Cisco IOS Security vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery comparison

Cisco and Trend Micro are both solutions in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0, while Trend Micro is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.1. Cisco holds a 2.1% mindshare in ID, compared to Trend Micro’s 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Trend Micro users who would recommend it.

Cisco IOS Security

Read 49 Cisco IOS Security reviews

1,626 Views
618 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Read 28 Trend Micro Deep Discovery reviews

3,322 Views
1,960 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco IOS Security

Trend Micro Deep Discovery

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Cisco IOS Security and Trend Micro Deep Discovery compete in the security solutions category. Trend Micro has the upper hand in threat intelligence and detection capabilities, while Cisco excels in integrated security features and network routing.

Features: Cisco IOS Security includes key features such as AAA, VPN, and IPsec, providing robust network routing and security integration. It is scalable, efficient and well-suited for all IOS-based devices. Trend Micro Deep Discovery offers advanced threat detection capabilities, customizable sandbox environments, and comprehensive threat visibility, excelling in zero-day exploit management.

Room for Improvement: Cisco IOS can be complex to manage, particularly with ACLs and zone-based firewalls, and could become more user-friendly with enhancements in its integrated security features. Trend Micro Deep Discovery is expensive and could improve its scalability, third-party integration, and technical support to maximize its potential.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco IOS supports on-premises, public, and hybrid cloud deployments with highly rated technical support, although complex issues can cause delays. Trend Micro Deep Discovery focuses on on-premises and private cloud deployments, with technical support that is average and has room for improvement. Cisco's support is generally viewed as superior.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco IOS Security is perceived as expensive, suitable for medium to large enterprises, providing significant ROI over time. Trend Micro Deep Discovery is also costly, but competitive among advanced security options, supporting a subscription-based model tailored to user needs. Both solutions offer valuable ROI in security management, each catering to different enterprise scales.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco IOS Security vs. Trend Micro Deep Discovery Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS Security vs. Trend Micro Deep Discovery

December 2025

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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

6.7

Trend Micro Deep Discovery enhances threat visibility and detection, effectively preventing substantial losses from ransomware, spam, and phishing.

The return on investment is satisfactory with Cisco products as they have long lifespans, and our customers are satisfied with them.

Danijel Cerovecki

Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

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

6.6

Trend Micro Deep Discovery support is praised for responsiveness and effectiveness, with some users noting a need for quicker responses.

My impression is that the support quality has deteriorated over time.

Danijel Cerovecki

Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

If I were to rate them from 0 to 10, I would give them a nine or a ten.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

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

7.4

Trend Micro Deep Discovery is scalable but may face limitations due to network design, integration costs, and organizational needs.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

If it doesn't support scalability, Trend Micro will recommend an upgraded hardware version, requiring only a simple payment for the new appliance.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

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

8.3

Trend Micro Deep Discovery is praised for stability and performance, with users appreciating its threat intelligence and consistent updates.

We find Cisco products stable and thoroughly tested before new software or firmware versions are released.

Danijel Cerovecki

Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima

I find Cisco IOS Security to be a very stable product.

Binoob John

Partner/Owner and Director of Human Resources at Up arrow Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

The product updates and security updates are kept current, allowing us seamless integration with Trend Micro and getting daily updates and signatures without problems.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS Security struggles with integration, usability, cost, lacking features, complex licensing, performance, and requires enhancement and support.

Trend Micro Deep Discovery needs better integration, user-friendliness, scalability, pricing, support, speed, and IT infrastructure compatibility.

Cisco changes their licensing policy quite frequently, which is becoming confusing and complicated.

Danijel Cerovecki

Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

The solution is not scalable as it is an agent product rather than a product designed for scalability.

Alex-Chen

Owner at Darcom

We have multiple components such as Deep Discovery Email Inspector for mail gateways, Deep Discovery Analyzer for sandboxing, and Deep Discovery Inspector, which serves as an IDS detecting malicious network traffic.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS Security is costly, favoring medium to large enterprises with longer-term savings over SMB challenges.

Trend Micro Deep Discovery pricing varies with requirements, seen as reasonable for advanced features but higher than standard antivirus.

The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.

Danijel Cerovecki

Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

It is reasonably priced, not very expensive like Proofpoint or other vendors.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

The solution is very expensive.

Alex-Chen

Owner at Darcom

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, stable solutions with VPN, AAA, firewall integration, and user-friendly management for high-demand environments.

Trend Micro Deep Discovery provides intuitive installation, strong threat detection, and comprehensive visibility, enhancing security across multiple platforms with responsive support.

There are higher-level systems such as intrusion prevention systems which detect intrusions within the system.

Danijel Cerovecki

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.

Binoob John

Partner/Owner and Director of Human Resources at Up arrow Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco IOS Security report

The most valuable capabilities of Trend Micro Deep Discovery Email Inspector include its ability to perform mail detection and mail filtration against various email attacks such as phishing and spam, serving as an email gateway for both inbound and outbound traffic.

reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

This solution allows us to see anomalies, network traffic in our network, and zero-day threats.

