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Cisco SD-WAN vs SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN comparison

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Cisco SD-WAN

Read 86 Cisco SD-WAN reviews
18,815 views|12,923 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
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SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN

Read 1 SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN review
268 views|194 comparisons
50% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
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Buyer's Guide
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
April 2024
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco SD-WAN and SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions.
To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: April 2024).
Download the complete report
767,847 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
VENKATESHREDDY
Straightforward to set up and has lowered expenses, but needs to work on controller compatibility
The integration, scalability, and ROI that Cisco SD-WAN provided are the main features that helped the organization advance further.
Jason Best
Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Cisco SD-WAN has separate OMP routing.""Troubleshooting is swift, allowing for fast turnaround times whenever we encounter an issue.""You get security, all of the service you need, and it's easy to deploy.""One of the most valuable features is that they have multiple SD-WAN options: you have Meraki for simple management solutions, you have Viptela, and you have the option of having any type of WAN interfaces. Presently, you can also have a single combined solution for both WAN as well as for voice, so you can have a voice bundle as well. These are major unique points of this solution.""There is minimum blind space in this solution.""I have found the performance and the Zero-Touch provisioning helpful which makes it easier for us to develop.""Any technical support we needed was great.""I have found the solution's main features are its ability to be customized, network traffic classification, and has a wide range of features that can be set."

More Cisco SD-WAN Pros →

"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."

More SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN Pros →

Cons
"The UI has room for improvement.""The deployment is complex.""Some competitors are much faster in providing out-of-the-box solutions, more innovative solutions. In terms of innovation, in many cases, they're lagging behind.""We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments.""We have found that their SD-WAN has a lot of scope for improvement.""The user interface needs to be more friendly.""The cost is too high for certain countries, for example, those in Africa. The solution needs to be more cost-effective.""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."

More Cisco SD-WAN Cons →

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."

More SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
  • "80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."
  • "Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
  • "SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
  • "The costs are a bit on the high side."
  • "It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
  • "The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
  • "It is going to be on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."

    • More Cisco SD-WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
    Read all 60 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:The product is not too expensive. It is competitive considering security features. The licensing cost is typically based on bandwidth subscription. For example, you must purchase a corresponding… more »
    Read all 47 answers   →
    What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
    Top Answer:Cisco should develop a clear roadmap, ensuring seamless integration between Meraki and Viptela. Simplifying the definition and implementation could add significant value, as it can be complex due to… more »
    Read all 57 answers   →
    How smoothly can SteelConnect FlexVNF be integrated with Versa OS?
    Top Answer:SteelConnect FlexVNF may be integrated with Versa OS relatively smoothly, as shared by many. A few steps may be involved, but the process is generally straightforward The impact on CPU and storage… more »
    Ranking
    1st
    out of 36 in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    Views
    18,815
    Comparisons
    12,923
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    533
    Rating
    7.9
    24th
    out of 36 in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    Views
    268
    Comparisons
    194
    Reviews
    0
    Average Words per Review
    0
    Rating
    N/A
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Viptela, Cisco vEdge Cloud Router
    SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect
    Learn More
    Cisco
    Riverbed
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Cisco SD-WAN is a software-defined WAN (wide area network) solution that provides for secure stable connections to applications for enterprises and organizations. Cisco SD-WAN works to speed up the seamless movement to the cloud. A very robust and reliable solution, Cisco SD-WAN is cutting-edge in threat security and stability of the complete network and has very low latency. Cisco SD-WAN uses Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), data centers, and even the internet to smoothly advance the move to a SASE (Service Access Service Edge)-based architecture. The Cisco SD-WAN dashboard gives you a complete visual of your entire infrastructure; you can see everything in real time. You will also have simplified IT operations and gain advanced network capabilities, dependability, and security. One valued feature is the overlay management protocol (OMP), which applies to your entire network to speedily connect all your company data centers. Cisco SD-WAN has a very flexible architecture and can be deployed on premises, in the cloud, hybrid, and even has multi-cloud options. Cisco SD-WAN instantly discovers, authenticates, and provisions all devices, both existing and new.

    Cisco SD-WAN simplifies the management of multiple connections across the WAN, improves the end-user experience, improves overall application functionality and performance, and is a very cost-effective solution. Cisco SD-WAN integrates well with Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and many other cloud-based business solutions. Additionally, Cisco SD-WAN optimizes connectivity and streamlines workflows for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure.

    Benefits of Cisco SD-WAN

    • Increased profitability - Cisco SD-WAN will improve performance and decrease overall connectivity costs.
    • Improved productivity - Cisco SD-WAN requires less staff to manage and secure the WANs so valuable resources can be allocated elsewhere in your organization, increasing total productivity.
    • Flexible scalability- Cisco SD-WAN’s flexible and easily scalable architecture will allow your organization to address significantly greater business opportunities, helping to consistently increase revenue.
    • Enhanced security - Cisco SD-WAN offers real-time policy enforcement, ensuring that downtime and unplanned outages are kept to a minimum.

    What real users have to say:

    Cisco SD-WAN is fast with lower costs: “Using SD-WAN to combine services can result in better up time, higher speeds, and much lower costs.”

    Cisco is a brand you can trust: “Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand - more so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition.”

    Cisco SD-WAN offers load-balancing and real-time traffic monitoring: “Load balancing is a feature that allows us to take the best of our links and distribute the load intelligently, always with an eye on the end-customer experience.”

    Accelerate business velocity with enterprise-class SD-WAN. As enterprises and organizations adopt more cloud and SaaS applications to support an increasingly distributed workforce, the hybrid networks connecting it all have been more complex, less predictable and less secure.

    Riverbed SteelConnect EX is a powerful enterprise SD-WAN solution that integrates best-in-class routing, application acceleration, network visibility, and security services – a flexible and complete WAN Edge platform that gives you what you need to modernize your network and propel your business in the digital age.

    Sample Customers
    Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
    Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider44%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization35%
    Computer Software Company14%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Comms Service Provider5%
    No Data Available
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise42%
    Large Enterprise43%
    No Data Available
    Buyer's Guide
    Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
    April 2024
    Download Free Report
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: April 2024.
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    767,847 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco SD-WAN is ranked 1st in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 86 reviews while SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is ranked 24th in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Cisco SD-WAN is rated 8.0, while SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is rated 7.0. 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 SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN writes "Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use". Cisco SD-WAN is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Meraki SD-WAN, VMware SD-WAN, Juniper Session Smart Router and Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform, whereas SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is most compared with Steelhead.

    See our list of best Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions vendors and best WAN Edge vendors.

    We monitor all Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.