ArcSight was enterprise SIEM for an on-premises era. ZonForge Sentinel is the cloud-native replacement — AI-powered investigation, no infrastructure, and first detection in hours instead of a year.
Here's what security teams consistently run into with ArcSight SIEM.
ArcSight requires dedicated hardware: ESM servers, SmartConnectors, and Logger appliances. Significant CapEx before the first alert fires.
ArcSight infrastructure, licensing, and professional services routinely exceed $1M/year for mid-size enterprises — among the most expensive SIEMs available.
ArcSight uses the Common Event Format (CEF) and requires custom connector development for many modern cloud sources — high engineering effort.
Full ArcSight enterprise deployments with custom parsers, content packages, and tuning typically require 12-18 months of professional services.
ArcSight was built for on-premises log collection. Cloud and SaaS log source support is limited and often requires custom SmartConnector development.
Operating ArcSight at scale requires ArcSight-certified administrators — a specialized skill set that commands premium salaries.
| Capability | ZonForge Sentinel | ArcSight SIEM |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Cloud SaaS (zero infrastructure) | On-premises hardware required |
| Deployment Time | Hours | 12–18 months |
| AI Alert Investigation | ✓ Every alert, <60s | ✗ Manual analyst required |
| Cloud Source Coverage | ✓ 40+ pre-built connectors | Limited (custom CEF parsers) |
| Annual Cost | From $299/month | $1M+/year (infra + license) |
| Query Language | None required | AQL expertise required |
| MSSP Multi-Tenant | ✓ Built-in | Complex setup |
| Active Development | ✓ Weekly updates | Limited (legacy product) |
ZonForge Sentinel deploys in hours and investigates threats AI-automatically. No hardware, no CEF parsers, no ArcSight engineers.