Alex-Chen

Owner at Darcom

For more quotes and insights, download the Trend Micro Deep Discovery report

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS Security

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Firewalls (29th)

Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

6th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (17th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 2.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Deep Discovery is 3.5%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Trend Micro Deep Discovery	3.5%
Cisco IOS Security	2.1%
Other	94.4%

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

Featured Reviews

Danijel Cerovecki

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.

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reviewer2266119

Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Has improved email security through advanced filtration and timely threat detection

I work with Trend Micro Apex One. I have used the Deep Discovery's Sandbox analysis feature, and we utilize another appliance known as Deep Discovery Analyzer, abbreviated as DDA. This tool makes analysis for URLs and attachments contained in inbound emails, so whenever we receive an email with a URL or attachment, it will be analyzed by Trend Micro Deep Discovery Analyzer. In evaluating Deep Discovery's real-time visibility on network traffic, it is important to note that we applied our Deep Discovery Analyzer for Trend Micro to conduct sandboxing specifically for email channels only, and we do not utilize it for network channels. For network channel sandboxing, we use a solution called FortiAnalyzer, which belongs to another team called network security. I assess Deep Discovery's effectiveness in identifying sophisticated attack patterns by looking at how it handles high traffic loads, and how effectively it can use its instances and images to analyze numerous URLs and attachments simultaneously. Additionally, I evaluate its ability to maintain round-robin or load balancing across different analyses without leaving samples queued for analysis. The performance is critical when the product updates for signatures are up-to-date, as this aids in the detection and classification of URLs and attachments without delay in the analysis process. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Trend Micro Deep Discovery a nine.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

23%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco IOS Security?

Cisco IOS Security is a mature product with extensive capabilities, serving as the base for the defense layer. It offers good network visibility, which helps in rapid response through the Rapid Thr...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Trend Micro Deep Discovery?

The tool's most valuable feature is its collaboration with other products. Integrating with other security products was simple and easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Deep Discovery?

The solution is very expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Trend Micro Deep Discovery?

Server Protect is not commonly used. When considering the Sandbox feature, it only inspects small files, and not all types of files are supported. The solution is very expensive. The solution is no...

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Comparisons

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Cisco IOS Security

Compared 18% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco IOS Security

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Cisco IOS Security

Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Cisco IOS Security

Compared 8% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cisco IOS Security

Compared 8% of the time

More Cisco IOS Security Competitors

Trend Micro TippingPoint Threat Protection System vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Compared 13% of the time

Darktrace vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Compared 10% of the time

Vectra AI vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiSandbox vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Compared 6% of the time

ExtraHop Reveal(x) vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery

Compared 5% of the time

More Trend Micro Deep Discovery Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS Security

January 2026

Download Cisco IOS Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Trend Micro Deep Discovery

January 2026

Download Trend Micro Deep Discovery product report

Also Known As

IOS Security

Trend Micro Deep Discovery Inspector, Trend Micro Deep Discovery Analyzer

Overview

Cisco IOS Software delivers a sophisticated set of security capabilities for a comprehensive, layered security approach throughout your network infrastructure. Cisco IOS security technologies help to defend critical business processes against attack and disruption, protect privacy, and support policy and regulatory compliance controls.

Cisco

Trend Micro Deep Discovery provides an intuitive interface and extensive threat visibility. It enhances detection with sandboxing and custom virtual machine images. Integration with Trend Micro Office Scan and Vision One ensures robust defense and detailed threat analysis.

Trend Micro Deep Discovery is a comprehensive network security tool used for intrusion detection, malware analysis, and zero-day vulnerability sandboxing. It supports various platforms and can be integrated with email and server protection. It's particularly useful for compliance with regulatory requirements through signature-based behavior analysis and virtual patching. Users benefit from easy installation, management, and responsive technical support.

What are the key features of Trend Micro Deep Discovery?

End-to-End Threat Visibility: Provides comprehensive monitoring and analysis of network threats.
Built-in Sandboxing: Allows custom virtual machine images for advanced threat detection.
Threat Analysis: Delivers detailed insights into threat activities and sources.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with Trend Micro Office Scan and Vision One for enhanced protection.
Platform Support: Supports multiple operating systems and platforms for broad coverage.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Improved Security: Enhances network protection and threat response efficacy.
Easy Management: Simplifies installation and administration processes.
Regulatory Compliance: Assists with meeting industry regulations through behavior analysis and patching.
Technical Support: Offers responsive and effective assistance for quick issue resolution.
Scalability: Adapts to growing or changing business needs with minimal disruption.

Trend Micro Deep Discovery is implemented across sectors requiring stringent security measures, such as finance, healthcare, and government. It's favored for its ability to analyze diverse network traffic and provide exceptional protection against sophisticated threats while ensuring compliance with strict data regulations. Industry reviews highlight its role in safeguarding sensitive information through robust security frameworks and adaptable deployment options.

Trend Micro

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

Allied Telesis, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Babou, Blekinge County Council, Delacour, Hiroshima Prefectural Government, Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Mazda Motor Logistics Europe, McGill University Health Centre, Mikuni Corporation, OKWAVE, Sinar Mas Land, SWICA, UTOC Corporation

Buyer's Guide

Cisco IOS Security vs. Trend Micro Deep Discovery

December 2025

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