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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Virtru Data Protection Gateway comparison

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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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (6th), ZTNA as a Service (7th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (7th)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
19th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (11th), SSL VPN (7th), Remote Access (18th), Access Management (15th)
Virtru Data Protection Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
25th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (26th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.5%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.5%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Virtru Data Protection Gateway is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
iboss3.5%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.5%
Virtru Data Protection Gateway0.2%
Other94.8%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises
I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.
TarunKumar7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
Effortless email encryption has protected sensitive communications and supports compliance
I find the initial setup very easy because of the intuitive and straightforward interface. The system is clear to understand and quick to process. I appreciate that it ensures our private information remains secure and confidential, which supports the company in staying compliant. Virtru Data Protection Gateway protects our sensitive communications and reduces data exposure risk. It provides strong access controls and helps us maintain information security in my organization. Some of the best features that Virtru Data Protection Gateway offers are the intuitive and straightforward interface, security, encryption, and secure sharing. I rely on its easy-to-use features the most in my daily work. I find it simple to implement and navigate. The security ensures protection for sensitive information. I value the secure communication feature, which ensures our client's information is safely shared via email, and the secure sharing capability, which supports our compliance and privacy efforts. Data security provided by Virtru email encryption ensures safe communication and protection against unauthorized access. Virtru Data Protection Gateway has positively impacted my organization as we have seen an increase in our security.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."
"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."
"This product is solid, fairly easy to use, and reliable."
"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"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."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"The portal access was very good."
"The F5 Access Policy Manager is something that I have experience with and I am happy with it."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."
"I truly value this platform because it provides and safeguards my data, our data, and our client's data, making it an effortless email encryption solution with a seamless Gmail integration tool."
"Since we started using Virtru Data Protection Gateway, we have been able to save manual work and a few steps of daily work of our representatives, save 50 to 60 hours a month, and ensure customer sensitivity information is well encrypted and protected, preventing data breaches and ensuring regulation compliance, which allows us to continue doing business."
 

Cons

"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"I have heard they are doing DDoS filtering, but I am not certain if they are implementing it correctly."
"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."
"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."
"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."
"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."
"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."
"The solution is pretty technical. The initial setup is complex."
"F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."
"The solution is quite costly."
"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."
"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."
"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better."
"Virtru Data Protection Gateway could be improved by introducing support for all AWS, and an easy one-click integration with CRM tools would be highly appreciated."
"One area that Virtru Data Protection Gateway should improve is that I sometimes experience problems when using a different browser or when I have to switch computers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"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."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"The product is very expensive."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent ...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We used iBoss mainly for Internet Access by having an Agent on Windows laptops Primarily because when we try to use i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
I am not involved in pricing, but as per the information I have, during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were usin...
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) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture ...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
I am using F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) along with Bot Management, API Gateway, API Security, and F5 Cloud. ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Virtru Data Protection Gateway?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was that the cost is very cost-effective compared to my previou...
What needs improvement with Virtru Data Protection Gateway?
Virtru Data Protection Gateway could be improved by introducing support for all AWS, and an easy one-click integratio...
What is your primary use case for Virtru Data Protection Gateway?
My main use case for Virtru Data Protection Gateway is that my entire team uses it to securely encrypt our email and ...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Verizon, Maryland, we work, Brown
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Virtru Data Protection Gateway and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.