Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs Cisco Duo comparison

Akamai and Cisco are both solutions in the Access Management category. Akamai is ranked #16 with an average rating of 9.0, while Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.8. Additionally, 100% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Cisco Duo and Akamai Enterprise Application Access are both leading security solutions. Cisco Duo seems to have the upper hand in user-friendliness and customer support, while Akamai stands out for its robust feature set and security.

What features are offered by Cisco Duo in comparison to Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

Cisco Duo offers intuitive multi-factor authentication, seamless integration capabilities, and quick deployment. Akamai Enterprise Application Access provides comprehensive security measures, advanced access controls, and detailed reporting functionalities.

What areas of improvement can be found in Cisco Duo in comparison to Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

Cisco Duo could benefit from better customization options, improved reporting functionalities, and extended flexibility. Akamai Enterprise Application Access requires a more streamlined setup process, enhanced user documentation, and optimized onboarding support.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Cisco Duo in comparison to Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

Cisco Duo is known for its quick deployment and responsive customer support. Akamai Enterprise Application Access is slightly more complex to deploy but offers thorough customer service.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Cisco Duo in comparison to Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

Cisco Duo generally has more favorable reviews regarding pricing and provides a quicker return on investment due to its simplified deployment. Akamai Enterprise Application Access, although perceived as more expensive, is valued for its extensive security capabilities, which users deem worth the cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs. Cisco Duo Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs. Cisco Duo

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

iboss

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851

Managing Director

Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment

I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.

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Dan Escosar

Platform Manager at Globe Telecom

Centralized authentication streamlines global access with single sign-on and auto-scaling for seamless user experience

We use Akamai Enterprise Application Access for centralized authentication for our global customers. It provides a solution for consolidated authentication on our platform. We use the service to manage access for our global consumers, not for remote access for our employees My favorite part of…

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Charles Slaustas

Information Technology Contractor at Insight global

Supports seamless authentication for users across multiple organizations and personal portals

The features I use in Cisco Duo include Duo Pushes to confirm my identity to the device, and eventually as MFA security was increased, I actually had to use exchange passcodes. Sometimes, I have to go into the site and get into Cisco Duo to retrieve the passcode, and many of them have been two-factor, where the sites send a passcode that I have to enter into Cisco Duo. It has been more of the latter. I have not seen issues with lagging or crashing on Cisco Duo's end; it was usually on the client end, often because someone set up a bad upgrade or there were connection issues with the Cisco Duo cloud through the administrative site.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

More iboss pros

"The capability of Akamai Enterprise Application Access is what you're looking for, it's giving you the service that you're looking for. It's simple and doesn't use an agent. It uses LCSD responders, and they have a lot of services around the globe. That's the reason that we were very interested in using it because it has a lot of coverage. This is because it's under the GDS umbrella."

"The solution is very convenient and stable because you don't have to worry about attacks to public IPs or public networks."

"Application Access's most valuable feature is the accessibility of enterprise tech protection."

"My favorite part of the Akamai Enterprise Application Access service is its SSO and auto-scaling capabilities."

"Clients I implemented Cisco Duo at immediately feel more confident in their security environment, and we can see a lot of illegal attempts to get in, giving me faith in the product."

"The most valuable features of Duo Security are visibility and OTP authentication. The OTP is very important because it is a self-enrollment feature, you are able to enroll users very quickly with a shorter time period."

"It has definitely reduced embedding. We found a lot of problems with attackers being able to compromise accounts. Now, when they try to access accounts, they are not able to do so because there is an added layer of protection. Once we know that a username and password are compromised, we just reset the password to protect the company."

"My total rating for Cisco Duo is ten out of ten."

"We get fewer threats to remediate due to the two-factor authentication, which does not allow as many threats through."

"If you have to log in to something, you must go to Duo Security to confirm that you're who you are on your phone."

"The two-factor login is great. I receive a message and just have to press okay."

"The ability for users to authenticate via phone, from any random phone number, has been very helpful for managing a distributed workforce. Using it across a distributed network for securing access to our applications is big for us."

More Cisco Duo pros

Cons

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

More iboss cons

"The technical enablement sessions are quite limited, and Akamai could help by providing more of them."

"The pricing could be lower for Akamai Enterprise Application Access."

"The solution has two agents so should combine its enterprise application and security access into one agent."

"We need another approach to bring the solution to the cloud. In addition to Access Management, we would like to see if we can jump into Directories. I think ADs are going to go away and everything is going to be cloud-based and minimize the use of ADs because of the cost and some other dependencies to the cloud. Every time you buy AD it is more hardware, and everything's changing to software. The network's changing, the applications are changing, and for IT it is hard to keep up with it."

