Prisma SD-WAN Reviews

Name: Prisma SD-WAN
Brand: Palo Alto Networks
Rating: 4.4 (19 reviews)

4.4 out of 5

19 reviews
100% willing to recommend

540 followers

What is Prisma SD-WAN?

Simplify management, enable app-defined SD-WAN policies and deliver a secure, cloud-delivered branch today with the Industry’s first next-generation SD-WAN.

Get the Prisma SD-WAN Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Prisma SD-WAN, Fortinet FortiGate, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and more!

Prisma SD-WAN is the #4 ranked solution in SD-WAN tools, #4 ranked solution in top WAN Edge solutions, and #8 ranked solution in top Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions. PeerSpot users give Prisma SD-WAN an average rating of 8.8 out of 10. Prisma SD-WAN is most commonly compared to Fortinet FortiGate: Prisma SD-WAN vs Fortinet FortiGate. Prisma SD-WAN is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 51% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 27% of all views.

Helped 831,020 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Libin Joseph

Network Administrator at Wipro

In some areas, compared to other SD-WANs, Prisma SD-WAN has fewer features. First of all, sometimes, if one device is down, the other device will not come up. When there are two devices and we have created HA, that means one device gets a priority of 100 and the other is given 90. The 100 priority is active and the 90 is the backup. In some cases, the primary device is down, but the secondary device is not becoming active. In that case, we have to reboot the devices, causing an outage. I would also like to see improvement in the product training for customers. Palo Alto has not initiated very much training but they have to do so because this is a new product. If you have experience in a legacy environment, and you are moving to Prisma SD-WAN, you don't have a training framework. That is one of the disadvantages. Although they have a training portal, it is a read-only platform. They need training for engineers so that engineers can work very quickly and properly. And with software upgrades, sometimes the device does not come up and we have to do a manual restart. It doesn't happen every time, maybe one or two times out of 100. It's minimal but it does happen.

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CarlosNascimento

Senior Cyber Security Consultant at Compwyre

The dynamic routing in Prisma SD-WAN is high-speed and valuable because it quickly adjusts, so users do not realize the link is down. The traffic shaping feature is also handy. In branches with poor internet connections, traffic shaping allows us to restrict and manage bandwidth effectively. This ensures no single user can consume all the bandwidth, and it reserves equal parts of the link for all users. For example, we can share the link equally in a small office with ten people. Prisma SD-WAN is highly effective in handling network failovers and ensuring business continuity. It includes redundancy, failover capabilities, and extensive monitoring tools. If one customer experiences an attack, updates are provided to all other customers to prevent similar threats.

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reviewer2060574

Pcs at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I like the link monitoring and analytics. These are the features that set Prisma apart from other products. Prisma works well with large, complex networks. One of my clients is a top bank in the United States, and Prisma has performed well for that customer. I've never seen a customer with a more complicated architecture than that bank. It has proven itself effective in environments with multiple data centers, branches, and locations. Banks' requirements vary significantly across branch locations, regional offices, ATMs, and data centers. Prisma covers everything. Prisma is developing machine learning in its product portfolio. ION boxes don't have machine learning, but it's under development, and we'll soon see AI WAN. I can't say when, but it's in the pipeline. Still, there is some automation for deploying multiple branches or pulling up results and analytics for things specific to an organization. If you want to change something throughout the entire environment, you don't need to go to each device. You can use the automation tools available on GitHub, and Prisma SD-WAN has open APIs. You can use the open APIs to create custom scripts. Prisma engineers have already uploaded several scripts to GitHub. There is one software development kit that is openly available. You can create programs to get your intended data or send configurations to devices.

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Prisma SD-WAN mindshare

Product category:

As of January 2025, the mindshare of Prisma SD-WAN in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category stands at 6.1%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Prisma SD-WAN vs Fortinet FortiGate	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Prisma SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN	Jan 17, 2025	Download
Comparison	Prisma SD-WAN vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security	Jan 17, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Fortinet FortiGate	4.2	26.6%	90%	317 interviews Add to research
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN	4.0	N/A	92%	92 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Prisma SD-WAN's most valuable features include seamless VPN tunnel creation, intuitive traffic management with Layer 7 intelligence, Zero Touch Provisioning, robust security features with dynamic routing, and cloud integration. It offers efficient path policies, automated deployment, and insightful analytics with AI ops. Users appreciate its adaptability, ease of deployment, and granular traffic control, making it suitable for large, complex networks, and favorable in cost-effectiveness compared to other options.

"Prisma SD-WAN is recommended due to its comprehensive capabilities."
"The AI ops feature streamlines revisions and automates compliance."
"The implementation of the solution is easy."

Room for Improvement

Prisma SD-WAN requires improvements in routing policy transparency and documentation, technical support responsiveness, alert integration with third-party monitoring tools, pricing, and initial setup complexity. The lack of feature-rich training resources further complicates usability. Issues with physical port redundancy and failover mechanisms hinder operational efficiency. Users express a need for better event correlation, enhanced security features, and broader hardware flexibility. The management interface needs a more intuitive structure, and expanding management capabilities to support other SD-WANs and firewalls could be beneficial.

"If Palo Alto could open the platform to manage other SD-WANs, it would be beneficial."
"If Palo Alto could open the platform to manage other SD-WANs, it would be beneficial."
"The pricing model could be improved to make it more affordable for smaller companies."

ROI

Prisma SD-WAN leads to approximately 50% cost savings and fewer outages after transitioning from a legacy Layer 3 WAN. Auditing and compliance needs are satisfied with its security features. It automates network adjustments without redesigns, ensures network readiness, prioritizes voice traffic, and enhances stability. Cost savings include eliminating VPNs and reducing reliance on expensive MPLS. Users observe significant ROI benefits typically over two years by utilizing more economical broadband links.

Pricing

Prisma SD-WAN pricing is generally viewed as premium, making it more expensive than some competitors like Fortinet and Zscaler. Users rate its cost as high, citing its advanced functionality and superior experience, especially if integrated with existing Palo Alto products. While initial costs can be steep, package discounts are available when bundled with other Palo Alto Network solutions. Pricing suitability may vary based on an organization's specific needs and budget constraints.

"Prisma SD-WAN is a pretty expensive solution."
"It is more expensive than Fortinet."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

Popular Use Cases

Prisma SD-WAN is primarily used for transitioning from expensive MPLS links to cost-effective Internet connections, enhancing connectivity and network management. It enables VPN tunnels, supports integration with third-party applications, and facilitates remote and multi-cloud access. Organizations deploy it for centralized control, traffic routing, and application integration in various industries to optimize network performance, support zero-trust principles, and improve remote user access while maintaining security and segmentation.

Service and Support

Prisma SD-WAN's customer service and support are generally regarded as knowledgeable, though delays in response and availability are noted. Previously with CloudGenix, engagement was praised highly. Under Palo Alto, technical support remains solid but sometimes requires persistence to reach the right engineer promptly. Users rate the support between seven to nine out of ten. Companies appreciate the platform's effectiveness despite some challenges in initial setup and configuration. Access via the Palo Alto support portal is straightforward, enabling efficient ticket management.

Deployment

Prisma SD-WAN's initial setup is generally straightforward, though experiences vary. Some found it simple with efficient deployments, while others encountered complexities due to custom network configurations and transition challenges. Many benefited from assistance, especially in unique network scenarios. For straightforward setups, basic networking knowledge suffices, but in cases with larger, multi-site networks, professional services may be required. Deployment time can range from a few hours to several days, depending on the setup's complexity.

Scalability

Prisma SD-WAN is considered highly scalable by many users, supporting large, complex network architectures across various locations. Users appreciate its ability to handle multiple branches and global offices effortlessly. It accommodates different sizes of organizations, from small enterprises to larger networks, often receiving high ratings for scaling capabilities. Users frequently highlight its ease of use in adding new sites and managing branches, facilitated by features like the cloud-based manager and configuration scripts.

Stability

Prisma SD-WAN is noted for growing stability, becoming more reliable over time. Initial challenges were resolved, reducing issues and downtime. Users mention zero downtime with MPLS and Internet, and failures are rare, mainly with third-party tunnels. Despite some bugs, updates often rectify them. Various users rate stability highly, 9 or 10 out of 10. Prisma SD-WAN shows steady reliability, with improvements from version 4.6 to 6.0.X, backed by cloud-hosted redundancy.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Prisma SD-WAN Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.