Cisco Secure Access vs Prisma SD-WAN comparison

Cisco and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category. Cisco is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 3.7% mindshare in SASE, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

Prisma SD-WAN and Cisco Secure Access are prominent in network management and security. Prisma SD-WAN seems to have an advantage in pricing and simplicity, while Cisco Secure Access excels in comprehensive features and security.

Features: Prisma SD-WAN is praised for its intuitive setup, scalability, and user-friendly interface, which is particularly effective for businesses with changing network needs. Cisco Secure Access offers advanced security features, extensive integration capabilities, and a broad feature set, making it suitable for enterprises focused on robust security solutions.

Room for Improvement: Prisma SD-WAN could enhance its advanced security features, improve its threat protection, and expand reporting capabilities. Cisco Secure Access users suggest simplifying configurations, improving ease of use, and refining the management of complex network setups to enhance user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Prisma SD-WAN is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive support, beneficial for organizations with limited IT resources. Cisco Secure Access, while offering structured deployment models for complex networking, requires more initial setup effort but benefits from robust support mechanisms.

Pricing and ROI: Prisma SD-WAN is recognized for an accessible pricing structure, delivering favorable ROI to mid-sized businesses. Cisco Secure Access involves higher costs but offers substantial security and feature benefits, often seen as worth the investment by larger organizations prioritizing security and compliance.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Access vs. Prisma SD-WAN Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Prisma SD-WAN

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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.3%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 3.7%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma SD-WAN is 2.9%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Secure Access	3.7%
iboss	2.3%
Prisma SD-WAN	2.9%
Other	91.1%

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

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.

Read full review

Vasil Blagov

Manager, Network at Duracell International, Inc.

Easy management and security ensure reliable 24/7 connectivity

Zero Trust Network Access has helped my organization in securing standard applications because it's mandated to have it. It provides peace of mind knowing that we have that deployed in our network. Cisco Secure Access's ability to provide secure access via standard HTTP2, and optionally, QUIC protocol is good. It complies with the new standards. The impact of Cisco Secure Access on protecting my organization from phishing and ransomware threats has been good so far. We've been doing well with no threats.

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Engineerinfosec67

Presale Engineer at Westcon-Comstor

Centralized management streamlines global network traffic control

Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access. Although there has been improvement, further steps can be taken. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls, as they currently do not align.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

"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."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

More iboss pros

"It's pretty streamlined. Everything you need to find is in the GUI interface, and if you have any trouble, it's easy to navigate and get around."

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

"Any tool that provides telemetry through logging is a particularly good fit for us because we have to really automate our monitoring."

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

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

"I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten."

"Cisco Secure Access has benefited my organization by allowing people to connect 24/7, ensuring reliability."

"I use this solution for securing security controls like Secure Security Control (SSC) for local Internet breakouts."

More Cisco Secure Access pros

"I like that the integration with Palo Alto is easy."

"Prisma's analytics provide a lot of valuable data. I like the internet health chart that shows latency, dropped packets, MOS for data quality, etc. It also runs a continuous speed test in the background. I've used it multiple times to troubleshoot internet connections when the service provider has attempted to claim nothing is wrong with the circuit. It gives me data to send them showing we're not getting the speed we should, or there is constant packet loss."

"The AI ops feature streamlines revisions and automates compliance."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the visibility of the logs."

"Overall, I would rate Prisma SD-WAN an eight out of ten."

"The gateway is available on the cloud which allows you access from anywhere and still connects to your home gateway."

"The product provides efficient stability, security, and reliability features."

"The implementation of the solution is easy."

More Prisma SD-WAN 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."

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

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

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

"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

More iboss cons

"The licensing is confusing."

"I received support from the team for Cisco Secure Access related to web services. There were occasional delays of up to two working days."

"The way that we're using Cisco Secure Access today, it doesn't scale with the growing needs of our organization, however, if we leveraged more of the cloud services, it would fit better."

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

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

"From a licensing perspective, Cisco can improve."

"If the FTD devices themselves, the Firepower Threat Detection system, those are the firewalls themselves, the individual appliances, weren't so tightly coupled to FMC, I'd probably appreciate them as a product more."

"This is my first time in healthcare after being in commercial space for a long time. It's always a challenge because we can't just turn stuff off as we could in the commercial space, since it may interfere with patient care. It takes longer to understand what's going on, so anything that could help give us a faster understanding of what's happening, why it's there, and if it's a risk to us would be helpful."

More Cisco Secure Access cons

"The tool needs to work on price and complexity."

"The pricing model could be improved to make it more affordable for smaller companies."

"The setup isn't completely straightforward, but it's manageable when you have proper knowledge."

"It is widely known that Palo Alto is quite expensive. The licensing model is pretty expensive, which would be the only downside to Palo Alto, but regarding the features of the box, it does what it needs to do."

"I'd like to see them move more towards CASB."

"Prisma SD-WAN should provide more flexibility and scalability on the hardware."

"The pricing for Prisma SD-WAN needs improvement."

"Event correlation and analysis capabilities do not help minimize the number of alarms from a single event. That is the problem. We are getting a lot of incidents, and there is some issue with the correlation. That is still a drawback."

More Prisma SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Prisma SD-WAN is a pretty expensive solution."

"If you're already invested in a Palo Alto product, it would be logical to use this solution. If not, there might be some other solutions that are more viable in terms of pricing."

"This solution stood out because it cost considerably less than the other SD-WAN solutions out there from Cisco."

"It is more expensive than Fortinet."

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

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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

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Legal Firm

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	4
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	13

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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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma SD-WAN?

Regarding whether Prisma SD-WAN is an expensive solution, I would say the price is competitively high. Everything dep...

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What needs improvement with Prisma SD-WAN?

I am still working on what should be improved in Prisma SD-WAN to make this product better, and I cannot give any upd...

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What is your primary use case for Prisma SD-WAN?

Our customers' main use cases for Prisma SD-WAN are to connect multiple branches since they have numerous locations t...

See all answers

Comparisons

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

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 9% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 39% of the time

FortiSASE vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 8% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Secure Access Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 12% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 9% of the time

More Prisma SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access

January 2026

Download Cisco Secure Access product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma SD-WAN

January 2026

Download Prisma SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

CloudGenix

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

Simplify management, enable app-defined SD-WAN policies and deliver a secure, cloud-delivered branch today with the Industry’s first next-generation SD-WAN.

Palo Alto Networks

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

Open Networking User Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coca Cola

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Prisma SD-WAN

December 2025

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