We performed a comparison between Cisco IOS Security and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The multi-tenancy feature is most valuable. It integrates very well with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer."
"I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."
"The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."
"FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and there are several operating systems that can include the hardware capacities. In the newer releases, the resources were more useful because they were included in the operating system."
"It is very flexible to use."
"I like that they have given me a solution at a fair price."
"It is quite easy to handle."
"The VPN connection portal scan works flawlessly, which was a big plus for us."
"Technical support for this solution is very good."
"Cisco IOS Security is a mature product with extensive capabilities, serving as the base for the defense layer. It offers good network visibility, which helps in rapid response through the Rapid Threat Containment feature. Its deployment and configuration are straightforward."
"Cisco IOS allows us to keep the same security features as our principal offices."
"One of the main features is that the hardware is extremely reliable."
"I've found their network routing to be very good."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution effectively integrates with Umbrella."
"It is pretty important to have embedded machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention, because all these different attacks and threats are constantly evolving. So, you want to have something beyond just hard pass rules. You want it to learn as it is going along. Its machine learning seems pretty good. It seems like it is catching quite a few things."
"The most important thing is that it's really user-friendly. I have almost stopped using the CLI because I like the graphical interface. You can do whatever you want on a single screen, including all the configuration and implementation, using Panorama. You don't have to switch from one place to another."
"The sandboxing is valuable and they are frequently updating their signature database. We get new updates every five minutes. That makes it easy to detect new and unknown attacks."
"The most valuable feature is the security provided by the ATP."
"One of the key features for us is product stability. We are a bank, so we require 24/7 service."
"Prisma Access is the most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls."
"The configuration is very simple."
"The solution is scalable"
"There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement."
"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."
"There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system."
"I would suggest that Fortinet add sandboxing to their solution."
"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."
"I need user-behavior analytics, to find threat scenarios from inside the organization, insider attacks. That would be very helpful for us. In addition, I would like next-generation features for small and medium businesses. These businesses require UTM, all in one product. Fortinet must include it."
"I don't really have anything negative to say as far as Fortinet firewalls are concerned. If anything, they can support a user a little bit better. They can stop being so time-sensitive about how much time the support call has taken, and they can help you do it yourself."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"The solution’s setup process could be better."
"I wish it would be more like the next generation firewall technology. There should be more selection between the application and filtering."
"The initial setup is complicated."
"In the next release of this solution, we would like to see support for the 100BT and 7000 models."
"Cisco very slowly introduces and implements the products, unlike other brands."
"Cisco is a scalable product, but it is expensive compared to other vendors."
"Cisco IOS Security's monitoring is rather rudimentary and could be improved."
"It would be ideal if the solution had more capacity."
"People sometimes find it more expensive as compared to other solutions. There are also fewer training opportunities for Palo Alto than Cisco and other vendors."
"The solution would benefit from having a dashboard."
"Based on the features that I have seen so far, I do not see any room for improvement, but they can improve their CLI documentation. I haven't really seen much when it comes to CLI documentation."
"I believe it would be beneficial if the solution could integrate with Google Chrome, especially for students who use Chromebooks. However, as far as I know, the solution currently does not support Google Chrome."
"Could also use better customer support."
"With new features and applications you get bugs."
"Interface could be improved visually and simplified."
"Over the past one or two years, Palo Alto Networks has added a lot of features into the NG Firewall products. I think this is becoming more complicated for our customers. Therefore, we could use some best practices, best practice tools, and implementation guides for some of the complicated features."
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Cisco IOS Security is ranked 22nd in Firewalls with 47 reviews while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is ranked 6th in Firewalls with 164 reviews. Cisco IOS Security is rated 8.0, while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Cisco IOS Security writes "User-friendly and excels in documentation, making it easier to resolve issues". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls writes "We get reports back from WildFire on a minute-by-minute basis". Cisco IOS Security is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Meraki MX, Fortinet FortiOS and Netgate pfSense, whereas Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is most compared with Check Point NGFW, Azure Firewall, Meraki MX, Sophos XG and Netgate pfSense. See our Cisco IOS Security vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls report.
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