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Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Very easy to accomplish content filtering, we don't need to do a lot of customization for it
Pros and Cons
  • "It makes it really easy to accomplish content filtering. We don't have to do a lot of customization. You just click the box for the content category and it's up to date."
  • "I would like for them to continue building on IPS and IDS functionalities."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for Cisco Umbrella is for content filtering and for different access lists. We have different lists for different departments of what they can access.

How has it helped my organization?

It makes it really easy to accomplish content filtering. We don't have to do a lot of customization. You just click the box for the content category and it's up to date. 

This ability is very important to my organization because we're in the financial sector and security is at a premium. 

What is most valuable?

Cisco Umbrella is pretty straightforward and simple to use. We recently did social media blocking and it was really easy for our marketing department to access it. It's pretty straightforward. 

It helped free up IT staff for other projects. It saves us a lot of time by blocking potential breaches. It's very reliable.

Umbrella has definitely helped us improve our cybersecurity resilience by blocking malicious links and adware.

What needs improvement?

I would like for them to continue building on IPS and IDS functionalities. 

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Umbrella
June 2025
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For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco Umbrella for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's been very reliable. I haven't had any issues with it. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is easy. It's deployed through group policies. 

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

We're a Cisco shop. We have a lot of their products.

What was our ROI?

We have seen ROI through its pop-up blocking. 

What other advice do I have?

We hope that Cisco will help us consolidate tools more than it is now by incorporating more IPS and IDS functionality. 

My advice to someone considering Cisco Umbrella would be to focus on how easy is to use the GUI and how easy it is to navigate. You pretty much just click a box and the content categories work. 

I would rate Cisco Umbrella a ten out of ten. 

If your needs vary by department, I would advise making different groups for different departments. It's easier to do it that way than to set it up and go back to tie it to different AV groups. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Global CTO at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Video Review
Real User
Hassle-free implementation, effective user safeguarding, and high level support
Pros and Cons
  • "The primary advantage of Cisco Umbrella is its ability to safeguard our users no matter where they are working from - whether it's in the office or remotely, as per the new work model that has emerged globally. This integrated security solution has simplified our lives by combining all the necessary security measures in one product. Additionally, deploying the product is all it takes to protect all our users."
  • "Although Cisco Umbrella has an excellent global network footprint, there is still room for improvement and growth in this area. Additionally, there are bandwidth limitations associated with the connectors that need to be addressed. To be a viable solution for larger offices, Cisco Umbrella must continue to expand and improve its capabilities in these areas."

What is our primary use case?

We started using the standard version of the Cisco Umbrella to upgrade to a newer version last year.

How has it helped my organization?

As a company with a global presence spanning over 110 countries, Cosentino requires a uniform security solution that can ensure the safety of its users. Our search for an ideal solution led us to seek one that was easily deployable, integrated seamlessly with our existing systems, and offered robust protection. After thorough market research, we found that Umbrella was the most suitable solution for our needs.

Cisco Umbrella has notably enhanced the perception of security among our users. The solution is seamless and transparent for them to use, and they feel protected at all times. This makes it an excellent solution for users in terms of their experience. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, the quick deployment time is critical for our organization, and Umbrella has significantly improved it.

Cisco Umbrella is an ideal product for our organization because it is a standardized solution that can be implemented uniformly across the entire organization. It adheres to industry standards and provides the same high level of security to all users, regardless of their location or role within the organization. This consistency in security measures ensures that every user in the organization is protected to the same degree.

Thanks to the standardized solution offered by Cisco Umbrella, our IT staff has been able to focus on other projects. Once deployed, we no longer have to worry about security in that particular area. The solution is easy to deploy and seamlessly integrated with our infrastructure, making our lives much easier in this regard. Overall, it has significantly reduced the burden on our IT staff and allowed them to focus on other critical projects.

Cisco Umbrella has enabled us to consolidate our various tools and applications by providing comprehensive security coverage for our users, whether they are working in our office or remotely from home. With Cisco Umbrella, we can address all our security needs related to browsing and network security. While it's not mandatory, we have eliminated the need for most physical firewalls worldwide by leveraging Cisco Umbrella's capabilities. This solution has proved to be a game-changer for us, as it simplifies the deployment process significantly, as previously discussed.

