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  1. Home
  2. /
  3. SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
Logo of SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

bySolarWinds
in
4.2
Market Presence: Security Information and Event Management, Removable Media Security

Overview

Product Information on SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

Updated 13th October 2025

What is SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)?

SolarWinds Security Event Manager is a software designed to assist organizations with security information and event management by collecting, analyzing, and correlating log data from various sources within an IT infrastructure. The software provides real-time monitoring and automated responses to security incidents, helping detect suspicious activity and enforce compliance requirements. It features centralized log collection, event correlation, and customizable alerting to streamline the identification of threats. The software enables organizations to respond to potential security breaches by automating workflows and providing comprehensive reporting. SolarWinds Security Event Manager supports auditing processes and assists with maintaining regulatory compliance across networks, servers, and applications, addressing the need for visibility and control over IT security events.

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Pricing

SolarWinds Security Event Manager software uses a subscription-based pricing model, with costs varying based on the number of log sources and the length of license term selected. The software offers tiered packages that typically include annual licenses, support, and updates, with pricing adjusted depending on deployment scale and feature requirements.

Overall experience with SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)

SENIOR CYBERSECURITY ENGINEER
1B - 3B USD, Transportation
FAVORABLE

“Core SIEM Features Accessible for Small Teams, Advanced Search Capabilities Limited”

4.0
Sep 20, 2025
We needed a SIEM in our smaller subsidiary to meet compliance requirements and get real-time visibility into our environment, but we simply did not have the budget or the dedicated personnel for an enterprise-level SIEM. SolarWinds SEM has been the perfect fit for us. It delivers the core functionality we need in a package that is both affordable and manageable for a small team. It does the fundamentals of log collection, correlation, and alerting very well, providing a level of security insight we were previously blind to.
MANAGEMENT
1B - 3B USD, Media
CRITICAL

“Comprehensive Log Handling and Alerts Hindered by Difficult Setup and Outdated UI”

3.0
Dec 10, 2025
Strong log management & alerts, setup is complex, and UI feels outdated for large scale monitoring

About Company

Company Description

Updated 25th July 2024

SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI) provides simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software built to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Our solutions provide organizations worldwide—regardless of type, size, or complexity—with a comprehensive and unified view of today’s modern, distributed, and hybrid environments. We continuously engage with IT service and operations professionals, DevOps and SecOps professionals, and database administrators (DBAs) to understand the challenges they face in maintaining high-performing and highly available hybrid IT infrastructures, applications, and environments. The insights we gain from them, in places like our THWACK community, help us to address customers’ needs in solutions for observability, IT service management, application performance, and database management now and in the future.

Company Details

Updated 26th February 2025
Company type
Public
Year Founded
1999
Head office location
Austin, United States
Number of employees
1001 - 5000
Annual Revenue
500M-1B USD
Website
http://www.solarwinds.com

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Key Insights

A Snapshot of What Matters - Based on Validated User Reviews

User Sentiment About SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
Reviewer Insights for: SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM)
Deciding Factors: SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Vs. Market Average
Performance of SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Across Market Features

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Likes & Dislikes

Like

The best part about SEM is its fantastic value proposition. For a very reasonable price, you get a full-featured SIEM that is relatively straightforward to deploy as a virtual appliance. We were collecting and correlating logs from our critical Windows servers, firewalls, and network devices within a couple of days, not weeks. I'm also a big fan of the pre-built correlation rules and compliance reports. For a team like ours without dedicated security analysts, having those out-of-the-box templates for things like PCI DSS or GDPR is a huge time-saver and provides immediate value.

Like

1. Powerful Log Collection & Correlation 2. Real-time Alerts & Automated Responses 3. Prebuilt Compliance & Security Reporting

Like

One of the outstanding features is real-time event correlation and alerting. Suspicious activity is detected instantly. The built-in compliance reporting is a real time saver during audits. Collection of logs is done via agents so events from remote systems outside your network are covered.

Dislike

While it's great for the price, you can see where the trade-offs were made. The user interface, while functional, feels a bit dated and can be sluggish at times, especially when running broad queries over a long period. The search capabilities are adequate for responding to alerts and running canned reports, but they lack the power and flexibility of the more expensive SIEMs when you need to perform a deep, unstructured threat hunt. It's more of a guided experience, which is good for daily tasks but can feel restrictive during a complex investigation.

Dislike

1. Complex & Time Consuming Setup 2. High Resource Consumption 3. Limited Advanced Analytics 4. Slow Search & Report Generation

Dislike

Scalability is a serious issue, as log volume increases performance drops. It is possible to create custom rules and filters but it requires some scripting experience. Integration with third party tools could be better, now you almost always need to deploy another agent.

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Peer Discussions

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) Reviews and Ratings

Showing data for 308 ratings and reviews for Security Information and Event Management market. View all 318 ratings and reviews across markets for a complete picture.

4.2

(308 Ratings)

Rating Distribution

5 Star
40%
4 Star
44%
3 Star
14%
2 Star
3%
1 Star
0%
Why ratings and reviews count differ?

Customer Experience

Evaluation & Contracting

4.3

Integration & Deployment

4.3

Service & Support

4.4

Product Capabilities

4.3

Filter Reviews
Sort By:
Most helpful
Last 12 Months
Star Rating
Reviewer Type
Reviewer's Company Size
Reviewer's Industry
Reviewer's Region
Reviewer's Job Function
  • SENIOR CYBERSECURITY ENGINEER
    1B-10B USD
    Transportation
    Review Source

    Core SIEM Features Accessible for Small Teams, Advanced Search Capabilities Limited

    4.0
    Sep 20, 2025
    We needed a SIEM in our smaller subsidiary to meet compliance requirements and get real-time visibility into our environment, but we simply did not have the budget or the dedicated personnel for an enterprise-level SIEM. SolarWinds SEM has been the perfect fit for us. It delivers the core functionality we need in a package that is both affordable and manageable for a small team. It does the fundamentals of log collection, correlation, and alerting very well, providing a level of security insight we were previously blind to.
  • IT-INFRASTRUCTURE
    1B-10B USD
    Hardware
    Review Source

    Compliance Features Streamline Audits While Performance Declines With Log Volume Growth

    4.0
    Sep 5, 2025
    It is a very reliable and complete solution for mid sized organizations. Deployment is quick and easy and with the built in reports and filters you can get a good overview in a matter of hours.
  • BUSINESS SALES ENGINEER
    <50M USD
    IT Services
    Review Source

    Powerful security monitoring and log management tool with a steep learning curve

    5.0
    Nov 5, 2025
    My overall experience with SolarWinds Event Manager has been positive. it provides powerful log management, real time threat detection and automated responses that helps improve security visibility and compliance, the the interface is intuitive once familiarized and the reporting tools are very effective
  • Director Of Product Management
    10B+ USD
    Software
    Review Source

    Enterprise-Grade Threat Detection Engine with Proven ROI

    5.0
    Feb 5, 2026
    SolarWindws SEM delivers robust event detection for us, with intuitive dashboards and seamless integration into security workflows
  • TECHNICAL SUPPORT
    50M-1B USD
    IT Services
    Review Source

    Real-Time Threat Detection and Centralized Log Management Capabilities Examined

    5.0
    Dec 22, 2025
    Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is a security information and event management tool used at organizations to collect, analyze, and correlate and respond to security events and log data in real time.
...
Showing Result 1-5 of 312

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Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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