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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Symantec VIP Access Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (9th)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (16th), Access Management (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco IOS SSL VPN and Symantec VIP Access Manager aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is designed for SSL VPN and holds a mindshare of 9.4%, down 10.2% compared to last year.
Symantec VIP Access Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 1.7% mindshare, down 2.5% since last year.
SSL VPN
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Rupesh Kolhapurkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers easy setup phase but needs to improve connectivity
For our company's remote workforce connectivity, the tool was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In general, the VPN functionality offered by the product was very useful during the COVID-19 situation. In terms of the product's ability to secure third-party access, the tool works very well. The most valuable feature of the product in terms of network security stems from the fact that the tool provides access to the whole network, and even if users give access to some special applications, it is still really helpful. The clientless access feature is not available for clients. My company installed the product for its clients. If the product offers a clientless access feature, then it is okay and can be very helpful for our company. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a reliable product. The product is very helpful for a work-from-home setup as the tool can be used to access our company's internal network, which Falls outside the network of our organization. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The multicast feature is useful for us."
"I like to work with the CMD command line because it's easy and it doesn't take very long to configure."
"The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches."
"It is a product that is very robust and durable."
"It is very simple to use, and it allows me to get into the university's network from my home, which is very useful for me."
"A reliable and stable solution for remote network access."
"It is very effective and I am satisfied with how it works and with its performance."
"I have found that Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable."
"It is easy to use."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"It offers more platform support, like Apple, Android, and Microsoft."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"It's a good tool. It's pretty straightforward."
"Other than it provides us with remote access, so it's fairly easy to install, fairly easy to set up, and provides us the ability to get into our corporate environment."
"The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
 

Cons

"The performance could be improved."
"The pricing needs to be better."
"It would be nice if we could use this not just on mobile, but on laptops and desktops as well."
"The product's RPA tools need enhancement for simplified business process automation."
"I think the administration can be improved to include web interfaces."
"In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price."
"Multi-factor authentication in Cisco IOS SSL VPN has certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches."
"Geofencing needs improvement."
"In the next release, I would like the ability to work offline with remote access."
"The User Store synchronization part needs to improve. Also, the logs, reports, and dashboard can be improved."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
"I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company...Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"It is challenging to use when installing a new version."
"It gets out of sync with Active Directory or whatever it might be, whatever the authentication piece is on Active Directory, and they just reset it on the backend. I never have to contact the vendor."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It stands as the priciest solution available in the market."
"The platform is expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable"
"It is an expensive product."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license."
"The product costs less."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
The pricing for Cisco IOS SSL VPN is based on per user. For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Compatibility can sometimes be a challenge. There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility. For instance, Windows 11 ( /products/window...
What do you like most about Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product is useful for providing user access from an in-built office server as we follow the work-from-home model.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The pricing would most likely charge per user based on how many accounts have access to the IT managers.
What needs improvement with Symantec VIP Access Manager?
The product's connection speed needs improvement. Sometimes, I need help connecting my mobile to the main office's system due to a version upgrade. It is challenging to use when installing a new ve...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Citrix, Ivanti and others in SSL VPN. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.