


Find out in this report how the two Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
With iboss, whenever you turn on your laptop, the iboss agent automatically connects to the iboss cloud, enforcing all security policies. So with respect to the security side, it strengthens measures.
I have seen some cost effectiveness from iboss; it has reduced certain support requirements, making it a more hands-off solution.
At Amazon, we knew exactly how much it would cost if a fulfillment center was down for an hour.
The AI features further contribute by expediting threat detection and incident response, ensuring tangible returns through operational savings.
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.
The ROI is often cited around 289% over the three years of typical enterprises.
I have found Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) to be very effective at providing operational flexibility during my organization's transition to cloud environments.
Since we have a very small team, the ROI is around 20% to 30%.
They are very fast, responsive, and knowledgeable.
The quality of the support is fantastic.
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
Cisco TAC is very competent.
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.
I would rate the technical support ten out of ten. Hands down.
The technical support for ZPA is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
We had regular calls, and the team was open and willing to assist us whenever required.
We lack specific root causes, and it's tough to relay information to users, considering multiple contributors such as phone numbers and internet service providers.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
If I start seeing sluggishness or anything like that, I just reach out to my rep, and they connect with their dev team, typically resolving it the same day.
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.
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.
I would rate scalability at eight to nine out of ten.
Zscaler ZPA has excellent scalability.
I rate the scalability of ZPA as ten out of ten because it's a cloud service and can scale as needed.
We need to deploy it and ensure it will be available in two different Availability Zones, but it's not something that can be done with automation, such as auto-scaling.
It's been pretty solid; I've never had an outage with them, and if I ever had, it's only been once out of the seven years.
We've experienced zero downtime.
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
Cisco is renowned for their reliability, and their products perform well under high data usage.
I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.
The solution is stable enough, and I did not experience any latency or performance issues.
Even during peak usage or mass remote access events, performance remains consistent, which is critical for an enterprise environment handling business-critical applications.
The architecture uses a global mesh of service edges with built-in fault tolerance and redundancy, providing an always-on experience.
We implemented a resilient solution with load balance to ensure stability, which has proven effective thus far.
It is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform.
We also had a problem with a transition when we upgraded from one appliance of theirs to another, but their engineer lost a good deal of our data.
Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc.
Modernization is needed, specifically in the enhancement of security features and functionality.
It was challenging to learn because it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
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.
It complicates whitelisting, as we cannot determine which IP will be used, posing a challenge when needing to integrate with third parties.
I would appreciate seeing dynamic scaling implemented because it would be beneficial if an instance goes down to automatically start another one.
While Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) wants users to utilize their infrastructure for scale benefits, regulated environments such as government and investment banks need on-premises processing for regulations and low latency requirements.
It offers the same features you would get from a vendor that charges 250,000 British pounds for a fraction of the price.
The following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs.
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
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.
It is good because you want to push Cisco Secure Access, and regarding the price, it is very much below other products.
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.
It is expensive.
Although the solution is costly, its features justify the price for securing the organization from various access types.
While it is a premium investment, the short payback period of about 11 months and consolidation of multiple point products make it very cost-effective in the long run.
The solution's mental health function can detect if someone needs help.
It's given us a lot more visibility into our computer assets that may be infected with viruses and also shows us people who have unusually large uploads or might be engaging in high-risk activities, such as searches or going to sites not categorized by their web crawler.
iboss was the best solution for us because, no matter what domain you were in, everything is under a single pane of glass, which is exactly what we wanted.
It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.
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.
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.
Zscaler pre-tests websites and authorizes safe access, giving us a layer of security that we rely on.
Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is much more secure than VPN because users are only allowed to access specific applications rather than the whole network.
Zscaler has allowed an easy, secure way for us to access our internal resources from outside.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Secure Access | 5.3% |
| iboss | 4.5% |
| Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) | 2.1% |
| Other | 88.1% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 7 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 9 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 28 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 11 |
| Large Enterprise | 34 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 2 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.
Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.
What are the most important features of Iboss?The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.
Cisco Secure Access is a comprehensive Security Service Edge (SSE) solution (a key component of a SASE solution) that addresses the complexities of securing a hybrid enterprise. Cloud-delivered and grounded in zero trust, it delivers a unique blend of user simplicity and IT efficiency for frictionless, secure access to all applications—SaaS (with gen AI), private apps, and the internet—regardless of user location or device. Secure Access protects users, data, and devices against relentless, sophisticated, and constantly evolving threats including AI-driven attacks and identity breaches.
Provides all core SSE components (ZTNA, SWG, CASB, and FWaaS) plus extended capabilities.
Includes VPN-as-a-Service (VPNaaS), data loss prevention (DLP), AI Assistant, visibility/control/guardrails for generative AI use, digital experience monitoring (DEM), reserved IP, remote browser isolation (RBI), DNS-layer security, flexible security enforcement (in cloud or on-premises), policy verification, and more.
Protects users as they seamlessly access resources and apps with no extra steps needed, regardless of protocol, port, or level of customization
Simplifies IT operations through a single client, single dashboard, single license, and unified policies.
Lowers risk with least privilege, granular controls backed with unmatched threat intelligence of Cisco Talos.
Eases interoperability with other products from Cisco and third-party vendors with common administrative controls, data structures, and policy management.
Robust integrations
Integrates with Cisco Identity Intelligence to protect against the startling increase in identity-based attacks.
Integrates with many SAML Identity Providers (IDPs) such as AD, Azure AD, Okta, Ping, etc.
Integrates with Cisco offerings including SD-WAN, Splunk, XDR, Thousand Eyes, third party technologies such as Menlo RBI, Chrome Enterprise Browser, and AppOmni for SSPM.
Zscaler Private Access enhances security by enabling access to specific applications without exposing entire networks. It is designed for scalability and flexibility, making it particularly suitable for cloud transitions and remote work environments.
Zscaler Private Access offers a comprehensive solution for modern security needs by ensuring secure remote application access. This is achieved through its advanced features such as micro-segmentation and AI capabilities. Organizations can integrate ZPA with existing security infrastructure, providing seamless operation during cloud transitions. Users benefit from policy-based access management and dashboards that enhance visibility and control. However, ZPA faces some challenges, including bugs, configuration difficulties with identity providers, and a limited rule customization capacity. Delayed support responses and annual price increases are also concerns that need addressing.
What are the key features of Zscaler Private Access?Zscaler Private Access is widely adopted across industries transitioning from traditional VPNs to more secure remote access solutions. Companies leverage it for secure network communication, accessing cloud resources like AWS and Azure, and integrating with internal systems. Local, customer, and cloud networks extensively use ZPA for secure internet access and as a modern replacement for older proxy technologies.
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