Cisco Secure Access vs Netskope comparison

Cisco and Netskope are both solutions in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category. Cisco is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.3, while Netskope is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Cisco holds a 6.4% mindshare in CASB, compared to Netskope’s 14.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Netskope users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

Netskope and Cisco Secure Access compete in the security solutions category. Cisco Secure Access is often perceived as the stronger option due to its comprehensive features, making it a valuable investment.

Features: Netskope offers advanced threat protection, scalability, and granular policy control. Cisco Secure Access provides robust network access control, extensive integration capabilities, and a broad security framework.

Room for Improvement: Netskope could improve its reporting functionalities, simplify deployment processes, and address its learning curve. Cisco Secure Access requires simpler configuration, enhanced documentation, and ease of use improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Netskope features a streamlined deployment with responsive customer service but includes a learning curve. Cisco Secure Access requires deeper knowledge for setup but benefits from strong technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Netskope is recognized for its cost-effectiveness and good ROI though it might need initial adjustments. Cisco Secure Access, with a higher price, justifies costs through extensive security measures, appealing to businesses needing comprehensive protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Access vs. Netskope Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Netskope

January 2026

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 6.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope is 14.6%, up from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Netskope	14.6%
Cisco Secure Access	6.4%
iboss	2.5%
Other	76.5%

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851

Managing Director

Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment

I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.

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Kartik Amin

Network Operations Engineer at Astreya Partners, Inc.

Secure access has unified zero trust and web protection while AI assistance automates tasks

From a feature perspective, I have not experienced any issues, drawbacks, or shortcomings. However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high. My clients usually prefer cheaper options if possible. Mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access. Additionally, there is a steep learning curve, as it is very intensive. Someone with significant knowledge can work on it, but a new professional would have to spend considerable time to get accustomed to it. It is hard to find engineers who can work on it. Overall, we get what we pay for, as it is a pretty good feature and service. The pricing of Cisco's products and licensing is higher than competitors. If they could be more reasonable, that would help. The support offered for two years also has higher costs. Overall, the client's IT budget gets affected. It was challenging to learn because, as mentioned, it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.

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Aravind Vellingiri

Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services

User-friendly console integrates robust security features for seamless traffic management

Netskope serves as a single web console carrying out multiple functionalities: Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Web DLP, and firewall services. I can toggle between these features on a single platform, enhancing ease of use. In comparison, Zscaler requires multiple consoles for managing similar features. Having these functionalities integrated into one dashboard makes Netskope efficient and user-friendly.

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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

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

More iboss pros

"Cisco Secure Access provides application-level access, removes the dependency of VPN, and user authentications are continuously based on identity, device, and risk, which is an add-on there."

"I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten."

"Cisco Secure Access has had a positive impact on protecting our organization from threats such as phishing and ransomware."

"I find the zero trust approach helpful and beneficial in securing standard applications, which means you are accessing the applications directly instead of giving privilege to access the network itself."

"The features of Cisco Secure Access that I most prefer are easy management or manageability, and overall security."

"We have a dedicated account team, so we've got all the people we need to engage with if there's an issue."

"From my experience, Cisco Secure Access is very stable and has not crashed."

"The feature of Cisco Secure Access I appreciate the most is the DNS functionality."

More Cisco Secure Access pros

"Netskope is an efficient, reliable, and easy-to-manage solution."

"Amazing reporting and tracking mechanisms."

"In Azure, we have multiple subscriptions and with every subscription, we add some kind of instance ID. We can work with the instance ID so that we allow all of the instances containing nodules. Everything else, we block. This way, if you go to outlook.com and check your email, if you log in with your company account, the instance ID will show. The network will take action according to the instance ID and say, "You are using the enterprise email. I'll let you surf. I'll let you see your email." But when you try to log in with your own email address, like Hotmail or Gmail, the instance ID will be different. This way we are not completely blocking Outlook, but we are blocking people from accessing their Outlook. We are only allowing the enterprise-level emails, and we are not allowing user-based emails."

"Netskope's control is user-friendly and comprehensible. It also helps in conveying information effectively as a company, making it crucial for customer satisfaction."

"The cloud enablement feature helps eliminate on-premises infrastructure by adopting Netskope."

"We use Cisco VPN for remote access. Additionally, we have started implementing Netskope with a strong focus on security. Our primary goal is to protect users from accessing malicious sites. We also plan to implement DLP based on our data, as data security is our main concern."

"They are very good at CASB as compared to other players."

"The solution provides information about third-party applications registered to our corporate email address and alerts us when users enroll in other applications using their work email."

More Netskope pros

Cons

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

More iboss cons

"Cisco Secure Access can be improved with more integration; the more integrations, the better. There are always third-party products that you might have, such as Carbon Black."

"We don't have any good tools right now, which is a problem."

"The main issue with pricing is that it is higher compared to other competitors, making it challenging to work with customers unless they specifically request Cisco."

"However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high, and mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access."

"Cisco Secure Access can be improved with more integration; the more integrations, the better. There are always third-party products that you might have, such as Carbon Black."

"TAC engineers just exit the call once their shift timing ends."

"The licensing is confusing."

"From a licensing perspective, Cisco can improve."

More Cisco Secure Access cons

"Deployment and policy tweaking were two areas where improvement needs to be made."

"There could be room for improvement in the subscription process."

"I deduced two points: one for their feature modification and one for the feature maturity of the solution."

"In terms of improvements, enhancing support, particularly for OEM support with quicker response times would be beneficial."

"Support services could definitely be improved. Support is the one area that can always use improvement. It's an evolving thing, so based on demand and based on market requirement and the way market is moving towards."

"Technical support and the user interface could be improved."

