Cisco Umbrella vs Netskope comparison

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Lookout Logo
575 views|450 comparisons
71% willing to recommend
Cisco Logo
10,399 views|7,114 comparisons
97% willing to recommend
Netskope Logo
8,076 views|6,504 comparisons
97% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Feb 14, 2024

We compared Netskope and Cisco Umbrella based on our users' reviews across four parameters. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

Cisco Umbrella is praised for its customer service, positive ROI, and ease of use, yet it needs to enhance its user interface, reporting and analytics capabilities, integration with third-party platforms, and customer support. Netskope offers comprehensive data protection and advanced threat protection but could improve its interface, customer support, performance during high traffic, and reporting capabilities. Pricing is competitive for both options.

Features: Netskope stands out with comprehensive data protection and advanced analytics, while Cisco Umbrella excels in robust security measures, seamless integration, user-friendly interface, and reliable performance.

Pricing and ROI: The setup cost of Netskope is straightforward, with competitive pricing options, ensuring a smooth experience for customers. Cisco Umbrella also offers reasonable and competitive pricing, with a hassle-free setup cost and a simple and flexible licensing process for easy management. Netskope has shown a positive ROI with improved security, data protection, visibility, threat detection, and cost savings. Cisco Umbrella also provides improved security, productivity, ease of use, and integration with existing systems.

Room for Improvement: Netskope could benefit from improvement in its interface, customer support, performance during high traffic, and reporting capabilities. Cisco Umbrella needs to enhance its interface, the solution's reporting and analytics capabilities, third-party integration, and customer support.

Deployment and customer support: Some Netskope users found the initial setup to be simple and quick, as it only involves rolling out an agent and can be deployed on the cloud. Others mentioned that the implementation phase can be complex and time-consuming, requiring coordination and effort. The deployment process was generally considered easy, especially for those with a networking background. Cisco Umbrella users find the initial setup to be straightforward, with deployment taking as little as a day or two. Others report that deployment can take a couple of days to a few weeks, depending on the complexity of the deployment model and any customization needed. Netskope's customer service is responsive, helpful, and attentive, delivering prompt resolution and knowledgeable assistance. Cisco Umbrella also provides highly regarded customer service, with prompt and efficient assistance and a knowledgeable support team.

The summary above is based on 68 interviews we conducted with Netskope and Cisco Umbrella users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Netskope Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution is stable.""On the outside, the main differentiation is because Lookout ingest. They have ingested basically all of the apps for the last ten years and all the versions of all the apps, and we have that in a corporate database that allows us to do very large-scale machine learning and analysis on that data set. That's not something that any of the competitors really have the capability to do because they don't have access to the data set. A lot of the apps you can no longer get them because that version of the app is five or six years old, and it just doesn't exist anywhere anymore, except within our infrastructure. So, the ability to have that very rich dataset and learn from that dataset is a real differentiator.""The most valuable features are the antivirus as a whole, the anti-malware, and all of the protection features that scan our enterprise devices.""The protection offered by the product is the most valuable feature. It detects vulnerabilities or traps on our users' phones and then prompts them to clean up their devices. Tools we used previously would only discover, which required us to gather information on the backend, so Lookout is a welcome upgrade."

More Lookout Pros →

"It is a good cloud-based solution for DNS security.""I like the DNS layer security.""The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple.""Threats never come close to your network with security at the DNS level​.""I think recently with many people working from home, Cisco Umbrella has been very useful. For example, we can manage the device and the network when the employee is not working on the local host. Cisco Umbrella is very valuable for this kind of infrastructure.""When we have laptops that leave the building, they could connect to public WiFi before they establish a VPN connection back into the company. For that duration or that period of time when they're not docked in the network or on a VPN, they effectively don't have that full layer of security that I provide inside the building. This tool stands in during that period of time, and we extend the security settings through their basic firewall or their cloud-based firewall at that time. So, we do content filtering and control access, but they also are looking at new domains, IP addresses, and bad requests. They're blocking them on my behalf when a laptop is not sitting behind our security appliances.""What we like most is security and how easy it is to integrate with other appliances.""I was able to implement it myself. It was really easy to install. You could install it on a server locally if you want to. If you have the biggest site, you would do that, but for my site, it was just directing all the traffic out through the Cisco Umbrella DNS. It was really handy. When the owners of the company went overseas, I knew that they would be secure because even if they were not on the company network, they would still go through the Cisco Umbrella servers. It was a complete solution for protecting the company with outgoing data."

