What is our primary use case?
I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN in my company. Though it is a complex product, it is flexible and shares similarities with one of the products I have experience with, so in general, I feel it is a good solution. The tool is very easy and user-friendly to use.
In our company, we saw that clients who use VPNs require almost the same or common functionalities from any product. The use cases are more related to the location of the clients because Cisco is a vendor that serves mostly clients or customers in the USA. In the European market, our company uses more of Fortinet. Our company does many Cisco installations in the USA.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of the solution are not something that the VPN clients of my company simply experience. I appreciate that with Cisco, if you need some documentation, solution, or supply, there are many people who can provide some information.
What needs improvement?
From my perspective, Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance. The aforementioned area needs to be considered for improvement in the product. Previously, in our company, we used Trend Micro, and later, we switched to another solution. In our company, we changed many vendors in the last ten years. If you want to implement a solution, you need to follow the new implementation procedure, so from VIX to IM, there are many changes.
In general, the pricing of the product should improve, and it should be made easier to deploy.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with Cisco IOS SSL VPN.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
In terms of stability, the tool doesn't offer users enough reach.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is very good.
More than 1,000 people use the solution in my organization as it is a product meant for enterprises.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is very good. There are no issues with the technical support team. When you want help, you can contact the technical support team, and there are many support team members available to help you.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was complex because of the more granular nature of the process.
The time required to deploy the solution varies because the area involving the deployment of the firewall could be very easy and can be completed in an hour. If you deploy a firewall solution for a big company, maybe you can reach 6,000 rows of configuration, so time is needed. There are some configurations with just 1,000 rows. With Cisco, one may have to take care of just 100 rows of configuration.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises.
One manager and one engineer are required to take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product.
What about the implementation team?
I used a software extension for the product's deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services.
What other advice do I have?
Those who plan to use the solution should test it before implementing it in their environment. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.
I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.