FortiSASE vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform comparison

FortiSASE vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Download the complete report

Helped 849,686 peers since 2012

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 Access Service Edge (SASE) category, the mindshare of iboss is 1.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiSASE is 7.1%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is 1.2%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

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

Read full review

Peter VanDorp

Cyber Security Analyst and Network Operations Supervisor at a non-tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Improved our operational efficiency because we manage one system now that manages all the sub-pieces to it

Deep packet inspection is easier to deploy in the FortiSASE environment. It's much simpler to configure one-touch deployment. It was considerably more convoluted to get that to work using FortiClient. All that processing horsepower is happening in Fortinet's cloud infrastructure, reducing the load on our local routers and on-prem FortiGate firewalls. There wasn't much of a learning curve because we are already a Fortinet organization. We still use all the same pieces, but the interface is slightly different. Still, I don't think the average user would have difficulty picking the solution up. They've got some excellent documentation and support to help you through any questions you may have. FortiSASE lets us manage everything from one web interface. That's the most significant benefit. We also use FortiManager, but it could only do so much when we only used on-prem systems. We still need to touch the EMS server and a few other interfaces to make all the pieces work. FortiSASE puts everything in one place. If something doesn't work, you've got support there to help you out. Previously, we had local support, but it's more complicated because you needed to explain your environment. The SASE environment is under their control, so they know what it looks like and what they're dealing with.

Read full review

PriyankDubey

Product manager at Ernst & Young

A flexible, stable and scalable solution

I don't have issues with the hardware, as the requisite capacity is visible in the data sheets. All the details in the data sheets are accounted for. But, I find myself confused when it comes to combining this with the software. I have not come across documentation on the Versa website which would provide information about the parameters for selecting the appropriate license. For this we are assisted by the solution's design engineer and the Versa team. I do what I can as a project manager and make the best suggestions I am capable of concerning the competition. Future releases should contain AI for the voice feature. SSL VPN is lacking in the solution. I wish to see this in the near future.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

"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."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

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

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"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."

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

More iboss pros

"FortiSASE can operate in a cloud environment with client certificates for authorizations and access control using features like PostCheck."

"The product can scale."

"We built a local node in Jordan, which is the main advantage. The data is localized in-country."

"The integration with the company's existing security infrastructure enhanced our security posture since it was a straightforward process."

"Its function is related to the licensing framework."

"We utilize the web filtering part of FortiCASB for our network security."

"The solution is easy to deploy and simple to manage."

"This advantage is having the ability to create an SPA unit of FortiGate."

More FortiSASE pros

"Overall, it's nice and very user friendly. That's what makes it so successful. They give you complicated features but with a very simple user interface, and that's been a big success for them."

"It's very powerful, especially for engineering teams."

"The necessary enhancement pertains to the controller segment, specifically addressing the issue of frequent flapping when a link is left. In the case of Versa Unified, if a link experiences frequent flapping within an entire branch, it triggers instability. Hence, it is imperative that the overall routing system is not contingent solely upon the active dial branches."

"The most valuable features are the main steering and the firewall. The security features and SD-WAN features are also quite good."

"The granularity when it comes to configuration and security features are valuable."

"Our organization finds the application routing features extremely useful."

"The initial setup is simple."

"There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security."

More Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform pros

Cons

"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."

"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 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."

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

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

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

More iboss cons

"While stability is generally good, we faced some difficulties during updates."

"While connectivity from outside to inside is okay, inside to outside is not."

"There are some issues at the agent level, and then we have to sign out and sign in."

"They are trying to improve the features of FortiSASE, however, many FortiSASE gates still cannot connect. While connectivity from outside to inside is okay, inside to outside is not."

"The current high-tech version of FortiSASE is not recommended due to its heavy loading."

"Improvements should focus on security."

"Improvements should focus on security. Although FortiCASB performs well in many areas, I believe its security aspects could be enhanced further."

"Stability issues persist."

More FortiSASE cons

"With the pandemic and changing work models, it would be ideal if the product more accessibility options or more diversity within the solution itself."

"The smaller units lack a lot of functionality."

"The web interface can be improved."

"I heard about them for the first time just before I started working on Versa. They do have blogs for information, but they could publicize more about the documentation and architecture. It doesn't seem to have that much exposure, and they should work on their customer base more."

"Future releases should contain AI for the voice feature."

"The interface could be simpler."

"The support needs to be improved."

"We are thinking about how to make customers consolidate the loads to an SD-WAN network so that the customers can have bigger chunk from the SD-WAN side so that customers can have critical data be transferred with NPS VPN and non-critical data or some labeled traffic can be transferred by the SD-WAN network. I think it's a very important direction for digital transformation."

More Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform cons

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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price."

