Cisco Secure Access Reviews

Our primary use case for Cisco Secure Access is seamless connectivity for users, whether they are inside our corporate network or accessing it externally over the internet. The users do not have to switch on VPNs and reconnect. They can directly connect to Cisco Secure Access using Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and access all resources as if they are inside the corporate network.

The main feature I appreciate in Cisco Secure Access is the ZTNA feature, which provides excellent connectivity for remote users. We have been using Cisco Umbrella for several years, and this additional feature of ZTNA has enhanced our connectivity experience significantly. Seamless connectivity, whether inside or outside the corporate network, is a standout feature. It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.

At this moment, I am unable to comment on areas for improvement as we are just starting to work with the solution. However, I find that the complex procedure for raising support tickets is a significant drawback. Previously, sending an email would automatically create a ticket, but now it requires accessing specific portals, making the process complicated.

We have been using Cisco Secure Access for only a month since it is not yet fully deployed.

Even a basic IT person can deploy the policies for Cisco Secure Access, making it a very user-friendly and efficient setup. We have deployed it for about one hundred users so far, with a target of one thousand users.

I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.

I would rate the scalability nine out of ten. There is always room for improvement.

Having been associated with Cisco for more than fifteen to twenty years, I find it increasingly difficult to get tech support these days. Although Cisco is reliable, the process to raise a support ticket has become more complex, requiring specific user accounts and access to specialized platforms.

Having tested only FortiGate and Sophos before, I prefer Cisco Secure Access based on my experience. I find Cisco provides a better experience.

The setup for Cisco Secure Access is straightforward and can be accomplished easily by IT staff with basic knowledge. The deployment process is smooth and does not pose any major issues.

Cisco is known for being a premium product, and its pricing reflects this. Although competitive, a more flexible pricing model could attract more companies, especially those with smaller user bases.

Solutions such as FortiGate, Zscaler, Palo Alto, and Sophos provide similar security access features. However, based on my evaluation, Cisco Secure Access offers a more favorable experience.

In terms of overall rating, I give Cisco Secure Access a nine. I would definitely recommend it to other users.

Public Cloud

I deploy Cisco Secure Access for my users to have remote access to on-premises infrastructure.

Cisco Secure Access is very helpful because I just configure it once and it is pretty scalable itself.

What I like the most about Cisco Secure Access is that it is really easy to use and it is secure. Additionally, it comes with different add-ons, such as pairing it with Umbrella, which is very helpful so that we can get analytics.

The benefits I have experienced from using Cisco Secure Access identity-based security measures in my organization make it more secure. I can do multi-factor authentication with that and I am also doing a bit of device posturing, which is improving my security posture.

I will pass on providing feedback on how Cisco Secure Access can be improved and what additional features I want to see in the next release.

I have been using Cisco Secure Access for probably about the last seven years, even when it was called AnyConnect.

I would evaluate customer service and technical support as probably an eight.

Before using Cisco Secure Access, I simultaneously considered some other vendor solutions and some open source solutions as well.

They used FortiGate, FortiClient, and also Checkpoint.

I have not tried to evaluate return on investment.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that compared to other solutions, it is pretty standard.

With these features, Cisco Secure Access gives a good value.

On-premises

Microsoft Azure

My main use case for Cisco Secure Access is to administer my firewalls, FTDs, and to control my ACLs, along with all administration tasks and IPS management.

One of the features I value most is the URL filtering, along with malware and anti-malware capabilities.

I experience several benefits from Cisco Secure Access identity-based security measures, including all benefits since the administration is on the cloud, the facility for entry, and all other capabilities and features.

I measure the impact of detailed analytics on my understanding of network vulnerabilities by recognizing that we are very protected with Cisco Secure Access solution.

I believe Cisco Secure Access can be improved, but I trust this solution very much. It is very good.

I have been using Cisco Secure Access for three years.

I evaluate customer service and technical support when I have problems as very fast.

Before, I used another solution that was an on-premises solution, FMC, Firepower Management Center.

My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it is an easy process.

I would describe my experience with deploying Cisco Secure Access as very easy.

I did not consider other competition when picking Cisco Secure Access, as I work half my life with Cisco.

I assess the platform's ability to adapt to cyber threats as very well. I give this review a rating of 10.

On-premises

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Managing Cisco Secure Access through the single cloud management console will not be difficult if you experience it once. This means once you have hands-on experience, you know how to operate it. In the first time, you might have a challenge because you need to understand the system. However, once you understand it, it will not be difficult anymore.

