We compared Prisma Access and AWS Direct Connect across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:
Features: Prisma Access stands out for its ease of use, advanced security features, and global performance. AWS Direct Connect is recognized for its top-notch security, speedy connectivity, smooth migration process, and intuitive interface.
Room for Improvement: Prisma Access could benefit from enhancements in error handling, latency, and integration with other cloud architectures. AWS Direct Connect could use more precise terminology in its documentation and improve the patching and upgrading process.
Ease of Deployment: The setup process for Prisma Access varied in complexity and duration based on the size and requirements of the organization. While some users found it straightforward, others mentioned the need for expertise and assistance. Setting up AWS Direct Connect is considered challenging, particularly when integrating with an existing data center, and it can take several months to fully set up. Initial training is required and usually lasts about a week.
Service and Support: Prisma Access's customer service has received mixed reviews. Some customers expressed a desire for better technical support, while others have had positive experiences with prompt responses and knowledgeable engineers. AWS Direct Connect's customer service has been criticized for its speed and could be improved.
Pricing: Prisma Access is a more expensive solution, but users say the price is justified by its quality and features. AWS Direct Connect is also expensive, as licenses are acquired on a monthly or yearly basis.
ROI: Prisma Access excels in identifying security concerns, seamlessly integrating with various products, and delivering instant value. The return on investment for AWS Direct Connect is influenced by factors such as use case and data transfer.
Comparison Results: Prisma Access provides enhanced security options, convenient user access, and worldwide performance, but some users said it was challenging to use or configure, and it is relatively expensive. AWS Direct Connect is highly secure, has fast connectivity, and is commended for its ease of migration and user-friendly interface. However, the solution could benefit from a simplified setup and improved documentation.
"The solution has good performance."
"It's an ideal gateway solution for small and medium businesses, i.e., around 300 devices can be easily handled."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"It protects all app traffic so that users can gain access to all apps. Unlike other solutions that only work from ports 80 and 443, which are predominantly for web traffic, Prisma Access covers all protocols and works on all traffic patterns... The most sophisticated attacks can arise from sources that are not behind 80/443."
"The tool's consolidation is pretty quick."
"The stacked policies, event policies, and routing policies are easy to understand for someone with general knowledge."
"Monitoring is the most valuable feature because we can easily monitor all kinds of stuff coming over the network. We can check the dashboard and work accordingly."
"The protection for web-based applications was helpful for my colleagues who didn't want a particular application on their devices. And the non-web access protection was more for our developers because they were writing and building code on their computers. Prisma Access was able to protect them."
"The scalability of the solution is excellent."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"The solution's most valuable features were the model's reduced complexity on the client side and its capability to provide security."
"There must be a more easy-to-use GUI."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"The documentation is generally good, but they could provide a more detailed description of all the configuration steps. I have to search for information or call support. Palo Alto could add more knowledge base articles about configuration with screenshots and walkthroughs. That would be helpful. When configuring a product, you want to see examples of how it is done."
"We've run into some challenges, having hit a lot of bugs over the past year in the deployment of GlobalProtect. We've had our fair share of issues that I haven't been happy with. We're working with the support organization to remediate them and waiting for updated releases. The response on getting the bugs fixed has not been what I would consider adequate for a product like this."
"If you compare Prisma SaaS against other products, such as Cloud Log, it's a little bit tricky to understand, but it offers different functionality that other products don't have. From a user usability point of view, you need some training for this product, as an admin, you need a couple of demos."
"We would like to see improvements in the licensing; currently, Palo Alto provides 500 to 1000 licenses for users, and we want to see 1500 to 2000 licenses for one version."
"The licensing model isn't flexible enough. It's an all-or-nothing model. Other providers in the market allow you to buy modules or add-ons separately. With Prisma Access, you have to purchase the same module for all users."
"There is some particular traffic that the security team wants to filter out and apply their own policies and they cannot."
"The price can be reduced to make it more competitive."
"Though the monitoring is fine, the solution should improve its application graphs and interface monitoring."
More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Pricing and Cost Advice →
AWS Direct Connect is ranked 12th in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 4 reviews while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is ranked 5th in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 55 reviews. AWS Direct Connect is rated 8.8, while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of AWS Direct Connect writes "Has low latency and provides good stability ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks writes "Integration with Palo Alto platforms such as Cortex Data Lake and Autofocus gives us visibility into our attack surface". AWS Direct Connect is most compared with AWS PrivateLink, Lumen MPLS IP VPN, Fortinet FortiClient, IBM Secure Gateway Service and Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client, whereas Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is most compared with Netskope , Cisco Umbrella, Zscaler SASE and Zscaler Private Access. See our AWS Direct Connect vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report.
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