What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Secure Access – DNS Defense is predominantly assisting customers in deploying it for secure remote access, replacing their more traditional Umbrella DNS security, and replacing their AnyConnect solutions.
Secure Access – DNS Defense helps me address the problem of people having to use antiquated VPN technologies. They can go via a cloud service, which makes it more flexible, and there are more security capabilities on that platform than on the legacy Umbrella system. It also introduces AI security controls.
How has it helped my organization?
Secure Access – DNS Defense has positively impacted my organization by enabling us to work with customers to modernize their remote access and put them on a path to achieve zero trust capabilities, including zero trust network access for private applications.
I have not seen much else, but I have seen improved security.
What is most valuable?
The best features Secure Access – DNS Defense offers include the Secure Web Gateway component, which is great. The AI access security controls are very interesting. The setup and the integration with other platforms such as ICE are easier and clearer. There is a variety of features, but I am still a bit skeptical about the DLP capabilities.
Secure Access – DNS Defense has given customers visibility that they may not have had previously, as it helps them prevent users from accessing risky sites and makes their remote access less susceptible to bottlenecks. You can also have it fully enabled so that it is always on. It should improve visibility of which sites they are protected from, other configurations, and AI usage.
Regarding the AI capabilities of Secure Access – DNS Defense, its governance and security are still new to us.
Regarding the AI capabilities of Secure Access – DNS Defense, I have not found any issues with its outputs at the moment, not specifically. It is pretty accurate from what I can currently ascertain, but it is still new to us. From what we can see, it seems pretty accurate.
What needs improvement?
Secure Access – DNS Defense could be improved by simplifying the migration from Umbrella to Secure Access. The bundling of some of the features is a little bit separated, and the licensing could be simplified even further.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Secure Access – DNS Defense for the last 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Secure Access – DNS Defense is stable, but I am not using a very recent version.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Secure Access – DNS Defense is fine, as I have not hit any limitations yet.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support for Secure Access – DNS Defense is okay. It could have been a bit better, but it is sufficient.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had Umbrella previously.
The switch from Umbrella was prompted by a desire to modernize and to have a path that is broader in capabilities, better integrated, and leads toward zero trust network access.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment of Secure Access – DNS Defense is primarily in a public cloud, because the service runs on AWS.
We do not have a specific choice, but it is AWS for Secure Access – DNS Defense, so that decision was made for us.
AWS (Amazon) is the cloud provider we use for Secure Access – DNS Defense.
What about the implementation team?
We are deploying Secure Access – DNS Defense for our own customers as a value-added reseller and assisting them. Setup costs are fairly straightforward, and the pricing is fairly straightforward.
What was our ROI?
It is still too early to determine ROI, as we are only six months in.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchased Secure Access – DNS Defense through Cisco licensing.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Secure Access – DNS Defense is that the pricing is okay and the setup cost is okay. The licensing could be a little bit more simplified, but it is an improvement from the past, so it is not a problem.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I looked at Fortinet and Zscaler access, and I considered Microsoft Entra Private Access and Internet Access.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Secure Access – DNS Defense an eight out of 10.
The reason I give it an eight is that it can never be perfect. It has come a long way, and I think it is better than some of the competition, but not all of the competition.
I think it is a very good place to start with Secure Access – DNS Defense, especially if customers are familiar with Umbrella and want to integrate with Cisco ICE. If they have a Cisco platform, it is easy to introduce in that regard, and if you can attach it to an enterprise agreement, it is financially attractive. That is the advice I would share.
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)
