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

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

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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

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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Engineerinfosec67

Senior Information Security Engineer at Westcon-Comstor

Centralized management streamlines global network traffic control

Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access. Although there has been improvement, further steps can be taken. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls, as they currently do not align.

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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.

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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

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"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."

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

"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 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."

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

More iboss pros

"Prisma SD-WAN is intuitive. We have a better idea of the different tools we can use and jump between the menus quickly."

"The AI ops feature streamlines revisions and automates compliance."

"The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass, especially since we have Palo Alto firewalls."

"Prisma supports all of the applications we're currently using."

"From the main controller, we can administer the customer's devices, QoS, network, and traffic. We can monitor it and we can change and create policies as well as upgrade the software. We can totally control a customer's network from one site, the Prisma SD-WAN portal."

"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."

"The solution allows our network to be self-healing in the event of a loss of connectivity between different locations."

"The security offered by the solution is pretty good."

More Prisma SD-WAN pros

"The product is very stable with no complaints."

"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 division of Control Plane and Data Plane is most valuable. It can be deployed anywhere, and you can control it and configure it from anywhere. This is one of the good features of this solution."

"I like all the features. We utilize different LAN, bandwidth transferring, bandwidth balancing, and mappings. We use it as a centralized solution, and use the same product at all our locations."

"This integration between SASE and SD-WAN is beneficial, as we have tested it with various customers."

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

"The initial setup is simple."

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

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

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

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

"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."

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Its pricing could be better."

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

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

More iboss cons

"The tool needs to work on price and complexity."

"We are incorporating their zone-based firewalls. Prisma SD-WAN has limited documentation on how it manipulates traffic, e.g., how it is interacting with TCP and UDP. We recently had some traffic that was black holing. We literally had to do packet captures to see that the new zone-based firewall, which runs on top of Prisma SD-WAN, was causing issues."

"Prisma SD-WAN can be built on top of a couple of hardware platforms, including the Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewall or the CloudGenix infrastructure."

"Customer support is our biggest pain point. The quality of support has gone down a little since we initially deployed this product. I don't know if this is due to turnover at Palo Alto or a lack of training. It is now taking one or two days to get an initial response that says, "Hey, we've looked into this, can you pull this data for us?" In the past, we'd immediately get a response."

"The solution should include custom ports and group voice connections."

"Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access."

"There are two parallel things that we want Palo Alto to work on. First, customers want a unified appliance that does the work of all firewalls in addition to SD-WAN. Second, the cloud presence should be completely automated. If I purchase the SASE architecture, I shouldn't worry about deployments in Prisma Access or on Prisma SD-WAN. It should be deployed in one go."

"The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides."

More Prisma SD-WAN cons

"The solution's current customer support is not that good. So, they need to improve that. Also, the solution's UI is quite complex, so they need to simplify it."

"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."

"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."

"Another thing that should be improved in Versa are their firewall features."

"The security should be improved."

"The solution lacks a mobile version where small, manageable platforms can be developed."

"The stability of FlexVNF's controller and devices could be improved."

"The smaller units lack a lot of functionality."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"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."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

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

"Prisma SD-WAN is a pretty expensive solution."

"If you're already invested in a Palo Alto product, it would be logical to use this solution. If not, there might be some other solutions that are more viable in terms of pricing."

"It is more expensive than Fortinet."

"This solution stood out because it cost considerably less than the other SD-WAN solutions out there from Cisco."

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

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

"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."

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

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

"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."

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

21%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

Financial Services Firm

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?

I have a couple of thoughts for improvement, but usually when I address them with my rep, they put it into the featur...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

We use it primarily for simpler filtering because we're a K12 entity.

What do you like most about Prisma SD-WAN?

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma SD-WAN?

The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides.

What needs improvement with Prisma SD-WAN?

I think the product could be a bit cheaper, but otherwise, I am satisfied with it.

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 19% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 21% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 21% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 17% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 14% of the time

More Prisma SD-WAN Competitors

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

Compared 24% of the time

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

Compared 12% of the time

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

Compared 11% of the time

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

Compared 11% of the time

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

Product Reports

Download iboss product report

iboss

May 2025

Prisma SD-WAN

Download Prisma SD-WAN 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

CloudGenix

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

Simplify management, enable app-defined SD-WAN policies and deliver a secure, cloud-delivered branch today with the Industry’s first next-generation SD-WAN.

Palo Alto Networks

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.

Open Networking User Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coca Cola

CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services

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