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Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs Cisco Security Cloud Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

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

Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Cloud Control
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 1.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Security Cloud Control is 2.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center1.6%
Cisco Security Cloud Control2.5%
Other95.9%
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

Yonas Abebe - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Great dashboard with extensive visibility and good support
I expect more integration with AI. I expect Cisco to be easier for users in India, especially for junior users. For a junior one, it may somehow be complex, especially when configuring something. I remember version 6.4 had an integration with Eddie, allowing me to define a policy according to my users, however, the latest version, lacks this integration. The logging of FMC should be improved as it does not offer real-time solutions like DazaSodo.
FS
Security Engineer at Metrobank
Automation reduces intervention and speeds up threat prevention
Our primary use case for Cisco Defense Orchestrator is the automation of playbooks. We primarily use it for this purpose to streamline processes The most valuable feature is the automation, as it reduces user intervention and allows us to focus on other tasks. Since the system is automated,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is scalable."
"The most valuable aspects are the antivirus and URL filtering."
"The product's user interface is very easy to use and convenient."
"Cisco's support and services are far superior to any other security product in Pakistan."
"The solution is useful and powerful."
"One of the most valuable features of Cisco Secure Firewalls is their seamless integration with other Cisco products."
"The tool's deployment is not complex."
"The overall product rating is eight out of ten."
"Cisco Defense Orchestrator has useful guides for the steps that need to follow by users."
"The most valuable feature is that you can push one policy or one rule out to several devices at a time."
"This product provides excellent centralized device controls and reporting."
"There are a lot of templates that are already built-in. They give you quick-to-create and quick-to-apply policies that are typically a little more complicated for people."
"If we have a firewall go down, I can hop into CDO, pull the latest configuration off and apply it. That's really good. It helps save time."
"The most valuable feature is the automation, as it reduces user intervention and allows us to focus on other tasks."
"The initial setup was straightforward. We spun up the VM onsite. We generated the key that it needed to talk to the Cloud Orchestrator. After that, as I started adding devices, it was relatively quick and easy."
"If our server is blocked, this solution shows us why it is blocked and allows us to update the network routing."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve the number of ports available and load balancing."
"The tool is a little bit pricey. I was not involved much with finance, but it appeared to be really expensive."
"The product could be improved by simplifying its user interface and reducing complexity."
"It takes five to seven minutes to push one policy."
"Areas for improvement include pricing points and the range of products available at any given time."
"I would go with a rating of three out of ten for the stability issues."
"I expect more integration with AI."
"I recommend they work on usability and ensure the solution is more user-friendly."
"They need to work on the user interface. It needs to be improved to make it more user-friendly."
"When logging into the device, we sort of had problems with it staying in sync. If somebody made a change onsite, it wouldn't do an automatic sync. It would have to wait, as you would have to do a manual sync up."
"There could be some slight improvements to navigation. In some of the navigation you've got to go back to be able to get into where you need to be once you've made a change. If I make a change, I've then got to go back to submit and send the change."
"I've found dozens of bugs over the year we've been using it. The more I use it for different things, the more problems I find... Most of the problems have to do with the user interface. A lot of thought and work has gone into the back-end component to make the product do what it's intended to do, but the way it is presented for use hasn't gotten nearly as much thought to make it smart and bug-free."
"CDO doesn't have a report, an official report that I can check daily. It has another module called FTD, but it doesn't have that specifically for ASA. In the reporting, there are a lot of things that aren't there. There is also room for improvement in the daily monitoring."
"Cisco Defense Orchestrator should be made more user-friendly overall. Currently, to use it effectively, one must be specific with the rule set that needs to be set up."
"It should have more features to manage FirePOWER appliances."
"It would be a better product if it incorporated device control for third-party products easily."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I use the free version of the product."
"I rate the tool's pricing a four out of ten. The licensing costs are yearly."
"I rate Secure Firewall Management Center eight out of 10 for pricing."
"The product pricing is reasonable and falls in the mid-range."
"One of the advantages of Cisco is its range of flexible licensing options."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has the best price on the market."
"The solution is expensive. We have a multi-license, and we pay extra for support."
"It is rather expensive."
"It is covered under the CIsco Enterprise License Agreement (ELA). So, it is licensed and ours."
"It is about a $100 per year for an ASA 5506 firewall, and from there it keeps going up if you have a bigger box. For example, the 5516 is $200 to $300 per year."
"It's around £500 per unit for a three-year license."
"After our free trial was done we got a subscription for three years and it was under $3,000 or so. It's part of the EA we already paid for, so I don't know what it would be if it was a la carte."
"If you compare to what is available on the market, they are in the same range with respect to pricing."
"I work with a lot of clients, and the price or value of the Cisco Defense Orchestrator can vary from one client to another. If you have a lot of Cisco solutions, the price of the Cisco Defense Orchestrator is justified. Whereas if you have some security components from other vendors, such as Check Point or Palo Alto. This solution would be a pretty expensive proposition considering that they don't integrate with them well."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Healthcare Company
9%
Retailer
9%
Performing Arts
9%
Computer Software Company
30%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Performing Arts
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
I find the pricing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center to be very reasonable, as they offer the license for both virtual and hardware options. For the virtual option, they have minimum lice...
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
So far, I find that everything related to Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is adequate. The only thing that was missing in the portfolio was SD-WAN, which I would like to use similar to Fort...
What needs improvement with Cisco Defense Orchestrator?
Cisco Defense Orchestrator should be made more user-friendly overall. Currently, to use it effectively, one must be specific with the rule set that needs to be set up. Additionally, I suggest impro...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Defense Orchestrator?
Our primary use case for Cisco Defense Orchestrator is the automation of playbooks. We primarily use it for this purpose to streamline processes.
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Defense Orchestrator?
Those who want to use Cisco Defense Orchestrator should build their own use case and see if it fits their environment. The most significant benefit for us is the response time because it automates ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco Defense Orchestrator, CDO
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Insurance Company of British Columbia, Shawmut
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs. Cisco Security Cloud Control and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.