F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway comparison

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

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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 May 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.1%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is 2.2%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Ashish Kumar Rai

Associate Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure

I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.

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Manish Dave

Head Of Information Security at Aarti Industries Limited

Offer capability to create policy groups aligned with specific requirements for users, groups, and locations

There is room for improvement in streamlining policies. If I compare it with other products, the groups and are a little different in Netgroup. So what happens is that when you apply a specific Netskope policy, you never know the kind of content it will automatically block, or it will allow. So initially, when doing a pilot, at that time, it takes a lot of time to streamline the policies. So that is one thing they can work on. It should be easy to edit and easy to deploy. The only thing is now, as part of the NexGen SWG, in the same IPU currently, the KATB and UBA portion is very limited. So maybe Netskope can extend it in future releases. That is point number one. Point number two, integration with any DLP solution should be very seamless, irrespective of the brand or make of the DLP. Netskope was also to come up with the endpoint DLP, which was expected in Q4 last year but which is still not out. So, that is the reason why we had to go with a separate DLP. If everything were available in one SKU, we would not have to search outside for the business solution. So maybe Netskope can work on all four mediums of DLP, which are the endpoint, the network, email, and the web. All four mediums should be covered as part of the DLP solution.

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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

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

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

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

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

More iboss pros

"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."

"The tool is reliable and easy to configure."

"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."

"The performance of the solution is valuable."

"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."

"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."

"I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) to others due to its reliability, and it is perceived as critical to security infrastructure."

"The load balancing features are valuable."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

"One of the valuable features of the solution is that everything is on the cloud. It has no on-premise hardware to deal with."

"Web filtering and DLP are good features."

"It is for secure web trafficking, and it is doing what it needs to do. It allows customers to consolidate and eliminate multiple technologies onto Netskope and just kind of turn the dial and use more features, such as CASB, VPN. SWG is another feature. You can monitor and govern all the traffic."

"We've found the solution to be quite stable."

"We can connect cloud apps and monitor them."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its three modules, which are SWG, ZTNA, and CASB."

"There are a lot of features, but the groups that are created for the policy groups available with Netskope are already relevant to any industry. So grouping the policies is the easiest part and a valuable feature."

"The solution's CASB, DLP, and threat protection features are very good."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway pros

Cons

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

More iboss cons

"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better"

"The technical support’s response time must be improved."

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."

"The solution’s GUI looks very old."

"The operational deployment is not great."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."

"Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and we already have Citrix for VDI. We got NetScaler almost free as part of our VDI deal. Three years ago, I convinced him to use the solution because it's better, but now, with budget constraints, he may want to switch."

"The initial setup was complex."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

"Netskope can only provide the high level related to threats."

"The solution lacks a good reporting feature."

"Since they have the Netskope client, adding some functionality in the endpoint would be good."

"There is room for improvement in streamlining policies. So what happens is that when you apply a specific Netskope policy, you never know the kind of content it will automatically block, or it will allow."

"The solution could improve the features for Zero Trust Network Access. They should add more security components to that module."

"Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway needs to integrate IoT, which can help to control devices."

"The solution needs to improve its on-premise detection technique."

"The accuracy could be improved."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"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."

"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 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."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The product is very expensive."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"We pay a licensing fee of $10,000 on a yearly basis."

"The product is cheap."

"The price is average. Because the license is user-based, you can increase it as per the user quantity."

"The solution's overall cost is cheaper than regular web security solutions."

"The license model is based on the number of users. You have the possibility to have 10,000 users if you wish."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

What needs improvement with iboss?

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

What is your primary use case for iboss?

We used it for student and faculty filtering on campus.

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchas...

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does n...

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Those firewalls that allow extend the perimeter. Nowadays, there is a issue with the static perimeter and all is goin...

What do you like most about Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?

There are a lot of features, but the groups that are created for the policy groups available with Netskope are alread...

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Comparisons

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 14% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

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Ivanti Connect Secure vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 10% of the time

Citrix Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 9% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 7% of the time

BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 7% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 3% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 18% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Symantec Proxy vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

iboss

Download iboss product report

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Download Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway product report

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

F5 Access Policy Manager

No data available

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is a comprehensive cloud-based security solution that provides advanced threat protection, data loss prevention, and web filtering capabilities. It offers real-time visibility and control over web traffic, enabling organizations to enforce policies and protect against web-based threats. The solution uses machine learning and behavioral analysis to detect and block advanced threats, including malware, phishing, and ransomware. It also provides granular control over web access, allowing organizations to block or allow specific websites and applications based on user, group, or location. With Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway, organizations can ensure compliance with industry regulations and protect sensitive data from unauthorized access or exfiltration. The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized policy management.

Netskope

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.

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Arrow, Cloudrise, Sainsbury, Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy, CSA, AVX Corporation Nuna, City of San Diego Case, Genomic Health Case Study, Oak Hill Advisors, MaRS Discovery District.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway