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Information Security and Compliance Manager at RSwitch
Real User
Gives us a central point for applying rule changes, rather than logging in to each device
Pros and Cons
  • "Web filtering is a big improvement for us. The previous version we used, the AC520, did not have that feature included. It was not very easy for us, especially because the environment had to be isolated and we needed to get updates from outside, such as Windows patches. That feature has really helped us when we are going outside to pull those patches."
  • "We're getting support but there's a big delay until we get a response from their technical team. They're in the USA and we're in Africa, so that's the difficulty. When they're in the office, they respond."

What is our primary use case?

We are a payment switch and we deal with cardholder data and information. Our primary goal is to ensure the security of customers' payment data, that they are protected.

Our security maturity is now at a good level compared to the past. To be accepted to drive Visa and Mastercard, you have to pass security assessment audits and we have managed to pass all of them now, for some years.

Apart from our firewall, we have three security tools. We have a NAC, we have a SIEM, and our syslogs.

How has it helped my organization?

It's easy now because we have many Cisco devices in a central point. We don't need to log in to each device and apply rules to them. We can do it from the management control and apply them to the specific firewalls that we want to apply them to.

In addition, compared to our previous firewall solution, the security is much better. Through our monitoring, we now see all the information that we require on security, in terms of PCI. We can see exactly what is happening in our environment. We know what is going, what is going in and out. If an incident happens, it provides a notification so that we can do an analysis.

What is most valuable?

Web filtering is a big improvement for us. The previous version we used, the AC520, did not have that feature included. It was not very easy for us, especially because the environment had to be isolated and we needed to get updates from outside, such as Windows patches. That feature has really helped us when we are going outside to pull those patches.

Another important feature for us is user access. Now, we can base access on rules and specify that this or that user has privilege on the NG firewall. That was not available before. 

The IDS also makes it easy to detect abnormal traffic. When it sees such traffic in the environment, it sends a notification.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall for about two months.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
October 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. It's not hanging. With the firewalls from Cisco we are not facing a situation where devices are hanging because of too much traffic.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is fine.

How are customer service and support?

We're getting support but there's a big delay until we get a response from their technical team. They're in the USA and we're in Africa, so that's the difficulty. When they're in the office, they respond.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We migrated from Cisco AC520 to the Cisco NGFW. We have also used HPE and IBM switches, as well as FortiGate firewalls. We are now completely Cisco.

Previously, we were also using AlienVault and it was easy to integrate with Cisco devices.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is 50/50, between straightforward and complex. Migrating from Cisco to another Cisco product is okay, but migrating to Cisco from other network devices, like an IBM switch, is a bit tricky. You can't test the configuration to see if it's the same as what you're going to. But we managed with support from Cisco.

It took a month to complete the deployment.

Our implementation strategy was based on not upgrading everything at the same time. It was phased. We deployed a specific device and then we monitored everything to make sure everything looked okay, and then we moved on to the next one.

It requires a minimum of two people for deployment and maintenance, from our network and security teams.

What about the implementation team?

We used internal resources with support from Cisco.

What was our ROI?

We have gotten exactly what we're looking for, based on the company's requirements.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is high.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Cisco NGFW's ability to provide visibility into threats is good compared to other solutions. The visibility is quite impressive and gives us what we're looking for, based on our security requirements.

What other advice do I have?

The scalability, the performance of the devices, the features, and the support, when looking at them combined, make the product a nine out 10.

We're planning the deployment of Cisco ISE soon, to be like our NAC.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Capable of handling a lot of traffic, never had any downtime, and very easy to configure
Pros and Cons
  • "The configuration was kind of straightforward from the command line and also from the ASDM. It was very easy to manage by using their software in Java."
  • "One thing that we really would have loved to have was policy-based routing. We had a lot of connections, and sometimes, we would have liked to change the routing depending on the policies, but it was lacking this capability. We also wanted application filtering and DNS filtering."

What is our primary use case?

We were using ASA 5585 without firepower. We were using it just as a stateful firewall. We also had an IPS module on it. So, we were also using it for network segmentation and network address translations for hosting some of the services or giving access to the internet for our end users.

How has it helped my organization?

