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Ivanti Connect Secure vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Ivanti Connect Secure
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (2nd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (10th)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (12th), Access Management (22nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Ivanti Connect Secure and Symantec VIP Access Manager aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Ivanti Connect Secure is designed for SSL VPN and holds a mindshare of 13.9%, down 22.8% compared to last year.
Symantec VIP Access Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 2.0% mindshare, up 1.8% since last year.
SSL VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Ivanti Connect Secure13.9%
Citrix Gateway12.0%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN10.7%
Other63.400000000000006%
SSL VPN
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec VIP Access Manager2.0%
Microsoft Entra ID5.8%
Okta Platform4.4%
Other87.8%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Kaushlendra Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - IT Infrastructure and Network at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Provides secure and simple remote access but needs improved reporting capabilities
Ivanti Connect Secure is simple and secure, making it valuable for our organization. Ivanti Connect Secure's access control feature provides global protect, which allows country-wise blocking. There are many access controls available, and policies can be created on a host basis and on the MAC address of assets that will connect. Firewall versions and OS versions can be defined, and only devices meeting these criteria can connect to the VPN. These features are effective, along with MFA. Ivanti Connect Secure is a client-based, agent-based solution, so if the agent is installed, users are able to connect to the network. Ivanti Connect Secure utilizes identity-based LDAP authentication. Ivanti Connect Secure is very effective for remote access for remote workers.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are multi-factor authentications, and VPNs and SSL VPNs we are using."
"By keeping numbers in mind, I can say we have reduced implementation times, resulting in over 300% ROI, with a payback period of less than six months, alongside a software spend reduction of approximately 25 to 30%."
"Pulse Connect Secure is a stable solution."
"The tool's most valuable feature is remote access."
"The support from Pulse Connect Secure is great; when we face connectivity issues they respond in a prompt manner and have been able to resolve all of our issues, and if we have a critical issue, they can resolve it within four to five hours."
"From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy."
"The most valuable features of the solution are reliability and uptime."
"The most valuable feature is being able to securely connect and use virtual desktops."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"I like the whole solution, and I would recommend it."
"It is easy to use."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"It's a good tool. It's pretty straightforward."
"After the initial integration, the overall support calls dropped, and customer satisfaction for VPN increased."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
 

Cons

"At the moment, Pulse Connect Secure is a pretty good solution, and I don't see any issues with it. Currently, I'm not aware of a new or additional feature that's needed in Pulse Connect Secure, but it would be good if the team could look at how the speed of connection could be increased. Though it's quite seamless and I didn't face any problem with the speed, it would be better to improve the speed and keep going forward, especially as the industry's changing and people would love connections to be a lot faster."
"From our side, there is an issue when Windows updates. The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."
"I would like the solution to be more secure and compatible. It also needs to improve integration with other systems."
"There is room for improvement. I'm concerned about the frequent vulnerabilities identified. As a security product, the number of vulnerabilities is concerning."
"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are the user-friendly connection and interconnecting."
"We want to switch to another solution because there are some challenges with the support from Pulse. The quality of documentation is also not good. It is sometimes very hard to find documentation that provides a solution and describes how all this works."
"Pulse Connect Secure could improve the reporting, it is lacking in detail and should take the report automatically."
"Pulse Connect Secure could improve by having better integration with NAC solutions, such as Cisco ClearPass integration with Pulse Connect Secure. Additionally, they need better integration with Microsoft Azure AD and Azure Authenticator."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
"Technical support is one of the worst problems."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
The biggest friction point I have encountered with Ivanti Connect Secure is related to compliance. When the host checker is configured too strictly, it can conflict with ensuring 100% security. If ...
What is your primary use case for Pulse Connect Secure?
My main use case for Ivanti Connect Secure is zero trust connectivity. The main feature I have been using is geolocation and source IP restrictions, ensuring security, advanced proxy support, and e...
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Also Known As

Pulse Connect Secure
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Ivanti, Cisco and others in SSL VPN. Updated: July 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.