"Removing the need for a password would be a positive change as well as the ability to cover all the different enterprise applications. They don't have coverage for everything."

"The product could be more intuitive on the app."

"My experience with Cisco Duo's strong security authentication system is that sometimes there are difficulties, and sometimes users just won't be able to log in. We have to reset their password so they can use Duo."

"Most of my colleagues from other companies use the Microsoft MFA solution because it's included in Office 365. Few people are considering Cisco Duo. That's the primary problem in our area. It's a solution mostly adopted by Cisco users."

"There was an issue related to integration with third parties."

"I would appreciate seeing Cisco Duo improved with a tighter integration with Active Directory to secure not just Remote Desktop to a server, but all the remote levels of connection that you can make to a server."

"I have not seen ROI with Cisco Duo; probably the opposite, because it impedes productivity time to be able to get into the system. You have to authenticate and do your regular login and your Active Directory logins."

"The price of Cisco Duo could be better."

More Cisco Duo cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"Licensing is based on user count."

"The license can be shared based on the number of active users."

"The price is great it is all-inclusive, they use an enterprise cost model. That's what we like compared to other users. This is one of the main attractions of Akamai Enterprise Application Access. It's already an enterprise cost model established with us for services."

"During testing we are allowed a certain number of licenses for free."

"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been good, with no issues. I am pleased that the prices remained stable after Cisco acquired the solution."

"It's a bit confusing because we're on a three-year plan with a certain number of licenses, and we've gone over that number. They told us that when we renew, they will add all these licenses. We've expanded quickly, so everyone's kind of scared because no one knows what the bill is with the long pricing cycle."

"Their pricing model is a little bit weird. Currently, there is no price advantage in signing up for yearly contracts. There are no additional costs to the standard licensing costs."

"It was very reasonable."

"It's very simple. Its price is fair. We use the hardware tokens as well. You get what you pay for. In terms of licensing, Cisco has very complicated products, but Duo Security was surprisingly easy."

"Cisco has the most expensive products because market leaders tend to charge a lot."

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."

More Cisco Duo pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	39

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

The pricing could be lower for Akamai Enterprise Application Access.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

The pricing is a bit expensive for our market. Although it is cheaper compared to alternatives, Akamai Enterprise App...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Akamai Enterprise Application Access?

We use Akamai Enterprise Application Access ( /products/akamai-enterprise-application-access-reviews ) for centralize...

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How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?

We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Du...

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What do you like most about Duo Security?

They are users who, as mentioned before, utilize RDPAP and MDPAP. It includes functionalities related to finance, spe...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Duo Security?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that one of the most powerful features is the licensing...

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Product Reports

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iboss

January 2026

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ZTNA as a Service

October 2025

Akamai Enterprise Application Access report

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Cisco Duo

January 2026

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Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Soha

Duo Security

Overview

Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.

Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.

iboss

Akamai Enterprise Application Access is a cloud-based solution that provides secure access to enterprise applications and data from any device, anywhere. It eliminates the need for traditional VPNs and allows organizations to easily manage access to applications and data for employees, partners, and customers. With its zero-trust approach, it ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive information, reducing the risk of data breaches.

Akamai

Cisco Duo is a cloud-based identity security platform safeguarding critical resources for any user and device worldwide. Known for its ease of use, Duo offers seamless protection across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Cisco Duo is designed to secure access with identity-first protection and provides extensive visibility throughout an organization's identity ecosystem. Offering multi-factor authentication, Duo facilitates easy integration and management, allowing teams to protect data effectively on VPNs, applications, and networks. Its single-pane management improves security processes while enhancing trust, making it suitable for diverse IT infrastructures.

What are the key features of Cisco Duo?

Multi-factor Authentication: Strengthens user verification with multiple methods.
Push Notifications: Simplifies authentication with quick approvals.
Single Sign-On: Enhances convenience by allowing one set of credentials.
VPN Access: Secures remote connections with reliable authentication.
User Activity Visibility: Offers comprehensive insights into access patterns.

Which benefits and ROI should users consider?

Quick Deployment: Facilitates rapid integration within existing systems.
Effective Management: Streamlines IT operations with centralized control.
Regulatory Compliance: Aids in meeting industry standards for data protection.
Enhanced Trust: Strengthens security posture across networks.
User-friendly Approach: Simplifies authentication for non-technical users.

In industries like education and finance, Cisco Duo is widely employed to secure multi-factor authentication across platforms such as email, databases, and servers. Its integration capabilities with Microsoft 365, Active Directory, and VPNs like AnyConnect are instrumental in verifying user identities using mobile apps or OTPs, catering effectively to both remote and on-premise environments.

Cisco

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Bugcrowd, InPowered, Spirent Communications

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs. Cisco Duo

December 2025

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