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SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform 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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
373
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
SteelConnect EX Enterprise ...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
23rd
Ranking in WAN Edge
20th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Versa Unified Secure Access...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
10th
Ranking in WAN Edge
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.6%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is 4.6%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Jason Best - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
PranavGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
A cloud-managed, cloud-delivered private access service efficiently connecting distributed users with. distributed applications without compromising on security or user experience.
Certainly, there are areas that require enhancement, and the current focus is on improvements. Presently, I believe that the emphasis should be on enhancing user interface (UI) features, particularly over end devices. The issue arises when attempting to log in to Versa from other devices, as the UI is not device-specific. Consequently, guiding someone to log in to Versa antivirus becomes challenging. Despite the absence of issues on the website, the lack of a login scope impedes graphical representation of user data or databases. Since work databases support only a limited range of features, I recommend augmenting features for end devices to address these limitations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."
"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."
"The usage in general is pretty good."
"Its performance in fulfilling our requirements has been satisfactory."
"​Easy to implement, and it is also reliable.​"
"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the simple configuration."
"It's very similar to a Cisco firewall, yet less expensive."
"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."
"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."
"This integration between SASE and SD-WAN is beneficial, as we have tested it with various customers."
"The product is very stable with no complaints."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the next-generation firewall features and geo-blocking capabilities."
"The product has a dynamic VPN feature for SD-WAN."
"The solution is stable and suitable."
"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."
"There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security."
 

Cons

"Their support's response time can be better. In the past six months, they took quite a long time to respond to the support tickets."
"The ease of use could be improved."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"I would like to see improvements with the antivirus and IPS as they are not working properly all the time."
"The support is inadequate. The support staff I have dealt with lately are very rude. Some support staff are not up-to-speed with the technology. They basically read a script."
"In most cases, the IPS engine uses too many resources, which makes Fortinet FortiGate devices unstable."
"Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."
"I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."
"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."
"The VPN feature is relatively new. It came out two releases ago, and they're still fixing that up."
"The stability of FlexVNF's controller and devices could 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."
"The UTM features can be improved. It should offer better functionality."
"SASE is the next big thing that is coming up, and it needs to be developed in Versa. This is the only thing that needs to be adapted very quickly by Versa. With the pandemic going on, I would like to see more features for working from home. They have launched Versa Secure Access (VSA), but it is currently immature. They need to tighten it up for work from home and SD-WAN concept."
"The interface could be simpler."
"The web interface can be improved."
"The smaller units lack a lot of functionality."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."
"The price of FortiGate is good."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate could improve, it is expensive."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."
"Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license."
"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."
Information not available
"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."
"We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."
"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."
"The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect
Versa FlexVNF, FlexVNF, Versa Titan
 

Overview

 

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
CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Cato Networks and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: July 2025.
860,825 professionals have used our research since 2012.