What is our primary use case?
In general, Netskope has helped in securing the connections between our infrastructure, whether it's on-premises or in the cloud. It provides a frictionless experience for our users. Basically, there's no change in the user experience for our employees. So, it's a seamless deployment, which is a good thing. All the adjustments are happening on the back end. So, it really improves the connectivity of our devices and users, whether they are on-premises or in the cloud.
What is most valuable?
There are several valuable features, like advanced security protections, especially the DLP (Data Loss Protection), and there's also browser and web filtering, or content filtering for our users to protect them when accessing certain links or websites, ensuring their security and permission.
What needs improvement?
Room for improvement is more on the policies offered for DLP. Netskope detects certain data or contents, but there are some limitations on how we can customize those policies for DLP.
In the next release, I hope we can see more use cases for mobile devices, not just for laptops or servers but also for key features that will be available on mobile devices or smartphones.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for six months. Since this is a SaaS, we use the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability a seven out of ten since we have to put in some effort to define policies on what to access and what not to access. Once we have those configurations, it can be stable.
It's not just a plug-and-play type of solution. To get the most benefit, WE need to define our policies on what to access and what to block and allow.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten because you can add certain modules or licenses, but there are limitations for smartphones or mobile devices.
There are around 4,500 end users using this solution. We use it 24/7 since it's directly connected to our infrastructure and users. So it needs to be running 24/7.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support are very responsive, especially when it comes from pre-sales to post-sales; they are responsive and accommodating to our requests. They are part of the success of the implementation.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This is a new solution for us. We replaced our VPN solution with Netskope Private Access. Because our infrastructure moved to the cloud and SaaS, and we have different applications, infrastructure, and operation centers. Netskope was a better solution to connect all these different elements.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy. It's fairly easy to implement, and everything happens on the back end, so there's no major change management that we need to do for our employees.
To spin it up, it took just less than a month to fully configure it. But a maximum of three months is sufficient enough to deploy this kind of solution.
We have implemented the whole suite of Netskope, but there are still ongoing implementations.
What about the implementation team?
We engaged with our IT admins, one for admin, one for network, and one for the security architect team or security engineering team. So, we needed those three key resources to make the project successful because of their expertise in those different areas - network, IP, and security.
Basically, other clients or customers will need those three resources in that area.
For maintenance, we have one or two system admins, and the service is maintained by the service desk team. Many service desk members have access to the solution just to analyze if there are any abnormal detections or misconfigurations.
What was our ROI?
For return on investment, we've seen improvements in response time for detecting anomalies in the network, visibility on the infrastructure, and protecting our connections. So that's our return on investment. We can instantly check, and there isn't much maintenance required. We've also seen some cost savings, as we've reduced on-premises costs by moving to a cloud or SaaS subscription approach.
Return on investment right now is at least 20%.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's not a cheap solution. I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive. You can get more discounts with more features, so you can save more.
It is not cheap, but the value of the solution is there. It's worth the investment.
The pricing depends on the modules or features you want to enable in Netskope. The more features, the higher the cost, but Netskope can extend discounts if you enable multiple features in our instance.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cloudflare, Palo Alto, and Zscaler. We decided to go with Netskope Private Access because it's easy to use, the support is responsive, and it offers an all-in-one feature. It's secure, which is why we chose Netskope.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. It's the best solution to integrate and secure your environment. There's room for improvement for mobile handsets or smartphones.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
*Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.