Symantec CloudSOC CASB Reviews

It is used for remote users. It is called WSS, but it is a cloud-based technology.

We are trying to get rid of some of the on-prem proxy devices and use the cloud so that it is more cost-effective, and we don't have to manage hardware devices.

The value in some of these solutions is just the integration of technologies with their on-prem DLP solution. So, you can tie on-prem and cloud DLP policies together. You can apply on-prem policies to the cloud to have consistent policies in a hybrid environment. So, it works very well in that hybrid environment of on-prem and cloud.

They have some room for improvement in terms of being able to do troubleshooting. If you're trying to troubleshoot it, you have to work a lot with their backend people in order to get to a solution. So, trying to do your own troubleshooting can be a little bit difficult.

We've been working with this solution for years.

It is a pretty stable solution.

It does scale. They have different data centers spread out for you to do things. It scales just fine, but it is the setup and configuration that you have to do in order for it to scale the way you want it to. I know that some of the newer technologies, such as Zscaler, are doing SD-LAN type connections and things of that sort to improve performance and scalability. So, things are still evolving in terms of scalability.

Depending on how you deployed it, you can run into some performance gotchas. If you take a VPN connection and try to overtax it, you can run into problems. You can't say that it didn't scale. You have to use a different method to get the traffic, or you may have to set up two VPN tunnels or things of that sort. So, if you want it to scale, you have to think it through and make sure you are deploying it in a manner to scale. It can scale, but you have to plan it and make sure you think everything through.

There was a drop in the quality of technical support during the transition from Symantec to Broadcom, but they are trying to build that back. So, as compared to some of the competitors, their technical support would be a weakness.

Its setup can be straightforward if everything is done properly. We use Proserve for that. Its setup isn't extremely difficult, but you do need to plan it out when you're going to do it and not just do something. So, it has to be thought out, and then it works okay. If you just wing it, you can run into some issues.

It compares well with the competition because they're all priced on a per-user basis. I've seen the rest of them. There is definitely a huge price difference between them.

You have to look at the functions and features you're looking for and make sure that it works for you. Most of the companies get into a bake-off to win it, so they won't lose a deal due to the price. If it comes down to them and a competitor, they're not going to lose a deal because of the price. So, price isn't the biggest thing. It is about the unique features or capabilities that you really require.

Comparing it with some of the other solutions that I've been looking at recently, I would rate it a seven out of 10.

The main use case of the solution is to control access to the cloud. Companies can control a user accessing Dropbox, Box.com., social media, et cetera. I would say customers mostly deal with file-sharing sites.

The fact that we can log and block the access to storage sites by users, and yet have integration with the active directory is really valuable for us as, that way, we can manage the exceptions.

The active directory integration is very valuable as we can connect to the list of users that we have and the cloud control, the blocking, the access control of the cloud, can be handled by this product.

The solution is very reliable.

The scalability is good.

The product should have release notes. 

One thing I noticed was when you block people who have sessions already established, it would be ideal if they could clean cookies or clean the sessions on the desktop. If you control the web and you say, "Okay, tomorrow I'm going to block Dropbox," if people have sessions already established, there's no cleanup. There should be some sort of forced log-off, so the user will have to reconnect to the solution. If you go on Facebook or Gmail, the sessions will last forever unless there's a forced log-off.

The documentation is okay, however, it's not all-encompassing. Updating documentation is necessary. Two years ago, it was pretty good. However, since then, they've done a few changes and haven't created documentation to explain the changes too well. At the moment, what is available is simply too basic.

It's a good idea to get proper training on the solution before beginning.

It's a niche product. Not many people use it, and therefore there isn't as much of a knowledge base surrounding it.

In future releases, the solution could use more customization and more options for configuration.

There needs to be an opportunity to create customer URLs or Customer Gatelets.

I've been working with the solution over the last six months.

In terms of reliability, we've seen some glitches, however, overall it's very good. I'd describe it as stable. 

The scalability is excellent. If a company needs to expand the product, it can do so easily.

Being a niche product, the solution needs to work on building a community around it or to have better, more up-to-date documentation. That would help individuals answer their own questions and help users better understand the product.

One thing I noticed is that it's probably true of all the SaaS products is that the people who buy the product get the license key. It's really a pain, the buying process. You buy something from Softchoice or whatever, and then you get activation keys. By the time you get the key, it's already two months later. There should be something that they could do to connect people faster, to really see who is the real user and with the activation of the license and all that. However, we have this problem with all the products, not just Symantec CASB.

I'm a consultant. I help Symantec customers.

We deal with the latest version of the solution.

It's a good product, but overall, it's been really good. I would say it's an excellent product. You just need some more effort, putting the examples into the documentation, helping customers do stuff with the product. However, it's always difficult with software because they want you to pay additional services and all that, but they should have at least something written to get you started on that.

Maybe we're guilty as we didn't get the training, we didn't get the professional help. Therefore, we're also part of the problem. It seems like we could do more with the product if we got some help. 

The product is a bit of a niche. If you buy SAP, you get a ton of books on SAP. However, if you buy this product, there's no book on the product. If you buy a Microsoft solution, there's probably a book on it. However, if you buy CloudSOC, it's a niche, which is why documentation needs to be very good as there's no other source of knowledge.

I would recommend a quick start after training on the product and the solution should include that training with the product itself. When people buy this, there should be a customer success team or something, that gives two days of training or one day to get the customer started. It's a bit difficult otherwise. 

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've mostly been very happy with the product.

