We performed a comparison between Azure DNS and Cisco Umbrella based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: In this comparison, Cisco Umbrella takes the lead. It is easy to deploy, has a free version and a paid version of the product, as well as good support. In contrast, Azure DNS users share mixed opinions on deployment and support.
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the simplicity of putting DBs."
"The solution is easy to use and flexible."
"It is a very stable solution."
"The solution allows you to host DNS service without using Azure's servers."
"The setup is relatively straightforward."
"The DNS resolution is the most valuable feature."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a stable product."
"Reports provide insight into internet usage and information helpful in creating QoS rules."
"We are very new users of the solution and are still in the exploration stages, but we are happy with the product thus far."
"When it comes to hybrid work it's pretty effective. We've got the agents. We can protect people inside our building and, when they're using their laptops out in the field, they're still protected. It's working well."
"For me, it's important that I get a connection to my corporate network in a secure and fast way. This product just runs in the background and doesn't need any attention. For me, as a user, it's perfect."
"The feature that we find most valuable is to be able to filter out those web requests that you don't want."
"The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple."
"It provides centralized, device-agnostic management of the Internet experience."
"The integration features within, for example, the Cisco VPN product and the Umbrella module are valuable."
"Azure DNS' documentation needs to improve."
"The technical support can be more knowledgeable."
"The product must provide information on which DNS or application is consuming the most budget."
"What needs improvement in Azure DNS is visibility in terms of troubleshooting. It's similar to the area for improvement in Azure Network Watcher, where I can see how the source is going out if I'm troubleshooting a source destination. I can also see the destination. As for seeing how the packet travels, that's what should be improved. It's still lacking in visibility. Suppose I'm looking into backend machines, and if I'm hitting another NPM machine or any machine on the other side, there should be visibility. The tool should tell you that a specific machine is passing through a VPN gateway or route table, routing to a third-party firewall, and then dropping. Azure DNS should show an accurate answer to help the customers, which is its area for improvement."
"The process of creating a virtual mission could be improved."
"The initial setup of this solution could be less complex and require less manual configurations."
"I would like to see more integration with other platforms, improved stability, enhanced security, and better pricing because there is always room for improvement."
"The DNSSEC feature is not yet available on the DNS server so it needs to be added."
"Data reporting could be improved."
"It would be useful if they had a malware protection engine running inside their own VM."
"I would like for them to continue building on IPS and IDS functionalities."
"The solution's technical support is not very good."
"I'd like to see improvement in its overall integration with all the other platforms. There's some integration between Umbrella and Meraki, but an overall Cisco problem is that there are so many different tools, and finding easy, seamless ways of connecting everything together is always a challenge."
"Network connectivity was a bit of a challenge at the beginning, but we were able to get the right help from Cisco."
"The locks and management could be better. The product is fairly new, and it may take some time to get all the features up and running."
"If we're trying to deploy it to a Mac through Meraki, it's impossible. The method of deployment for a Mac, and the features available in Meraki, are not compatible at all."
Azure DNS is ranked 2nd in Managed DNS with 26 reviews while Cisco Umbrella is ranked 1st in Secure Web Gateways (SWG) with 55 reviews. Azure DNS is rated 8.4, while Cisco Umbrella is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Azure DNS writes "Beneficial integration and security, and highly stable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Umbrella writes "We can see all of our locations in one place and only have to make changes once for all our locations". Azure DNS is most compared with Amazon Route 53, Cloudflare DNS, Infoblox DDI, Google Cloud DNS and Quad9, whereas Cisco Umbrella is most compared with Zscaler Internet Access, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security and Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway.
We monitor all Managed DNS reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.