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Forcepoint ONE vs Symantec Proxy comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (7th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Forcepoint ONE
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (10th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (11th)
Symantec Proxy
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
12th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint ONE is 1.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Proxy is 2.0%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
iboss2.4%
Forcepoint ONE1.5%
Symantec Proxy2.0%
Other94.1%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director
Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment
I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.
reviewer2765397 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Delivers reliable policy control and improves data protection across cloud and endpoints
The best features Forcepoint ONE offers include the DLP engine with predefined policies for common data types that help us determine and use it directly, as well as cloud app control to protect SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. We are also helped by the Incident Management Dashboard for quick review and policy tuning, along with integration with Forcepoint Endpoint DLP, allowing us consistent enforcement across devices. The DLP engine and Incident Management Dashboard have made our work much more efficient in daily operations, as detection accuracy reduces the need for manual review, and the centralized dashboard helps us quickly identify which incidents need escalation or policy adjustment. It shortens response time for our clients, allowing their security team to view incidents in real-time, classify them easily, and focus on genuine risks instead of sorting through false positives, and it simplifies reporting and audit preparation since all the relevant data is consolidated in one place. One feature that really stands out for us and our client is the seamless integration between Forcepoint ONE and the on-premise Forcepoint DLP, as it allows consistent data protection policy across both cloud and endpoint environments, making it much easier to manage. Forcepoint ONE has positively impacted our organization by streamlining DLP policy management and reducing time spent on troubleshooting and manual reviews, providing faster compliance reporting for internal needs and compliance with local regulation, and improving visibility into how sensitive data moves across cloud and endpoint environments. Overall, it helps our customers operate more efficiently and confidently in enforcing data protection controls.
reviewer2341938 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of IT, Infrastructure, DevOps & Cyber Unit at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Integration with compatible platforms streamlines web security management
The GUI has been effective. The proxy fulfills all the tasks I require, and it's not overly complicated. There aren't any specific features within Symantec Proxy that stand out for threat prevention in my use cases. The integration with FireGlass has been essential since both solutions are from Broadcom, enhancing compatibility as opposed to my prior experience where integration was troublesome.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"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 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."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"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."
"Forcepoint ONE has positively impacted our organization by providing visibility through CASB, caching user activities, and preventing threats by guiding users to the correct cloud services like Office 365 instead of blocking access to more vulnerable services."
"The biggest thing that I like about this product is that it's easy to use and teach. When we have somebody new starting to work with the product, it's easy to teach them. It's also easy to use the product as it does so much."
"The most valuable features of Forcepoint include Zero Trust Network Access and remote user protection for private applications."
"Forcepoint ONE has positively impacted my organization and my customers, as it pretty much meets the expectations because they migrated from an on-prem one to a cloud one."
"The control of web access by category is very effective."
"The solution is very good when it comes to securing us against data leakage, because of the other proxy. It also has API scanning or data at rest. It inspects data in motion, which is the proxy, and then it has the data at rest, which is the API scanning. We can inspect for anything we want: file fingerprinting, PHI-sensitive data, PCI-sensitive data. It does not matter. We can usually find it and block it in transit and do our remediation with it. It could either be block, encrypt, or allow and watermark the file to follow it and see where it goes. It allows for those different scenarios."
"I have seen a return on investment, and the improvement is very good, with evident money saved because the license for Forcepoint ONE is a bundled package and noticeable time saved because more incidents are handled and reviewed in a short period of time with fewer employees since Forcepoint ONE does the work that I used to rely on a team of engineers to previously detect."
"The setup is relatively straightforward."
"The most valuable feature is the caching."
"It's a stable solution."
"Symantec Proxy’s technical support is very good."
"The product is very good, and the URL filtering database is great."
"The most valuable features are content inspection, caching, SSL encryption, decryption, WAN optimization, and more."
"I would rate the overall solution a nine out of ten."
"The security features provided by Symantec Proxy, such as granular controls for web traffic and caching, set it apart from other secure web gateways."
