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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.0%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AWS Direct Connect1.9%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.0%
Other95.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Offers secure high-bandwidth connectivity without internet-related risks
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The customer, from the customer side to AWS, receives an ethernet point-to-point connection, and that is it. The interface and everything along with the communication with AWS, the customer has to do by themselves to build the routes and everything. The connection speed that our clients are using ranges from 100 megabits up to 10 gigabits. The main concern is the port costs. Clients do not report technical problems, so it is mainly always an issue of money. The solution is nice, but sometimes they avoid it because the port costs are high. This is not a problem AWS has exclusively; Azure has the same costs, and these port costs are quite expensive. I would rate this review as an 8 out of 10.
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"AWS VPN is cost-effective and affordable; it has the security regulation with 3DES protocol, and they have the security protocol required to encrypt the information in the link."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"The feature I find most valuable is the management portal."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"The solution's technical support is very good."
"Cisco support has been very helpful."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"It helps us access networks from anywhere."
"The solution is quite transparent."
"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
 

Cons

"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"Sometimes the connection drops, and we don't like that. I'm not sure the reason, but sometimes it will take time to connect or it will disconnect fast."
"The solution does not give us options if the connectivity to one server is not available."
"They could provide the cloud-based as-a-service model with monthly rental payments."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should add a sensor that can authenticate with a fingerprint instead of having to type the username and password every time."
"The product's RPA tools need enhancement for simplified business process automation."
"The administration should be improved."
"The performance could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The product costs less."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"It is an expensive product."
"The platform is expensive."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
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893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
16%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high. It is primarily a budget issue because while the solution is effective, the port costs ...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
Our customers primarily use AWS Direct Connect for hybrid cloud solutions. They have parts of their equipment in their on-premise data center, while also using AWS infrastructure for backups, datab...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Direct Connect?
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The c...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.