"It needed some fine-tuning on core business sites that we used, which were sensitive to what we term a man-in-the-middle certificate by design. Some sites were not tolerant because they presented as potentially malicious. So, we just had to make some tweaks so that it would bypass or interpret it."

"Compatibility with other proxy polars would be helpful."

More Netskope cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, 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."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco Secure Access have been very competitive compared to other platforms. I believe that if Cisco continues to improve costs or offers something similar to a Cisco credit, it would attract more customers."

"For what you get, it's a fair price in comparison to other products."

"It is confusing. When you look at the prices, you have different licensing and years of licensing that you have to purchase. Additionally, it's unclear what service you get from those licenses regarding end-user support. We have a representative who has to walk me through it every time."

"Netskope's pricing is reasonable compared to Microsoft."

"They should work on licensing costs."

"The pricing is very flexible."

"I would rate the pricing nine out of ten."

"Licensing fees are paid annually."

"I wasn't involved in the initial discussions about its cost. However, within the next year, by around June, I'll need to review the vendors' quotes. Typically, our procurement team handles the process by issuing an RFP to vendors to get quotes. From there, we evaluate based on pricing and may conduct a proof of concept to assess value."

"The product's price is average."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

More Netskope pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	25

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?

Cisco Secure Access regularly requires patches that need to be installed. During downtime or after hours, patches nee...

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What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?

I use Cisco Secure Access for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), which provides me with secure identity-based access ...

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What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?

Multi-organization might be a feature on Cisco Secure Access, but my clients are private companies that haven't merge...

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Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?

We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Netskope CASB?

The product's analytics part is pretty fine.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netskope CASB?

The pricing is reasonable compared to other products.

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 38% of the time

FortiSASE vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 7% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 7% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Secure Access Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Netskope

Compared 20% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Netskope

Compared 17% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope

Compared 8% of the time

FortiSASE vs Netskope

Compared 6% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Netskope

Compared 3% of the time

More Netskope Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access

January 2026

Download Cisco Secure Access product report

Buyer's Guide

Netskope

January 2026

Download Netskope product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Netskope CASB

Overview

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?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

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.

iboss

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.

Cisco

Netscope is a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform that includes core products such as Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and Security Service Edge (SSE).

Netskope CASB is a cloud access security broker tool that allows you to adopt cloud applications and services without sacrificing security. The solution makes it possible to manage the movement of sensitive data between cloud app instances and in the context of app risk and user risk. With Netskope’s industry-leading cloud security solution, you can also prevent sensitive data from being exfiltrated from your environment by risky insiders or malicious cybercriminals who have breached your perimeter.

Netskope CASB Features

Netskope CASB has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Cloud app risk scoring: With this feature you can automatically audit your traffic to discover your overall risk profile.

Advanced data loss protection: The solution’s data loss protection capabilities provide contextual awareness of content being used in the cloud and include machine learning enhancements to simplify, expedite, and accurately scan and classify data.

Granular visibility and control: The Netskope CASB solution gives you inline visibility for thousands of apps (managed and unmanaged) in use, including users, file names, activity, and other contextual information.

Real-time enforcement: Netskope CASB offers real-time enforcement of security policies to prevent data loss and stop threats.

Streamlined operations: Because of its streamlined operations, you can identify, mitigate, and remediate insider threats, compromised accounts, and privileged user threats across web and cloud applications within a single centralized administrative console.

Global scale and performance: The solution runs on NewEdge, a carrier-class global network, to provide maximum performance and efficacy worldwide.

Netskope CASB Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Netskope CASB. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Granular control of personal devices: With Netskope CASB, you can enforce granular control of unmanaged devices that have single-sign-on (SSO) access to managed cloud services, like Box and Microsoft 365.

Data protection: The solution has a single pane of glass and a policy interface that is easy to use to create security policies across cloud services, apps, and digital assets.

Find cloud services in use and assess risk: Netskope CASB can help you discover 50,000+ cloud apps and also provides risk-ratings for cloud apps so you can devise appropriate security policies.

Data exfiltration prevention: By using this solution, you can prevent users on corporate cloud services who download sensitive data from uploading that data to unmanaged or personal cloud apps.

Protection against cloud threats: Netskope CASB enables you to stop malware and advanced threats from infected users spreading through your organization. The solution directly blocks malware, whether it’s delivered from collaboration tools or downloaded from a cloud storage service to a sync client.

Reviews from Real Users

Netskope CASB is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it offers great reporting, has a good tracking mechanism, and has a solid Cloud Control feature.

Prerna S., Senior Information Security Analyst II at Workato, says, “[Netskope] CASB has a lot of good features; their reporting and tracking mechanism is amazing.”

PeerSpot reviewer Dima Z., Director at Irangers International Inc., mentions, “The most useful feature of this solution is Cloud Control, which allows me to schedule cloud uploads.”

Syed H., Lead Cloud Security Practice at Vincacyber, states, "I have found the most useful features to be the Web Secure Gateway, CASB, infrastructural service scanning, and Zero Trust."

Netskope

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Google 5. Apple 6. Cisco Systems 7. Oracle 8. Intel 9. HP Inc. 10. Dell Technologies 11. Verizon Communications 12. AT&T 13. Comcast 14. T-Mobile 15. Sprint 16. Vodafone 17. Orange 18. BT Group 19. Deutsche Telekom 20. Telefonica 21. Nokia 22. Ericsson 23. Samsung Electronics 24. Sony 25. Panasonic 26. LG Electronics 27. Siemens 28. General Electric 29. Ford Motor Company 30. General Motors 31. Toyota Motor Corporation 32. Volkswagen Group

NetApp, Genomic Health, Caterpillar, Apollo, Pandora, Continental Resources, Fractal, infinera, Tesla

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Netskope

January 2026

Free Report: Cisco Secure Access vs. Netskope

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