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Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Cisco Web Security Appliance comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (7th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Akamai Secure Internet Acc...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
24th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Domain Name System (DNS) Security (11th)
Cisco Web Security Appliance
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Web Security Appliance is 1.8%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
iboss2.5%
Cisco Web Security Appliance1.8%
Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise1.0%
Other94.7%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MS
Senior Analyst at Deloitte
Have successfully routed high-volume application traffic through secure channels and maintain compliance across client environments
CDN capability is what I appreciate about Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise. It protects applications that are internet-facing or public-facing. Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is a product which has very good features and capabilities. I have worked on Radware also, but Radware has some limited capabilities. Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise has positively impacted my organization. We have around 62 applications within our firm which are now routing traffic through Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise. It has fewer false positives, which is something we haven't encountered yet. I assess the impact of Akamai's real-time threat filtering as 10 out of 10, and I am satisfied with this feature.
IgnitiusMolepo - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IP Network Defense at MTN
Ensures security for remote workers
The Cisco Web Security Appliance provides DLP to organizations. It helps prevent the unauthorized transmission of sensitive information by blocking such attempts. Additionally, it safeguards against malware attacks, particularly on websites not authorized by our company. Its role in protecting us from malware is pivotal. The organization itself handles the configuration and management of Cisco Web Security Appliance. Cisco assists in deploying and configuring the appliance and managing all associated services. Integrating the Cisco Web Security Appliance with other solutions is quite challenging. For instance, when we tried to integrate Netscape KSP, we encountered difficulties retrieving logs. Additionally, our solution failed to interact with the Web Security Appliance. Overall, the integration process remains problematic, hindering the effectiveness of our security infrastructure. We have both the cloud version and the on-premises version. For clients who require data sovereignty, we offer the on-premises version, which includes a data sovereignty tool. This allows them to enforce policies that prevent the transfer of logs to third-party data centres, ensuring compliance with their country's regulations. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."
"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."
"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."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."
"The best feature of Akamai SPS Threat Avert is that it's very user-friendly compared to other technologies."
"The threat intelligence feature is particularly valuable when used with another product of Akamai, as their researchers continuously update this threat feed database, making it an effective tool for defending against and blocking bad actors, public malicious IPs, harmful hashes, and malicious URLs."
"Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is a product which has very good features and capabilities."
"The most valuable features is of the solution is that it is user-friendly and we get good web security from it."
"It's a scalable product."
"The technical support is good, it is reactive, and the documentation is very specific and very useful."
"Cisco regularly upgrades features for the customer's security requirements."
"Through my years working with Cisco, I would always recommend Cisco, any product that they provide, thanks to my years of experience."
"The best feature of Cisco Web Security Appliance is its policy framing, it also has a good UI and it can handle traffic well, Cisco Web Security Appliance is a good product."
"The tool has good Umbrella DNS security."
"It's very scalable; if you buy one bundle with 100 users, you can install unlimited appliances to scale horizontally and have ten appliances that can log share communications."
 

Cons

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"It is stable, but due to growth, it can sometimes be less stable than wanted."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."
"From a financial standpoint, I do not believe Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is cost-effective when compared to other solutions available in the industry."
"Akamai SPS Threat Avert's pricing could be improved because it's a very expensive enterprise solution."
"Their support response time needs improvement. They take on average one week to respond, which is not satisfactory given how critical applications are to the organization."
"If a user wants to use it for other devices like mobile or smartphones, this product isn't so reliable."
"Sometimes reporting is a little bit short."
"If a user wants to use it for other devices like mobile or smartphones, this product isn't so reliable."
"I would like more automation."
"The reporting needs improvement."
"If you're a customer with a lot of sites, then an on-prem solution like WSA is not a good option."
"The licensing model needs to be more flexible."
"The support is good but slow. Generally, the response time for resolving issues is getting slower."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"Provided the features Akamai SPS Threat Avert provides, it is bound to be expensive."
"I know from the manager that the price is too high and that other solutions offer the same features for less."
"The tool's licensing is yearly."
"When you compare the price of this solution to the price of FortiGate, it's high."
"This is an expensive solution."
"Licensing fees are based on the number of users."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance is not the cheapest solution on the market, but it's well worth it."
"The licensing options begin with 100 users and this is a high threshold for smaller networks."
"I rate Cisco WSA a seven out of ten since it is costly."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...
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...
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...
What needs improvement with Akamai SPS Threat Avert?
Since Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is not being used in our campus environment, as our users do not route...
What is your primary use case for Akamai SPS Threat Avert?
Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is designed to protect users' access to the internet.
What advice do you have for others considering Akamai SPS Threat Avert?
Our organization does not utilize the internet access feature of Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise because our...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Web Security Appliance?
Comparing with other products, Cisco has more functionality, but pricing is a challenge. Cisco is not a product for s...
What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?
With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAN...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The user interface that I usually provide for the web app includes malware protection, URL filtering, data loss preve...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Akamai Enterprise Threat Protector, Akamai ETP, Akamai SPS Threat Avert
Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security
 

Overview

 

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.
MCNC, Educational Testing Service
New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Caixa Seguradora
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs. Cisco Web Security Appliance and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.