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Cisco SD-WAN vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN comparison

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Cisco SD-WAN

Read 86 Cisco SD-WAN reviews
18,815 views|12,923 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
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SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN

Read 1 SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN review
268 views|194 comparisons
50% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
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Buyer's Guide
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
April 2024
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco SD-WAN and SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions.
To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: April 2024).
Download the complete report
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
VENKATESHREDDY
Straightforward to set up and has lowered expenses, but needs to work on controller compatibility
The integration, scalability, and ROI that Cisco SD-WAN provided are the main features that helped the organization advance further.
Jason Best
Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center.""The regular net routing is a good feature.""From my observations, Cisco has been rolling out new features every other day, so I would say their speed of innovation is one of the most valuable aspects for me.""The segmented traffic it provides is the best in the industry right now.""The orchestration on the VPN connection between remote locations is a fantastic feature. I used it some time ago.""The solution has great scalability.""You get security, all of the service you need, and it's easy to deploy.""The cloud environment, including cloud security integration, is very valuable because of the many API integrations with the SD-WAN."

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"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."

More SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN Pros →

Cons
"The security features could be improved.""The main issue is that not in the technology, but it comes back comparison. When we do a comparison with other SD WAN solutions, they are priced better.""In the next release, Cisco should focus on simplifying the configuration of SD-WAN. SD-WAN has a lot of room to grow.""Its license model needs to be improved. They always make the license model too complex. There are too many license models and too many options. They should have a flexible license model. They can improve a lot of things in terms of scalability, templates, and automation, mainly automation for onboarding a number of sites. If you want some new features, it can take quite a long time. If you want a feature and it is not yet developed, you need to have the support of the business units to have the feature developed. If the feature is not on their roadmap, it can take quite some time before you get the feature.""The solution is a bit complicated.""The product should improve its prices.""One area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is reporting. The report needs to give more visibility to the customer. The security feature in Cisco SD-WAN also needs improvement, particularly if Cisco wants to challenge other brands, such as Fortinet.""Some configurations or procedures could be more user-friendly. Adding a bandwidth management feature would make Cisco SD-WAN more scalable and less resource-intensive."

More Cisco SD-WAN Cons →

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."

More SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
  • "80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."
  • "Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
  • "SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
  • "The costs are a bit on the high side."
  • "It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
  • "The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
  • "It is going to be on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."

    • More Cisco SD-WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
    Read all 60 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:The product is not too expensive. It is competitive considering security features. The licensing cost is typically based on bandwidth subscription. For example, you must purchase a corresponding… more »
    Read all 47 answers   →
    What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:Cisco should develop a clear roadmap, ensuring seamless integration between Meraki and Viptela. Simplifying the definition and implementation could add significant value, as it can be complex due to… more »
    Read all 57 answers   →
    How smoothly can SteelConnect FlexVNF be integrated with Versa OS?
    Top Answer:SteelConnect FlexVNF may be integrated with Versa OS relatively smoothly, as shared by many. A few steps may be involved, but the process is generally straightforward The impact on CPU and storage… more »
    Ranking
    1st
    out of 36 in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    Views
    18,815
    Comparisons
    12,923
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    533
    Rating
    7.9
    24th
    out of 36 in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    Views
    268
    Comparisons
    194
    Reviews
    0
    Average Words per Review
    0
    Rating
    N/A
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Viptela, Cisco vEdge Cloud Router
    SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect
    Learn More
    Cisco
    Riverbed
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    Overview

    Cisco SD-WAN is a software-defined WAN (wide area network) solution that provides for secure stable connections to applications for enterprises and organizations. Cisco SD-WAN works to speed up the seamless movement to the cloud. A very robust and reliable solution, Cisco SD-WAN is cutting-edge in threat security and stability of the complete network and has very low latency. Cisco SD-WAN uses Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), data centers, and even the internet to smoothly advance the move to a SASE (Service Access Service Edge)-based architecture. The Cisco SD-WAN dashboard gives you a complete visual of your entire infrastructure; you can see everything in real time. You will also have simplified IT operations and gain advanced network capabilities, dependability, and security. One valued feature is the overlay management protocol (OMP), which applies to your entire network to speedily connect all your company data centers. Cisco SD-WAN has a very flexible architecture and can be deployed on premises, in the cloud, hybrid, and even has multi-cloud options. Cisco SD-WAN instantly discovers, authenticates, and provisions all devices, both existing and new.

    Cisco SD-WAN simplifies the management of multiple connections across the WAN, improves the end-user experience, improves overall application functionality and performance, and is a very cost-effective solution. Cisco SD-WAN integrates well with Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and many other cloud-based business solutions. Additionally, Cisco SD-WAN optimizes connectivity and streamlines workflows for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure.

    Benefits of Cisco SD-WAN

    • Increased profitability - Cisco SD-WAN will improve performance and decrease overall connectivity costs.
    • Improved productivity - Cisco SD-WAN requires less staff to manage and secure the WANs so valuable resources can be allocated elsewhere in your organization, increasing total productivity.
    • Flexible scalability- Cisco SD-WAN’s flexible and easily scalable architecture will allow your organization to address significantly greater business opportunities, helping to consistently increase revenue.
    • Enhanced security - Cisco SD-WAN offers real-time policy enforcement, ensuring that downtime and unplanned outages are kept to a minimum.

    What real users have to say:

    Cisco SD-WAN is fast with lower costs: “Using SD-WAN to combine services can result in better up time, higher speeds, and much lower costs.”

    Cisco is a brand you can trust: “Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand - more so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition.”

    Cisco SD-WAN offers load-balancing and real-time traffic monitoring: “Load balancing is a feature that allows us to take the best of our links and distribute the load intelligently, always with an eye on the end-customer experience.”

    Accelerate business velocity with enterprise-class SD-WAN. As enterprises and organizations adopt more cloud and SaaS applications to support an increasingly distributed workforce, the hybrid networks connecting it all have been more complex, less predictable and less secure.

    Riverbed SteelConnect EX is a powerful enterprise SD-WAN solution that integrates best-in-class routing, application acceleration, network visibility, and security services – a flexible and complete WAN Edge platform that gives you what you need to modernize your network and propel your business in the digital age.

    Sample Customers
    Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
    Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider44%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization35%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Comms Service Provider5%
    No Data Available
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise42%
    Large Enterprise43%
    No Data Available
    Buyer's Guide
    Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    April 2024
    Download Free Report
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: April 2024.
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    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco SD-WAN is ranked 1st in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 86 reviews while SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is ranked 24th in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Cisco SD-WAN is rated 8.0, while SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is rated 7.0. The top reviewer of Cisco SD-WAN writes "A solution for integrating services to enhance up-time, performance and lower costs". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN writes "Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use". Cisco SD-WAN is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Meraki SD-WAN, VMware SD-WAN, Juniper Session Smart Router and Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform, whereas SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is most compared with Steelhead.

    See our list of best Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions vendors and best WAN Edge vendors.

    We monitor all Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions 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.