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Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs Palo Alto Networks Panorama comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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 Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is 7.1%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

Yonas Abebe - PeerSpot reviewer
Great dashboard with extensive visibility and good support
I expect more integration with AI. I expect Cisco to be easier for users in India, especially for junior users. For a junior one, it may somehow be complex, especially when configuring something. I remember version 6.4 had an integration with Eddie, allowing me to define a policy according to my users, however, the latest version, lacks this integration. The logging of FMC should be improved as it does not offer real-time solutions like DazaSodo.
Waleed Aboda - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized monitoring enhances control while seeking greater flexibility and rapid response
I am still working for Lotus. We work with Palo Alto three series, Panorama, and Firewall Banu, specifically Firewall three series and five series I find this solution valuable for full monitoring, centralized control for reporting, and centralized management. These features are instrumental in…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations."
"It's a fine solution in terms of scalability."
"Scalability is not an issue as long as you are able to buy additional licenses. Ten percent of our customers use Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, and we have large accounts with 50% of their end users behind this firewall."
"The policy management capabilities streamline security tasks by facilitating policy configuration. This ensures the impactful implementation of security policies during product installation, enhancing overall security measures."
"The technical support team is responsive and supportive."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is the UTM."
"Cisco's support and services are far superior to any other security product in Pakistan."
"Technical support is quite helpful."
"The compliance features are very effective at identifying things that need to be properly hardened."
"I like its flexibility."
"I found it easy to learn how to pull information from the logs."
"This is an efficient solution."
"I find this solution valuable for full monitoring, centralized control for reporting, and centralized management."
"The solution offers good logging features."
"Technical support is helpful and knowledgeable."
 

Cons

"I would go with a rating of three out of ten for the stability issues."
"Due to the lack of enough tutorials available online, I face problems with Cisco."
"Cisco Firepower has been effective in solving various problems, but it could be improved by making it simpler and more user-friendly like Fortinet."
"Some duplicated values and security standards are not working in some high-application protocols with Cisco's next-generation firewalls."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center needs to reduce its price."
"The solution could improve the number of ports available and load balancing."
"The interface is an area that could be improved."
"Cisco firewalls use old ESR or a Linux system, and there are problems with encryption. When we switch on encryption, the throughput goes down."
"There is room for improvement in the graphical user interface (GUI), which is becoming outdated, especially the NAT section."
"The integration between Strata Cloud Manager and Panorama could be enhanced to allow customers to stay on Panorama for many years while still utilizing Strata Cloud Manager for deployment."
"The pricing is quite high."
"There could be more integrations with third parties."
"Lacking in speed and reliability."
"A bottleneck in Palo Alto Networks Panorama is the licensing. The licensing model for the product is complicated. Another area for improvement is the PDF report generation because you'll notice that it's missing some details."
"The initial setup requires expertise and can be a bit complex."
"Customer support can improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has the best price on the market."
"I rate the tool's pricing a four out of ten. The licensing costs are yearly."
"It could be considered relatively cheaper when compared to some other vendors in the market."
"When you are using a Cisco solution you know it will be expensive. Cisco makes you pay for everything individually. We pay for the licenses that we need."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"The product pricing is reasonable and falls in the mid-range."
"I rate Secure Firewall Management Center eight out of 10 for pricing."
"One of the advantages of Cisco is its range of flexible licensing options."
"The price of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is high. There is a pay-per-use model."
"The price of Panorama is expensive."
"Palo Alto products are generally priced higher compared to their competitors."
"The price of the licenses could be lower. Still, because we have Panorama with 25 firewalls, Palo Alto gives us a good discount."
"Everyone, I suppose, would like the price to be improved. Price is always a good thing to change."
"Pricing is high compared to other vendors in the same space. Licensing is also fairly high for different functions to be added on."
"If I were to rate the pricing of Palo on a scale of one to five, with one being really high and five being a good, reasonable price, I would rate Palo as a three."
"Pricing for Palo Alto Networks Panorama is always high. If you're going to sell the product, you always have to talk about the technology because it should be about the solution rather than the price."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
22%
Computer Software Company
16%
Engineering Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
I expect more integration with AI. I expect Cisco to be easier for users in India, especially for junior users. For a junior one, it may somehow be complex, especially when configuring something. I...
What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
The most valuable aspect of Palo Alto Networks Panorama for me is the centralized management of multiple firewalls.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
Palo Alto Networks Panorama is expensive but provides good value for money. For the higher end, the cost is justified. However, for the lower end, a reduction in cost could improve competitiveness.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
From the reporting side, naming the reports properly so that they can be easily identified would be an improvement. Other than that, it works well. There was a bug causing us to not get the latest ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs. Palo Alto Networks Panorama and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.