AWS Direct Connect vs Ivanti Connect Secure comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Ivanti are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #13 with an average rating of 9.0, while Ivanti is ranked #8 with an average rating of 6.8. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.8% mindshare in EIV, compared to Ivanti’s 5.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 79% of Ivanti users who would recommend it.

AWS Direct Connect

Read 12 AWS Direct Connect reviews

1,022 Views
1,002 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Ivanti Connect Secure

Read 29 Ivanti Connect Secure reviews

3,875 Views
3,216 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

AWS Direct Connect

Ivanti Connect Secure

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Ivanti Connect Secure and AWS Direct Connect compete in the enterprise connectivity and security solutions category. AWS Direct Connect has the upper hand due to its robust feature set and reliable high-speed connectivity.

Features: Ivanti Connect Secure offers comprehensive security features, strong encryption, and seamless SSL VPN integration. AWS Direct Connect provides stable, high-performance network connections, direct integration with AWS services, and efficient handling of large-scale workloads.

Room for Improvement: Ivanti Connect Secure needs better scalability, improved integration with newer technologies, and enhancements in user interface design. AWS Direct Connect requires better cost transparency, a more straightforward setup process, and enhanced documentation for easier configuration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Ivanti Connect Secure is praised for its relatively easy deployment and responsive customer service. AWS Direct Connect has a steeper learning curve but benefits from AWS's extensive support infrastructure.

Pricing and ROI: Ivanti Connect Secure is cost-effective with lower initial setup costs and a good ROI. AWS Direct Connect, while more expensive, delivers high value through performance and reliability, particularly for large-scale operations.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Direct Connect vs. Ivanti Connect Secure Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Direct Connect vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

December 2025

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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

13th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Ivanti Connect Secure

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

8th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

SSL VPN (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.8%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 5.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Ivanti Connect Secure	5.4%
AWS Direct Connect	1.8%
Other	92.8%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871

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.

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Kaushlendra Singh

Manager - IT Infrastructure and Network at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Provides secure and simple remote access but needs improved reporting capabilities

Ivanti Connect Secure is simple and secure, making it valuable for our organization. Ivanti Connect Secure's access control feature provides global protect, which allows country-wise blocking. There are many access controls available, and policies can be created on a host basis and on the MAC address of assets that will connect. Firewall versions and OS versions can be defined, and only devices meeting these criteria can connect to the VPN. These features are effective, along with MFA. Ivanti Connect Secure is a client-based, agent-based solution, so if the agent is installed, users are able to connect to the network. Ivanti Connect Secure utilizes identity-based LDAP authentication. Ivanti Connect Secure is very effective for remote access for remote workers.

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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."

"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."

"It is a stable solution."

"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."

"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."

"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."

More AWS Direct Connect pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is remote access."

"This is a very secure and stable tool."

"Ivanti secures access to the corporate network from various devices and locations."

"It's quite stable."

"The most valuable feature of Pulse Connect Secure is its ease of use."

"It's a very convenient and user-friendly application."

"Ivanti Connect Secure provides the feature to check and ensure that employee devices are compliant before allowing them to access the VPN."

"This solution enables secure connections for our engineers to work from home or other locations."

More Ivanti Connect Secure pros

Cons

"The platform's stability needs improvement."

"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."

"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."

"One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high."

"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."

"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."

"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."

"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."

More AWS Direct Connect cons

"User experience and after-sales support could be better. For example, over the last couple of years, when this COVID scenario was going on, there were multiple attacks on these types of solutions. SQL has been attacked numerous times, and there were a lot of vulnerabilities, and our customers had to update and upgrade the devices every two weeks or every month. This was a headache. It could also be more scalable."

"From our side, there is an issue when Windows updates. The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."

"I don't have any downsides to report about the product at this time."

"We want to switch to another solution because there are some challenges with the support from Pulse. The quality of documentation is also not good. It is sometimes very hard to find documentation that provides a solution and describes how all this works."

"The user experience has room for improvement."

"The product could use additional dashboards."

"The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."

"Zero test FDP (Fraud Protection and Prevention) should be improved."

More Ivanti Connect Secure cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."

"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."

"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."

"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."

"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."

"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

12%

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?

AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?

We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?

I'm not an end user of any of those SAP products. I wanted to have a comparison between different solutions for process mining and process modeling, but I'm not an end user of any. I have Microsoft...

See all answers

What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?

From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?

Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?

The reporting capabilities of Ivanti Connect Secure are not strong; the format is simple, and obtaining a detailed report is difficult and requires manual work. Regarding points for improvement, th...

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiClient vs AWS Direct Connect

Compared 20% of the time

AWS PrivateLink vs AWS Direct Connect

Compared 18% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs AWS Direct Connect

Compared 17% of the time

SonicWall Connect Tunnel vs AWS Direct Connect

Compared 9% of the time

Tailscale vs AWS Direct Connect

Compared 5% of the time

More AWS Direct Connect Competitors

OpenVPN Access Server vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 14% of the time

Fortinet FortiClient vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 8% of the time

Ivanti Secure Access vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 8% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 6% of the time

More Ivanti Connect Secure Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

January 2026

Download AWS Direct Connect product report

Buyer's Guide

Ivanti Connect Secure

January 2026

Download Ivanti Connect Secure product report

Also Known As

No data available

Pulse Connect Secure

Overview

AWS Direct Connect offers low-latency, reliable connectivity with secure data transfers between on-premise infrastructures and AWS environments. It ensures high availability and cost-effectiveness for large data transfers, integrating seamlessly with existing systems.

AWS Direct Connect is recognized for its robust network and security, providing minimal latency and reliable connectivity. It seamlessly integrates with on-premise infrastructure, enabling secure and fast data transfers. Users benefit from its high availability and low maintenance, making it cost-effective for large data transfers. Multi-account environment support is a key feature. Despite a complex configuration process compared to cloud GUIs, it enhances security by avoiding public internet exposure. Room for improvement includes the setup of credentials and terminology, upgrade process, BGP configuration, multi-network connections, traffic visibility, stability, and throughput security. Expanding data center locations and cross-cloud connections can be advantageous. Promotion is necessary for awareness. Some report VPN connection issues while some are content with its performance.

What are the key features of AWS Direct Connect?

Secure Connectivity: Enhances security by avoiding public internet exposure
Low Latency: Provides minimal latency for fast data transfers
High Availability: Ensures continuous connectivity with low maintenance
Cost-Effective: Reduces costs for large data transfers and multi-account environments
Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with on-premise infrastructure

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Reliability: Sturdy and consistent connectivity minimizes downtime
Efficient Data Transfers: Cost reduction and efficiency for large data volumes
Security: Avoids exposure to the public internet, enhancing data protection
Resource Integration: Facilitates hybrid cloud environments by integrating on-premises and cloud resources

In industries like finance, healthcare, and media, AWS Direct Connect is implemented to ensure secure and efficient connectivity between on-premises data centers and AWS environments. It supports operations like database management and application deployment, facilitating data and application migration while enabling hybrid cloud connectivity.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Ivanti Connect Secure provides a seamless, cost-effective SSL VPN solution for remote and mobile users from any web-enabled device to corporate resources— anytime, anywhere.

Ivanti

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers

Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven

Buyer's Guide

AWS Direct Connect vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

December 2025

Free Report: AWS Direct Connect vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

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