Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client and Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Report (Updated: September 2023).
745,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution is very stable.""The most valuable feature of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is the consistency, I have not had any issues with the performance.""The most valuable feature is AnyConnect's reliability.""The most valuable features of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is the reliability and scalability.""This is a stable solution.""The most valuable feature of this solution is that it works all of the time.""Easy to deploy and has good NAC integration.""The product is easy to use."

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"I like it because it's very easy to use. You install the client and you have to know your gateway, but that's something we give to our users. Beyond that, it takes about three seconds to train them on how to use it. And it just works well. That's great for us because it means less administrative time.""You have the ability to create your own expressions for your data. Palo Alto understands that DLP is not the same for all consumers. You might have a particular need to fulfill, and they give you the opportunity to create a custom expression to match the specific format that you have. For a confidential file property that you have in your files, you can add a metadata field. It gives you that opportunity to create that.""The solution is not very complex and is easy to manage for people who may or may not have knowledge about Palo Alto Networks.""The stacked policies, event policies, and routing policies are easy to understand for someone with general knowledge.""Prisma helped us build a moat around our production systems. It's now impossible to log into our production from a non-MDM laptop. Prisma Access provides decent security overall.""Prisma integrates well with Cortex XDR and Cortex Data Lake. My company has been also using Prisma Access in-house for nearly a year, and it integrates seamlessly.""Prisma Access gives us security from a single point. It controls mobile users and determines how secure their networks will be, including from where they will get internet access. We can optimize things and add security profiles centrally.""Being able to use the user ID or Active Directory Group is one of the great features for control and providing more flexibility without worrying about IP addresses."

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Cons
"Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client can be improved by having better speed and reliability. However, the speed and reliability are already really good.""Sometimes when you disconnect or switch from one wireless network to another, it's necessary to re-login.""The cost could always be a bit less.""If there's any cloud version available, instead of on-premise, that would be ideal.""The deployment of the agent software for the final customer could be simpler and more helpful.""Sometimes if we're always having some network issues, or maybe the client is having some network issues, we might get disconnected.""Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client could improve by making a feature to set it apart from other competitors.""In general, it's always a good idea to improve scalability and stability."

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"One area for improvement is for them to stay on top of keeping their CVEs on their platform up to date.""Sometimes, we encountered a portal crash. When we told Palo Alto they said it might be the browser or cache, but I think they need to improve it on their side.""Its integration with non-Palo Alto products can be improved. Currently, it is easy to integrate it with other Palo Alto products such as Cortex XDR. It integrates well with other Palo Alto products. A major part of our network is based on Palo Alto products, but for those companies that use multi-vendor products in their infrastructure, Palo Alto should optimize the integration of Prisma Access with the network devices from other vendors.""There should be a dedicated portal or SASE-based solution. They're trying to add a plugin but it needs a dedicated portal because it is now an enterprise solution for multiple organizations. People should be able to directly log in to a dedicated page for Prisma Access, rather than going into a Panorama plugin, and always having to update the plugin.""When we deploy firewall rules via Panorama, we find it's a little bit slow. We have a global environment and might have 100 gateways or VPNs in the cloud. When we deploy something, it tries to deploy it one-by-one, and that can be slow.""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.""It is a managed firewall. When you run into issues and have to troubleshoot, there is a fair amount of restriction. You run into a couple of restrictions where you don't have any visibility on what is happening on the Palo Alto managed infrastructure, and you need to get on a call to get technical assistance from Palo Alto's technical support. You have to get them to work with you to fix the problem. I would definitely like them to work on the visibility into what happens inside Palo Alto's infrastructure. It is not about getting our hands onto their infrastructure to do troubleshooting or fixing problems; it is just about getting more visibility. This will help us in guiding technical support folks to the area where they need to work.""I haven't seen any SD-WAN configuration capability. If Prisma Access would support SD-WAN, that would help... SD-WAN devices should be able to reach Prisma Access, and Palo Alto should support different, vendor-specific devices, not just Palo Alto devices, for SD-WAN configuration."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I am using a paid version of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client."
  • "One thing I've noticed is the price in comparison to other VPNs."
  • "The price is okay."
  • "It costs around 80,000 Indian rupees for a hundred licenses, so approximately $1,020 USD."
  • "The solution is reasonably priced and costs $600 for a five-year license in our scenario."
  • "The initial cost is the ASA and other items, but after that, it is relatively inexpensive."
  • "We have yearly licensing and it's very affordable."
  • "The solution is based on an annual licensing model and is expensive."
  • More Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The initial prices of Prisma Access were okay. But as soon as you start deploying Palo Alto gear, the support prices and the recurring prices, which are the major operational costs, tend to increase over time."
  • "Based on what I have heard from others, it is a pricey solution as compared to its peers, but I am not sure. However, considering the features that it offers, it is a break-even point. You get whatever they are promising."
  • "The pricing can be difficult because it came to us with another agreement, but it can be negotiated. I highly recommend people to compare this product's performance and pricing against BetterCloud, because I feel BetterCloud is better than Prisma SaaS if they're starting from scratch."
  • "It is pretty expensive. We have to balance the cost of some features. They need to work on some of the services and products, price-wise."
  • "The licensing model for this product is complicated and changes all the time, making it very hard for the user to comprehend the configuration."
  • "They price their products using credit modules."
  • "I would advise choosing your options according to your company's needs. Just go for what you want and do not pay for anything extra in terms of licensing. You need to determine how much bandwidth is required in your company network, and according to that, you should pay for the license. The mobile user license is based on the number of users who are going to use the VPN solution. You need to determine how many mobile users you are going to have in your network, and you should pay according to that. There are no other costs in addition to licensing, but if you go for the consultant services of Palo Alto networks to deliver the solution for you, then you need to pay something extra. That is not a part of licensing."
  • "The pricing is very friendly. It's not confusing to figure out your workload and how much you'd be paying for the solution."
  • More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:It is not a free solution and the user needs to buy a license.
    Top Answer:There is a speed limit for VPNs because of the encryption. That could be improved.
    Top Answer: We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure access service edge (SASE) designed to deliver network security in a… more »
    Top Answer:Palo Alto Firewall is one of the best firewalls in the world.
    Top Answer:I'm still comparing, but the solution is quite expensive.
    Ranking
    Views
    13,555
    Comparisons
    9,512
    Reviews
    44
    Average Words per Review
    351
    Rating
    8.4
    Views
    7,222
    Comparisons
    4,919
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    1,240
    Rating
    8.1
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility, AnyConnect Secure Mobility, Cisco AnyConnect, AnyConnect
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access
    Learn More
    Overview

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility is a unified agent that provides different security services to help empower and protect organizations. It offers the visibility and control you need to figure out who and what is gaining access to your extended company before, during, and after an attack.

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility is an endpoint security platform that includes remote access, posture enforcement, and online security features. It provides your IT department with all of the secure access options it needs to deliver a reliable, user-friendly, and highly secure mobile experience. It not only allows VPN access via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), but it also provides additional security via built-in modules, such as Cisco Network Access Manager, Cisco

    AnyConnect ISE Agent, and Cisco AnyConnect Web Security Client.

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Features

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Accessible from any location: Cisco AnyConnect allows any user to connect to the workplace network from any device, at any time, and from any location.
    • Unified endpoint compliance: Cisco AnyConnect unifies endpoint posture and remediation across wired, wireless, and VPN environments for Cisco ISE. It offers endpoint posture testing for OS levels, the most recent antivirus updates, and other resources to improve endpoint security and compliance.
    • Web security: Cisco AnyConnect includes a web security module that may be used with either the on-premises Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) or the cloud-based Cisco Cloud Web Security (CWS). Admins can give comprehensive secure mobility to all end users by combining online security with VPN access, which is critical for BYOD deployments.
    • Secure network access: The Network Access Manager has advanced connection features that allow managers to decide which networks or resources endpoints can access. It includes an IEEE 802.1X supplicant as well as some unique encryption methods that can be deployed as part of authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) capabilities.
    • Mobile device support: Cisco AnyConnect is compatible with the most common devices used by today's workforce. With per-application VPN, highly secure remote access can be device-based or powered transparently by certain enterprise mobile applications.
    • Simplified management and usability: Cisco AnyConnect provides a consistent user experience across on-premises and off-premises devices without causing IT headaches.

