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SonicWall SMA vs Symantec VIP Access Manager 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

SonicWall SMA
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (6th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (16th)
Symantec VIP Access Manager
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (12th), Access Management (22nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

SonicWall SMA and Symantec VIP Access Manager aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. SonicWall SMA is designed for Universal Access Gateways and holds a mindshare of 37.9%, down 47.7% compared to last year.
Symantec VIP Access Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 1.9% mindshare, up 1.6% since last year.
Universal Access Gateways Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall SMA37.9%
Citrix Gateway38.2%
Other23.900000000000006%
Universal Access Gateways
Authentication Systems Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec VIP Access Manager1.9%
Microsoft Entra ID5.6%
Okta Platform4.4%
Other88.1%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

BA
Owner at ThinkEzIT
Security enhances through autonomous protection and strong support while multi-factor authentication secures access
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, as I haven't been looking at what they're releasing. We're a small shop, so we drop stuff in and manage it and do what we need to do to maintain it. If we run into an issue, we contact support. There's a learning curve, but it comes down to getting support to train you on the product, and then once you have the training you need, you're able to make the changes and updates that you need to.
Berk Onur - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at Cyberwise
With its mobile application, this tool offers a convenient and user-friendly experience to its users
To improve the tool, I think that the solution should consider integrations with other cybersecurity and IT technologies, such as Privileged Access Management and Site Integration. Additionally, the implementation of second-factor authentication via Symantec VIP Access Manager, CyberArk, and Delinea, among other technologies, could be best for the product. While the existing technology is okay, improving the integration capabilities for Symantec VIP Access Manager would benefit the product. I would like to see the solution meet the integration needs at our company. While many cybersecurity solutions can function independently, they often lack integration with our systems due to missed integration points. Improving the solution's integration feature would be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is extremely flexible, the program is easy to use, the performance is good, and the solution is very stable."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"The SonicWall SSL-VPN solution offers the best protection with the least effect on services."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"I like the load balancing capability, it is very fast and it has a simple interface."
"We are in Thailand and I'm very happy with the technical support."
"The main benefit of Symantec VIP is that it provides strong authentication while keeping it as a very user friendly experience."
"In this version 9.1, lots of changes are done for the dashboard, User Store etc."
"Mostly from a product expert's point of view, it provides solutions for my clients."
"The two-factor authentication is most definitely valuable and moves us closer to being able to check off those important boxes for compliance."
"The VPN we are using is good and working quite well."
"VIP is a strong, cloud-based authentication service that enables organizations to secure access to networks and applications to prevent unauthorized logins to company resources, even when passwords have been compromised or shared."
"If you're looking for a fairly lightweight client that works very well for remote access purposes, I think Symantec is definitely a good product."
"Cloud-based service and management."
 

Cons

"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."
"Our only issue was with user training. The additional challenge was not well received."
"Every time that I have a new phone or computer, it takes a little longer to deploy it."
"If they had dashboards or a report for managers or executives, then it would allow them to see the status and have it make sense to them."
"The gateway server is a RADIUS server, but it lacks the functionality of returning RADIUS attributes other than those that are required for the gateway to authenticate the users."
"There are some shortcomings on the reporting side, such as how many connections you can get per month."
"In my opinion, for this solution, the technical support is not so expert when we talk about integration using the API."
"Maybe Symantec could consider providing a step-by-step guide for first-time users."
"The VIP Manager can be accessed from the outside which is a security vulnerability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"I don't know about the pricing of the SSL-VPN box. I know the SSL-VPN software is free. Global VPN client, by comparison, is licensed for around $150 or something like that. But the SSL-VPN software is free. It is already built-in with the box."
"There is a one-time setup fee plus the licenses are provided as per the number of users. For SMS and voice calls, the costs are separate."
"Licensing and pricing seems very fair."
"I can say that the solution is worth the money."
"There are additional costs for maintenance."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?
I haven't utilized the high availability and scalability features of SonicWall SMA yet because I've never had a need to. I don't know where they can focus their energy on continuous improvements, a...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall SMA?
I have experience with the SonicWall SMA; we have rolled it back into our stack. We use SonicWall SMA for all of our clients that need VPNs, including doctor's offices and lawyer offices. Our clien...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
Symantec VIP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Maine Medical Center, Aria S.p.A
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix, SonicWall and others in Universal Access Gateways. Updated: August 2026.
911,839 professionals have used our research since 2012.