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Appgate SDP vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN 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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (6th), Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (6th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (7th)
Appgate SDP
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA as a Service (16th), ZTNA (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (16th), Microsegmentation Software (7th)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (14th)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.
Joseph Koomson - PeerSpot reviewer
Ip Network Security Specialist at MTN Ghana
Zero trust access has strengthened remote connectivity and secures diverse office devices
Appgate SDP support is always available to assist, which is the primary strength. However, there are areas for improvement. When a user is unable to connect, the platform should display detailed information such as the user's IP address, MAC address, and specific reasons for connection failure. Currently, aside from invalid username and password errors, Appgate SDP provides generic errors related to policy, such as a policy admin error. The system should provide deeper diagnostics to explain why a user cannot connect. The dashboard could also be enhanced with additional features and logins to provide better visibility. Sometimes there is no immediate clarity about what is happening. After using Appgate SDP for a long time and experiencing various errors, we have learned where to investigate, but this would be problematic for new users trying to resolve issues. The dashboard could display user connection times, failure reasons, and other relevant information. The user activity logs and accounting features should be improved in particular.
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"This product is solid, fairly easy to use, and reliable."
"I recommend iboss for organizations looking for strong cloud-based web security and centralized access control."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"Overall, the major benefit from Browser Isolation is improved security without compromising employee productivity."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."
"Appgate SDP is the best solution for micro-segmentation and supplying VPN solutions."
"It is a scalable solution...The support answers your questions very fast."
"Previously, with AnyConnect, we experienced frequent issues, and in comparison to that solution, we have seen significant improvement and minimum downtime."
"The interface is really friendly. It's simple to understand."
"One of the most important features is stopping lateral movement across our network."
"The flexibility of the tool is valuable; it is very robust, has a very robust configuration capability, is pretty well documented, and is also good interface-wise."
"It is pretty stable."
"The simplicity of the SDP platform is a standout feature; instead of navigating through intricate details, users can seamlessly connect to the company's network or switch to the internet with minimal effort."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a good solution."
"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
"It's been stable for as long as I've been using it."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is reasonably priced, and its technology is flexible."
"The setup and installation was easy."
"The product is very stable."
"While we know that SSL VPN is an advanced technological step towards achieving a more secured network against ever growing multiple networking threats, Cisco's SSL VPN device is definitely a wise choice to pick."
"Cisco certainly has a really strong support team."
 

Cons

"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."
"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."
"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."
"iboss can be improved because the integration could be better; you need to import all the sites that you access today, and there are a few problems whenever you import thousands of websites, making the integration process messy for the users."
"The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices; it is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents, and that is where in 2025 we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform."
"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"One limitation is that it's harder to provide access to multiple applications in the company with Appgate, but that's probably because of poor management."
"On the cloud, when you make some changes, it may be difficult."
"They could provide a single-box solution to manage tools for 4000 users. Additionally, they could add extra features to enhance remote micro connection."
"It would be better to connect to an application portal from any device. Documentation and support could be better."
"The user interface should be improved as it is not very easy to work with the updates."
"When a user is unable to connect, the platform should display detailed information such as the user's IP address, MAC address, and specific reasons for connection failure."
"If I could change or improve anything about Appgate SDP, it would be to enhance the user experience by improving the UI so that it is more explanatory."
"One thing that kind of sticks out to me is the ability to do a proper non-split tunnel."
"I would like Cisco IOS SSL VPN to provide a faster connection."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"They could provide the cloud-based as-a-service model with monthly rental payments."
"The servers should be more user-friendly."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should add a sensor that can authenticate with a fingerprint instead of having to type the username and password every time."
"When many people are using the internet at home, which is usually right after dinner, this type of service is a little bit hard to use. The internet becomes quite slow, and sometimes, I have to stop using this application. I am not sure if this issue is because of the application or my internet provider."
"The solution takes some time to log in because of some unavoidable security barriers, but it would be better if that could happen faster."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
 

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."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"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 probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"We pay $100 per user per month. One license for the site is around $17."
"The pricing is according to the market price. It is not a very cheap solution. They have some very aggressive promotions to sell the product in the market."
"It is a pretty expensive tool. It is maybe about $20,000 per year for a hundred users or so."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"The product costs less."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The platform is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
iboss could be improved by making the dashboard more user-friendly, providing more detailed real-time alerts, and imp...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
iboss is primarily used for cloud security, helping to protect users when they access websites and cloud applications...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
The pricing and licensing for iboss were reasonable for the security features. The setup costs were manageable, thoug...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appgate SDP?
Regarding pricing and setup cost, everything is already pre-installed in my organization, so I am not sure about pric...
What needs improvement with Appgate SDP?
Appgate SDP support is always available to assist, which is the primary strength. However, there are areas for improv...
What is your primary use case for Appgate SDP?
Appgate SDP is used for user connectivity both in the office and outside the office for remote connectivity. When out...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their impr...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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