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Endpoint security that is context-aware, comprehensive, and ongoing
    • Flexible access to company resources over wired, cellular, and VPN networks
    • Low cost of ownership
    • User Verification
    • Prevents data threats at entry
    • Protects users who are off the VPN
    • Uses visibility and analytics to optimize security
    • Unlocks endpoint visibility

    Reviews from Real Users

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to be customized and its reliability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

    Hakan T., Senior Solution Sales Consultant at a tech services company, writes, “Every time I have to connect to the network I use this solution. It is a customizable solution, it makes life easier for me. It makes the global workforce work much easier and more secure.”

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, a Product Manager and CMOS Image Sensors at a manufacturing company, mentions, “Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client works well, we don't have any issues with it. The most valuable feature of this solution is that it works all of the time.”

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks provides consistent security for all users and applications across your remote networks. Prisma Access grants users safe access to the cloud and data center applications and the internet as well. In addition, the solution combines all of your security and networking capabilities into a single cloud-delivered platform, enabling flexible hybrid workforces.

    Prisma Access can be managed two ways:

    1. Cloud Managed
    2. Panorama Managed

    Prisma Access delivers both networking and security services, including:

    • SD-WAN
    • VPN
    • Zero Trust network access (ZTNA)
    • Quality of service (QoS)
    • Clean Pipe
    • Firewall as a service (FWaaS)
    • DNS Security
    • Threat Prevention
    • Cloud secure web gateway (SWG)
    • Data loss prevention (DLP)
    • Cloud access security broker (CASB)

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Features

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks has many valuable key features including: App-ID, User-ID, Device-ID, SSL Decryption, Dynamic User Group (DUG) Monitoring, AI/ML-Based Detection, IoT Security, Reporting, URL Filtering, Enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)*, Logging, Policy Automation, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), and many more.

    Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks include:

    • Security: Prisma Access gives you consistent security to protect against cyberattacks, with enforcement of policy at every location. By implementing Prisma Access, you also gain protection that works to prevent known and unknown malware, exploits, credential theft, command and control, and many other attack vectors across all ports and protocols.

    • Global connectivity: Prisma Access provides global coverage through use of its connectivity layer.

    • Scalability: With Prisma Access, scaling is automatically managed and is scalable, flexible, and agile.

    • Instant deployment: Deployment is fast, eliminating wasted time that may otherwise be associated with setting up a solution, operating it, or shipping hardware in order to get started.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

    users who are currently using the solution.

    PeerSpot user Partha D., Global Network Tech Lead at a computer software company, speaks about his experience using the product, saying, "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."

    Tejas J., a Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a computer software company, mentions that "it is geographically dispersed, and it sits on top of Google and AWS platforms. Therefore, you don't face the standard issues, such as latency or bandwidth issues, that you usually face in the case of on-prem data centers.

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, Max I., Associate Director at Cognizant, comments that "Security is absolutely spot-on, really top-notch. It's the result of all the components that come together, such as the HIP [Host Information Profile] and components like Forcepoint, providing end-user content inspection, and antivirus. It incorporates DLP features and that's fantastic because Prisma Access makes sure that all of the essential prerequisites are in place before a user can log in or can be tunneled into."

    Offer
    Learn more about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
    Learn more about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks
    Sample Customers
    MST, Molina Healthcare, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Arup, New South Wales Rural FireService
    Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company26%
    Comms Service Provider19%
    Energy/Utilities Company14%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization42%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Government6%
    Financial Services Firm5%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company48%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Logistics Company4%
    Comms Service Provider4%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise58%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise47%
    Large Enterprise39%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise31%
    Large Enterprise41%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise68%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    745,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is ranked 3rd in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 45 reviews while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is ranked 4th in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 27 reviews. Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is rated 8.4, while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client writes "Easy to use, stable, has no connectivity issues, and allows users to work from home". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks writes "Makes us part of a bigger security ecosystem with updates taken care of for us, but pricing and support need work". Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is most compared with OpenVPN Access Server, Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, Zscaler Private Access, Check Point Remote Access VPN and Cisco Umbrella, whereas Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is most compared with Netskope , Cisco Umbrella, Zscaler Private Access, Prisma SD-WAN and AWS Direct Connect. See our Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report.

    See our list of best Enterprise Infrastructure VPN vendors.

    We monitor all Enterprise Infrastructure VPN 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.