"The most valuable feature of Symantec Proxy is the support and autoscaling."
 

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"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."
"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."
"Its pricing could be better."
"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."
"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 dashboards for local use could be better."
"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."
"Forcepoint ONE could be improved."
"I need control over access to web WhatsApp, which the solution cannot resolve yet."
"Bitglass integration with some IDP providers needs improvement."
"We encounter challenges in determining whether certain features for blocking certain file types or preventing automatic downloads are functioning correctly."
"Areas for improvement for the platform include addressing scalability and architecture concerns, especially for large deployments involving more than 500 or 1,000 users."
"Integration into different multi-factor authentication tools. On their page, they tout Duo, but I don't use Duo. I use another vendor. Not that they don't interact, but it takes a little bit more doing. Any amount of efficiencies here would help."
"I believe that Forcepoint ONE could be improved when configuring certain policies; for content filtering, when trying to whitelist or blacklist certain domains, you can only do up to about 50 domains or URLs, which is a limitation that could be addressed."
"Overall, Forcepoint ONE performs well, but I think the dashboard could be made more intuitive, and the policy synchronization between cloud and on-prem components could also be faster and more transparent, alongside having more flexible reporting and alert customization to tailor insights for different clients and compliance needs."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement."
"Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determine the exact cost for the proxy component. Forcepoint sold only proxies, which was easier to measure."
"Improvements in log availability would greatly enhance its overall effectiveness."
"Technical support is an area that requires some improvement."
"The initial setup can be somewhat complex, and deploying the system can take some time."
"Prior to the Broadcom purchase, every appliance was application based, but now they have one ISG device and on top of it multiple applications are running. It has a single point of failure. If your device goes down, all of the applications would be down."
"There are performance issues with all of the proxies."
"The initial setup is actually quite complex to install because our users don't have admin rights on the boxes and there's no remote install option by an administrator."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"The product is reasonably priced compared to other vendors. I rate the pricing a two or three."
"There is training involved. If you're going to add more people to it, such as cross train more of your group, there's a cost. Other than that, that's it. We have paid exactly what the invoices have said. We signed a three-year contract and not gone above it."
"We have our pricing by user. We do our pricing agreements annually. There are also additional costs for maintenance."
"Typically, the longer you price forward, the better off you're going to be. They have been very willing to work with us on pricing."
"The licensing cost for Forcepoint ONE would depend on the features, but the pricing is very competitive here in Brazil. The solution offers a good price, and I would rate it a three or a four in terms of pricing. I don't have information on whether there are additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees for Forcepoint ONE."
"When considering only the cost, the solution may appear to be costly; however, when evaluated in terms of commercial value, Bitglass is not expensive."
"There are no licensing fees required."
"The product is highly priced. There are no additional costs apart from the standard licenses."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others on the market."
"In terms of cost, it is expensive. Its pricing has been a challenge for us since its acquisition by Broadcom."
"The price is too expensive compared with that of another solution."
"There is a license needed to use Symantec Proxy."
"The tool is pretty expensive."
"There is a different department that looks into the licensing part."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...
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...
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...
What do you like most about Forcepoint ONE?
The platform's feature that has been most beneficial for our web security is its capability to replicate rules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint ONE?
The aspects of pricing, setup cost, and licensing are managed by our sales team, as I handle the technical side.
What needs improvement with Forcepoint ONE?
Forcepoint ONE could be improved in terms of scalability to better support hybrid environments, as many organizations...
What do you like most about Symantec Proxy?
We can address and rectify issues promptly, resulting in consistently positive outcomes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Proxy?
Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determi...
What needs improvement with Symantec Proxy?
AI features could potentially improve the proxy by helping build rules more efficiently, suggesting unused rules, and...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Bitglass
Blue Coat Encrypted Traffic Management, ProxySG Appliance
 

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.
UNC-Charlotte
Jefferies
Find out what your peers are saying about Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Proxy and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.