Array AG Series vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) comparison

Array Networks and F5 are both solutions in the SSL VPN category. Array Networks is ranked #14, while F5 is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2. Array Networks holds a 2.0% mindshare in SV, compared to F5’s 12.8% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution.

Array AG Series

Read 1 Array AG Series review

106 Views
51 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Read 17 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews

670 Views
546 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Array AG Series

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Array AG Series and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Cisco, Ivanti and others in SSL VPN.

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Buyer's Guide

SSL VPN

May 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

Array AG Series

Ranking in SSL VPN

14th

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (40th)

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Ranking in SSL VPN

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (17th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (11th), Access Management (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Array AG Series is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 12.8%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

SSL VPN

Featured Reviews

reviewer1730568

Network and Security Engineer at a security firm with 11-50 employees

Exceptionally stable, cost-effective, and offers a user-friendly interface

Deploying Array AG Series isn't exactly simple as it requires expertise in handling SaaS solutions and involves a thorough study of the customer's network and requirements. Skill set and support assistance are crucial during installation. For a single-box, basic configuration, you might pull it off in about five hours, a day at most. However, achieving stability takes longer, as VPN products need time to settle in an organization. Depending on user complaints and day-to-day issues, it could take a while to get everything running smoothly. In our deployment experience with Array AG Series, five engineers, including myself, were involved in executing over twenty VPN projects across India in the last four to five years. These were substantial projects, taking about a week to stabilize the solution. As for maintenance, it is neither simple nor overly complicated. It requires careful attention because any issues can have a global impact on users over the internet. Maintenance for a single site typically requires the attention of one or two individuals.

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Ashish Kumar Rai

Associate Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure

I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.

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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

"What I appreciate most about the Array AG Series, and what our clients value as well, is its exceptional stability."

"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."

"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."

"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."

"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."

"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."

"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."

"I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) to others due to its reliability, and it is perceived as critical to security infrastructure."

"The solution is stable and reliable."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

Cons

"The main area for improvement with Array AG Series is its support services."

"Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and we already have Citrix for VDI. We got NetScaler almost free as part of our VDI deal. Three years ago, I convinced him to use the solution because it's better, but now, with budget constraints, he may want to switch."

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."

"The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5."

"F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."

"The initial setup was complex."

"The technical support’s response time must be improved."

"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better"

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"The product is very expensive."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Array AG Series?

What I appreciate most about the Array AG Series, and what our clients value as well, is its exceptional stability.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Array AG Series?

In terms of pricing, Array AG Series is relatively competitive. It is priced below some of the higher-end options like GlobalProtect from Palo Alto and Check Point. While it isn't significantly che...

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What needs improvement with Array AG Series?

The main area for improvement with Array AG Series is its support services. Compared to products like Cisco and Zscaler, the support response time is slower, often taking three to four hours. The f...

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What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does not have a direction for SaaS. Most solutions focus more on remote access and acc...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SSL VPN

May 2025

Download Array AG Series product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

May 2025

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

Also Known As

Array AccessDirect, AccessDirect, Array AG Series SSL VPNs

F5 Access Policy Manager

Overview

Array’s scalable SSL VPNs centralize control over access to applications, desktops, files, networks and web sites from a broad range of remote and mobile devices – providing secure connectivity, end-point and server-side security and application-level AAA policies on a per-user basis. Available as physical or virtual appliances, or on popular public cloud platforms, the AG Series is ideal for enterprises that need to support multiple communities of interest as well as for service providers that need to provide remote access to globally dispersed data centers.

Array Networks

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

Sample Customers

Hitachi Federated Cloud, VM Racks, Needham Bank, Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians, Harmon Law Offices, City of Lilburn, Georgia

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, Cisco, Ivanti and others in SSL VPN. Updated: May 2025.

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