Initially, it was good. At the time we bought it, usually, IPS was in a different solution, and the firewall was in a different solution. You had to kind of correlate between the events to find the attacks or unwanted behavior in the network, but it had everything in a kind of single platform. So, the integration was great.

Our bandwidth was increasing, and the number of services that we were hosting was increasing. Our old solutions couldn't catch up with that. Cisco ASA was able to handle a lot of traffic or concurrent connections at that time. We had almost 5 million per week. We didn't have to worry about it not having enough memory and stuff like that. It was a powerful machine.

What is most valuable?

The configuration was kind of straightforward from the command line and also from the ASDM. It was very easy to manage by using their software in Java. 

High throughput, high concurrent connections, easy site-to-site VPN were also valuable. It also had the capability to do double network translations, which is really useful when you are integrating with other vendors for site-to-site VPN.

What needs improvement?

When we bought it, it was really powerful, but with the emerging next-generation firewalls, it started to lack in capabilities. We couldn't put application filtering, and the IPS model was kind of outdated and wasn't as useful as the new one. For the current state of the network security, it was not enough.

One thing that we really would have loved to have was policy-based routing. We had a lot of connections, and sometimes, we would have liked to change the routing depending on the policies, but it was lacking this capability. We also wanted application filtering and DNS filtering.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for around eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is really great. It is very stable. We didn't have to worry about it. In the IT world, every time you go on holiday, you think that something might break down, but that was not the case with Cisco ASA.

Initially, we had just a single firewall, and then we moved to high availability. Even when it was just one hardware without high availability, we didn't have any problems. Apart from the planned maintenance, we never had any downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We feel we didn't even try to make it scalable. We had 30,000 end users.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't interacted a lot with them because we have our own network department. We were just handling all the problem-solving. So, there were only a couple of cases. Initially, when one of the first devices came, we had some problems with RAM. So, we opened the ticket. It took a bit of time, and then they changed it. I would rate them an eight out of 10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Our bandwidth was increasing, and the number of services that we were hosting was increasing. Our old solutions couldn't catch up with that. We had some really old D-link firewalls. They were not enterprise-level firewalls.

After our IPS subscription ended, we couldn't renew it because Cisco was moving to the next-generation firewall platform. They didn't provide us with the new license. Therefore, we decided to move to Palo Alto. The procurement process is taking time, and we are waiting for them to arrive.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. Cisco is still leading in the network area. So, there are lots of resources where you can find information. There are community forums and Cisco forums, where you can find answers to any questions. You don't even have to ask. You can just Google, and you will find the solution. Apart from that, Cisco provides a lot of certification that helps our main engineers in learning how to use it. So, the availability of their resources was great, and we just followed their best-case scenarios. We could easily configure it.

The deployment took around two or three weeks because we had different firewalls. We had a couple of them, and we migrated all to Cisco. We also had around 30,000 rules. So, the data input part took a lot of time, but the initial installation and the initial configuration were done in a matter of days.

It took us one week to set up the management plane. It had different ports for management and for the data. After finishing with the management part, we slowly moved segments to Cisco. We consolidated the rules from other firewalls for one zone. After Cisco verified that it was okay, we then moved on to the next segment.

What about the implementation team?

We did it ourselves. We had about five network admins for deployment and maintenance.

What was our ROI?

We definitely got a return on investment with Cisco ASA. We have been using it for eight years, which is a long time for IT. We only had one capital expenditure. Apart from that, there were no other costs or unexpected failures. It supported us for a long time.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

When we bought it, it was really expensive. I'm not aware of the current pricing.

We had problems with licensing. After our IPS subscription ended, we couldn't renew it because Cisco was moving to the next-generation firewall platform. So, they didn't provide us with the new license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am not sure about it because back then, I was just an engineer. I didn't have decision-making authority, so I wasn't involved with it.

We recently have done pilots with Check Point and FortiGate for a couple of months. They were next-generation firewalls. So, they had much more capability than ASA, but because of being a pilot, we didn't get full-scale throughput like big enterprise-level firewalls. The throughput was not enough, and their memory cache was always filling up. They were smaller models, but both of them had the features that ASA was lacking. Traffic shaping in ASA is not as good, but these two had good traffic shaping.

What other advice do I have?

I wouldn't recommend this solution because it is already considered to be a legacy firewall.

