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Cisco Secure Access vs Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 15, 2026

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
5.2
Cisco Secure Access boosts ROI with efficiency, cost savings, enhanced security, AI-driven features, and improved user experience.
Sentiment score
6.7
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy enhances collaboration and security for Google apps, with ROI varying based on utilization strategies.
At Amazon, we knew exactly how much it would cost if a fulfillment center was down for an hour.
Director, Network Services at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
The AI features further contribute by expediting threat detection and incident response, ensuring tangible returns through operational savings.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is one of those tools that needs to work right out of the box, and thankfully, it does; it is reliable, and the setup time was quick and straightforward.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Cisco Secure Access customer service is efficient, knowledgeable, and generally well-rated, with users praising support engineers' expertise.
Sentiment score
6.5
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy support varies; some find it excellent while others face inefficiencies, affecting direct Google interaction.
Cisco TAC is very competent.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
With our established point of contact within Cisco, our experience has greatly improved; we no longer log all issues through technical cases, as we can go directly to our account managers or customer service team, which expedites resolution.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the technical support ten out of ten. Hands down.
Senior Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.5
Cisco Secure Access efficiently scales with organizational growth, integrating seamlessly with infrastructures while offering robust performance and adaptability.
Sentiment score
7.6
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is praised for effective scalability and ease of management despite potential cost concerns.
We turn the traffic to the Cisco Secure Access cloud, and we can manage and apply the policies that are necessary, making it very easy to scale the solution.
System Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Cisco has a great benefit in that you can integrate with other solutions in an easy way because it has a lot of protocols to integrate with others and sophisticated steps that we can apply for integration.
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
Performance has remained consistent, usage has increased, and we have not experienced scalability-related limitations.
Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Secure Access offers reliable performance and 99.9% uptime, with occasional, swiftly resolved issues like SSL decryption challenges.
Sentiment score
8.1
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is praised for its reliability and stability, with minor issues mainly in virtual machines.
Cisco is renowned for their reliability, and their products perform well under high data usage.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The service consistently provides secure connectivity for remote users, contractors, and hybrid environments with minimal disruption.
Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Access needs better integration, simplified pricing, enhanced AI, automation, and improved analytics for efficient administration.
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy needs better user-friendliness, integration, security, support, and cost-effectiveness for enhanced performance and usability.
Modernization is needed, specifically in the enhancement of security features and functionality.
Pre-Sales Solution Partner at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
It was challenging to learn because it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The granular access issue is coming from the product limitation at the moment, as it does not offer us the option to tell it that a particular role can only manage websites, allowed sites, and blocked sites.
Technical Product Owner at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Access offers value but requires careful evaluation of pricing models, discounts, and service expectations for enterprise suitability.
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy offers competitive pricing, with mixed reviews on cost-effectiveness compared to AWS and Oracle alternatives.
The solution is cheaper than premium options such as Palo Alto, existing Cisco licenses facilitate replacing previous solutions with Cisco Secure Access smoothly and affordably.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is good because you want to push Cisco Secure Access, and regarding the price, it is very much below other products.
Junior Information Technology Consultant Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Improvement on the pricing will help in expanding the market for Cisco Secure Access and then it can be affordable to much more number of companies than what it is right now.
Technical Manager at Ledorbis Solutions
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Access enhances connectivity and security with VPN, Zero Trust, AI policy management, and cloud-based architecture.
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy provides scalable security, user-friendly access management, real-time collaboration, and seamless integration with minimal expertise needed.
It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
They are sending the traffic encrypted and categorizing the traffic based on the type, whether web traffic or internet traffic, and doing the security mechanism that is needed for the traffic type.
Solution Architect at Velocis Systems
Using ZTNA in Cisco Secure Access has positively affected my transition and my clients' transition to Zero Trust and least privilege principles, reinforcing the security posture.
Ts Senior Technical Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Access
Ranking in ZTNA
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (4th), Firewalls (9th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (3rd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (3rd), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (2nd)
Google Cloud Identity-Aware...
Ranking in ZTNA
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the ZTNA category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 2.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ZTNA Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Access2.9%
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy1.8%
Other95.3%
ZTNA
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2788500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Secure access has unified zero trust and web protection while AI assistance automates tasks
From a feature perspective, I have not experienced any issues, drawbacks, or shortcomings. However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high. My clients usually prefer cheaper options if possible. Mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access. Additionally, there is a steep learning curve, as it is very intensive. Someone with significant knowledge can work on it, but a new professional would have to spend considerable time to get accustomed to it. It is hard to find engineers who can work on it. Overall, we get what we pay for, as it is a pretty good feature and service. The pricing of Cisco's products and licensing is higher than competitors. If they could be more reasonable, that would help. The support offered for two years also has higher costs. Overall, the client's IT budget gets affected. It was challenging to learn because, as mentioned, it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
UchechiSylvanus - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead, Process Improvement & RPA at Fidelity Bank Plc
A scalable product that offers an easy-to-use interface
Some of the product users feel that the solution's storage part should be increased, especially when compared to products like Yahoo, which is an old tool in the market that offers unlimited storage to users. Other platforms offer more storage sizes than Google. The storage part of the solution, especially the storage capability offered by Google Drive, needs to be increased. There are certain shortcomings with the product's stability where improvements are required.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?
Before adopting Cisco Secure Access, we primarily relied on traditional VPN-based remote access solutions combined with supporting security tools for web filtering, access control, and visibility. ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?
Cisco Secure Access serves as our primary solution for providing secure remote access to corporate applications and resources for a distributed workforce. We use it to enforce consistent security p...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?
My biggest piece of advice is to approach Cisco Secure Access as a strategic, zero trust initiative rather than simply a replacement for traditional VPN technology. Organizations get the most value...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
There are different pricing plans depending on data volumes and services, but it's comparable to other providers. The value and benefits depend on what we're developing and the specific use case.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy should improve stability.
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
We use the solution for data engineering, data preparation, and AI.
 

Also Known As

No data available
GCP Cloud IAP, Google Cloud Platform Cloud IAP, Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy, Google Identity-Aware Proxy, Google Identity Aware Proxy, Google Cloud Identity Aware Proxy
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Google 5. Apple 6. Cisco Systems 7. Oracle 8. Intel 9. HP Inc. 10. Dell Technologies 11. Verizon Communications 12. AT&T 13. Comcast 14. T-Mobile 15. Sprint 16. Vodafone 17. Orange 18. BT Group 19. Deutsche Telekom 20. Telefonica 21. Nokia 22. Ericsson 23. Samsung Electronics 24. Sony 25. Panasonic 26. LG Electronics 27. Siemens 28. General Electric 29. Ford Motor Company 30. General Motors 31. Toyota Motor Corporation 32. Volkswagen Group
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Access vs. Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.