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SIEM TOOLS CompARISON №2

SIEM Comparison: AlienVault vs QRadar

For many businesses and enterprises, the SIEM solutions have already become essential software that provides advanced threat detection and security automation. Though this term was coined in early 2005, it hasn't lost its relevance today: the SIEM apps are now widely used to discover different types of external and internal threats, monitor the activities of users with high privileges, track server, and database resource access, provide compliance reporting, and many more.

Today, we'll make a detailed overview of two popular SIEM systems, AlienValut and QRadar, to help you discover the potential, major advantages, and possible drawbacks of each. Finally, this comparison will provide a better understanding of which software would be ideal to meet your expectations and how it can secure your business in particular.
Which solution is better?
Deployment & setup
According to the multiple reviews and testimonials, both AlienValut USM (from AT&T Cybersecurity) and IBM Security QRadar are pretty easy to use and administer. The installation of both SIEM solutions is straightforward and accessible for nearly any business, regardless of the scope they're developing in.

Nevertheless, some reviewers also claim that the AlienValut app can better fit the business requirements and provides much more customization options, feature updates, and roadmaps compared to its competitor.

Finally, if you're looking for an easy-to-use, intuitive SIEM solution you can effortlessly get on board, AlienValut will probably be a better option for your business. Despite the user-friendly dashboard, QRadar's learning curve is fairly steep and thus requires much more time and effort for its successful deployment.
Scalability and flexibility
Another aspect you can also consider when selecting the best SIEM platform for your business is the popularity of each software solution within your region. IBM QRadar has more customers in western Europe, the United States, Australia, and most countries of North America, while AlienVault OSSIM is widely used in Canada, Germany, and most Asian countries.

Regardless of different geographic distribution, both systems offer 3rd party integrations through the use of specific plugins, also known as device support modules, from their library.
Benefits and drawbacks
When choosing between several software solutions, you'll always go through the in-deep analysis of the advantages and downsides of each application. In the case of AlienValut's vs. QRadar SIEM options, this stage shouldn't be overlooked either.

Below we've covered the major pros and cons of both SIEM applications so you can better understand the potential of each and make the right choice for your enterprise.

Pros and Cons of AlienValut

Being mostly targeted at the mid-market segment, AlienValut occupies the leading position in widespread SIEM systems use today. It offers multiple platform editions (Essentials Standard and Premium) and excellent support service to better fit the end-client needs. Apart from the benefits mentioned above, this SIEM system features a functional Dashboard and Activity section, accurate asset monitoring, and informative alert details – all these features are continuously mentioned in nearly every customer review.

The probable drawback to consider before installing this solution is a comparatively slow process of implementation, which can impact the ROI. However, this is not a significant downside, as it mostly depends on the experience of your team, and if you have any troubles – professional customer support can provide the best assistance during the deployment and use stages.

Pros and Cons of QRadar

QRadar is one of the top-rated enterprise-wide solutions for SIEM that perfectly meets the expectations of small businesses. It provides the best assistance in customizing and building modular apps, accomplishing advanced use-cases, as well as identifying threats or vulnerabilities hiding in the system. QRadar is also pretty configurable and is widely known for the automatic tickets, intelligent grouping, and data presentation features.

However, getting to know this platform might be more challenging compared to AlienValut, especially for the users that are new to SIEM. Also, some users reported the insufficient technical support, onboarding of new log sources, and asset management areas as the most painful drawbacks of the QRadar platform.
AlienValut vs QRadar: Key Differences
Pricing
The last but not least important aspect you'll definitely want to know before hitting the "Download" button is the pricing policy of these SIEM software solutions. Not only will this provide you with a better understanding of how much each application costs, but it also helps to get an overall idea about the SIEM budget for your business.

In the aspect of pricing, both AlienValut and QRadar offer free trial apps. The starting price for QRadar is $800 per month. However, keep in mind that this platform is a modular product with multiple options per component, which means there might be more add-on purchases you'll face during the setup process. Thus, for big companies with complex operations, the price can go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars as the tool has lots of useful features that can significantly improve the cybersecurity of an organization.

On the contrary, the AlienValut's Essentials edition starts at a slightly higher price point – $1,075 per month of use, that's not much higher than QRadar's product. At the same time, the all-in-one virtual appliance for AlienValut USM starts at $2,595 per month, which is an affordable price set for many organizations with modest security budgets.
Summary
To sum up, above, we've uncovered the essential information about two SIEM solutions – AlienValut and QRadar, including their best features, pricing, ease of use, and many other aspects you should consider as a user. Now you can clearly evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of both apps and better understand which of those can greatly improve the security and better fit your business model. And, whatever choice you've made, as a result, we hope that you'll be more than pleased with the performance of the selected SIEM option.
Cyberlands.io Team