I would rate Cisco ASA Firewall a strong eight out of 10. It is powerful, but it lacks some of the capabilities.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
October 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
872,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Engineer at LEPL Smart Logic
Real User
Good protection and filtering capabilities, and everything can be easily done through the web user interface
Pros and Cons
  • "I have experience with URL filtering, and it is very good for URL filtering. You can filter URLs based on the categories, and it does a good job. It can also do deep packet inspection."
  • "When you make any changes, irrespective of whether they are big or small, Firepower takes too much time. It is very time-consuming. Even for small changes, you have to wait for 60 seconds or maybe more, which is not good. Similarly, when you have many IPS rules and policies, it slows down, and there is an impact on its performance."

What is our primary use case?

They were placed in a company on the perimeter near the ISP. There were two clusters. One cluster was at the front, and one cluster was near the data center to filter the traffic from the users to the data center and from the data center to the users and outside.

How has it helped my organization?

Our clients were completely satisfied with this firewall in terms of protection from attacks, filtering of the traffic that they wanted, being able to see inside the zip files, etc.

What is most valuable?

I have experience with URL filtering, and it is very good for URL filtering. You can filter URLs based on the categories, and it does a good job. It can also do deep packet inspection.

Its IPS engine also works very fine. I don't have much experience with it because I am an IT integrator, and we only configured it, but the company for which we configured these firewalls used this feature, and they say that IPS works very fine. They were also very pleased with its reporting. They said that its reporting is better than other firewalls they have had.

What needs improvement?

When you make any changes, irrespective of whether they are big or small, Firepower takes too much time. It is very time-consuming. Even for small changes, you have to wait for 60 seconds or maybe more, which is not good. Similarly, when you have many IPS rules and policies, it slows down, and there is an impact on its performance.

In terms of tracking users, the Palo Alto Networks firewall is better than Cisco Firepower.

For how long have I used the solution?


What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable because it is based on the Cisco ASA Firewall hardware, which is an old-generation firewall. I have had Cisco ASA Firewall for more than 10 years, and they have been working fine till now. So, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall's performance and stability are the best. I have never seen any issues or heard from anyone that it is bad.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Its scalability is very good. It was a small implementation. Traffic was maximum of 150 megabits per second. 

How are customer service and support?

I haven't worked with Cisco support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have had experience with the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. It is very easy, and it does its job very well. Both Firepower and FortiGate do their job very well, but I like the Palo Alto Networks firewall the most. I have not experienced it in a real environment. I have placed it in my lab. It is a very complex firewall, and you need to know how to configure it, but it is the best firewall that I have seen in my life.

As compare to the Palo Alto Networks firewall, both Firepower and FortiGate are simpler. You can just learn which button to use and how to write rules, policies, etc. In Palo Alto, you can not guess this. You should know where each button is, how it works, and what it does. If you don't know, you cannot get the performance you want from Palo Alto. So, Firepower and FortiGate are easier to learn.

Firepower is very good for a small implementation. If you are doing a Cisco setup, you can place kind of 16 devices in one cluster. When it comes to the real environment, you need to have maybe three devices in one cluster. If two of them are in one data center and the third one is in another data center, the third firewall does not work very well when it comes to traffic flow because of the MAC address. When you want to implement Firepower in small infrastructures, it is very good, but in big infrastructures, you would have some problems with it. So, I won't use it in a large environment with five gigabits per second traffic. I will use the Palo Alto firewall for a large environment.

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward. For me, it is very simple. The menu is quite impressive. Everything that you want to do can be done from the web user interface. You don't need to access the CLI if you don't like it. It is very easy to make rules with its web user interface.

Its deployment took two days. In terms of the implementation strategy, the first cluster was in the data center, and its main job was to filter user traffic going to the data center. The second cluster was on the edge. Its main job was to mitigate attacks on the inside network and to capture the traffic that could have viruses, malicious activities, etc.

What about the implementation team?

I deployed it myself, and it took me two days to deploy two clusters of Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall. 

What was our ROI?

I think our client did get an ROI. They are very satisfied with what they can do with these firewalls. It fits all of their needs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its price is in the middle range. Both Firepower and FortiGate are not cheap. Palo Alto and Check Point are the cheapest ones.

