SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

Riverbed and Broadcom are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Riverbed is ranked #26, while Broadcom is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2. Riverbed holds a 0.8% mindshare in SDW, compared to Broadcom’s 7.8% mindshare. Additionally, 50% of Riverbed users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN and VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

January 2026

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 13.2%, down from 19.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is 7.8%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	13.2%
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN	7.8%
SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN	0.8%
Other	78.2%

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Jason Best

Data center network architect at Cloudwire

Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use

It's like an SD-WAN project basically. You really need to make sure that the product matches the needs of what the customer's trying to achieve and their overall strategy to meet their core business requirements. I think a certain customer made a mistake in choosing this solution because a large part of their network was Cisco and they had firewalls that were from Fortinet. I think they would have been better off and it would have been better from a CAPEX, OPEX point of view. It would've been more advantageous for them to have maybe chosen a Cisco or Fortinet solution based on their existing environment. Make sure you understand your network correctly before you try to implement any SD-WAN solution. That was one of the good lessons I learned about SD-WANs with this specific product. I wouldn't say it was a fault of the product. I would say it's more a fault of the CTO who tries to do things quickly without taking into account the existing environment or give the internal faculties the time to provide real low-level design implementation. It was more of a management mistake than from their technical team. In the next release, I would like to see things like integrated security but with local internet breakout instead of using third party solutions like NetScaler or Palo Alto. I would also like to see the integration of things like a VPN so that if you have remote sites where you might have remote workers that need to access the site from home or something, there's a VPN solution. Those are two key features and hotspots in the sort of global crisis. I would rate Riverbed a seven out of ten. I could never give any solution a 10 cause they all have good and bad points. To get any solution to a ten is pretty much impossible. If I was to rate it against others like Fortinet, I would probably give Fortinet an eight or nine. Again, I think you have to be careful because it's very subjective. I think it really depends on the type of environment, the type of customer you're deploying the SD-WAN solution for, and from which perspective you're looking at like if you an operator, if you're a large enterprise, if you're looking for a plug and play type solution. If you're looking for more of a security solution, I would go for Fortinet. It's kind of tough to say. I'd probably put the clouds a little bit ahead of the game because it does what it's supposed to do and easily. It's a little more of a plug and play type solution. Fortinet, for example, is more complex. I put it in a close second place, it's better from a security perspective. It has integration with FortiGuard. After that, I would put Riverbed in third place.

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KenHo2

Senior Manager at NOVA Global

User-friendly deployment optimizes network infrastructure for global carriers

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is recognized as an SD-WAN leader, offering user-friendly solutions that help end customers and enterprises solve network optimization issues efficiently. Its proprietary Dynamic Multipath Optimization (DMP) technology is regarded as the most powerful and valuable function by VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN. I see customer transformation to VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN networks showing a 30 to 40 percent increment per year.

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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

"The user interface is relatively easy. The devices are easy to deploy and figure out when you have experience with other security appliances."

"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."

"The security on offer is very good."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and the UI. It has always provided me with what I needed. I have no need for additional costs that other solutions have, such as Sophos."

"The most valuable feature is the web filter."

"Mainly the FortiGate reporting system is very good. It guides us through all the expectations of security. Fortinet provides us all that we need for security. Also, Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall. It is much more advanced than others."

"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."

"User identification and application identification are valuable features."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."

"When we upgrade to one of the edges, it goes very smoothly."

"Initially, we had a scattered environment, but VMware SD-WAN helped us achieve centralization, which was beneficial."

"VMware SD-WAN is scalable."

"The most valuable feature of VMware SD-WAN is the virtualization platform. You can use the software on any hardware. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."

"This solution is as stable as most firewalls. VMware is a reputable vendor."

"Has an optimization feature that acts to ensure the quality of the services running on the overlay to be most valuable."

"VMware SD-WAN is easy-to-use."

"The most valuable feature is load balancing."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN pros

Cons

"Integrating OpenVPN with FortiGate would provide a powerful combination of secure remote access and comprehensive network security."

"Some of the software stability could improve."

"We had some issues in the beginning while setting it up, but after doing the firmware update, it is working fine."

"The big license options have web filtering, IDS, and a lot of other things, but it's not like they are all good."

"The user interface could be improved."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS could always be improved."

"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."

"I would like for them to upgrade to 5G integration. Our customers have 4G now and the connectivity isn't good. It should be much faster."

"VMware SD-WAN could improve if the hardware could integrate the interface using ICP. Additionally, if VMware SD-WAN is used with SSE providers that use tunnels there are some issues prioritizing traffic because it cannot decrypt."

"VeloCloud needs improvement in terms of its security features."

"The cost is a little bit high."

"Some of the service providers that use VeloCloud as their SD-WAN should be enabled to have better global visibility."

"VMware SD-WAN doesn't have the best built-in firewall."

