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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Nuage Networks comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiGate is valued for affordability, cost savings, enhanced security, operational efficiency, quick implementation, and long-term ROI benefits.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN delivers cost-effective operations and flexibility, with significant ROI from reduced MPLS and WAN expenses.
Sentiment score
8.5
Nuage Networks improved efficiency, scalability, and automation, reducing costs and complexity, while enhancing control, performance, and adaptability.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
They are now back to do that with the remainder of their company, so they've realized the value in 12 months and are willing to invest in the remainder of their organization.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service varies, with praise for responsiveness but criticism for slow, sometimes inadequate technical support.
Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is renowned for expertise and responsiveness but faces delays and outsourcing concerns, overall highly rated.
Sentiment score
6.7
Nuage Networks' customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, providing quick issue resolution, effective troubleshooting, and personalized assistance.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
The principal third-level support is very good.
I would consider Cisco support a 10 out of 10.
Cisco's ongoing reorganizations have affected the quality of technical support, which varies depending on the engineer handling cases.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate scales well for diverse enterprises, though planning and licensing are crucial to avoid hardware limitations.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN excels in scalability, adaptability, and seamless Cisco integration, despite initial setup challenges, supporting diverse enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users laud Nuage Networks for its seamless scalability, flexible network management, and efficient performance in cloud and SD-WAN environments.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is generally stable and reliable, with minor issues arising from new features, firmware updates, or hardware constraints.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is stable and reliable, with minor bugs, requiring regular updates for optimal performance in complex environments.
Sentiment score
9.0
Users praise Nuage Networks for reliability, strong features, seamless integration, scalability, minimal issues, and responsive support.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs enhancements in firmware, usability, integration, support, reporting, VPN, cloud integration, and documentation for seamless use.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN needs simpler management, enhanced security, better scalability, improved support, and more flexible pricing and integration.
Nuage Networks could improve documentation, simplify setup, enhance customer support responsiveness, offer better training, and improve system integration.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
The constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment.
Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
The negative, or the downside of Cisco is the knowledge base; you need to be a little bit more tech-savvy and network-savvy to work with Cisco, while Juniper is a lot more user-friendly from what I can see, especially in terms of configuration and any kind of roll back.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing with upfront affordability, simple licensing, and long-term value, despite potentially high renewal costs.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is costly, with complex licensing, but offers robust features; users seek discounts or OPEX models.
Nuage Networks provides customizable and competitive pricing for scalable solutions, appealing to enterprises with detailed, requirement-based quotes.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate delivers robust security features and intuitive management, offering scalable and affordable network protection solutions.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers centralized management, robust security, scalability, and superior connectivity with load balancing and excellent support.
Users praised Nuage Networks for its automation, integration, scalability, and security, valuing deployment simplicity, cost efficiency, and technical support.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
It also provides robust security features, including port security, analysis, mirroring, and multiple other security solutions.
Integration capabilities provide comprehensive security.
Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
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Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
357
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th)
Nuage Networks
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
20th
Ranking in WAN Edge
21st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Networking (SDN) (13th), Network Automation (20th)
 

Featured Reviews

Jorge Martínez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices
I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point. We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.
Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Kristof Spriet - PeerSpot reviewer
Great multi-tenancy and routing functionalities but needs more security capabilities
We primarily use the solution for connectivity to the majority of our customers, for national and international deployments.  Their multi-tenancy and routing functionalities are both great. It is stable and reliable. The solution can scale. Technical support has been fine. Security needs to be…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
36%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significant...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
There's nothing I could put my finger on right away for improvements in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. There is definitely no...
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Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Nuage Networks and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
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