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"The most valuable features were related to discovery, data protection, and ensuring compliance with regulations.""I have found the most useful features to be the Web Secure Gateway, CASB, infrastructural service scanning, and Zero Trust.""The initial setup of Netskope CASB is easy, it is not complex.""The interface is good.""The automation offered by the product is pretty solid.""The most valuable feature of Netskope is protection.""The most useful feature of this solution is Cloud Control, which allows me to schedule cloud uploads.""Its deployment is very easy and quick. Their technical support is also very good."

More Netskope Pros →

Cons
"The stability depends on the service from where you access it. Because sometimes, the place you are in, you have Gateway. You don't have Gateway. The gateway is overutilized. At the end, you need to go through their gateways. And this is the key point here. You have a tracking point. If it's not well orchestrated, and it scales up as you add more to the existing team, you will suffer""From the analysis that we've done, they do seem to be maybe a step behind in trying to enter the market with a new solution. But when they do pick up, they do come out with some good products.""We just submitted an enhancement request reflecting the main area we want to see improvement in; the APIs. Currently, we're able to build dashboards, but it's somewhat backward because we use our MDM API to create them. Lookout should provide API to customers so we can query our data and use it in our cloud, and this is the only outstanding area for improvement with the product right now.""Lookout was moving into the SSE space. And so their work on SecureWeb Gateway and SD-WAN is still sort of evolving."

More Lookout Cons →

"Network connectivity was a bit of a challenge at the beginning, but we were able to get the right help from Cisco.""In the next release, I would like to see the integration of VDI NSX with Cisco Umbrella.""iOS devices and mobiles are huge in my environment right now, and I cannot run them on Cisco Umbrella 24/7.""Cisco Umbrella should add some more documentation on proxies.""The rule-making process for blocking sites or for blocking characteristics can use some simplification.""The integration with other solutions is a little complex. If you want to integrate with something like ArcSight or LogRhythm or Splunk, you need to do a lot of configuration. There are no easy ways to implement it.""Some countries don't have a DNS server leading to a domain resolution IP, not at a local level.""The only thing I can think of is that I'd like to see a little more flexibility in policy creation. The way that policy is currently structured is like a "first hit succeeds" kind of policy. It would be nice if it were more hierarchical."

More Cisco Umbrella Cons →

"Compatibility with other proxy polars would be helpful.""There should be some granular custom roles that are not available. However, this is on the road map. There are many devices that do not have the Zero Trust feature and other enhancements available which they should have.""I deduced two points: one for their feature modification and one for the feature maturity of the solution.""The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required.""They could improve their mobile agents as they have some limitations.""The initial setup is complex and should be simplified.""Setting up policies is something that we having been doing, and if the vendor were to provide example use cases that included different implementation options then it would be very useful for us.""The dashboard performance could be much better and faster, but because it is a complicated product, it takes time for the dashboard to process."

More Netskope Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The pricing is fair; it's comparable to our previous solution, and we carried out multiple POCs and POVs (proof of value). The product is worth the money we pay for it."
  • "Lookout is definitely on the lower end when it comes to price point and that seems to be the only differentiator. The technology is in place in this space and it's really about who is coming in at the better price point now."
  • "In terms of feature performance versus cost, they're a good value."
  • "The licensing costs are good. Prisma has much more options and support for security, but it has a higher cost. For example, Lookout costs 2/3rd of Prisma's licensing price."
  • More Lookout Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "​The pricing is fair."
  • "You can request an evaluation license​."
  • "It needs a better price point."
  • "The product is pricey compared to Cisco Firepower."
  • "The price could be lower."
  • "There is a one-time cost of approximately $800 USD per user, and then a yearly support fee of about $50 per user."
  • "Our costs were negotiated, and they are okay."
  • "Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
  • More Cisco Umbrella Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Pricing is a little expensive but it is affordable."
  • "They should work on licensing costs."
  • "The pricing is competitive."
  • "Licensing is on a yearly basis."
  • "The price of the solution is fair but it depends on your use case."
  • "There is a license required for this solution and there are many licensing models available. For example, what applications are covered as part of the license."
  • "I recall that the price was considerably cheaper than that of Zscaler. It was around 60,000 AUD for 1,000 users per year and included some training and some premier support offerings. If we wanted to take advantage of the CASB capabilities, then there was an additional subscription fee, for which we didn't have the budget. On price, I would give Netskope a three or four out of five because it's quite expensive, but it offers a lot of value."
  • "Licensing fees are paid annually."
  • More Netskope Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The licensing costs are good. Prisma has much more options and support for security, but it has a higher cost. For… more »
    Top Answer:The solution could improve identity integration as well. Zero trust, it's a good start as a zero-trust solution… more »
    Top Answer: Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried.… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-native… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Umbrella is easy to monitor, manage, and deploy.
    Top Answer:We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify… more »
    Top Answer:The product's analytics part is pretty fine.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    CipherCloud
    OpenDNS
    Netskope CASB
    Learn More
    Overview

    Lookout is a well-established and powerful secure web gateway (SWG) solution that protects more than 200 million users from threats that can result from the penetration of unsecured web traffic into their networks. Lookout is designed to enable organizations to work remotely while maintaining a tight blanket of security over their confidential business data. It provides administrators with security that extends from their endpoints to the cloud service that they are using to run their organization’s network. 

