Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Cisco Umbrella comparison

Check Point Software Technologies and Cisco are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Check Point Software Technologies is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5, while Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2. Check Point Software Technologies holds a 2.5% mindshare in WSG, compared to Cisco’s 16.9% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Check Point Software Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

Cisco Umbrella, OpenDNS, and Check Point Harmony SASE are leaders in network security, competing in the secure web gateway market. Cisco Umbrella appears to have an edge with its DNS-based threat protection and content filtering capabilities, combined with investigative features, while Check Point Harmony SASE excels due to its comprehensive security platform and real-time threat intelligence integration.

Features: Cisco Umbrella provides DNS-based threat protection, content filtering, and phishing protection, with features such as domain history investigation. OpenDNS offers DNS layer security, intuitive controls, and low resource overhead. Check Point Harmony SASE integrates Zero Trust Network Access, Secure Web Gateway, and data loss prevention, providing real-time threat intelligence through ThreatCloud.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella could improve with enhanced integration with external threat feeds, more comprehensive reporting, and additional security features like DLP. Users also request more granular user-level control and improved malware protection. Check Point Harmony SASE could benefit from better third-party integrations, improved mobile support, and more intuitive management interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella is often deployed in public cloud environments, offering generally prompt and professional technical support, though its pricing model can be complex. Check Point Harmony SASE is widely used in various cloud types including hybrid and private clouds, receiving praise for customer service and technical support despite initial setup complexities related to ZTNA.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella's pricing is fair but may appear expensive outside the US; it offers significant ROI through improved security and reduced hardware dependency. Check Point Harmony SASE offers a cost-effective solution comparable to industry standards, though it requires a minimum license purchase, potentially limiting suitability for smaller organizations. Both solutions are considered beneficial in terms of ROI by improving security and operational efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco Umbrella Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco Umbrella

September 2025

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 2.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 16.9%, down from 19.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Umbrella	16.9%
iboss	2.2%
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)	2.5%
Other	78.4%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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Nasseer Qureshi

Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group

Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.

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Emilio Montoya

CTO at PROA

Ensures internet navigation safety and boosts productivity

The features of Cisco Umbrella I prefer most are DNS protection and traffic redirect. With Cisco Talos's threat intelligence, we reduce the impact of malware traffic in our network, and we currently see the behavior of equipment and choose the correct sites. Cisco Talos has helped us reduce the impact of malware traffic. We can see the behavior and choose the correct sites. We're currently testing secure access with Umbrella in order to secure access to core applications. It's a product that the user doesn't even know is there, even though it is protecting them. It's not hard on the equipment. And, for us, it centralizes everything, which improves productivity. With the Experience Insights feature of Cisco Secure Access, we've seen impacts on the management of user connectivity by allowing us to deliver safe connectivity. We are testing the Secure Access product with Cisco Umbrella to improve our connectivity with our users in order to secure access to the corporate applications. Cisco Umbrella is in the cloud, which is nice.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

More iboss pros

"Our operators can work from home without any problems."

"The Harmony Connect solution helped by unifying in a single portal all the necessary accesses for the company's internal employees, such as RDP, SSH, bank access databases, and even internal portals, bringing security and organization to the entire environment and facilitating employee access with a single, centralized login to the entire environment."

"The Zero Trust and segmentation have helped my team and our customers significantly because we are able to protect every scope and allow the work-from-home users to access internal resources while passing through a threat prevention gateway, ensuring that everything is safe."

"It has centralized management that allows administrators to supervise and control the security of the entire network."

"Perimeter 81 has increased my security and privacy while maintaining solid internet performance."

"Perimeter 81 provides a very secure and non-disruptive experience."

"Using the preboot VPN option, we can reset a user who is working remotely that has forgotten their Windows login credentials."

"SD-WAN is one of the primary solutions offered by Perimeter 81."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pros

"Cisco's support is fantastic, providing assistance when needed, especially during the initial installation process."

"Helps block personal email accounts."

