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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco IOS SSL VPN1.4%
AWS Direct Connect1.8%
Other96.8%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Flavio Gomes Figueira Camacho Junior - PeerSpot reviewer
Establish secure and private connections between on-premise infrastructure and cloud environments
AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial because it helps me use our infrastructure for databases and testing while leveraging AWS's computing power for production purposes. I also do not need to expose management of our machines to the public internet, enhancing security by using a private connection.
Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight 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

"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"It is a stable solution."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA."
"It helps us access networks from anywhere."
"With Cisco IOS SSL VPN, you can access your corporate data safely and securely."
"The solution is quite transparent."
"It is a product that is very robust and durable."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN is very stable. We never experience issues with it."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides fast connectivity and the option to connect through multiple servers."
"The multicast feature is useful for us."
 

Cons

"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"The solution's configuration could be made easier."
"I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches."
"The graphical interface is old and needs to improve."
"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."
"They could provide the cloud-based as-a-service model with monthly rental payments."
"Sometimes the connection drops, and we don't like that. I'm not sure the reason, but sometimes it will take time to connect or it will disconnect fast."
"I have no notes in terms of areas of improvement."
"It can be difficult to find service and at times we cannot connect with the internet easily."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"The licensing fee is expensive."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
"The tool is expensive."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"It is an expensive product."
"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions.
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I'm not an end user of any of those SAP products. I wanted to have a comparison between different solutions for process mining and process modeling, but I'm not an end user of any. I have Microsoft...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The pricing for Cisco IOS SSL VPN is based on per user. For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
It's hard for me to say how Linksys could be improved. I can't think of any specific improvements needed. I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier m...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.