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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) 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
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Client (includ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (1st), ZTNA as a Service (10th), Cisco Security Portfolio (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 2.1%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is 7.1%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
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.
Wouter Beer - PeerSpot reviewer
Generates revenue through service offering while needing additional safety features
The primary use case for Cisco Secure Client, including AnyConnect, is as a VPN for remote access I use AnyConnect because I have Cisco infrastructure. It utilizes certificates, which allows for automatic setup. The security features are beneficial, and the whole idea of the app is that it should…

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."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"On Cisco's side, the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) story is quite valuable."
"It's a very scalable solution. We are using the maximum licensing they offer, and it's very affordable given the value."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client's most valuable feature is the ability to connect to our enterprise applications, on-premise applications, and cloud any place in the world"
"The most valuable feature is AnyConnect's reliability."
"Cisco Secure Client's AnyConnect VPN's reliability has been absolutely wonderful, as well as the ability to connect from any network, regardless of location."
"Advanced malware protection helps us to prevent any virus from contaminating computers. We also have DLP for prevention. And AnyConnect has a feature that lets us do some sandboxing to evaluate files that arrive from the outside. So before opening them, we can check them with the sandbox."
"Technical support is always helpful."
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client provides a secure way for users to access our systems remotely."
 

Cons

"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"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."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"The setup could be simplified for solutions engineers with a wizard."
"In terms of areas for improvement in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, from my point of view, the solution works well and right now I don't see the need to improve it. Probably a better user interface could be created for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, but its core is VPN creation, and that works well, though I'm not a VPN specialist, and I'm not an expert on how to create a VPN, how the VPN gateway works, how it's implemented, and what's the architecture behind it. A two-factor authentication feature was recently added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. In the past, you only needed to log in with your username and password, but now, there's a token, and the user interface for that token isn't that good. That's another area for improvement. Cisco should also make the two-factor authentication better in the solution. What I'd like added to the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client in its next release is a better two-factor authentication, in particular, the validity of the code being shorter because sometimes when I get the code and I add it to the client, it's invalid, though I'm unsure if it's centrally set up that way or if its a characteristic of the product. Making the interface of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client more user-friendly is also what I'd like to see in the next release of the solution."
"The solution could offer tighter integration with endpoint protection to make it easier to use when routing security applications from other vendors."
"The GUI needs to be upgraded."
"The configuration from the client-side would be useful. Right now, it's not centralized. There should be a lock so that it can only be configured from one place."
"The security of the product has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required."
"I have been working with the same interface for the last ten years. I would say that it needs some improvements made."
"I would like to see improvements in regards to the connectivity speed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Sometimes there is a problem with the number of licenses for the end-user. The number of concurrent users is limited due to a valid license."
"The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."
"We are in the North African region, and Cisco products are expensive for us. On a scale from one to ten with one being very affordable and ten being expensive, I'd rate the price at eight."
"It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
"There is a license needed to use this solution. There are different licensing models available, such as a three-year license."
"It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
5%
Educational Organization
31%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) and AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ), for disaster recovery pur...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I have used AWS Direct Connect ( /products/aws-direct-connect-reviews ) in projects to directly connect artifacts and for setting up a call center service in a customer service project. It is used ...
What do you like most about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
The tool is user-friendly, robust and easy to use in any environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is somewhat expensive compared to others such as Fortinet or Palo Alto, which provide free VPN when the firewall is purchased. Palo Alto and Fortinet prov...
What needs improvement with Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client?
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) is sufficient now after the update to version five or later, and I believe there's nothing to improve. I would prefer the cost to be reduced by about 20% ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.