


Cato SASE Cloud Platform and Cisco Secure Access are competitors in the network security and access control market. Users tend to favor Cato for its pricing and customer support, whereas Cisco is praised for its extensive features.
Features: Cato SASE Cloud Platform offers an integrated approach and comprehensive security features that facilitate a seamless cloud experience. Cisco Secure Access is noted for its sophisticated network security capabilities and adaptability across various environments. Users prefer Cisco for its broad feature range, while Cato is hailed for ease of integration.
Room for Improvement: Cato SASE Cloud Platform could enhance customization options and expand technical support. Cisco Secure Access should simplify management and reduce complexity in deployment. Feedback suggests opportunities for Cato to improve technical support and Cisco to streamline its configuration processes.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cato SASE Cloud Platform is known for rapid deployment and valuable customer service. Cisco Secure Access, though requiring a complex setup, is backed by reliable customer service. Cato is recognized for faster deployment, while Cisco is noted for comprehensive support despite the intricate setup.
Pricing and ROI: Cato SASE Cloud Platform is attractive for its cost-effectiveness and prompt ROI. Cisco Secure Access, although more expensive upfront, is seen as a worthwhile investment due to its enhanced features. Cato shines with competitive pricing, while Cisco's strength lies in perceived long-term value.
With iboss, whenever you turn on your laptop, the iboss agent automatically connects to the iboss cloud, enforcing all security policies. So with respect to the security side, it strengthens measures.
I have seen some cost effectiveness from iboss; it has reduced certain support requirements, making it a more hands-off solution.
At Amazon, we knew exactly how much it would cost if a fulfillment center was down for an hour.
The AI features further contribute by expediting threat detection and incident response, ensuring tangible returns through operational savings.
It is one of those tools that needs to work right out of the box, and thankfully, it does; it is reliable, and the setup time was quick and straightforward.
They are very fast, responsive, and knowledgeable.
The quality of the support is fantastic.
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
Their knowledge portal and Cato Academy portal are excellent resources.
Our customer service experience is excellent
I think the technical support by Cato SASE Cloud Platform is quite good.
Cisco TAC is very competent.
With our established point of contact within Cisco, our experience has greatly improved; we no longer log all issues through technical cases, as we can go directly to our account managers or customer service team, which expedites resolution.
This stems from their original business in networking, integrating router and switch operations, as well as security devices.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
If I start seeing sluggishness or anything like that, I just reach out to my rep, and they connect with their dev team, typically resolving it the same day.
As an MSSP, we find it scalable for end users across EPP platforms, network, and cloud sides.
We turn the traffic to the Cisco Secure Access cloud, and we can manage and apply the policies that are necessary, making it very easy to scale the solution.
I would rate scalability at eight to nine out of ten.
Cisco Secure Access scales with the growing needs of our company.
It's been pretty solid; I've never had an outage with them, and if I ever had, it's only been once out of the seven years.
We've experienced zero downtime.
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten on a scale of one to ten.
I find Cato SASE Cloud Platform overall stable.
Cisco is renowned for their reliability, and their products perform well under high data usage.
I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.
The solution is stable enough, and I did not experience any latency or performance issues.
It is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform.
We also had a problem with a transition when we upgraded from one appliance of theirs to another, but their engineer lost a good deal of our data.
Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc.
The platform lacks strong security features on the edge.
To improve Cato SASE Cloud Platform, I think they sometimes need more built-in features for security in larger networks when doing local authentication.
Modernization is needed, specifically in the enhancement of security features and functionality.
It was challenging to learn because it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
The granular access issue is coming from the product limitation at the moment, as it does not offer us the option to tell it that a particular role can only manage websites, allowed sites, and blocked sites.
It offers the same features you would get from a vendor that charges 250,000 British pounds for a fraction of the price.
The following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs.
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
I do not find it particularly expensive, but for some companies, they may not have the budget to be at that level of security for their networks.
The pricing is flexible due to our special partnership with Cato Networks.
The solution is cheaper than premium options such as Palo Alto, existing Cisco licenses facilitate replacing previous solutions with Cisco Secure Access smoothly and affordably.