    Users of Lookout are able to proactively detect threats and keep themselves secure from a field of threats that constantly evolves. IT teams can protect their organizations without having to rely on any other security solutions. This singular solution can run on multiple kinds of mobile devices. The privacy of individuals is preserved while keeping compliance rules intact. Additionally, users gain access to a number of tools that enable them to prevent security breaches from taking place.

    Lookout Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by deploying Lookout include:

    • Ease of deployment. Lookout is a solution whose design makes it easy for users to deploy it. It provides users with simple, step-by-step instructions that remove the need for organizations to devote extensive amounts of time to make sure that it is properly set up. Anyone can quickly set up the solution without undergoing technical training. 
    • Built-in support. Users of the Lookout application have access to built-in demos that can teach them how to use various solution features. Instead of spending time trying to figure out the application, users can watch the demo that is most relevant to them and see for themselves how that particular feature is used.
    • Easy-to-use user interface. Lookout’s user interface is laid out in an intuitive way that makes it easy for administrators to navigate. This interface is present in both the mobile and desktop versions of this solution. 
    • Settings customization. Lookout has a built-in settings customization menu. This makes it possible for administrators to easily customize their settings so that they best conform to their needs. 

    Lookout Features

    • Activity monitoring and activity tracking. Lookout’s activity monitoring and activity tracking capabilities enable users to keep a close eye on the activities that are taking place in their networks. IT teams and administrators have the ability to watch their networks for any unusual activity. These features ensure that organizations can keep ahead of any potential threats. They provide the kinds of insights and warnings that make the jobs of those IT teams and administrators much easier and more streamlined. 
    • Encryption. Organizations that employ Lookout can encrypt their networks and keep crucial business data from being read by unauthorized parties. This feature keeps the secrets organizations are trying to keep out of the wrong hands.
    • Anti-virus tools. Lookout provides users with tools to block threats from harming their networks. These tools can successfully block 99.6 percent of threats without raising false alarms. 

    Cisco Umbrella offers flexible, cloud-delivered security according to users’ requirements Cisco Umbrella includes secure web gateway, firewall, and cloud access security broker (CASB) functionality all delivered from a single cloud security service. Cisco Umbrella’s protection is extended to devices, remote users, and distributed locations anywhere. As company employees work from many locations and devices, Cisco Umbrella is the easiest way to effectively protect users everywhere in minutes.

    Cisco Umbrella uses machine learning to search for, identify, and even predict malicious domains. By learning from internet activity patterns, this DNS-layer security solution can automatically identify attacker infrastructure being staged for the next threat. These domains are then proactively blocked, protecting networks from potential compromise. Cisco Umbrella analyzes terabytes of data in real time across all markets, geographies, and protocols.

    Cisco Umbrella works with leading IT companies to integrate its security enforcement and intelligence. Built with a bidirectional API, Cisco Umbrella makes it easy to extend protection from on-premises security appliances to cloud controlled devices and sites.

    Cisco Umbrella is suitable for small businesses without dedicated security professionals, as well as for multinational enterprises with complex environments.

    Why use Cisco Umbrella?

    • Simplify security management: Cisco Umbrella is the fastest and easiest way to protect all users within minutes and reduces the number of infections and alerts sent from other security products by stopping threats at the earliest point. With no hardware to install and no software to manually update, ongoing management is simple

    • Reliable reporting: Cisco Umbrella reports show activity for each device or network in the system. Users gain a more complete picture of the security risks facing their organization and can take action to remedy them.

    • Manage and control cloud apps: Umbrella provides visibility into sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services in use across the enterprise. Users can uncover new services being used, see who is using them, identify potential risk, and block specific applications easily.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Cisco Umbrella stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of the major ones are its DNS-based protection, ability to protect users no matter where they are located, stability, and high performance.

    Daniel B., a network specialist at Syswind Kft, writes, “We primarily use the solution as cloud security for our branches. It protects us from direct internet outbreaks. It makes for good flexibility. The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple. Efficient protection on the DNS level and even higher. The sandboxing feature analyses and handles the complicated security risks.”