"Provides dependable DNS monitoring of external devices."

"The most valuable thing is how easy it is to deploy. We did it with 9,000 users at my last job, and it took a week to get to all the endpoints. Doing that without having to physically touch all those endpoints was very simple."

"The insight into what our users are doing via Cisco Umbrella is valuable. Knowing that we're protecting our users as they leave our network is also valuable now because we've got more hybrid working."

"Application performance has greatly improved and there are less operational issues. Productivity has been going up because we have less operational issues. Also, we have happy customers."

"Cisco Umbrella is absolutely stable."

"The agent that gets installed on the endpoints or on people's laptops and devices is a Cisco AnyConnect Umbrella module. It's one of the most impressive things because you are able to protect your users anywhere they are."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

Cons

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

More iboss cons

"If Harmony SASE supported bidirectional traffic and the UDP protocol, it would be better."

"When it comes to Check Point Quantum SASE, though the OEM provides security, it is not 100 percent full-fledged to meet the requirements from the customers' end."

"The integration from a management perspective could be improved so that the management can, from an existing Check Point firewall, manage a Harmony firewall through one pane of glass."

"There is a very small amount of downtime."

"Harmony lacks this ability when anything more than a vanilla access policy is used (we use layers and source user objects in our policy which make this impossible according to Check Point)."

"I'd love to learn more about all of the features. Maybe a monthly spotlight of features or having a banner that explains more ways certain features could be used would be helpful."

"Its initial setup process is complex for a hybrid environment."

"In order to be able to invite users, send the agent and implement it, the user input must be generated manually."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) cons

"From my perspective, I would Cisco Umbrella to give more exposure to my sales engineers. I know I can call them whenever I have an issue, however, more frequent meetings would be awesome."

"It has happened in the past that Cisco Umbrella has denied us access to secure websites."

"The solution's technical support is not very good."

"We faced an issue regarding virtual appliances (VAs) during deployment. They could improve the quality and management of the virtual appliances offered right now. You can't see much because it is a Linux machine, and they have customized it. You don't have any route access to the machine, only seeing limited things in it. When we opened a ticket, they didn't know much about VAs themselves. So, that is where it is lacking right now. I know this will improve in the long run."

"I would like to see more integrations with more products. Some of the integrations need to be simpler as well. For example, the integration with Cisco Secure Firewall could be simpler. It would be good to make reporting simpler. For those who don't use SecureX, it would be good to make Umbrella really simple to use upfront. It's not a difficult product, but it can be daunting for someone who isn't exposed to it because there are so many options."

"In my experience with Umbrella support, sometimes the response times take a bit more time than we would like... sometimes, if you go through email, it can take quite a while to get a response."

"The solution could be faster as the process is very slow."

"If I want to see which users access a website, I need an Active Directory registered on Umbrella's cloud."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, 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."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"Overall I am very happy with the solution’s flexibility and pricing."

"The product is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The cost of the solution's licenses depends on the particular use cases."

"I would rate Harmony Connect's pricing at six out of ten. It wasn't particularly expensive, but it wasn't super cheap either."

"I consider the product to be a medium-priced solution. There are no additional costs attached to the tool."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"The solution is priced appropriately considering its uses. For an essential license, a user pays only 30 USD per month. For an enterprise version, the prices can be negotiated with the company."

"The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pricing and cost advice

"Cisco has a set price for a single license up to 100, but whenever we get over 100, we have to ask for a quote."

"The pricing is great and very competitive with the rest of the market."

"In my opinion, Cisco Umbrella now has a good price in the basic packages. When it comes to Cisco Umbrella SIG Essentials package and Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) Advantage package, it depends on whether the project has a good price or not"

"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"The licensing part for Umbrella is really flexible."

"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."

"Cisco should make the solution cheaper."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	52
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	49
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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What do you like most about Perimeter 81?

Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perimeter 81?

It's essential to consider the organization's specific requirements and budget. Here are some general recommendations...