I don't remember any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

Our client didn't implement dynamic policies for dynamic environments because they were a small company, and they didn't need that kind of segmentation. I am not sure if it reduced their firewall operational costs because they were a small company, and the traffic was not so high.

I would rate Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall an eight out of 10.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1657845 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Its Snort 3 IPS gives us flexibility and more granular control of access
Pros and Cons
  • "Its Snort 3 IPS has better flexibility as far as being able to write rules. This gives me better granularity."
  • "I would like it to have faster deployment times. A typical deployment could take two to three minutes. Sometimes, it depends on the situation. It is better than it was in the past, but it could always use improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for firewall and intrusion prevention.

I have deployed it into different environments: retail, commercial, law, real estate, and the public sector. Retail is the biggest environment that I have deployed this firewall into, with 43 different sensors and a range up to 10 GbE throughput.

I am using up to version 7.0 across the board as well as multiple models: 1000 Series or 2100 Series.

How has it helped my organization?

The integration of network and workload micro-segmentation help us provide unified segmentation policies across east-west and north-south traffic. It is important to have that visibility. If you can't detect it, then you can't protect it. That is the bottom line.

The solution has enabled us to implement dynamic policies for dynamic environments. These are important because they give us flexibility and more granular control of access.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease of operability
  • Security protection

It is usually a central gateway into an organization. Trying to keep it as secure as possible and have easy to use operability is always good. That way, you can manage the device.

The solution has very good visibility when doing deep packet inspection. It's great because I can get packet captures out of the device. Because if an intrusion fires, I can see the packet that it fired in. So, I can dive into it and look at what is going on, what fired it, or what caused it.

Cisco Secure Firewall is fine and works when it comes to integration of network and workload micro-segmentation. 

The integration of network and workload micro-segmentation is very good when it comes to visibility in our environment. It is about how you set it up and the options that you set it up for, e.g., you can be as detailed as you like or not at all, which is good.

Its Snort 3 IPS has better flexibility as far as being able to write rules. This gives me better granularity.

What needs improvement?

It needs better patching and testing as well as less bugs. That would be nice.

I would like it to have faster deployment times. A typical deployment could take two to three minutes. Sometimes, it depends on the situation. It is better than it was in the past, but it could always use improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability has been good so far. It has been much better than in the past. In the past, there were times where there were known issues or bugs.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability has been fine. I haven't had an issue with it. I just haven't had a need to deal with scalability yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate Cisco's support for this solution as nine out of 10 for this solution. The support has been very good. We got the job done. Sometimes, why it wasn't perfect, the challenge was getting a hold of someone.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used this solution to replace different vendors, usually Cisco ASA that is reaching end of life.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward for me at this point. That is just because of the experience that I have in dealing with it. for a new person, it would be a little bit more complex. They have gotten better with some of the wizards. However, if you are not familiar with it, then that makes it a little more challenging.

What about the implementation team?

Depending on the situation, we will go through the typical setups. We know what we want to configure and sort of follow a template.

What was our ROI?

We have seen ROI with a better, more secure environment. 

Cisco Secure Firewall has helped us to reduce our firewall operational costs. This is based on the fact that the newer models, where we have been replacing older models, have better throughput, capacity, and performance overall.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing is the same as other competitors. It is comparable. The licensing has gotten better. It has been easier with Smart Licensing.

There are additional costs, but that depends on the feature sets that you get. However, that is the same with any firewall vendor at this point.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have also worked with Check Point and Palo Alto. The support is much better with Cisco than Check Point. Check Point had a little bit better of a central management station. Whereas, Cisco with the FMC is a little different as far as there are still some features that are being added to the FMC, which is good. As far as Palo Alto goes, they are quite comparable as far as their functionality and feature sets. Cisco wins for me because it has Snort, which is a known standard for IPS, which is good. Also, Cisco has the Talos group, which is the largest group out there for security hunting.

Check Point was the easiest as far as user-friendliness and its GUI. After that, Cisco and Palo Alto would be kind of tied for ease of use.

What other advice do I have?