    Victor M., SOC & Security Services Director at BEST, notes, “It provides security for the remote workers and it helps to improve enterprise security in a very easy way. We mainly enjoy web software protection capabilities. It prevents the end-users from getting into bad sites or sites that potentially could have malware or could be phishing. It helps end-users avoid the wrong sites. The solution works very smoothly. The user interface is good.”

    OpenDNS is a part of Cisco providing a suite of consumer products aimed at making the internet faster, safer, and more reliable.

    Netscope is a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform that includes core products such as Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and Security Service Edge (SSE).

    Netskope CASB is a cloud access security broker tool that allows you to adopt cloud applications and services without sacrificing security. The solution makes it possible to manage the movement of sensitive data between cloud app instances and in the context of app risk and user risk. With Netskope’s industry-leading cloud security solution, you can also prevent sensitive data from being exfiltrated from your environment by risky insiders or malicious cybercriminals who have breached your perimeter.

    Netskope CASB Features

    Netskope CASB has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Cloud app risk scoring: With this feature you can automatically audit your traffic to discover your overall risk profile.
    • Advanced data loss protection: The solution’s data loss protection capabilities provide contextual awareness of content being used in the cloud and include machine learning enhancements to simplify, expedite, and accurately scan and classify data.
    • Granular visibility and control: The Netskope CASB solution gives you inline visibility for thousands of apps (managed and unmanaged) in use, including users, file names, activity, and other contextual information.
    • Real-time enforcement: Netskope CASB offers real-time enforcement of security policies to prevent data loss and stop threats.
    • Streamlined operations: Because of its streamlined operations, you can identify, mitigate, and remediate insider threats, compromised accounts, and privileged user threats across web and cloud applications within a single centralized administrative console.
    • Global scale and performance: The solution runs on NewEdge, a carrier-class global network, to provide maximum performance and efficacy worldwide.

    Netskope CASB Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Netskope CASB. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Granular control of personal devices: With Netskope CASB, you can enforce granular control of unmanaged devices that have single-sign-on (SSO) access to managed cloud services, like Box and Microsoft 365.
    • Data protection: The solution has a single pane of glass and a policy interface that is easy to use to create security policies across cloud services, apps, and digital assets.
    • Find cloud services in use and assess risk: Netskope CASB can help you discover 50,000+ cloud apps and also provides risk-ratings for cloud apps so you can devise appropriate security policies.
    • Data exfiltration prevention: By using this solution, you can prevent users on corporate cloud services who download sensitive data from uploading that data to unmanaged or personal cloud apps.
    • Protection against cloud threats: Netskope CASB enables you to stop malware and advanced threats from infected users spreading through your organization. The solution directly blocks malware, whether it’s delivered from collaboration tools or downloaded from a cloud storage service to a sync client.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Netskope CASB is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it offers great reporting, has a good tracking mechanism, and has a solid Cloud Control feature.

    Prerna S., Senior Information Security Analyst II at Workato, says, “[Netskope] CASB has a lot of good features; their reporting and tracking mechanism is amazing.”

    PeerSpot reviewer Dima Z., Director at Irangers International Inc., mentions, “The most useful feature of this solution is Cloud Control, which allows me to schedule cloud uploads.”

    Syed H., Lead Cloud Security Practice at Vincacyber, states, "I have found the most useful features to be the Web Secure Gateway, CASB, infrastructural service scanning, and Zero Trust."

    Sample Customers
    Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim
    NetApp, Genomic Health, Caterpillar, Apollo, Pandora, Continental Resources, Fractal, infinera, Tesla
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Healthcare Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Educational Organization16%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Manufacturing Company24%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Security Firm10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Insurance Company5%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise62%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business38%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise39%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise55%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise66%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Umbrella vs. Netskope
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Umbrella vs. Netskope and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Umbrella is ranked 1st in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) with 108 reviews while Netskope is ranked 4th in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) with 35 reviews. Cisco Umbrella is rated 8.8, while Netskope is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Cisco Umbrella writes "Protects endpoints wherever they are, always pushing people to the right locations to avoid malicious intent". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Netskope writes "Network proxy that provides visibility during deployment and allows you to control PII". Cisco Umbrella is most compared with Zscaler Internet Access, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security and Quad9, whereas Netskope is most compared with Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler Internet Access, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Skyhigh Security and Cato SASE Cloud Platform. See our Cisco Umbrella vs. Netskope report.

    See our list of best Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) vendors and best Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) vendors.

    We monitor all Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) 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.