


Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway and Symantec Proxy are leading web security solutions. Forcepoint is favored for its innovative functionalities and integration options, while Symantec is valued for its reliable threat prevention.
Features: Forcepoint offers integration capabilities with DLP, CASB features, and real-time category protection, advanced URL filtering, and cloud app visibility. Symantec provides excellent URL categorization, threat detection, and risk management features.
Room for Improvement: Forcepoint could improve AD authentication, customer support, and policy enforcement speed. Symantec requires better reporting, dashboard integration, and user interface intuitiveness.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Forcepoint provides flexible deployment options but has complex setup processes, with mixed customer support feedback. Symantec focuses more on on-premises deployment, receiving praise for customer service but relies on third-party integrators for setup assistance.
Pricing and ROI: Forcepoint is viewed as expensive, yet offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing plans, positively impacting ROI through cloud savings. Symantec faces challenges in licensing renewals and cost without significant feature updates, though both are considered investments, with Forcepoint generally offering more competitive rates.
With iboss, whenever you turn on your laptop, the iboss agent automatically connects to the iboss cloud, enforcing all security policies. So with respect to the security side, it strengthens measures.
Deploying iboss leads to good return on investment, estimated around 70% to 80%.
I have seen some cost effectiveness from iboss; it has reduced certain support requirements, making it a more hands-off solution.
For supercritical businesses, there should be a return on investment due to the enhanced security features and resilience.
They are very fast, responsive, and knowledgeable.
The quality of the support is fantastic.
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
There are instances where both the response time and technical support quality need improvement.
Support services are lagging and not very responsive.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
If I start seeing sluggishness or anything like that, I just reach out to my rep, and they connect with their dev team, typically resolving it the same day.
It's been pretty solid; I've never had an outage with them, and if I ever had, it's only been once out of the seven years.
We've experienced zero downtime.
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
Stability depends on the platform on which it is deployed and the number of users.
It is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform.
iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard.
We also had a problem with a transition when we upgraded from one appliance of theirs to another, but their engineer lost a good deal of our data.
They need to enhance their CASB solutions since currently, the cloud index support is low compared to competitors.
The setup process is complex.
The product needs improvement in support services, as they are lagging and not very responsive when we raise concerns or queries, especially in terms of significant impact.
AI features could potentially improve the proxy by helping build rules more efficiently, suggesting unused rules, and enhancing preference setting.
It offers the same features you would get from a vendor that charges 250,000 British pounds for a fraction of the price.
The following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs.
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
It's really expensive.
Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determine the exact cost for the proxy component.
The solution's mental health function can detect if someone needs help.
It's given us a lot more visibility into our computer assets that may be infected with viruses and also shows us people who have unusually large uploads or might be engaging in high-risk activities, such as searches or going to sites not categorized by their web crawler.
iboss was the best solution for us because, no matter what domain you were in, everything is under a single pane of glass, which is exactly what we wanted.
As organizations move away from legacy applications and data centers, the SASE architecture and ZTNA-based operations become essential.
If you have the complete Forcepoint solution, it can integrate with other Forcepoint products, such as DLP solution and email gateway.
The most valuable features are content inspection, caching, SSL encryption, decryption, WAN optimization, and more.
The integration with FireGlass has been essential since both solutions are from Broadcom, enhancing compatibility.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| iboss | 3.2% |
| Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway | 2.8% |
| Symantec Proxy | 1.8% |
| Other | 92.2% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 14 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
| Large Enterprise | 14 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 23 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 29 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 6 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 12 |
iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.
Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.
The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.
What are the most important features of Iboss?
- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.
- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.
- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.
- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.
- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.
What benefits should users consider in reviews?
- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.
- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.
- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.
- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.
- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.
Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway ensures secure internet access with features like URL filtering and real-time analytics. It's known for robust security, scalability, and integration capabilities, making it ideal for managing web traffic and preventing data loss.
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is designed to provide comprehensive protection for web traffic while enabling organizations to maintain security and productivity. By integrating well with Forcepoint offerings like DLP and CASB, it offers added functionality. The gateway equips users with tools such as SSL inspection and Shadow IT visibility. Despite its complex setup and challenges with updates, the platform is recognized for its flexibility, performance reliability, and ability to deliver granular policy control. Customers in demanding environments benefit from its extensive IP-based protection and robust report customization capabilities.
What are the standout features?Government agencies and professional services deploy Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway in on-premises and hybrid cloud setups for enhanced web security. By monitoring and controlling user activity, these entities maintain productivity and protect sensitive data. The gateway effectively manages internal and external web traffic, ensuring cyber threats are minimized. Specific industry needs are addressed with robust security frameworks tailored to maintain data integrity and efficiency.
Symantec Proxy offers robust web security by providing features like content caching and URL filtering. It enhances security, optimizes performance, and simplifies policy management for enterprises, serving as a dynamic tool across cloud environments.
Symantec Proxy integrates with Broadcom's FireGlass, providing enhanced compatibility and seamless functionality. Known for a stable deployment and a precise URL database, it offers comprehensive threat detection and policy creation, utilizing the Global Intelligence Network. Users deploy it for web security, malware blocking, and traffic filtering. Symantec Proxy's reputation and site categorization bolster defense against malicious sites, although SSL inspection, dashboard integration, and technical support could benefit from improvements. The platform has shifted post-Broadcom acquisition, needing streamlined solutions. Current challenges include performance with O365 and complexities around pricing and licensing.
What features define Symantec Proxy?Enterprises leverage Symantec Proxy to secure web access and manage Internet usage across industries. Deployed across cloud providers like AWS, GCP, and Azure, it supports URL filtering, remote access, and bandwidth control by user privileges. Organizations also find value in its role within antivirus scanning, policy customization, and reporting.
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