No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Secure Access vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.7
iboss offers significant ROI by saving bandwidth and enhancing security, despite increased costs from cloud migration and device pricing.
Sentiment score
5.1
Cisco Secure Access boosts financial gains via integration, AI-enhanced security, reduced costs, and streamlined management, enhancing overall efficiency.
Sentiment score
5.8
Zscaler Internet Access delivers cost savings, improved security, and productivity with ROI seen in as little as three months.
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.
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I have seen some cost effectiveness from iboss; it has reduced certain support requirements, making it a more hands-off solution.
Managing Director
At Amazon, we knew exactly how much it would cost if a fulfillment center was down for an hour.
Director, Network Services at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
The AI features further contribute by expediting threat detection and incident response, ensuring tangible returns through operational savings.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
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.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
Reduced risk from web-based threats.
Soc Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The managed service aspect of Zscaler Internet Access has allowed for reduced staffing costs, resulting in a saving of approximately 20-25% compared to prior expenses.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
Iboss support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, with some concerns about communication but generally favorable reviews.
Sentiment score
7.0
Cisco Secure Access support is praised for responsiveness and competence, though some seek improved first-level support and simplified ticketing.
Sentiment score
6.6
Zscaler Internet Access users rate support highly for skill and quick resolution, despite occasional communication issues and staff inexperience.
They are very fast, responsive, and knowledgeable.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
The quality of the support is fantastic.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Cisco TAC is very competent.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the technical support ten out of ten. Hands down.
Senior Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate customer support at nine out of ten as they have provided responsive and knowledgeable assistance.
Soc Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The technical support for Zscaler Internet Access is rated around seven out of ten due to some response time issues and the engagement model.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Zscaler Internet Access customer service is really very good.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Iboss efficiently scales to meet growing resource demands, supporting large user bases with robust support and adaptable infrastructure.
Sentiment score
5.4
Cisco Secure Access excels in scalability and secure connectivity, with high user ratings despite some integration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.3
Zscaler Internet Access provides scalable, cloud-native solutions, though some regions may need local appliances due to performance issues.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
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.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
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.
System Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Cisco has a great benefit in that you can integrate with other solutions in an easy way because it has a lot of protocols to integrate with others and sophisticated steps that we can apply for integration.
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
When our organization expanded or acquisitions happened, our employee numbers spiked, and Cisco Secure Access scaled instantly at the identity level.
Senior Executive at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
With the pricing structure that they currently have, it is only for big customers.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
I find Zscaler Internet Access to be highly scalable, which was one of the reasons for choosing it.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Zscaler Internet Access is scalable and has points of presence across the globe to ensure low latency and reliable connections.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Iboss is generally stable with reliable support, despite initial deployment challenges, and is often praised for minimal downtime.
Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Secure Access is praised for stability and quick issue resolution, with proactive support enhancing user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zscaler Internet Access is stable with high performance, minimal issues, swift outage resolutions, and effective global failover mechanisms.
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.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
We've experienced zero downtime.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Cisco is renowned for their reliability, and their products perform well under high data usage.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
The solution is stable enough, and I did not experience any latency or performance issues.
Director -Digital Transformation at Convergence
Zscaler Internet Access is stable and capable of building resilient architectures.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have not faced any major outages or downtime with Zscaler Internet Access; it is stable in our environment.
Soc Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Zscaler Internet Access is very stable, and I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Iboss struggles with Mac support, ISP integration in India, and needs improvements in security features and cloud integration.
Cisco Secure Access needs improved integration, pricing, usability, and support to ease transitions and enhance overall functionality.
Zscaler Internet Access needs better access control, integration, scalability, user interface, reporting, support, and pricing improvements.
It is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
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.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc.
Modernization is needed, specifically in the enhancement of security features and functionality.
Pre-Sales Solution Partner at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
It was challenging to learn because it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Technical Product Owner at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The response time and engagement model for technical support could be improved to handle complex outages more efficiently.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In future updates, I would like to see some of the features bundled into the existing product set, perhaps more AI features and a refreshed interface.
Cyber Security Architect at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Zscaler Internet Access has introduced AI control for tools such as ChatGPT, providing options to restrict to text-only input without file or image uploads through CASB restriction controls.
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
 

Setup Cost

Iboss offers competitive, transparent pricing with valuable cloud solutions, appealing to enterprises for predictable budgeting and desired functionality.
Cisco Secure Access offers value with discounts and low setup costs, though its complex licensing structure can confuse some.
Zscaler Internet Access is costly but valued for its scalability, global control, and extensive cloud security features.
It offers the same features you would get from a vendor that charges 250,000 British pounds for a fraction of the price.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
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.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
Managing Director
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.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is good because you want to push Cisco Secure Access, and regarding the price, it is very much below other products.
Junior Information Technology Consultant Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
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.
Technical Manager at Ledorbis Solutions
Zscaler Internet Access is recognized as an expensive solution.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Zscaler Internet Access is less expensive than competitors like Palo Alto, offering a premium service justified by security enhancements and cost-effective scalability.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Of course, it is an expensive product.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Iboss provides comprehensive cloud security with advanced features, enhancing data protection and management efficiency for network security.
Cisco Secure Access provides VPN, ZTNA, AI features, seamless integrations, and enhanced security for easy deployment and scalability.
Zscaler Internet Access offers secure web gateway, scalability, low latency, policy controls, and advanced threat protection for organizations.
The solution's mental health function can detect if someone needs help.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
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.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
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.
Managing Director
It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
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.
Solution Architect at Velocis Systems
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.
Ts Senior Technical Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses.
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users.
Senior Network Engineer at Anthology
It automatically blocks access to known malicious websites and phishing or risky websites before users reach them, thereby reducing the number of security incidents we have to investigate.
Soc Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Cisco Secure Access
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
70
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (12th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (3rd), ZTNA (6th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (5th), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (2nd)
Zscaler Internet Access
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 3.2%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 10.0%, down from 14.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zscaler Internet Access10.0%
iboss3.4%
Cisco Secure Access3.2%
Other83.4%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.
reviewer2788500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Mohan Janarthanan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls
The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise39
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent ...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We used iBoss mainly for Internet Access by having an Agent on Windows laptops Primarily because when we try to use i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
I am not involved in pricing, but as per the information I have, during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were usin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?
Pricing for Cisco Secure Access has been very reasonable in the context of the entire world of SASE solutions. Setup ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?
Our main use case for Cisco Secure Access is providing security for hybrid and mobile workforces. One of the big chal...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?
One of the things about policy verification is with Cisco Secure Access and modern security products in general, poli...
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?
It is only for big companies currently and they only focus on that. That is one of the problems to get into the marke...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
ZIA
 

Overview

 

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
Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Access vs. Zscaler Internet Access and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.