium, and low. So, from the user's point of view, having another critical category would be awesome.""At the network level, there is a limitation in integrating some of the switches or routers with Microsoft Sentinel. Currently, SPAN traffic monitoring is not available in Microsoft Sentinel. I have heard that it is available in Defender for Identity, which is a different product. It would be good if LAN traffic monitoring or SPAN traffic monitoring is available in Microsoft Sentinel. It would add a lot of value. It is available in some of the competitor products in the market.""The product can be improved by reducing the cost to use AI machine learning.""We have been working with multiple customers, and every time we onboard a customer, we are missing an essential feature that surprisingly doesn't exist in Sentinel. We searched the forums and knowledge bases but couldn't find a solution. When you onboard new customers, you need to enable the data connectors. That part is easy, but you must create rules from scratch for every associated connector. You click "next," "next," "next," and it requires five clicks for each analytical rule. Imagine we have a customer with 150 rules.""Sentinel should be improved with more connectors. At the moment, it only covers a few vendors. If I remember correctly, only 100 products are supported natively in Sentinel, although you can connect them with syslog. But Microsoft should increase the number of native connectors to get logs into Sentinel."

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"There is room for improvement in terms of the pricing model.""Corex XSOAR could be improved by reducing the time it takes to process large amounts of data and increasing the number of integrations.""The solution's technical support could be better.""Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR could improve the look, feel, and management of the cloud console. Additionally, the user could be more easily integrated.""Implementing this solution requires a lot of involvement from the vendor and it should be made easier for the partners.""The solution is very expensive.""We need a little hands-on experience to install the solution.""The solution requires DV but does not support open-source DV elastic searches."

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"​Process framework and best practices for ease of integration between IT and security teams via incident, problem, and change.​""We'd like customization to be easier in terms of the UI and using the dashboards.""There are limitations for the third-parties that are providing the inputs. They should increase the robustness of the solution.""It is challenging for the customers to understand the processes for SecOps. It needs to be simplified.""In future releases, I would like to add a follow-up and reminder feature. For the tickets in our queue, we could set reminders. This would help us prioritize older tickets before moving on to new ones.""An area for improvement I observed in ServiceNow Security Operations is the need to maintain correct CMDB data because if you're unable to do this, you can't perfectly maintain the vulnerability data. CMDB data in ServiceNow Security Operations needs to be accurate. As I've been working on ServiceNow Security Operations for only seven months, I still need more time to try all its modules before I can give recommendations regarding additional features I'd like to see in the solution.""It doesn't interact with things very well.""The product is called SecOps, but it is not security operations in terms of SIEM solutions."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It comes with a Microsoft subscription which the customer has, so they don't have to invest somewhere else."
  • "It is a consumption-based license model. bands at 100, 200, 400 GB per day etc. Azure Sentinel Pricing | Microsoft Azure"
  • "Good monthly operational cost model for the detection and response outcomes delivered, M365 logs don't count toward the limits which is a good benefit."
  • "I have had mixed feedback. At one point, I heard a client say that it sometimes seems more expensive. Most of the clients are on Office 365 or M365, and they are forced to take Azure SIEM because of the integration."
  • "It is kind of like a sliding scale. There are different tiers of pricing that go from $100 per day up to $3,500 per day. So, it just kind of depends on how much data is being stored. There can be additional costs to the standard license other than the additional data. It just kind of depends on what other services you're spinning up in Azure, or if you're using something like Azure log analytics."
  • "I am just paying for the log space with Azure Sentinel. It costs us about $2,000 a month. Most of the logs are free. We are only paying money for Azure Firewall logs because email logs or Azure AD logs are free to use for us."
  • "Sentinel is a bit expensive. If you can figure a way of configuring it to meet your needs, then you can find a way around the cost."
  • "Azure Sentinel is very costly, or at least it appears to be very costly. The costs vary based on your ingestion and your retention charges."
  • More Microsoft Sentinel Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "There is a perception that it is priced very high compared to other solutions."
  • "From the cost perspective, I have heard that its price is a bit high as compared to other similar products."
  • "There is a yearly license required for this solution and it is expensive."
  • "It is approx $10,000 or $20,000 per year for two user licenses."
  • "When I first looked at Demisto, it had a price tag of $250,000 but when we finally purchased it, it was $345,000."
  • "The price of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is expensive."
  • "The price of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is comparable to other solutions in the market."
  • "The solution is based on an annual licensing model that is expensive."
  • More Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "This product is a good value for the money."
  • "If you're going to implement it on your own, there would be internal costs. If you're going to implement it through a contractor or consultant, you have to pay for that."
  • "The solution is more expensive than BMC Remedy, the other ITSM tool available in the market."
  • More ServiceNow Security Operations Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Yes, Azure Sentinel is a SIEM on the Cloud. Multiple data sources can be uploaded and analyzed with Azure Sentinel and… more »
    Top Answer:It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for… more »
    Top Answer:We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel is… more »
    Top Answer:The most valuable feature is its capability to automate responses and collect information for any security event before… more »
    Top Answer:It's expensive, but the value it offers makes it worthwhile.
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement in support. The response time could be faster.
    Top Answer:The most valuable aspect of working with ServiceNow is its meaningful and feature-rich product.
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement in terms of developer support and documentation. While they offer some assistance, a more… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Azure Sentinel
    Demisto Enterprise, Cortex XSOAR, Demisto
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Sentinel is a scalable, cloud-native, security information event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automated response (SOAR) solution that lets you see and stop threats before they cause harm. Microsoft Sentinel delivers intelligent security analytics and threat intelligence across the enterprise, providing a single solution for alert detection, threat visibility, proactive hunting, and threat response. Eliminate security infrastructure setup and maintenance, and elastically scale to meet your security needs—while reducing IT costs. With Microsoft Sentinel, you can:

    - Collect data at cloud scale—across all users, devices, applications, and infrastructure, both on-premises and in multiple clouds

    - Detect previously uncovered threats and minimize false positives using analytics and unparalleled threat intelligence from Microsoft

    - Investigate threats with AI and hunt suspicious activities at scale, tapping into decades of cybersecurity work at Microsoft

    - Respond to incidents rapidly with built-in orchestration and automation of common tasks

    To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

    Palo Alto Networks delivers a complete solution that helps Tier-1 through Tier-3 analysts and SOC managers to optimize the entire incident life cycle while auto documenting and journaling all the evidence. More than 100+ integrations enable security orchestration workflows for incident management and other critical security operation tasks.

    Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is a piece of Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response software that redefines what it means for a program to orchestrate security in an automated manner. It is a next-generation solution that offers all of the features of dozens of siloed security operations center tools in one place. Cortex XSOAR combines case management, automation, real-time collaboration, and threat intelligence management to create a platform that can handle all aspects of system security. Teams that make use of Cortex XSOAR can expect to cut the number of issues that they will have to deal with by 75%. At the same time, the speed at which they resolve those issues that slip through will rise by 90%.

    Cortex XSOAR ensures that all of the IT and security tools that you employ function as a unified system. It does this by employing hundreds of integrations that allow you to run a wide variety of programs at once without ever worrying about them interfering with each other. These integrations are limited only by your imagination. They can be used immediately as they are, if that is what you need. However, they can also be customized according to the requirements of your system. This approach provides you with the maximum levels of both flexibility and utility.

    The model that this platform uses is based on a machine learning algorithm. The level of automation allows you to provide more than an unchanging and inflexible blanket of coverage. Cortex XSOAR takes all of the data that it gathers and uses it to expand its protective capabilities. This creates recommendations that you can use to create a threat playbook that can be deployed uniformly throughout your organization.


    Benefits of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR

    Some of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR’s benefits include:

    • The ability to have all of your data collected in a single location. Valuable time can be saved now that everything that security analysts need to know in order to diagnose and react to threats has been centralized.
    • Security operations center tasks can be automated. This allows you to assign management and analyst staff to the most essential tasks. The effectiveness of your organization will be increased, which will result in a rise in your company’s overall security and productivity.
    • Many kinds of data can be stitched together by this platform. Network, endpoint, cloud, and identity data can be combined to offer a more complete picture of the threats that are discovered.
    • Integrated threat intelligence management can notify you about threats in real time. Now you can diagnose and address issues as they arise. You can also assign values to the threats so that your resources are being used in the most effective manner possible.


    Reviews from Real Users

    Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR’s centralized monitoring interface and automation are two features that help it stand out. This might help explain why one quarter of the Fortune 500 companies choose Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR over the competition.

    Peerspot users note the effectiveness of these features. One user wrote, “We were looking for a single pane of glass type of solution that would allow us to physically be in one appliance - be able to work in concert with other servers that we have within our environment. We wanted orchestration and automation. The single pane of glass was the most important part.” Another noted, "The automation part and the playbook creation part are awesome. The way it is responding to the customers and incidents is also very good. In the SOC environment, I guess it will carry out around 50% of the work."

    ServiceNow Security Operations is a cutting-edge security solution designed to elevate organizations' security incident response (SIR) processes through automation and orchestration. Going beyond traditional SOAR, this comprehensive Security Operations Suite integrates seamlessly with other ServiceNow products and offers a wide array of features. Its components include Security Incident Response (SIR), which automates incident workflows and offers pre-built playbooks; Security Configuration Compliance (SCC), continuously scanning and automating compliance tasks; Vulnerability Response (VR), prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities; Threat Intelligence (TI), aggregating threat data for proactive threat hunting; and additional features like IT Service Management integration, Machine Learning and AI, reporting, and a mobile app. The benefits span improved incident response speed, reduced mean time to resolution, increased security posture, enhanced compliance, collaborative synergy between security and IT teams, and operational cost reductions. 

    Sample Customers
    Microsoft Sentinel is trusted by companies of all sizes including ABM, ASOS, Uniper, First West Credit Union, Avanade, and more.
    Cellcom Israel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, esri, Cylance, Flatiron Health, Veeva, ADT Cybersecurity
    DXC Technology, Freedom Security Alliance, Prime Therapeutics, Seton Hall University, York Risk Services
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm22%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm21%
    Government11%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Security Firm11%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company50%
    Financial Services Firm30%
    Analyst Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise47%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise60%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise45%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise66%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise53%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise9%
    Large Enterprise76%
    Buyer's Guide
    Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs. ServiceNow Security Operations
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs. ServiceNow Security Operations and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is ranked 2nd in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) with 39 reviews while ServiceNow Security Operations is ranked 7th in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) with 14 reviews. Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is rated 8.4, while ServiceNow Security Operations is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR writes "Enables the investigators to go through the review process a lot quicker". On the other hand, the top reviewer of ServiceNow Security Operations writes "Mature with nice UI and customizable workflows". Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is most compared with Cortex XSIAM, Splunk SOAR, Fortinet FortiSOAR, Swimlane and Tines, whereas ServiceNow Security Operations is most compared with Splunk SOAR, Fortinet FortiSOAR, Swimlane, IBM Resilient and Proofpoint Threat Response. See our Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs. ServiceNow Security Operations report.

    See our list of best Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) vendors.

    We monitor all Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.