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What needs improvement with Perimeter 81?

In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed...

See all answers

Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?

Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...

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What do you like most about Cisco Umbrella?

Cisco Umbrella is easy to monitor, manage, and deploy.

See all answers

Comparisons

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 14% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 8% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 4% of the time

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 8% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

October 2025

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) report

Download Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

October 2025

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Check Point Quantum SASE

OpenDNS

Overview

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?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

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.

iboss

Check Point Harmony SASE, formerly Perimeter 81, offers robust security features like split tunneling, MFA, and Zero Trust Network Access focused on secure remote access and optimized connectivity for remote teams.

Check Point Harmony SASE delivers advanced security through a user-friendly interface, efficient VPN connections, and a centralized management console. It enhances security with real-time threat intelligence from ThreatCloud and traffic management via built-in optimization. Firewall as a Service and Secure Web Gateway safeguard against unauthorized access and phishing. While users seek enhanced networking customizations and better integration with identity providers, there's an emphasis on improving reporting, real-time analytics, and policy management. Requests also include a Chrome extension, traffic balancing, and simplified configuration to address some resource-intensive aspects.

What are the key features of Check Point Harmony SASE?

Split Tunneling: Manages internet traffic more efficiently by routing only necessary data through the VPN.
MFA: Provides an additional layer of security through multi-factor authentication.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure connections by validating every user and device.
ThreatCloud: Enhances protection with real-time threat intelligence.
Firewall as a Service: Protects against unauthorized access and threats.
Secure Web Gateway: Prevents phishing attacks and unauthorized internet access.

How can organizations benefit from using Check Point Harmony SASE?

Improved Security: Real-time threat intelligence and robust authentication minimize risks.
Centralized Management: Simplifies control over network security and policies.
Optimized Connectivity: Efficient traffic routing enhances user experience.
Flexible Integration: Seamlessly integrates with existing IT infrastructure, enhancing strategic security deployment.

Check Point Harmony SASE is used across industries for secure remote access and connectivity, protecting sensitive data, and managing access to corporate resources. It is ideal for those with hybrid cloud models and requires comprehensive security measures combined with existing IT infrastructures to meet specific industry demands.

Check Point Software Technologies

Cisco Umbrella delivers rapid DNS security with over 30,000 customers, providing outstanding threat protection and handling more than 600 billion requests daily. It's recognized for high threat efficacy in the SSE domain and integrates elements like SWG, ZTNA, CASB, and more.

Cisco Umbrella is renowned for its effective DNS-layer security against ransomware and phishing. It offers flexible content filtering and integrates seamlessly with existing networks while providing single-pane-of-glass management for centralized monitoring. Its robust threat intelligence and customizable policies are central to its appeal. Users highlight room for improvement in areas like WHOIS data inclusion, malware enhancement, and reporting analytics. Integration with other threat feeds and better client support are requested for more comprehensive coverage.

What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?

DNS-Layer Security: Blocks malicious domains, preventing ransomware attacks.
Web Content Filtering: Allows users to manage lists for strict content control.
Seamless Integration: Blends with systems like Active Directory and Meraki.
Remote Protection: Keeps remote users safe across different locations.
Single-Pane Management: Facilitates effective monitoring and reporting.

What should users expect in reviews about Cisco Umbrella?

Threat Intelligence: Provides comprehensive malware and attack data.
Customizable Policies: Enables tailored security measures for users.
Integration Options: Works with diverse systems for holistic security.
Ease of Use: Offers a straightforward experience for administrators.
Remote Worker Security: Ensures protection outside traditional networks.

Industries implement Cisco Umbrella primarily for DNS-level security, web filtering, and protecting remote employees. It strengthens cybersecurity frameworks by blocking malware and avoiding access to harmful sites. The tool is widely integrated with Active Directory and Cisco Meraki, providing consistent internet security for employees.

Cisco

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith

Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim

Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco Umbrella

September 2025

Free Report: Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco Umbrella

Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Cisco Umbrella and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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