Definitely do your research, e.g., how you want to set it up and how deep you want to go in with it. This will actually help you more. When we say Cisco Secure Firewall, is it Next-Generation, running ASA, or running Firepower? Or, does Meraki actually fit in there? So, there are different scales based on what you are trying to look for and how deep security-wise you want to go into it.

SecureX is a nice feature, but it has to be for the right environment. It is nice that we get it, but most people don't take advantage of it.

The dynamic policy capabilities can enable tight integration with Secure Workload at the application workload level, but I am not using much with Secure Workload at this point.

I would rate Cisco Secure Firewall as nine out of 10. I would not give it a 10 because of bugs.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Ramish Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Director IT at Punjab Education Foundation
Real User
Top 5
Scalable and fast but the initial setup could be easier
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is quite robust and durable."
  • "The graphical interface could be improved. From what I have seen, Fortinet, for example, has a nicer GUI."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution as a firewall for our data centers. We have a medium-sized data center right now. It's about six or seven servers. We actually store the data for students and schools and need to protect it.

What is most valuable?

Overall, the solution works very well.

The solution is quite fast. We found that the speed was good and the throughput was good.

The stability has been very good.

The solution can scale as necessary.

The product is quite robust and durable. 

What needs improvement?

The solution lacks the abilities of an FTD type which are the abilities we need, and they are not in the firewall. We're looking for a next-generation firewall instead.

The graphical interface could be improved. From what I have seen, Fortinet, for example, has a nicer GUI.

The solution needs to be easier to use. Right now, it's overly complicated. 

The initial setup is a bit complex. 

The cost of the solution is very high.

The product should add free URL filtering. It's another product, or part of another product, however, it should be available as part of this offering as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for about seven or eight years at this point. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent and the performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product can scale nicely. If a company would like to expand it, it can do so. 

We have about 10,000 schools use the solution in general, and 1,000 to 2,000 that use it simultaneously daily. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I don't directly deal with technical support. Typically, that's something that others on the team deal with. We have our own team within the company that, if I run into issues, I would reach out to first. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. I've never had a chance to contact them. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have not used other firewalls.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not easy or straightforward. It's a bit complex and a little difficult.

We have three engineers on staff. They are capable of handling any maintenance.  

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is quite expensive. Fortinet and other competitors are about half the price. Cisco is very expensive in comparison. They need to work to be more competitive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We're currently looking into a new firewall - something that is Next Generation. We don't know what it will be yet, however, we are considering Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto.

It's my understanding that Fortinet is better in graphics and has a better user experience than Cisco, however, I haven't had a chance to test anything out.

What other advice do I have?

We're just a customer and an end-user. 

We no longer have an SLA for this solution. We're potentially looking for something new.

I'd recommend the solution to others. It works well. It's durable and fast and you don't have to check up on it daily as it is rather reliable. That said, it is pricey.

In general, I would rate the solution at a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1570647 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Security Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Useful access controls, reliable, and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the most valuable feature to be the access control and IPsec VPN."
  • "When comparing the graphical interface of this solution to other vendors it is more difficult to configure. There is a higher learning curve for administrators in this solution."

What is our primary use case?

I am using this solution for monitoring incoming and outgoing network traffic. This includes many types of traffic, such as VPN users.

What is most valuable?

I have found the most valuable feature to be the access control and IPsec VPN. There are a lot of people moving towards the next-generation versions of firewalls which have some advanced features such as this one. You can define rules based on the application instead of how they are traditionally are done. There are more general and traffic controls, and additional features for intrusion prevention for malware analysis.

What needs improvement?

When comparing the graphical interface of this solution to other vendors it is more difficult to configure. There is a higher learning curve for administrators in this solution.

A lot of vendors, such as Palo Alto, are going toward cloud-based systems and Cisco should follow.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Since this is a hardware solution it does not scale as well as cloud versions. We have approximately 20,000 people using this solution in my organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support of this solution is very good.

What about the implementation team?

We have security specialists to manage the solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have previously used FortiGate and Palo Alto solutions. When comparing them to this solution they have more standard features in their normal firewall this one does not.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to those wanting to implement the solution is to look at their use case and see if it meets those requirements for what they are looking for. There are a lot of security features that people may not be aware of and do not use. Explore the solution and all its features which will help you understand the configurations.

