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Cisco IOS Security vs Lumu comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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
7.4
Cisco IOS Security delivered significant ROI through improved routing, security, stability, and cost-efficiency, despite competitive vendor pressures.
Sentiment score
5.9
Lumu saves engineers 10-20 hours weekly by blocking malicious sites, with quick ROI and validation from Albert service.
The return on investment is satisfactory with Cisco products as they have long lifespans, and our customers are satisfied with them.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
It self-reports as saving 10 to 20 hours a week of engineer time.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS Security support is generally praised for speed and skill, though some report delays and complexity in access.
Sentiment score
8.5
Lumu's customer service is highly praised for speedy and effective support, especially during setup, with notable Colombian excellence.
My impression is that the support quality has deteriorated over time.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
It picks up on borderline issues that matter.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, enterprise-level solutions but may increase costs and limit universality due to required hardware.
Sentiment score
8.0
Lumu offers robust scalability across environments, with easy deployment and a flexible licensing structure, despite network-size-dependent variability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco IOS Security is generally reliable with occasional issues, frequently updated for stability, scoring 7-10 in satisfaction.
Sentiment score
8.9
Lumu is praised for its stability, reliable performance, and minimal impact during maintenance, earning high user satisfaction ratings.
We find Cisco products stable and thoroughly tested before new software or firmware versions are released.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
I find Cisco IOS Security to be a very stable product.
Partner/Owner and Director of Human Resources at Up arrow Systems
Stability has been excellent.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS Security struggles with integration, usability, cost, lacking features, complex licensing, performance, and requires enhancement and support.
Lumu users seek improved integration, reporting, community support, and refined threat discovery, anticipating these enhancements in future updates.
Cisco changes their licensing policy quite frequently, which is becoming confusing and complicated.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
Having some sort of certification or training, along with more periodic webinars might be helpful.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS Security is costly, favoring medium to large enterprises with longer-term savings over SMB challenges.
Lumu is an affordable, cloud-native tool with straightforward pricing based on network traffic, offering competitive value compared to alternatives.
The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
In our environment, it costs approximately 1200 a month.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, stable solutions with VPN, AAA, firewall integration, and user-friendly management for high-demand environments.
Lumu provides real-time threat detection and integration, enhancing response times and simplifying data analysis with minimal false positives.
There are higher-level systems such as intrusion prevention systems which detect intrusions within the system.
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
This solution, called Network Access Controller, handles authentication, authorization, and accounting for devices accessing the network.
Partner/Owner and Director of Human Resources at Up arrow Systems
It provides peace of mind knowing that any device on our network, whether it is our own, BYOD device, or an unauthorized device, is being tracked and analyzed at multiple levels.
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS Security
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (40th)
Lumu
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
15th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Network Detection and Response (NDR) (10th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 2.4%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lumu is 2.0%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Lumu2.0%
Cisco IOS Security2.4%
Other95.6%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Danijel Cerovecki - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
Have faced challenges in keeping licensing clear and consistent while ensuring reliable network protection
We are a Gold Partner with Cisco. Our customers come from various industries, including service providers, and we target service providers and enterprise customers.We do not extensively use Zone-Based Firewalls in Cisco IOS Security, instead typically deploying standalone firewalls such as Cisco FTDs or Cisco ASA devices. For threat analytics and vulnerability scanning, we utilize third-party vendors with dedicated devices and software. We use products such as Tenable from Nessus for this type of analysis. We have implemented Secure Access Control Server in Cisco IOS Security, which combines multiple security mechanisms including AAA, 802.1X for network access control with Cisco ICE, TrustSec for identity-based segmentation, and Cisco DNA Center. Cisco IOS Security's VPN support is comprehensive and increasingly important in daily communication, from basic site-to-site tunnels to remote access VPNs and SD-WAN secure VPNs. Protecting and encrypting communication is essential in modern networks. The challenges with Cisco IOS Security are more operational than product-related. There is an understaffing issue, making automation and orchestration capabilities particularly valuable. For the products themselves, we only encounter routine operational matters such as addressing new vulnerabilities and patching. For those considering Cisco IOS Security, it is important to understand that Cisco offers a complete ecosystem. When embracing the Cisco ecosystem fully, customers receive excellent products and comprehensive solutions. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Cisco IOS Security a 9.
JJ
Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
Constant monitoring and analysis boosts network security
There is always room for improvement. I am not giving it a perfect score because I am sure there is something that could be enhanced.Having some sort of certification or training, along with more periodic webinars might be helpful. Having a larger support network would be beneficial. Nobody I know has heard of Lumu, so they are in the same space as Darktrace or CrowdStrike, but people give blank stares. As the community grows for Lumu then that will improve, but that is not really a criticism of Lumu, they simply have not been around that long.
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902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS Security?
The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.This can be a major issue as enterprise customers are o...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS Security?
Regarding improvements in Cisco IOS Security, what consistently confuses me is the inability of Cisco to maintain a clear licensing policy.This is an issue that I have observed for years now. Cisco...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS Security?
The main use cases for Cisco IOS Security include elementary device hardening, access control, control-plane policing, AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting), network security, Layer 2...
What needs improvement with Lumu?
There is always room for improvement. I am not giving it a perfect score because I am sure there is something that could be enhanced.Having some sort of certification or training, along with more p...
What is your primary use case for Lumu?
We use it as our managed SOC instead of contracting with an MSP. It coordinates endpoint and gives us a single pane of glass for our security events.It fulfills the role of a SIEM, serving as our d...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lumu?
In our environment, it costs approximately 1200 a month.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IOS Security
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Arup Group, Brunel University London, City of Biel, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, K&L Gates , New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Offshore Northern Seas, Transplace
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS Security vs. Lumu and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.