"VMware SD-WAN could be improved with more automation and more integration, but each vendor could use these improvements."

"The initial setup could be simplified for beginners."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate could improve, it is expensive."

"There is only a standard license cost to use the solution."

"We have the full version of Fortinet FortiGate and we are on a three-year contract with a commitment of five years."

"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."

"For the price, I'd rate it a ten because it's very cost-effective."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

"No comment."

"Its price is good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"VMware SD-WAN provides competitive pricing."

"The solution's price combines the license and the bandwidth you used."

"Price would be a challenge for customers, because it is expensive."

"The pricing is very comparable to Fortinet."

"The price of this solution is higher than that of other SD-WAN vendors."

"We pay about $500 USD, or 700,000 Korean won."

"The minimum cost is $10,000 a month to have a monitoring station set up."

"We make monthly payments toward the licensing costs of the solution."

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	189

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Fortinet Fortigate and VMware SD-WAN?

One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. It is a very ...

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What do you like most about VMware SD-WAN?

One of the key use cases for VMware SD-WAN was assisting a customer in the industrial zone. They required virtualized...

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

When it comes to setup cost and licensing cost for VMware, it is on the expensive side relative to the market. We are...

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Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 14% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN

Compared 32% of the time

Steelhead vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN

Compared 24% of the time

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN

Compared 16% of the time

More SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

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

Compared 6% of the time

Aryaka Unified SASE Platform vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

Compared 5% of the time

More VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

February 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

January 2026

SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN report

Download SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN

January 2026

Download VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect

VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Accelerate business velocity with enterprise-class SD-WAN. As enterprises and organizations adopt more cloud and SaaS applications to support an increasingly distributed workforce, the hybrid networks connecting it all have been more complex, less predictable and less secure.

Riverbed SteelConnect EX is a powerful enterprise SD-WAN solution that integrates best-in-class routing, application acceleration, network visibility, and security services – a flexible and complete WAN Edge platform that gives you what you need to modernize your network and propel your business in the digital age.

Riverbed

VMware Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a secure access service edge (SASE) platform that combines many types of software-based network technologies in an attempt to enable users to virtualize their wide area networks and reduce their reliance on hardware. In essence, this solution makes it possible for users to reliably access their applications from anywhere in the world by leveraging cloud technologies. Users can simply, efficiently, and completely control their network devices and traffic. It ensures that organizations are always able to use the best possible connection to their data centers. VMware SD-WAN steers traffic so that it is always using the most reliable connections and at the same time takes steps to remediate any problems that it detects in other network links. This guarantees that organizations can access high-priority applications at all times.

VMware SD-WAN Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by deploying VMware SD-WAN include:

Reduced cost of network management. Organizations that choose to employ VMware SD-WAN can manage their network at a cost that is 2.5 times less expensive than what it costs to use traditional WAN architectures. Its ability to both augment existing hardware and replace said hardware if the user chooses to do so is part of what enables users to reduce their overhead costs.

Ease of deployment. VMware SD-WAN makes it possible for organizations to deploy it without having to rely on the assistance of technical experts. When the device - whether virtual or otherwise - is connected to the internet, it integrates with a central orchestrator that pushes the correct integrations to the device in question. This automates the installation process and makes it so that anybody can initiate and follow the deployment through to the end of the process.

Easily segment networks to improve environmental performance. Users can divide their networks into multiple segments that share a single IP address. These networks can be incorporated into an organization’s IT infrastructure and enable it to run more reliably. One way it does this is by providing multiple potential channels for data to use to travel in the event that one of the data pathways is suffering from some kind of issue.

VMware SD-WAN Features

Centralized monitoring. VMware SD-WAN is monitored at all times by a centralized orchestrator. From one place, an organization can watch every part of its network. Instead of having to search for the data they need, it can all be found in one location.

Integration capabilities. VMware SD-WAN offers users the capability to integrate their network with the environment of their choosing. This enables them to connect their network to the IT environment that best meets their needs. It makes it easy for them to work with multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

Real-time data analytics. VMware SD-WAN can analyze network data in real time. This makes it easy for users to monitor their network’s performance. It also allows them to take steps to quickly remediate any issues that arise before they can become worse.

Reviews from Real Users

VMware SD-WAN is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its ability to automate the process of creating and maintaining a virtual local area network and its intuitive user dashboard.

Sami I., principal cloud architect at Loihe, writes, “One of the solution's most valuable features is the VMware core automation stack at an SDDC. It includes NSX, the VMware virtualization layer for the networks (the LAN virtualization), which works extremely well with the VMware SD-WAN solution and is the primary advantage over all the others. None of the other vendors could integrate with the virtual LAN, making it quite complicated and virtualized to be fully automated.”

Chih S., senior technical consultant at a tech services company, says, “The product has a very good user dashboard that is simple to navigate.”

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet

Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction, The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

January 2026

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