What is most valuable?

The primary advantage of Cisco Umbrella is its ability to safeguard our users no matter where they are working from - whether it's in the office or remotely, as per the new work model that has emerged globally. This integrated security solution has simplified our lives by combining all the necessary security measures in one product. Additionally, deploying the product is all it takes to protect all our users.

What needs improvement?

Although Cisco Umbrella has an excellent global network footprint, there is still room for improvement and growth in this area. Additionally, there are bandwidth limitations associated with the connectors that need to be addressed. To be a viable solution for larger offices, Cisco Umbrella must continue to expand and improve its capabilities in these areas.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Cisco Umbrella for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco Umbrella has generally been a stable solution for us, although we have encountered some issues with the new connectors. Currently, we are experiencing some minor problems with disconnections or other issues, but these occurrences have been infrequent.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

While the solution is currently scalable, we recognize the need to continue expanding our connection points and bandwidth in order to accommodate future growth.

How are customer service and support?

The support provided by Cisco Umbrella is excellent. In addition to the standard support included with the product, we have also opted for an additional support layer provided directly by Cisco. We have been extremely pleased with the level of service we have received thus far.

While there are areas where improvements could be made, such as the RMA process, overall we are satisfied with the level of service provided by Cisco Umbrella.

I rate the support from Cisco Umbrella an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

Deploying Cisco Umbrella proved to be a hassle-free experience for us. Since our SD-WAN is based on Cisco Meraki products, integrating Cisco Umbrella with Cisco Meraki was an effortless process. This integration has enabled us to implement the first SASE solution in our organization, and the combined solution of Cisco Umbrella and Cisco Meraki has helped us to set up new offices in less than 30 days, which is a significant improvement compared to the five to six months it used to take us earlier. This has led to a remarkable enhancement in our deployment speed, which is truly amazing.

What was our ROI?

Calculating the return on investment for a security solution is a challenging task, as it can be difficult to measure. While we have not performed a formal assessment of the return on our Umbrella implementation, I am confident that it has yielded a favorable outcome for our organization.

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

The licensing and pricing structure of Cisco Umbrella is in line with standard systems on the market, and we have no specific requirements in this area. Overall, we have found it to be an acceptable pricing model for our organization.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

One of the main reasons we chose to implement Umbrella over its competitors was due to its extensive global network footprint, which closely matched our own footprint at Cosentino. Additionally, Umbrella's user-friendly interface was preferred by our users over other solutions, making it a more appealing option overall.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to others would be to ensure that the Cisco Umbrella footprint aligns with the organization's needs. This is a crucial factor in ensuring that the product works well for the company.

I rate Cisco Umbrella a nine out of ten.

My main goal with Cisco Umbrella is to ensure protection for my users, regardless of their location. Additionally, the solution provides a positive user experience and is overall a great product.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Umbrella
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Umbrella. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
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Network and security architect at Airbus Group
Real User
Good visibility, good support, and simple to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "We can have a full overview and a quick overview of all the DNS requests. For us, it's quite important."
  • "They can maybe simplify the configuration. For example, sometimes, the proxy part is quite difficult, and that's why we didn't deploy that."

What is our primary use case?

It's for the VPN nomad connection. We capture all the DNS requests, log them, and check them in case of troubleshooting for security or malware issues.

How has it helped my organization?

Through Cisco Umbrella, we managed to deploy our M365 system and our connection. It was very good for deploying access to those cloud systems. It was a very important requirement to check all the connections from outside when the laptops are remote, and we managed to capture all the DNS requests. It was a security requirement.

It hasn't saved us time, but we managed to deploy the connectivity to the cloud system such as Azure or M365.

What is most valuable?

We can have a full overview and a quick overview of all the DNS requests. For us, it's quite important.

What needs improvement?

Cisco Umbrella is a good solution. It meets all of our needs. They can maybe simplify the configuration. For example, sometimes, the proxy part is quite difficult, and that's why we didn't deploy that.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using it for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have no issues at the moment. It has been two years, and we did not have any issues. So, for us, it's quite good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have about 6,000 devices. So, I have no problem with scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good. We have a lot of feedback from our partners and our Cisco contacts. They get in touch to be sure that we are using the product correctly and whether we have any questions. I have had no problem with them. It's super good. I'd rate them a ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We didn't use any other solution previously. It's the first time we are using such a solution.

How was the initial setup?

We were already using Cisco AnyConnect, and for us, it was a simple plugin. We didn't spend much time. We did some tests. We worked with a local French team, and after that, we deployed it. For us, it was very simple to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it ourselves with the help of a partner in France. The partner company is called Nomios, and we had a good experience with them. They know a lot of Cisco products, which is very good. They are into security and network architecture.

What was our ROI?

We haven't yet seen an ROI.

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

Its price for us is quite expensive because it's a subscription, and we just use it for the DNS log. So, for us, it's quite expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We didn't evaluate any other solution. We went for Cisco Umbrella because we already had Cisco AnyConnect. We just used the plugin, and it was very simple for us to deploy it.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate Cisco Umbrella an eight out of ten. For me, it's quite a good product. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Dustin Funkhouser - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and security at Education Service Center - Region 11
Real User
I can create custom policies for bad domains that we want to block
Pros and Cons
  • "When it comes to hybrid work it's pretty effective. We've got the agents. We can protect people inside our building and, when they're using their laptops out in the field, they're still protected. It's working well."
  • "If we're trying to deploy it to a Mac through Meraki, it's impossible. The method of deployment for a Mac, and the features available in Meraki, are not compatible at all."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to protect our users from getting to any known bad domains.

How has it helped my organization?

It does what it's supposed to do, protecting us from getting to somewhere that we shouldn't.

The solution also helps us remediate threats more quickly. Examples are when an email campaign comes in with malicious links, or if they're on a website like Facebook which is full of junk that doesn't need to come through.

What is most valuable?

Domain blocking is among the most valuable features. It keeps people from accidentally clicking on something they shouldn't. Also, if I see an email that comes through, I can pick out bad domains that we want to block and make custom policies to block them.

In addition, when it comes to hybrid work it's pretty effective. We've got the agents. We can protect people inside our building and, when they're using their laptops out in the field, they're still protected. It's working well.

The single pane of glass management is also pretty helpful because we don't have to hunt for what we're trying to work on.

What needs improvement?

Getting to some of the reporting features is something that could be improved. When I am tracking someone that has done something, my first hint is usually an email, because I've got those scheduled to come in every so often. But then I've got to log in, dig into that user, find the time period, and then export it. There's a lot of waiting involved through all of those steps.

It would be helpful if there were an embedded link in the email so that when it says it blocked something in particular, I wouldn't have to click through five or six different things to get what was blocked in that email. With a link like that, I could just click from within the notification email and it would take me straight to that page.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Cisco Umbrella for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had any issues when using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling it is pretty easy. Every time we need to put it on a machine, it's just part of the deployment process.

There are a lot of features that I haven't used. They've been doing a lot of work on it recently and I was talking to one of our Cisco reps who talked about some things we can do with it that we're not doing yet.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had to use technical support.

How was the initial setup?

It's continuously deployed because, if we wipe out a computer, we've got to put the agent back on it. If we have to put it on a Windows machine, it's easy. If we're trying to deploy it to a Mac through Meraki, it's impossible. The method of deployment for a Mac, and the features available in Meraki, are not compatible at all. Getting it to the point where you could deploy a Cisco product with a Cisco product would be beneficial.

What other advice do I have?

Umbrella is pretty invisible to our employees. Most of them don't know we're using it. There isn't a lot of user training involved, as long as your security people can get in there and do what they need to do.

It's a great tool because you can effectively block a lot of things that can infect your machines. People don't realize they're getting something that's malicious.

Overall, it has been pretty helpful for what we're using it for.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Michael Abadeer - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Security Operations Manager at BeyondTrust
Real User
Securing DNS, specifically for the remote workforce we have today, fills a big gap
Pros and Cons
  • "It enables us to go granular in the customization of blocking some categories on the DNS."
  • "Having ready-to-go templates with best practices is definitely something that would be an improvement. Deployment, from day one, is something that definitely needs to be improved for Cisco customers."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for DNS filtration across all data centers, offices, and remote users.

How has it helped my organization?

The blocking of all the non-malicious traffic from DNS request queries has been huge. DNS is very important from a security perspective. Securing this layer, specifically for the remote users and the remote workforce that we're seeing today, is definitely a big gap that needed to be filled.

The DNS Umbrella agent is already installed on the core machine. So from day one, when our CEO sent all employees to work remotely, all we had to do was flip a switch to have a DNS filter on all core machines.

The visibility that Umbrella gives us into what a user is doing, versus what we want to block, is huge. It's not that we're policing things. It's just a matter of watching and having visibility. We're definitely not going to block every domain, but having visibility is very big.

What is most valuable?

It enables us to go granular in the customization of blocking some categories on the DNS. 

Also managing all the DNS aspects from one portal is definitely great from a security perspective. Sometimes we get a malicious URL in a phishing campaign on the email side. Blocking a domain across the whole company in one minute is definitely great. To block a DNS request very quickly you just add the domain to the Global Block List and in one second it's blocked.

Another feature that is good in Umbrella is applying and maintaining network connectivity consistently across all workplaces. You can go through the categories and do templates based on the sites, such as a data center or a branch and apply policies based on that.

What needs improvement?

Having ready-to-go templates with best practices is definitely something that would be an improvement. Deployment, from day one, is something that definitely needs to be improved for Cisco customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Umbrella for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is a 10 out of 10.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is also a 10 out of 10. We use it across all the company's offices and data centers. We have 1,500 users.

How are customer service and support?

The Umbrella service itself is great. Sometimes, with technical support, we go through "tag" problems, but otherwise, it's pretty smooth.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

We did not have a previous solution. We used to use CWS, which was Umbrella before it was named Umbrella.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is visible in the portal through the executive reports. They show how many times we block malicious sites. Management definitely gets a view of the fact that we're blocking a lot of malicious domains with Umbrella.

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

We have a security Enterprise Agreement with Cisco, so the pricing is good. We take many security products in one agreement, so we have no complaints about the price.

What other advice do I have?

From a DNS perspective, Cisco Umbrella is the number-one technology now.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
IT Director at New Egypt Gold
Real User
Stable, scalable and strong Cisco offering
Pros and Cons
  • "Meraki features and cloud-based functionality are advanced and easy to manage centrally."
  • "Lower costs including licensing, support, and renewals would be beneficial."

How has it helped my organization?

Cisco Umbrella improves web security posture.

What is most valuable?

Meraki features and cloud-based functionality are advanced and easy to manage centrally.

Reporting is a separate product. However, other features are embedded within the devices themselves. So, if you have one box, everything is included, which is good.

What needs improvement?

A more user-friendly interface like Kaspersky and lower costs including licensing, support, and renewals would be beneficial.

For how long have I used the solution?

My company has been using it since 2005. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable product. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable product.

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support are excellent, exceeding expectations.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I used Sophos, FortiGate, and Palo Alto firewalls.

Cisco Umbrella is manageable and well-supported by various vendors and partners, including Cisco Direct. It offers diverse technologies and features. However, now Sophos and FortiGate offer better tools and firewalls than Cisco.

Forti excels in SD-WAN services and integrates various functionalities like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and Wi-Fi controller within a single device.

How was the initial setup?

It is easy to implement. It is not straightforward, but it is easy. It is easier than before. 

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

The licensing cost is very high. We have to pay for support, renewal, and maintenance. FortiNet is cheaper compared to Cisco Umbrella. 

What other advice do I have?

Consider your budget. If you can afford it, Cisco Umbrella is a stable and scalable solution.

It's a strong Cisco product.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2158458 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Helps me to protect my endpoints so that they won't go to a malicious site
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is its ability to detect if a URL has malware or is vulnerable."
  • "I would like for their support to be faster."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for filtering and security reasons. We send our DNS queries to Umbrella. It will see if we go to a site that has malware or a virus and it will stop it. It detects if the URL has malware.