It is good because you want to push Cisco Secure Access, and regarding the price, it is very much below other products.
Improvement on the pricing will help in expanding the market for Cisco Secure Access and then it can be affordable to much more number of companies than what it is right now.
The solution's mental health function can detect if someone needs help.
It's given us a lot more visibility into our computer assets that may be infected with viruses and also shows us people who have unusually large uploads or might be engaging in high-risk activities, such as searches or going to sites not categorized by their web crawler.
iboss was the best solution for us because, no matter what domain you were in, everything is under a single pane of glass, which is exactly what we wanted.
It is scalable for end users across network and cloud sides and saves operational costs.
The single-pass architecture has improved user experience with Cato SASE Cloud Platform as it provides security teams in companies a platform where they can easily obtain information if there are breaches or security issues.
It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.
They are sending the traffic encrypted and categorizing the traffic based on the type, whether web traffic or internet traffic, and doing the security mechanism that is needed for the traffic type.
Using ZTNA in Cisco Secure Access has positively affected my transition and my clients' transition to Zero Trust and least privilege principles, reinforcing the security posture.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Cato SASE Cloud Platform | 8.7% |
| Cisco Secure Access | 3.7% |
| iboss | 3.0% |
| Other | 84.6% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 6 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 15 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 11 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 12 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
| Large Enterprise | 27 |
Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.
Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.
What are the most important features of Iboss?The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.
Cato SASE Cloud Platform delivers a comprehensive approach to network security and connectivity, integrating SASE, CASB, and zero-trust network access for improved performance and scalability in diverse locations.
Cato SASE Cloud Platform offers robust security solutions, including a next-gen firewall and VPN support. It provides a unified management system that is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures. The platform's self-healing model ensures real-time threat mitigation, enhancing connectivity and performance even in challenging locations. Users appreciate the platform's scalability, integration capabilities, and significant cost savings. However, there is room for improvement in security, network integration, feature enhancement, and affordability to better support larger enterprises and improve user experience.
What are the essential features of Cato SASE Cloud Platform?Organizations in sectors like finance, telecommunications, and construction use Cato SASE Cloud Platform for enhanced network security and global connectivity. It effectively replaces MPLS with a cloud-native SD-WAN, integrates security measures for public clouds, and provides centralized management. Its implementation supports a zero-trust model, redundancy, and ISP integration, ensuring scalable remote access and improved security measures.
Cisco Secure Access is a comprehensive Security Service Edge (SSE) solution (a key component of a SASE solution) that addresses the complexities of securing a hybrid enterprise. Cloud-delivered and grounded in zero trust, it delivers a unique blend of user simplicity and IT efficiency for frictionless, secure access to all applications—SaaS (with gen AI), private apps, and the internet—regardless of user location or device. Secure Access protects users, data, and devices against relentless, sophisticated, and constantly evolving threats including AI-driven attacks and identity breaches.
Provides all core SSE components (ZTNA, SWG, CASB, and FWaaS) plus extended capabilities.
Includes VPN-as-a-Service (VPNaaS), data loss prevention (DLP), AI Assistant, visibility/control/guardrails for generative AI use, digital experience monitoring (DEM), reserved IP, remote browser isolation (RBI), DNS-layer security, flexible security enforcement (in cloud or on-premises), policy verification, and more.
Protects users as they seamlessly access resources and apps with no extra steps needed, regardless of protocol, port, or level of customization
Simplifies IT operations through a single client, single dashboard, single license, and unified policies.
Lowers risk with least privilege, granular controls backed with unmatched threat intelligence of Cisco Talos.
Eases interoperability with other products from Cisco and third-party vendors with common administrative controls, data structures, and policy management.
Robust integrations
Integrates with Cisco Identity Intelligence to protect against the startling increase in identity-based attacks.
Integrates with many SAML Identity Providers (IDPs) such as AD, Azure AD, Okta, Ping, etc.
Integrates with Cisco offerings including SD-WAN, Splunk, XDR, Thousand Eyes, third party technologies such as Menlo RBI, Chrome Enterprise Browser, and AppOmni for SSPM.
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