We compared Cisco Umbrella and Vera Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:
Features: Cisco Umbrella is highly regarded for its seamless integration with existing infrastructure, extensive range of security features, and ability to centrally manage security. Versa Unified SASE Platform is highly regarded for its flexibility and compatibility with various hardware.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella could enhance security by adding a transferring proxy feature and improving its Linux agent for Linux-based companies. Versa Unified SASE Platform could benefit from enhancements in hardware-software integration, documentation, and SSL VPN.
Ease of Deployment: Cisco Umbrella has a simple and user-friendly initial setup that can be completed quickly in around 30 minutes. Setting up Versa Unified SASE Platform is generally considered straightforward, although a few have described the process as complex.
Service and Support: Customers have praised Cisco Umbrella's support, describing it as excellent and superior to the customer service of other vendors. Users appreciate the Versa team's knowledge and expertise, but some have expressed dissatisfaction with the time it takes to receive a response.
Pricing: The cost of Cisco Umbrella differs based on the specific needs and approach of the customer, with flexible pricing and transparent charges. It is seen as reasonable and competitive by some, but a few perceive it as costly. The setup cost for Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is considered moderate, without any hidden expenses.
ROI: Cisco Umbrella has proven to be a valuable investment by addressing maintenance concerns, reducing expenses associated with hardware updates, and effectively thwarting threats. It offers enhanced visibility and aids in remediation efforts. Versa enhances the user experience and improves application performances and file transfers.
Comparison Results: Users appreciate Cisco Umbrella for its easy setup, extensive security features, and ability to centrally manage security, but some noted that the solution could improve its Linux agent. Versa is praised for its adaptable licensing, but users say it could improve hardware and software integration.
"When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly."
"From my observations, Cisco has been rolling out new features every other day, so I would say their speed of innovation is one of the most valuable aspects for me."
"Cisco SD-WAN's collaborative features are unique and sustainable. I also like the protocols, which use two SD-WAN."
"The most valuable features are zero-disk provisioning and link load balancing on an application basis."
"Customizing SD-WAN is very easy because you can define two colors. You can define two different operators. You can deploy a partial mesh, a full mesh, or hub-and-spoke totally differently. If you want to do this on a DMVPN solution, that's really hard."
"The first part that we like is that we can reuse certain hardware, which is a valuable asset. You can use hardware SKUs that already exist in the network. The second part that we like is the integration with the cloud and the measurement of the cloud's quality. These are the two values that this solution gives as compared to other implementations that we have seen."
"The solution's application control and application traffic steering tool are its most valuable aspects in terms of how we utilize the product."
"The most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include the DIA and its integration with Cisco Umbrella for DNS security."
"The necessary enhancement pertains to the controller segment, specifically addressing the issue of frequent flapping when a link is left. In the case of Versa Unified, if a link experiences frequent flapping within an entire branch, it triggers instability. Hence, it is imperative that the overall routing system is not contingent solely upon the active dial branches."
"Overall, it's nice and very user friendly. That's what makes it so successful. They give you complicated features but with a very simple user interface, and that's been a big success for them."
"There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security."
"Versa FlexVNF is a scalable product because it does not have any hardware dependencies. This makes it a versatile solution that can be easily integrated with any firewall."
"The product has a dynamic VPN feature for SD-WAN."
"The initial setup is simple."
"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."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the next-generation firewall features and geo-blocking capabilities."
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"The whole solution needs to be re-imagined. It's quite complex right now and really needs to be simplified to make it easier for those of us using it. It should offer more simplified management as well."
"I would like them to add some more SD-WAN ports. We have seen one implementation where there were four ISPs. Currently, we have a maximum of two ports for ISP in this device. Therefore, we cannot connect directly, and we need other switches. There should be some option to have more than two ports for SD-WAN."
"The product's application delivery feature needs improvement."
"We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments."
"We recently found some bugs."
"The main issue is that not in the technology, but it comes back comparison. When we do a comparison with other SD WAN solutions, they are priced better."
"If you don't have an in-house design team or outsource to a third party with expertise, the setup will be difficult."
"They have taken away our ability to do what we are good at, which is working on the CLI, the interface right on the router. They have limited the commands so much that troubleshooting is nearly impossible."
"The support needs to 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."
"There are limitations when you connect from multiple locations. It does not work as expected. If you have more than 400 users, then it will choke. It will not perform as expected."
"The security should be improved."
"The interface could be simpler."
"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."
"With the pandemic and changing work models, it would be ideal if the product more accessibility options or more diversity within the solution itself."
"Future releases should contain AI for the voice feature."
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Cisco SD-WAN is ranked 1st in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 86 reviews while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is ranked 8th in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 20 reviews. Cisco SD-WAN is rated 8.0, while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Cisco SD-WAN writes "A solution for integrating services to enhance up-time, performance and lower costs". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform writes "A flexible, stable and scalable solution ". Cisco SD-WAN is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Meraki SD-WAN, VMware SD-WAN, Juniper Session Smart Router and Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform, whereas Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, VMware SD-WAN, Cato SASE Cloud Platform, Meraki SD-WAN and Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange. See our Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform report.
See our list of best Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions vendors and best WAN Edge vendors.
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