


Find out in this report how the two Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
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.
Cisco is a big brand in the networking domain, but in security, they are pushing a lot and improving day by day.
From my point of view, the biggest return on investment when using the solution is that it makes it a lot easier to delegate some of the tasks that were traditionally used, such as building policies on the firewalls and doing it through Cisco Umbrella.
The biggest return on investment when using Cisco Umbrella for me is the ease of use of the fact that we've deployed this with our Cisco VPN Secure Client, so every computer has the Umbrella module in it.
The ROI is often cited around 289% over the three years of typical enterprises.
I have found Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) to be very effective at providing operational flexibility during my organization's transition to cloud environments.
Since we have a very small team, the ROI is around 20% to 30%.
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.
I would rate customer support ten out of ten due to the excellent assistance throughout the POC process.
Cisco's support is fantastic, providing assistance when needed, especially during the initial installation process.
If I don't need to go to support all the time, that means the product is working fine, so I'm very happy with them.
The technical support for ZPA is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
We had regular calls, and the team was open and willing to assist us whenever required.
We lack specific root causes, and it's tough to relay information to users, considering multiple contributors such as phone numbers and internet service providers.
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.
Cisco Umbrella scales incredibly with the growing needs of my organization.
Cisco Umbrella scales really well with the growing needs of my company, bringing the ability to ensure that people are safe and connected.
Cisco Umbrella scales effectively with the growing needs of my company; it's excellent, and I have experienced no issues.
Zscaler ZPA has excellent scalability.
I rate the scalability of ZPA as ten out of ten because it's a cloud service and can scale as needed.
We need to deploy it and ensure it will be available in two different Availability Zones, but it's not something that can be done with automation, such as auto-scaling.
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 have not experienced any major stability issues with Cisco Umbrella.
Cisco Umbrella Secure Access is pretty stable in my mind, and we have not seen many glitches that would have interrupted services at customer locations.
The stability and reliability of the Cisco Umbrella platform have been great.
Even during peak usage or mass remote access events, performance remains consistent, which is critical for an enterprise environment handling business-critical applications.
The architecture uses a global mesh of service edges with built-in fault tolerance and redundancy, providing an always-on experience.
We implemented a resilient solution with load balance to ensure stability, which has proven effective thus far.
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.
Making it more flexible and easy to deploy, particularly when integrating with other technologies like Active Directory and proxies, would be beneficial.
The product can only shield a small area, making it less effective for larger spaces or multiple users.
I have to write an email to Umbrella support to get assistance, unlike the other products where I can call the Cisco technical assistance center and get an engineer.
It complicates whitelisting, as we cannot determine which IP will be used, posing a challenge when needing to integrate with third parties.
I would appreciate seeing dynamic scaling implemented because it would be beneficial if an instance goes down to automatically start another one.
While Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) wants users to utilize their infrastructure for scale benefits, regulated environments such as government and investment banks need on-premises processing for regulations and low latency requirements.
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.
We've bundled that with our firewall stuff and our VPN, which brings the price down and adds the ability to grow.
The only cost associated is the license cost unless additional solutions need to be integrated with Umbrella, which would incur extra costs.
The prices need to be lower as the current pricing is exceedingly high.
It is expensive.
Although the solution is costly, its features justify the price for securing the organization from various access types.
While it is a premium investment, the short payback period of about 11 months and consolidation of multiple point products make it very cost-effective in the long run.
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.
The DNS layer security provided by Cisco Umbrella is very effective for our security posture, offering us vast improvements in visibility over DNS queries and potential threats.
The most valuable feature of Cisco Umbrella is its DNS security.
The best possible thing is that it is very easy to deploy, easy to configure, and very fast to get onboarded with a customer because this is a cloud-based service.
Zscaler pre-tests websites and authorizes safe access, giving us a layer of security that we rely on.
Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is much more secure than VPN because users are only allowed to access specific applications rather than the whole network.
Zscaler has allowed an easy, secure way for us to access our internal resources from outside.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Umbrella | 7.3% |
| iboss | 4.0% |
| Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) | 2.2% |
| Other | 86.5% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 6 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 8 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 50 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 31 |
| Large Enterprise | 51 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 2 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
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.
Cisco Umbrella provides fast-deploying DNS-layer security with powerful threat protection capabilities. Trusted by over 30,000 entities, it ranks highly in DNS security and effectively supports secure remote work environments.
Cisco Umbrella offers comprehensive DNS security, web filtering, and ease of use, enhancing network security through robust threat protection and malware prevention. It processes over 600 billion requests daily, making it a leader in its field. The seamless integration with existing infrastructures and cloud-based nature makes it suitable for remote and distributed work environments, ensuring consistent security throughout. Management is streamlined with a single-pane interface that simplifies administration, while in-depth reporting capabilities provide valuable insights for continuous monitoring.
What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?Cisco Umbrella is widely adopted in industries requiring advanced DNS-level security to counteract malware, phishing, and cyber threats. Its ability to monitor and protect remote and roaming employees makes it an attractive option for sectors highly dependent on cloud services. By managing DNS queries and blocking harmful sites, Cisco Umbrella enhances cybersecurity across networks, providing an added layer of protection for businesses worldwide.
Zscaler Private Access enhances security by enabling access to specific applications without exposing entire networks. It is designed for scalability and flexibility, making it particularly suitable for cloud transitions and remote work environments.
Zscaler Private Access offers a comprehensive solution for modern security needs by ensuring secure remote application access. This is achieved through its advanced features such as micro-segmentation and AI capabilities. Organizations can integrate ZPA with existing security infrastructure, providing seamless operation during cloud transitions. Users benefit from policy-based access management and dashboards that enhance visibility and control. However, ZPA faces some challenges, including bugs, configuration difficulties with identity providers, and a limited rule customization capacity. Delayed support responses and annual price increases are also concerns that need addressing.
What are the key features of Zscaler Private Access?Zscaler Private Access is widely adopted across industries transitioning from traditional VPNs to more secure remote access solutions. Companies leverage it for secure network communication, accessing cloud resources like AWS and Azure, and integrating with internal systems. Local, customer, and cloud networks extensively use ZPA for secure internet access and as a modern replacement for older proxy technologies.
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