We have a few use cases for the solution. The first is for monitoring of sensitive files in our organization and sending them to the cloud. 

The other use case is limiting file uploads via important keywords. We have created a policy in terms of keywords and we are monitoring for them. After six months of monitoring, we have managed to block everything. 

The ability to monitor for threats is the solution's most valuable aspect.

The solution needs to focus on data security. For example, if someone is trying to upload a document to the cloud application, the solution needs to leverage protection technology to better monitor for sensitive data, file usage, file content, etc. so that we can be assured we'll be safe.

The solution should work to incorporate some machine learning policies like IDM and VML.

I've been using the solution since June of 2019. It's been about six months.

The stability of the solution is great. It's one of the most stable products on the market.

We've found the solution's technical support to be exceptional. In terms of rating them, I would give them 10 out of 10 because they are very technically strong and offer great advice and support.

The solution's initial setup is straightforward. It's not something that is complicated. In terms of Symantec, the whole process is rather simple. We have the DLP on-premise solution, so they'll just give the provider the integration files and we can integrate with the on-premise DLP. It's quite easy.

If everything is in place according to the requirements, etc., it will not take more than three or four days to deploy the solution. I believe there were two people who handled deployment when we launched. One was very senior (with ten or twenty years of experience) and one (myself) had something like five years or six years of experience. While I was personally engaged in the deployment, I did not help develop the policies.

We're partners with Symantec.

The product is stable and doesn't have any complexity in the tool. It is generally straightforward. For example, if we use Dropbox, we get Dropbox's APIs and it will directly integrate with the Symantec CASB solution and we can integrate them and directly push the policies once we have the integration of the SAS applications.

I'd recommend the solution to others. This tool is very simple. The technical support is also strong. If companies end up facing some issues, technical support will do all they can to assist and are able to give answers over the phone.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Our primary use case was trying to monitor all important sensitive files from the organization as they moved to the cloud. 

We also used the solution to place a limitation on the file upload. There are some important keywords that were used in the organization. We created a policy in terms of keywords and we were monitoring for them. After six months of monitoring, we had blocked everything that needed to be blocked.

The monitoring and threat protection were the solution's most valuable features.

The data security needs improvement. We should be able to leverage it a bit better for situations where someone may be trying to upload documents onto the cloud application.

They are working on some machine learning policies like IDM and VML. Adding these would be a great benefit to the solution.

I was using the solution until the month of June 2019. We implemented the project for a client and have since submitted it to them.

The stability of the solution is very good. It's one of the most stable products on the market. It's generally straightforward and doesn't carry too much complexity. If we have Dropbox, we can get the API from Dropbox and it will directly integrate with the solution and we can directly push the policies over once we have the integration of the SAS applications.

The team is technically strong. I'd rate their support ten out of ten. If you face issues they are very good at helping resolve them. They can answer questions and help resolve problems right on the call.

The initial setup is straightforward. It's not something that's too complicated. We just give the provider the integration files and then we're able to integrate with the on-premises DLP.

Deployment doesn't take more than three or four days. There were two people involved in the deployment. One was quite senior with 10-20 years' experience and the other was myself and I had five or six years' experience.

We're a Symantec partner.

The solution was a cloud instance and we integrated the on-premises DLP with the cloud DLP.

It was a cloud tenant, so there was an integration file that we have integrated with our on-premise DLP. It was integrated so that whatever policies we had on our on-premise DLP we extended to the cloud.

I was quite involved in the implementation and was one of two who handled implementation. The process was purely deployment. It was not a project whereby we had to create the policies. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. They are integrating some of the policies like UVM, IDM policy directory, machine learning policies, etc. Once those are in place, the solution will be complete.

• Protecting the cloud application 
• Office 365
• Service Now, etc. 

This solution has improved my organization because it enables us to have visibility and monitoring over our global workforce connectivity to Office 365 and for Service Now.

Its simplicity and easy integration would be its most valuable features.

I would like to see them develop seamless integration with endpoint solutions. 

Because it's a cloud service it's scalable to be whatever you pay for. The availability is there, the SLA is triple five, very high. Approximately 1,000 users are using this solution. 

It's in daily use and we are planning to increase the usage.

We never had to use technical support. 

The initial setup was simple and straightforward. The implementation time was very quick. It took us one week to complete end to end.

Pricing and licensing are perfect. 

Don't think twice. Just go ahead. It's very easy, intuitive, and simple to integrate.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

The solution helps detect and control data in the cloud, focusing on Shadow IT and Shadow Data. The audit module helps with Shadow IT, while the Securelet and Gatelet modules monitor and prevent data leakage from SaaS applications. It detects data residing in these SaaS apps and helps manage it.

One of the most valuable features of Symantec CloudSOC CASB is its detection functionality. It uses the same base as Data Loss Prevention, allowing for close integration between on-premises DLP and the Symantec CloudSOC CASB. This integration lets you manage policies and incidents across both platforms.

After integrating the Gatelet with a live environment, users experienced connectivity issues because they were not imported into the Symantec CloudSOC CASB. Currently, user import into the solution can only be done via CSV, which lacks good connectivity with Azure AD. Additionally, the cost is high, as you pay separately for each application and the number of users. While there are ongoing improvements, the functionality must catch up with other leading CASBs, such as Netskope, recognized as a top leader.

I have worked with Netskope, and it's more user-friendly than the product. 

The tool's deployment is complex. The environment can be challenging, especially if unfamiliar with the product. Integrating it with on-premises systems involves many terms and complexities, even for those familiar with it.

I rate the overall product a six out of ten.