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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Norton Small Business 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Organizations experience significant ROI from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager through cost savings, security improvements, and critical access availability.
Sentiment score
8.6
Norton Small Business reduces security threat downtime, enhancing productivity, efficiency, and ROI by allowing focus on critical tasks.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager support is professional and helpful, but users suggest improved response times and communication.
Sentiment score
9.3
Norton Small Business's technical support is rated excellent for its efficiency, helpfulness, and responsiveness, though some see room for improvement.
Most of the technical support is managed in-house due to our extensive experience with F5 products.
If there is a solution, they don't always communicate it.
F5 technical support is responsive and helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
F5 BIG-IP APM offers high scalability and usability for enterprises, with straightforward scaling and valuable traffic analysis tools.
Sentiment score
8.1
Norton Small Business is highly scalable, allowing easy license expansion and adaptability for diverse business sizes and device platforms.
The product's flexibility and company culture contribute to resolving these challenges.
I would rate the scalability of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) between seven and eight.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
F5 BIG-IP APM is highly rated for stability, enabling reliable remote work despite minor log issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
Norton Small Business is highly rated for its stability, with minor password manager issues on mobile devices.
On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten.
Sometimes, the logs are not quite informational or easy to understand.
 

Room For Improvement

F5 BIG-IP APM needs improvements in usability, integration, documentation, reporting, and support to enhance cloud integration and competitiveness.
Norton Small Business requires better pricing, enhanced features, and fewer notifications to improve user experience and market availability.
If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great.
The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5.
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) does not have a direction for SaaS.
 

Setup Cost

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager is costly but valued for its reliability; licensing is simplified, though cloud costs vary.
Norton Small Business offers affordable yearly licenses but frequent upsells for additional features can be a drawback for some.
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability.
 

Valuable Features

F5 BIG-IP APM offers a robust, scalable platform with secure remote access, customization, and easy integration, ideal for corporate environments.
Norton Small Business offers comprehensive virus protection, secure features, multi-platform compatibility, and 24/7 support via a user-friendly dashboard.
APM is quite flexible for customers to use, providing secure remote access through various host-checking conditions for both machines and users.
It provides robust security and offers integration with multi-factor authentication systems, which is crucial for an organization's security policy.
A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on.
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (17th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (10th), Access Management (10th)
Norton Small Business
Ranking in SSL VPN
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (14th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 12.8%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Norton Small Business is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
William_Bowers - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a secure and hassle-free environment
One area where Norton 360 could improve is the constant push for upselling. The notifications urging me to buy additional services, like dark web monitoring or a secure browser, can be overwhelming. It feels like they are trying to sell me more than I actually need. I would prefer a more straightforward approach where essential features are included in the base license without constant prompts to purchase extras. While notifications about actions taken for my security are good, they could be more informative, letting me know exactly what they did to protect me without the upsell pitches. Simplifying the user experience and providing clearer information about the actions taken would make Norton 360 more user-friendly for me.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
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 purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.
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 not have a direction for SaaS. Most solutions focus more on remote access and acc...
What do you like most about Norton 360?
The product offers all the essential licenses compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and mobile platforms.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Norton 360?
I have a yearly licensing plan. The cost is not that high. The solution is cost-effective.
 

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Norton Small Business and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.