Steelhead vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Steelhead and Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two WAN Edge solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Steelhead vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform 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
"Steelhead is stable, and it can even help you avoid service interruption in the event of a power outage. If your hardware fails, technical support will replace your device quickly.""The most valuable feature of Steelhead is its optimization capabilities.""Scalable data referencing is a great feature.""SteelHead works from the application. I use it to optimize traffic from Amazon. It is mainly used for customers who need to increase the traffic to 33K. For other users, it has been more of an operation.""The compression of Riverbed is very powerful. It can also handle large quantities of traffic.""TCP optimization... caches a particular TCP connection and the next time a user uses that connection he will reach the destination easily.""The connectivity to speed is the valuable feature.""I find the most valuable to be the compression and exchange replication."

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"The product has a dynamic VPN feature for SD-WAN.""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.""Our customers are very satisfied with this solution. They have not mentioned any areas for improvement.""The most valuable features are the main steering and the firewall. The security features and SD-WAN features are also quite good.""Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.""Their dashboard is also a good point for us and the customer. The solution is very clean and easy.""The initial setup is simple.""There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security."

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Cons
"The product should offer more integration capabilities.""They should include a network switch in a future release.""One area for improvement is related to monitoring and visibility.""The application response time of the solution can be improved.""The solution needs to have alert notifications.""Application response time and network performance could be improved.""Steelhead's handling of encrypted traffic could be improved because it requires some complex configuration to optimize encrypted traffic, especially when working with Microsoft protocols for mail servers and VPN services""If we load a primary firewall, the secondary firewall usually handles all the active connections, but in Riverbed, this isn't the case. We lose all the active connections at the moment of failure."

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"The stability of FlexVNF's controller and devices could be improved.""The solution's current customer support is not that good. So, they need to improve that. Also, the solution's UI is quite complex, so they need to simplify it.""Future releases should contain AI for the voice feature.""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.""The security should be improved.""Certainly, there are areas that require enhancement, and the current focus is on improvements. Presently, I believe that the emphasis should be on enhancing user interface (UI) features, particularly over end devices. The issue arises when attempting to log in to Versa from other devices, as the UI is not device-specific. Consequently, guiding someone to log in to Versa antivirus becomes challenging. Despite the absence of issues on the website, the lack of a login scope impedes graphical representation of user data or databases. Since work databases support only a limited range of features, I recommend augmenting features for end devices to address these limitations.""Another thing that should be improved in Versa are their firewall features.""The interface could be simpler."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The solution is expensive and the service contacts are costly too. The cost of the device makes the value proposition borderline acceptable for us. The service contract fees we pay is approximately $30,000 annually."
  • More Steelhead Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."
  • "It is not very expensive because of the white box support. Its hardware is much cheaper than other products. With the support for x86 and white box, it is one of the most cost-effective platforms that are currently available."
  • "While I cannot provide too much commentary on the price, I feel it to be fair for the moment."
  • "We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."
  • "Price wise, it's more expensive than is the competition. I would give pricing a rating of three out of five."
  • "It is neither cheap nor expensive. I rate the pricing a five out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
  • "I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements."
  • More Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:We just did an assessment for our 47 datacenters around North America. The top two enterprise-level network monitoring solutions were ExtraHop first, Riverbed SteelCenter second. Their negotiated cost… more »
    Top Answer:The connectivity to speed is the valuable feature.
    Top Answer:The application response time of the solution can be improved.
    Top Answer:Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.
    Top Answer:Both Versa and VMware are cheap in terms of the router. I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements.
    Top Answer:We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades, etcetera. They don't support certain other third-party applications, which can be a bit limiting at times, whereas VMware seems to… more »
    Ranking
    15th
    out of 26 in WAN Edge
    Views
    1,462
    Comparisons
    784
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    232
    Rating
    8.0
    9th
    out of 26 in WAN Edge
    Views
    3,875
    Comparisons
    2,895
    Reviews
    9
    Average Words per Review
    562
    Rating
    7.7
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    RIverbed Steelhead
    Versa FlexVNF, FlexVNF, Versa Titan
    Learn More
    Riverbed
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Steelhead is the leading network optimization and application performance solution chosen by over 30,000 organizations worldwide. The performance of networks and applications directly impacts business productivity. Riverbed draws from nearly two decades of experience in driving network and application performance over Wide Area Networks with its flagship offering, SteelHead. SteelHead delivers the underlying technology that helps enterprises of all sizes maximize the efficiency and performance of the networks and applications used to run modern business. 

    SteelHead is proven to dramatically speed up the performance of applications anywhere in the organization while delivering the best end-user experience even under sub optimal network conditions. Reduce bandwidth utilization by up to 95%, deferring costly network bandwidth upgrades. Increase performance by up to 100x for on-premises applications.

    The Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is a comprehensive solution that provides secure access to cloud applications and services. It combines networking and security functions into a single platform, making it easier for organizations to manage their network infrastructure. The platform includes features such as SD-WAN, VPN, firewall, web filtering, and more. It also offers advanced security capabilities such as intrusion prevention, malware protection, and threat intelligence. With the Versa SASE Platform, organizations can ensure secure access to their cloud applications and services from any location, while also reducing costs and simplifying network management.

    Sample Customers
    ElAraby, SFK Leblanc, Bobst Group, Northwest Pipe Company, Halkbank, Tradebridge, EFG Hermes
    CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Government29%
    Energy/Utilities Company18%
    Construction Company6%
    Media Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Government10%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider71%
    Construction Company14%
    Media Company7%
    Recreational Facilities/Services Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Retailer7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise64%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise63%
    Buyer's Guide
    Steelhead vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Steelhead vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,578 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Steelhead is ranked 15th in WAN Edge with 22 reviews while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is ranked 9th in WAN Edge with 20 reviews. Steelhead is rated 8.2, while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Steelhead writes "Exceptionally stable and reliable but costly". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform writes "A flexible, stable and scalable solution ". Steelhead is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform, WAAS, Citrix SD-WAN and Noction IRP, whereas Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is most compared with Cisco SD-WAN, Fortinet FortiGate, VMware SD-WAN, Cato SASE Cloud Platform and Meraki SD-WAN. See our Steelhead vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform report.

    See our list of best WAN Edge vendors.

    We monitor all WAN Edge 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.