I find the zero trust approach helpful and beneficial in securing standard applications, which means you are accessing the applications directly instead of giving privilege to access the network itself. This is very beneficial in the context of security and is very effective.

Regarding the threat detection and response capabilities, because it's integrated in the cloud, users don't have to configure it to integrate with Talos. The feed that it has is already there, detecting malware and blocking it by itself from the Cisco Secure Access. The Intel is there, and we do not need to manually integrate with Talos.

My personal thinking about Cisco Secure Access is that because I'm also catching up on this solutioning, I'm not really seeing any improvement because I'm still learning. So far, it's good; I do not have any comment on this.

Regarding features about the UI, the pricing, and the learning curve of Cisco Secure Access that can be improved, the AI is already embedded in the solution. Because I haven't explored much and am not an expert, the features might be there, but I haven't tested them out.

When it comes to thoughts on the pricing, setup cost, and licensing cost of Cisco Secure Access, I cannot comment as I only did SSE for Cisco and did not have experience with other products. In terms of price comparisons, I cannot provide much insight.

The more competitive the pricing for Cisco Secure Access becomes, the better it would be for customers.

Throughout my experience with Cisco Secure Access, I have had some stability and reliability issues, including lagging when accessing the portal. Sometimes the response is fast, and sometimes it's slow, with response information that can be either correct or wrong. However, I consider these minor issues because they recover in a few minutes afterwards, though there are still glitches present.

In evaluating my experience with the technical support and customer service of Cisco Secure Access, during the POC, we did not leverage tech support at that particular moment; instead, we engaged directly with the SE team, the Cisco System Engineer teams.

Positive

Regarding the experience with the initial setup of Cisco Secure Access, it is important to communicate with the customers on the requirements, so they understand and prepare whatever we need to set up the POC. We need to communicate effectively with them and let them know what we need. Once our requirement is fulfilled, we can proceed. The key point is that communication with the customer must be maintained.

Once we have all of the requirements, the setup of the product itself is not that difficult. The first time requires understanding many things, but after the deployment and gaining experience, it becomes quite straightforward.

I give Cisco Secure Access a seven because I did study other products as well. While I haven't deployed any other SSE product, I went for the training. The way of deploying and the solution is quite seamless, but that's my current assessment without hands-on experience with the other products.

As a partner with Cisco, this relationship is more related to the partners agreements, which is why we are selling Cisco Secure Access.

My impressions of Cisco Secure Access on protecting organizations from threats such as phishing or ransomware attacks are based on my recent POC. There aren't many use cases I have shown to the customer, but I can confirm that the solution is effective.

I would evaluate my experience with the Cisco team as an eight on a scale of one to 10, where 10 is the best.

My advice for other users who would like to start working with Cisco Secure Access is to find a good service integrator. As I come from the service integrator background, my advice to end users is to collaborate with a reliable SI that has the expected expertise on the solutions they are going to purchase and enroll.

The overall rating for Cisco Secure Access is 7 out of 10.

We use the solution for authentications and accounting services. 

We use the tool in the Finance and IT sectors. We provide Cisco Secure Access solutions to various clients, including government agencies, to enhance network security.

The most valuable feature is the authentication feature.

I have been using Cisco Secure Access for two years.

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. More than 50 admin users use this solution. I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

I received support from the team for Cisco Secure Access related to web services. There were occasional delays of up to two working days. With our live chat options or by contacting a specialist directly, we were able to address any issues. Additionally, Cisco provides resources and lessons that can be beneficial in such situations.

Positive

The initial setup is easy.

The tool is expensive. It costs around 25,000-30,000 per year. There is an additional cost for monitoring, setup, or hardware.

In the Secure Access process, we manage authentication for corporate data, resources, and user policies to ensure that transactions are conducted securely. This involves verifying user identities and ensuring access is granted only to authorized individuals.

Sometimes, authentication takes only two or five minutes. Cisco is easy to access and is user-friendly. There is a brand policy, value, and nearability.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

On-premises

It's user-friendly and easy to manage by administrators, and the performance is very good. The security is good.

We can manage security, user channels, and all the functions on the Cisco feature, including VLAN and more. 

Cisco Secure Access have to improve the security points.

I have been using it for the last five years. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

It is a scalable solution. 

There are around 200 people who use it in my company. We use firewall for WANs and Access Points is for the internal network. And there's guest Wi-Fi for guest flow.

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

The customer service and support are very good. 

Positive

We plan to change Cisco with another vendor.

Cisco Secure Access is easy to install. 

It is expensive. 

Overall, I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

Its performance is very good, and it's easy to manage. I will recommend it to other people.

Public Cloud