I rate Cisco ASA Firewall an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Director of Information Technology at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Provides us with application visibility and control
Pros and Cons
  • "When it comes to the integration among Cisco tools, we find it easy. It's a very practical integration with other components as well."
  • "The initial setup was a bit complex. It wasn't a major challenge, but due to our requirements and network, it was not very straightforward but still easy enough."

What is our primary use case?

We are a large company in the country in which we operate. We are a government agency dealing with taxes and we provide services for all taxpayers within the country. We have services for internal users, as well as services for public users. The main reason we use these firewalls is to protect our environment and to provide our services efficiently so that we are up and running 24/7.

Our solution is deployed in a private cloud. Everything is hosted in our environment and provided as cloud services. We are in the process of moving our infrastructure from the previous environment to the new environment where Cisco firewalls are installed.

In terms of our security maturity as an organization, we are young. In fact, we are young as a country. We have been providing electronic services for more than 10 years for our clients. We have a huge number of clients, with over 120,000 users who subscribe to our system and who access our services on a daily basis or, at a minimum, three to four times per year.

We use a few tools for security in terms of management, both internal and external, but we are mainly relying on Cisco. Our network is based on Cisco, and we also protect our mail system with Cisco. Previously, and in parallel, we used Sophos next-generation firewalls.

What is most valuable?

The solution provides us with application visibility and control and, at this stage, we are happy with it. Similarly, we are very happy with Cisco Firepower Management Center. We're still at an early stage, but we haven't seen any problems with the Cisco products. We are still switching on features and looking at how they are working.

When it comes to the integration among Cisco tools, we find it easy. It's a very practical integration with other components as well.

We also believe that Cisco is updated about all security issues and threats and efficient enough to provide us with the features and protection we need.

For how long have I used the solution?

We just installed them recently. We started installation at the end of 2020 and we completed it this month, April 2021.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's still early, but we believe the stability is alright.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is better than the other firewalls we have, due to technical features. Our technicians have realized that this is much more scalable compared to other solutions.

How are customer service and technical support?

So far, the technical support has been excellent.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a bit complex. It wasn't a major challenge, but due to our requirements and network, it was not very straightforward but still easy enough.

We did a proper implementation plan according to the complexity of our network and our requirements. Then we used the best method for implementing it while mitigating our risks and meeting our requirements. We found a good way to implement it.

The setup took us two calendar months, but in terms of the actual time required to configure it, it was not so long. The setup took approximately as long as for other firewalls we have used.

What was our ROI?

It's hard to talk about ROI when it comes to security, but security now is expensive. You have to pay for it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

For us, the pricing was more economical than other products we used. There were no extra costs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated a lot of the providers: Juniper, Palo Alto, Check Point, and Fortinet. Our technical team really researched things for a considerable amount of time, and they came up with a decision that this would be the best.

Cisco was chosen because there were many features according to assessments made by other users and as noted in technical data sheets we looked at during the research. They came up with a few features which are better than what other products have. 

Also, especially when you have been a long-time user of Cisco products and services, we found that from a budget perspective it was going to be much more preferable than the others.

What other advice do I have?

We are very satisfied with the service and the product. I don't think that any product would be better than Cisco when it comes to next-generation firewalls.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Co-Founder at Multitechservers
Real User
Great remote VPN features, easy to set up, and offers 24/7 access to support
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco ASA provides us with very good application visibility and control."
  • "If they want to add better features to the current Cisco ASA, they can start by increasing the encryption. That is the only thing they need to improve."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using the solution for VLAN implementations and also for remote VPN capability - basically it's used for connecting to remote offices securely.

How has it helped my organization?

After implementing tools, including Cisco ASA, unauthorized access comes down a lot. We are not facing asset issues as of now. We are not facing an issue related to malicious traffic or any bad activity in our network.

What is most valuable?

The solution can allow and block traffic over the VLANs.Some of the unauthorized actions and malicious traffic can also be blocked effectively, as we are following PCI DSS compliance. We are a card industry. We are using cards as a payment method, and therefore we need to follow the compliance over the PCI DSS. That's why we chose one of the best products. ASA Firewall is very secure.

It's always easy to integrate Cisco with the same company products. If you are using other CIsco products, there's always easy integration.

Cisco is one of the most popular brands, and therefore the documentation is easily available over the internet.

