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Cisco Secure Access vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway 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 Secure Access
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (5th), Firewalls (10th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (3rd), ZTNA (6th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (4th), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (2nd)
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (12th)
 

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.
reviewer2399337 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales and technical consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
User has benefited from stable performance and effective completion of security tasks
I use it mostly for VPN and for some firewall solutions When considering my main use case with VPN, I can say that I got the Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, and it works fine. However, we are thinking about using a different solution based on open source because Zyxel Unified Security Gateway…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The biggest return on investment from Cisco Secure Access, from my perspective, is the end usability from a client perspective."
"I use this solution for securing security controls like Secure Security Control (SSC) for local Internet breakouts."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Access is the level of security it provides."
"Our security posture has improved significantly with Cisco Secure Access."
"Cisco Secure Access is more than a mature product at this point."
"Cisco Secure Access has protected our company against threats such as phishing or ransomware, as we have seen it successfully address various cybersecurity vulnerabilities."
"It is very good technology overall, and Cisco simplifies it for us and for their customers."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Access is the possibility to work from anywhere, along with the posture for the host, so the check on the posture."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
"The cost is very low."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"The solution can scale well."
"The Zyxel Unified Security Gateway solution is stable and does its job effectively."
 

Cons

"When speaking about improvements for Cisco Secure Access, the licensing structure is an area of concern, as many users struggle to understand how it works."
"I am not using the AI assistant feature of Cisco Secure Access much yet. I think it is a little bit limited right now."
"To improve Cisco Secure Access, I would suggest simplifying the need for different components that Cisco has tried to implement; for example, to have Cisco Secure Access, it is necessary to have AnyConnect, ISE, and Duo, meaning there are various products that need to integrate to achieve the same result, unlike the all-in-one compact products from other vendors."
"It is expensive."
"Most of the Cisco AI offerings are relatively new and do not have all the bells and whistles."
"One main problem we have been having recently with Cisco Secure Access is that we have a lot of workstations out in our plant and they are all touchscreen devices."
"It is confusing. When you look at the prices, you have different licensing and years of licensing that you have to purchase. Additionally, it's unclear what service you get from those licenses regarding end-user support. We have a representative who has to walk me through it every time."
"In my opinion, Cisco Secure Access could be improved by potentially incorporating features that other brands have been using. I see benefits from features offered by competitors, which could enhance the Cisco experience if adapted thoughtfully."
"I have never seen it in any company that I've worked with before, and I would advise other companies not to buy it."
"The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden."
"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."
"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is confusing. When you look at the prices, you have different licensing and years of licensing that you have to purchase. Additionally, it's unclear what service you get from those licenses regarding end-user support. We have a representative who has to walk me through it every time."
"For what you get, it's a fair price in comparison to other products."
"The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco Secure Access have been very competitive compared to other platforms. I believe that if Cisco continues to improve costs or offers something similar to a Cisco credit, it would attract more customers."
"This gateway is pretty cheap."
"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
19%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise34
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?
Pricing for Cisco Secure Access has been very reasonable in the context of the entire world of SASE solutions. Setup costs for customers coming off of Umbrella, because of the fact that it is an ev...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?
Our main use case for Cisco Secure Access is providing security for hybrid and mobile workforces. One of the big challenges these days is the fact that you will have users in the office, working re...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?
One of the things about policy verification is with Cisco Secure Access and modern security products in general, policies can become very complicated, very quickly, especially once you start doing ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done comparisons with other solutions. When our license expires, we plan to explore ope...
What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm looking for something new that is slightly simpler. Regarding user experience, the...
What is your primary use case for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
I use it mostly for VPN and for some firewall solutions. When considering my main use case with VPN, I can say that I got the Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, and it works fine. However, we are thin...
 

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
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