How has it helped my organization?

The multilayers of defense have improved my organization. We have a lot of defensive layers and DNS queries from Cisco is one of them. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is its ability to detect if a URL has malware or is vulnerable.  

What needs improvement?

I would like for their support to be faster. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco Umbrella for six to seven years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never experienced a stability issue where the site went down. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

Support doesn't always get back to me right away but they'll send me an email with the solution. It's not critical. I don't have an issue with it. I would rate their support an eight out of ten. I took two points off because it can take a day or two for them to get back to me. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. There is good documentation. I can deploy it within a day or two. There's a page that shows you the health of the agent. It makes me more comfortable knowing that my configuration is healthy. 

I did the deployment myself. 

What was our ROI?

We have definitely realized ROI through the protection Umbrella offers. 

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

The pricing is decent. The price is user-based, per month. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Cisco Umbrella a nine out of ten. I also use it on a personal level. It helps me to protect my endpoints so that they won't go to a malicious site. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Joao Taveira - PeerSpot reviewer
Coordinator of Systems Administration Team at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Video Review
Real User
Has a clean and user-friendly dashboard that provides a lot of information at a glance
Pros and Cons
  • "Umbrella has helped my IT staff in two ways. First, our security team was able to get more insights into the users, their devices, and the sites they browse. Second, our system administration team was able to manage DNS resolutions in a way that is more accessible and less intrusive to our domain system."
  • "It's easier for us to have support features with companies who are Cisco representatives, but sometimes, it's hard for us to get the help we need without having to use our contacts within Cisco."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was to first replace the solution we had since it wasn't able to give us security outside our premises. Also in terms of configuration, we had to have extra configurations in our Active Directory to identify the users and the equipment. Cisco Umbrella gave us a chance to do it in a more clean way, without having extra software working on our domain controllers.

Cisco Umbrella is deployed as a cloud solution with an on-premises server so that it can make the connection through our Active Directory to identify the equipment.

What is most valuable?

The most value we've seen after using it for a month is the ability to identify more clearly the usage of any device.

With Cisco Umbrella I am able to manage DNS resolutions on our devices both when they are inside and outside our network, supporting a hybrid work environment.

Umbrella has helped my IT staff in two ways. First, our security team was able to get more insights into the users, their devices, and the sites they browse. Second, our system administration team was able to manage DNS resolutions in a way that is more accessible and less intrusive to our domain system.

Soon, our IT staff will be able to save time because we'll be able to automate some security functions. The dashboard is very clean and user-friendly. Thus, at a glance, we will be able to see a lot of information that will help us identify more directly the sources and the root causes of security issues.

What needs improvement?

It's easier for us to have support features with companies who are Cisco representatives, but sometimes, it's hard for us to get the help we need without having to use our contacts within Cisco.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Cisco Umbrella for nearly a month.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have not had any issues with stability, but we've only had the solution for one month.

How are customer service and support?

The few times when we had to contact Cisco's technical support directly, we had perfect interactions with them. Therefore, I would give technical support a rating of ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We were using another solution for DNS security. It was not as complete and  would only allow us to manage security inside our network. We weren't able to get to the endpoints when staff were not working on-premises. We did a proof of concept with Cisco Umbrella and two other solutions for three months and chose to go with Cisco Umbrella because it gave us the features that were more suited to our organization.

How was the initial setup?

In our environment, it was straightforward and simple to implement Umbrella. We had SCCM for the end devices for mass deployment. Our domain controllers were connected to the server. The initial parameterization only took us three days. Currently, we are in the most difficult part of fine-tuning the solution so we can take full advantage of its features.

What about the implementation team?

Our Cisco partner helped us with the implementation.

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

Pricing and licensing of Cisco Umbrella is a bit confusing because you have to separate the DNS solution and the full-feature solution. Cisco in Portugal helped us understand which one was the right one for us.

What other advice do I have?

Since Cisco Umbrella has given me better performance and extra features that I didn't have previously, I would give it the maximum rating of ten out of ten.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
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 Umbrella Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Umbrella Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.