They are best-in-class.

The remote VPN feature is one of the best features we've found. 

We like that there is two-factor authentication on offer.  We can integrate a Google authenticator with Cisco ASA so that whenever a person is logging on to any network device, they need to enter the password as well as the security code that is integrated by Google. It's a nice added security feature.

Cisco ASA provides us with very good application visibility and control. The Cisco CLI command line is one of the easiest we found on the market due to the fact that the GUI and the user interface are very familiar. If you're a beginner, you can easily access it. There's no complicated UI.

When compared to other products available, the cost is pretty similar. There's no big gap when you compare Cisco pricing to other products. 

There are multiple features in a single appliance, which is quite beneficial to us.

Support that is on offer 24/7. Whenever we face some technical issue, we can reach out to them easily.

We have not had any security breaches. 

They provide a helpful feature that allows us to configure email. 

We are getting a lot from the appliance in real-time.

What needs improvement?

There's an upgraded version of the 5500 that has come to the market. It offers the latest encryption that they have. If they want to add better features to the current Cisco ASA, they can start by increasing the encryption. That is the only thing they need to improve. The rest is good.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for about five or more years at this point. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability and availability are very good. there are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. it's a reliable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have it in our infrastructure for around 15 plus users, including Fortinet sites.

We have found that whenever the traffic spikes at peak times, the product automatically scales up to the requirement. We have also implemented the single sign-on it, and therefore, it automatically scales up. We haven't felt any limitations. Currently, we are using it for 1500 plus users. At any given time, there are around 700 plus users available in the office. It's a 24/7 infrastructure. We have tested it for up to 750 plus users, and it's perfectly fine.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is excellent. they are always available, no matter the time of day, or day of the week. We are quite satisfied with their level of support. They are quite helpful and very responsive. I'd rate them at a ten out of ten. They deserve perfect marks.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use a different solution. When the office was launched we implemented Cisco as a fresh product.

We are using a Cisco ASA Firewall, as well as Sophos at the remote sites. We are using another product is for log collecting. There are three solutions that basically cover us for security purposes. Those, at least, are the physical devices we are using as of now. The rest are cloud solutions such as Nexus. 

That said, I personally, have used Sophos XG as a firewall in the past. Sophos is good in terms of traffic blocking and identifying interruptions to the traffic. The features are better on Cisco's side. For example, there is two-factor authentication and a remote VPN. The only benefit I found in Sophos was the way it dealt with the traffic. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not overly complex or difficult. It was quite straightforward and very easy to implement. 

Deployment takes about 20 to 25 minutes. 

In terms of the implementation strategy, at first, we put up the appliances in the data center. After that, we connected it with the console. After connecting the console, we had an in-house engineer that assisted. Cisco provided us onboarding help and they configured our device for us. We have just provided them the IP address and which port we wanted up. Our initial configuration has been done by them.

What about the implementation team?

While most of the setup was handled in-house, we did have Cisco help us with the initial configurations.

What was our ROI?

The ROI we are getting from Cisco ASA is higher availability, which we are getting all the time. On top of that, it's good at blocking traffic and protecting us from cyber-crime issues.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is pretty reasonable. it's standard and comparable to other solutions. The maximum difference between products might be $20 to $40. It's not much of a difference. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other solutions. We trust Cisco. It's a very good product and well known in the market.

What other advice do I have?

We are a customer and an end-user.

We are using physical Cisco appliances.

We use a lot of Cisco products, Cisco router (the 3900-series routers), and Cisco switches.

In the next quarter, we will implement SD-WAN. Once the SD-WAN is implemented, then we will go with an automated policy and DNS kinds of tools. We are in the process of upgrading to Cisco ASA Firepower in the next quarter. We have not integrated Cisco ASA with Cisco's SecureX solution.

I'd recommend the solution, especially for medium-sized or larger companies and those who are looking for long-term solutions (for example those with a user base of around 2,000 plus users in and around 20 plus applications). It's reliable and offers users a lot of features. This helps companies avoid having to rely on other third-party solutions.

If you are new to Cisco, you should take advantage of the education they have on offer. Cisco provides access to training and it's worth taking advantage of this.

Overall, I'd are the solution at a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.