Aruba ESP vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cato Networks are both solutions in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #26, while Cato Networks is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 1.1% mindshare in SASE, compared to Cato Networks’s 6.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cato Networks users are willing to recommend the solution.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Aruba ESP and Cato SASE Cloud Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba ESP vs. Cato SASE Cloud Platform Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba ESP vs. Cato SASE Cloud Platform

September 2026

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.2%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Aruba ESP is 1.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cato SASE Cloud Platform is 6.4%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cato SASE Cloud Platform	6.4%
iboss	3.2%
Aruba ESP	1.1%
Other	89.3%

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

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.

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SatishKumar13

Deputy Manager at Savex Technologies Pvt Ltd

Has improved remote connectivity with secure segmentation for traveling users

The scenario has totally changed after COVID. Earlier, people used to work from office culture, but now it has shifted to work from anywhere. Devices are not fixed either. Previously it was fixed asset, but now people are using smartphones, IoT devices, laptops, and other devices, connecting from anywhere. Segmenting network traffic is very difficult and complicated because putting a firewall across devices is very difficult and nearly impossible. EdgeConnect, which includes endpoint protection or SSE, is very agent-based. POPs are nearly reachable across the globe, so users can access services globally whenever they want to reach the data center or access the internet. It creates segregation, and after segregation, it comes with security functionality including CASB, web, anti-malware, and antivirus functionality. It protects the endpoint whenever connecting with unsecured networks. The first level post-check of security parameters matches all functionalities. Their segregation part allows us to define parameters through ZTNA functionality, Zero Trust Network Access where we can define postures, whether devices relate to corporate network or personal use, if antivirus is running, if OS is updated, and many more things. Based upon that, it helps customers protect the complete infrastructure, whether connecting with office network, unsecured network, or remote office.

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reviewer2697738

Product & Services Integrator at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Cloud security has unified global network design and has simplified threat visibility

I think all of the functionalities, such as the secure web gateway feature, are quite good. I also believe Cato SASE Cloud Platform is one of the only solutions that has not only a software firewall solution but also a physical software solution where you can change the company's firewalls and put in sockets from Cato SASE Cloud Platform, which I see as an advantage for them. The single-pass architecture has improved user experience with Cato SASE Cloud Platform as it provides security teams in companies a platform where they can easily obtain information if there are breaches or security issues. I assess the benefit of integrating WAN optimization as good. There is ease in making rules between WAN optimization, especially when it comes to global connections because of all their points of presence that are spread over the world. I think the real-time threat protection of Cato SASE Cloud Platform is also good. Their points of presence are quite efficient, and I do not see any delays in that area.

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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

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"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."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

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

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

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."

More iboss pros

"It provides a single umbrella for the complete network infrastructure, which is a very key differentiator from other products."

"Aruba ESP is a single place where you manage everything, and you have integrations with a lot of other vendors together on the same platform."

"If you really want to have a solution that has an easy deployment and provides SD-WAN and firewall abilities, go with Cato Networks."

"The solution is stable."

"What I found most helpful in Cato Networks is that it works out of the box. One of its main advantages is that it's a simple product to deploy. You subscribe, and you're ready to run."

"Cato offers all the functionality found in other solution. The life cycle management is always very stable."

"I would definitely recommend Cato Networks to other users."

"The main features we use are the firewall and secure web gateway."

"The solution is stable and reliable, our customers haven't had any complaints about its quality, it is quite simple and easy to use, and the support, overall, has been okay."

"Cato Networks seems to do everything we wanted it to do."

More Cato SASE Cloud Platform pros

Cons

"iboss could improve by making alert noises lower, adding clearer setup steps, and speeding up support response times."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

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

"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."

"I would rate iboss an eight out of ten because it provides strong cloud-based security threat protection, centralized policy management, and visibility into web traffic. I would give it a higher rating if automation, reporting, and troubleshooting capabilities could be improved further."

"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 iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"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."

More iboss cons

"Segmenting network traffic is very difficult and complicated because putting a firewall across devices is very difficult and nearly impossible."

"Aruba ESP should include more integrations with third-party vendors."

"They should add more sophisticated security features. It should also be integrated into the cloud."

"The different languages in the user interface should be enhanced to include other languages."

"We would like the product to continue to improve its security."

"There's no principal in Malaysia, only a distributor."

"The product may be complex for users with few years of experience."

"The tool should improve its interface."

"Cato Networks could improve their intrusion detection. There is not a lot in place."

"They can't do one-to-one NAT (Network Address Translation) in AP (their access point), and that is something that Palo Alto can do."

More Cato SASE Cloud Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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 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 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."

"Users need to pay a yearly license for three, five, seven, or ten years based on their requirements."

"The pricing of the solution depends upon the bandwidth required for different branches"

"I rate the price of Cato Networks a four out of five."

"The price is not an issue for us, as it is priced more competitively than some other vendors."

"The product is very competitively priced, and that's compelling. They don't charge the customer based on the operational cost like other brands such as Palo Alto. Cato has its own fully-fledged cloud, with their own data centers, equipment, and so on, which is an advantage. I rate the solution five out of five for affordability."

"Cato Networks is an expensive product, but it works out of the box, so that's the usual trade-off, make versus buy. If you decide to buy a product that doesn't require much programming, then you'd want to go for Cato Networks, which will work naturally, and immediately without any complex setup. However, the product is a little bit more expensive than the competitors. On a scale of one to five, I'd rate the pricing for Cato Networks as four."

"The pricing is on the higher side, almost an eight out of ten."

"The solution is reasonably priced since Cato Networks provides features like SASE and monitoring, which I am very happy with currently."

"The solution's pricing is flexible."

More Cato SASE Cloud Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

No data available

Manufacturing Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	11

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

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What needs improvement with Aruba ESP?

The scenario has totally changed after COVID. Earlier, people used to work from office culture, but now it has shifte...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Aruba ESP?

I am working for the SASE portfolio as a product manager, so I cannot give any comment on other products. If there ar...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Aruba ESP?

I rate Aruba ESP a nine out of ten.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cato Networks?

I can see that I am a consultant at a reseller and I am the architect of Cato SASE Cloud Platform designs. In the bas...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Cato Networks?

It is difficult to find types of companies I would not recommend Cato SASE Cloud Platform to, and I believe you can u...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cato Networks?

I do not find it particularly expensive, but for some companies, they may not have the budget to be at that level of ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

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VMware SASE vs Aruba ESP

Compared 22% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Aruba ESP

Compared 17% of the time

Appgate SDP vs Aruba ESP

Compared 5% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Aruba ESP

Compared 5% of the time

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs Aruba ESP

Compared 5% of the time

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Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Aryaka Unified SASE Platform vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform

Compared 5% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Cato SASE Cloud Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More Cato SASE Cloud Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

October 2026

Download Aruba ESP product report

Buyer's Guide

Cato SASE Cloud Platform

November 2026

Download Cato SASE Cloud Platform product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Cato Networks

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

Aruba ESP, a cutting-edge platform, enhances network management by integrating AI-driven technology to deliver smart, scalable, and secure connectivity solutions.

Aruba ESP stands out due to its intelligent capabilities to predict and resolve network issues before they impact operations, offering a comprehensive approach for modern network environments. It integrates AI and machine learning to streamline network operations, providing robust security and seamless connectivity. By simplifying management and maintenance, it empowers IT teams to focus on strategic projects while ensuring optimal network performance.

What are the key features of Aruba ESP?

AI-Powered Automation: Automates network management tasks and improves operational efficiency.
Scalable Architecture: Easily expands with the network needs, accommodating growth and change.
Comprehensive Security: Includes built-in security features to protect data and users from emerging threats.
Unified Infrastructure: Offers a single platform for wired, wireless, and WAN environments.

What benefits should users anticipate?

Reduced Downtime: AI capabilities preemptively resolve issues, minimizing disruption.
Lower Operational Costs: Automation reduces the need for manual monitoring and adjustments.
Improved User Experience: Seamless connectivity and speed enhance end-user satisfaction.
Enhanced Security: Robust protection reduces the risk of breaches and data loss.

In industries such as healthcare, education, and retail, Aruba ESP is implemented to address distinct connectivity challenges. In healthcare, it secures sensitive data while maintaining uninterrupted service, whereas in education, it supports high-density environments with reliable internet access, enhancing digital learning experiences. Retailers leverage it for seamless omnichannel integrations, improving operational efficiency and customer interactions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Cato SASE Cloud Platform delivers a comprehensive approach to network security and connectivity, integrating SASE, CASB, and zero-trust network access for improved performance and scalability in diverse locations.

Cato SASE Cloud Platform offers robust security solutions, including a next-gen firewall and VPN support. It provides a unified management system that is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures. The platform's self-healing model ensures real-time threat mitigation, enhancing connectivity and performance even in challenging locations. Users appreciate the platform's scalability, integration capabilities, and significant cost savings. However, there is room for improvement in security, network integration, feature enhancement, and affordability to better support larger enterprises and improve user experience.

What are the essential features of Cato SASE Cloud Platform?

SASE: Integrates security and networking functions for seamless performance.
CASB: Provides secure access to cloud applications.
Zero-trust Network Access: Offers secure and direct access without the need for traditional VPNs.
Unified Management: Centralizes control for ease of use and improved efficiency.
Next-Gen Firewall: Robust protection against diverse threats with advanced firewall capabilities.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Scalability: Easily adapts to growing organizational needs.
Cost Savings: Reduces expenses through efficient integration and operations.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlined processes save time and resources.
Responsive Support: Quick access to help when needed enhances user satisfaction.

Organizations in sectors like finance, telecommunications, and construction use Cato SASE Cloud Platform for enhanced network security and global connectivity. It effectively replaces MPLS with a cloud-native SD-WAN, integrates security measures for public clouds, and provides centralized management. Its implementation supports a zero-trust model, redundancy, and ISP integration, ensuring scalable remote access and improved security measures.

Cato Networks

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Information Not Available

Paysafe, AdRoll, Pet Lovers Centre, Arlington Orthopedics, Humphreys & Partners Architects

Buyer's Guide

Aruba ESP vs. Cato SASE Cloud Platform

September 2026

Free Report: Aruba ESP vs. Cato SASE Cloud Platform

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