"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"I can only speak about the pricing for education users because we get discounts. Other users aren't going to get the same price, but FortiSASE is competitive with the other products out there. All the solutions came in at the same price, so it just came down to the product that works best for us."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements."

"Price wise, it's more expensive than is the competition. I would give pricing a rating of three out of five."

"It is neither cheap nor expensive. I rate the pricing a five out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

"It is not very expensive because of the white box support. Its hardware is much cheaper than other products. With the support for x86 and white box, it is one of the most cost-effective platforms that are currently available."

"We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."

"While I cannot provide too much commentary on the price, I feel it to be fair for the moment."

"The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing 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 FortiSASE ?

The integration with the company's existing security infrastructure enhanced our security posture since it was a stra...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiSASE ?

The pricing for FortiCASB is competitive and not expensive. I rate the price as eight out of ten. There may be additi...

What needs improvement with FortiSASE ?

Improvements should focus on security. Although FortiCASB performs well in many areas, I believe its security aspects...

What do you like most about Versa FlexVNF?

Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Versa FlexVNF?

Both Versa and VMware are cheap in terms of the router. I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of ...

What needs improvement with Versa FlexVNF?

We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades, etcetera. They don't support certain other third...

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

More iboss Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs FortiSASE

Compared 22% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs FortiSASE

Compared 20% of the time

Netskope vs FortiSASE

Compared 12% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs FortiSASE

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs FortiSASE

Compared 10% of the time

More FortiSASE Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Compared 25% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Compared 13% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Compared 11% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Compared 9% of the time

More Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform Competitors

Product Reports

iboss

Download iboss product report

FortiSASE

Download FortiSASE product report

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform

Download Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform product report

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Versa FlexVNF, FlexVNF, Versa Titan

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

FortiSASE is a comprehensive security solution that combines SD-WAN, security, and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) capabilities in a single platform. It provides secure access to applications and data from any device, anywhere, and at any time. FortiSASE offers advanced threat protection, real-time visibility, and control over network traffic, ensuring that organizations can securely connect their users and devices to the cloud and on-premises resources. With FortiSASE, organizations can simplify their security infrastructure, reduce costs, and improve their overall security posture.

FortiSASE Benefits:

Easy to use and set up
Good value for the price
Provides accurate and reliable results
Compact and portable design
Comes with helpful instructions and customer support

FortiSASE combines the following key elements:

Networking: FortiSASE provides networking capabilities, including SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network), WAN optimization, and network traffic routing. It allows organizations to optimize and secure their network connectivity.
Security: FortiSASE integrates multiple security services, including next-generation firewall (NGFW), secure web gateway (SWG), secure web application firewall (WAF), and zero-trust network access (ZTNA). It offers comprehensive protection against various threats, such as malware, intrusions, and data breaches.
Cloud Security: FortiSASE includes cloud-native security services to protect cloud-based applications and workloads. It offers secure access to cloud services, cloud-based firewalls, and security for multi-cloud environments.
Zero Trust Security: FortiSASE follows the Zero Trust security model, where all users and devices are treated as untrusted and must undergo strict authentication and authorization before accessing resources. It enforces granular access controls and micro-segmentation to limit lateral movement within the network.
Secure Web Access: FortiSASE includes secure web access capabilities, enabling organizations to enforce web filtering policies, block malicious websites, and protect against web-based threats like phishing and malware.
Visibility and Analytics: FortiSASE provides centralized visibility and analytics to monitor network traffic, security events, and user behavior. It helps organizations detect and respond to security incidents and provides insights for ongoing security improvements.

FortiSASE aims to simplify and streamline security operations by integrating multiple security functions and network services into a single platform. This approach allows organizations to reduce complexity, improve efficiency, and enhance overall security posture.

Reviews from Real Users

Peter VanDorp, Cyber Security Analyst and Network Operations Supervisor at a non-tech company, says that "Deep packet inspection is easier to deploy in the FortiSASE environment. It's much simpler to configure one-touch deployment. It was considerably more convoluted to get that to work using FortiClient. All that processing horsepower is happening in Fortinet's cloud infrastructure, reducing the load on our local routers and on-prem FortiGate firewalls."

Jose-Rivera, Account Manager at Telefónica, that FortiSASE is "Reliable with good security and helps with network optimization".

Fortinet

The Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is a comprehensive solution that provides secure access to cloud applications and services. It combines networking and security functions into a single platform, making it easier for organizations to manage their network infrastructure. The platform includes features such as SD-WAN, VPN, firewall, web filtering, and more. It also offers advanced security capabilities such as intrusion prevention, malware protection, and threat intelligence. With the Versa SASE Platform, organizations can ensure secure access to their cloud applications and services from any location, while also reducing costs and simplifying network management.

Versa Networks

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.

Information Not Available

CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services

FortiSASE vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform