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Distribution officer at Wilshirelabs
Real User
Provides very good IPS and VirtualBox features
Pros and Cons
  • "Good IPS and VirtualBox features."
  • "Should include additional security features."

What is our primary use case?

At present, we are using different policies against which we gather logs. Logs that have been deleted on a first in, first out basis. The logs are only available for three to four hours max. I work in the IT department of a pharmaceutical company and we are customers of Cisco. 

What is most valuable?

We are looking for cybersecurity threats, like Pinterest and this solution has a good IPS feature as well as it's VirtualBox which helps us to time and for the QD, our daily routine tasks or issues. The solution provides a clear picture of what a user is doing at a specified time.

What needs improvement?

Because of cybersecurity threats, other security features should be available in Cisco devices. Sangfor IAM is good because this provides the logging IAM feature which you can retain for up to 12 months. But Cisco does not provide this type of logging because no third-party logging server is supported with the Cisco firewall.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)
March 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is fine. We manage to resolve general bugs by updating the software or VirtualBox as well as in the hardware. That is not a big deal for us.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is fine for us, we currently have 50 users. 

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is good. We have SLA with Cisco, which will be renewed next year.

How was the initial setup?

We have a somewhat complicated environment over here. We have also implemented SSG Juniper, SSG140, so basically their firewall is working as a router.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is a little high in comparison to other similar solutions. If we talk about Sophos Firewall with IBM software, it's cheaper in comparison to Cisco and their VirtualBox.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend this latest model of Cisco firewall. In terms of the wide logging, it gives us as much as we need. We have implemented 30 to 35 policies in which loggings are gathered. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PauloRio - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
Stable environment, excellent technical support, and with good training you can go the distance
Pros and Cons
  • "It is more or less stable. Sometimes I have some issues normally when we need to upgrade it to newer versions. I think it does the job."
  • "I think the part of IPS and everything else needs to be better equated to the real needs or current needs of the business compared to the other manufacturer, because it is not straightforward, a way to configure it compared to the other competitors."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is as a firewall segregating networks and defending the perimeter.

How has it helped my organization?

I would consider this to be a medium product in its field across the board.

What needs improvement?

Some features, for instance, are a way for the management console to be able to manage each specific firewall, for instance. Because if we have more than one firewall configured in the management center, we cannot delegate administration, just one of the equipment. I think the part of IPS and everything else needs to be better equated to the real needs or current needs of the business compared to the other manufacturer, because it is not straightforward, a way to configure it compared to the other competitors.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco NGIPS for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is more or less stable. Sometimes I have some issues normally when we need to upgrade it to newer versions. I think it does the job. The hardware does the job, and the current models do the job.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have around four thousand users and that would be an example of its scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good. If you open a case about the support, it is good. Compared to the other manufacturer, it is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex and the upgrade took a lot of time with a very big image to download and everything else. We had many versions and patches that had to be installed. The deployment took between two and three hours.

What about the implementation team?

In this case, we did it in-house and I was the integrator.

What other advice do I have?

I think we have to have a good knowledge of the product. It is not easy to set up from the beginning. And I am also using the comparison with the other manufacturer. You need to have very good training before managing the product. I would rate Cisco NGIPS a seven on a scale of one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Lead Network Security Engineer at TECHNOCORE LTD
Real User
Flexible, scalable, and stable, but needs more intuitive interface
Pros and Cons
  • "In the virtual deployment, you have a couple of choices depending on your needs and how much bandwidth you have that needs to be inspected."
  • "Cisco can do better on their documentation because the product is really hard to understand."

What is our primary use case?

The solution works on a base set of rules to detect malicious traffic or certain exploits, which can be done from both the outside and inside network.

What is most valuable?

In the virtual deployment, you have a couple of choices depending on your needs and how much bandwidth you have that needs to be inspected. It is quite flexible because it can be deployed on the cloud as well. All the kinks which were in the previous versions were fixed.

What needs improvement?

I do not think that Cisco has official documentation regarding use cases. They can do better on their documentation because the product is really hard to understand. You need a lot of time to change around things to understand how it works exactly and fine-tune it. If they make it less complicated, I think it will really help all the customers.

They could make the user interface of the management center more user friendly and customizable in the next release. I think they can take some pointers from Palo Alto because their user interface is really intuitive and really customizable.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. The management center, which controls the sensors, you can deploy it. You have two different virtual appliances, one is for managing up to 25 sensors and the bigger one is up to 300 sensors. The hardware list of the products ranges from, I think, 20 sensors and up to 500. Depending on your needs, you can scale it.

We have three administrators working on the solution and the whole organization is being protected by it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco support is really great. Especially when you have a priority case, when everything is down, you can get an engineer in 15 minutes.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is easy, you do not need hardware. You can just sign up for AWS or Azure and you can deploy it there.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There are licensing fees depending on the features that you are using.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Palo Alto in the past.

What other advice do I have?

Before this version of the solution, it was like a normal IPS. The source for IPS was bought by Cisco, and now it is integrated into the Firepower Threat Defense. The Firepower Defense is a unified image of both the previous firewall which Cisco had, the ASA, and the source for IPS. Currently, the FTD is like a UTM device, a unified threat management device, because it has firewall capabilities and IPS capabilities.

I am going to continue using this solution even though I enjoyed using their main competitors product from Palo Alto. I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Cisco NGIPS a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Student at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5
Easy to deploy, good intrusion prevention, but the documentation needs improvement.
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are the intrusion detection ones."
  • "There is room for improvement in the policy documentation."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is for intrusion prevention. We install the solution between the firewall and the call switches.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the intrusion detection ones. We channel the intrusion engine to create a policy of prevention. We only use this solution for intrusion prevention, not as a firewall.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in the policy documentation. It gets confusing trying to understand what all of the policies mean. We need clear documentation explaining what each policy does.

For the Cisco STD, if we lose the connection with the SMC and STD, we can only assist with the STD via the CLI, so we can only do some troubleshooting. I think this is an area that needs improvement. In terms of the architecture, it needs to be more comfortable to change our own managed STD via the UI even if SMC is not available.

The technical support has room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for six years.

How are customer service and support?

Some of the engineers within Cisco's tech support are knowledgeable and others are not. Sometimes we have to go back and forth for a week to get an answer.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex; we only need to define the IP address and add the SMC IP. Both STD and SMC have the capability of SDM. Also if we don't have SMC, we mainly require the anti-SDM in UI. However, after we enroll the Cisco file from the SMC, we can no longer manage the STD from there. Therefore, it is very difficult to roll back if there is a connection loss between the STD and SMC, as SMC cannot manage the STD via the UI. In comparison, if there is a connection loss between Palo Alto Panorama, we can simply lock it with Palo Alto following the file and do some configuration. 

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1281249 - PeerSpot reviewer
CASO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Great security intelligence will top notch technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The security intelligence in the product is the best feature and give us all the information that we need in our network."
  • "The SSL decrypt could be improved, but it's normal. All the devices in our platform need a lot of memory or CPU to do the SSL decrypt. This is an issue to improve in all platforms, not only in Cisco."

What is our primary use case?

There are both options of cloud or on-premise solutions. I usually do the on-premise solution. We have others who do the cloud solution. If you want to deploy and protect your network from threats and protect your neighbor, that's one of the uses that we employ. With that, you have Security Intelligence, you have Intelligence, you have an Intrusion Prevention System. In the recent upgrade of Firepower, we have 3.0. You can use that to protect the internal network or if you want to protect your servers. 

What is most valuable?

We use the Security Intelligence feature. We also use the Cisco AMP for Networks, which is used with the ITL certificate. You can use third-party integrations with the Firepower, about security. You can use the STIX format. With the STIX, you can add emergency threats to rules. This includes malware detection which has a third-party Security Intelligence platform. Included are reporting for the last seven days, V shell, and phishing tank. Cybercrime tracker is to check if any company or domain has a bad reputation on the internet. And it can give that information to the Firepower. You can use Security Intelligence to protect the network. It has preprocessors about security. They have a preprocessor for the SCADA. Cisco has evolved a lot in that area over the last few years.

What needs improvement?

The SSL decrypt could be improved, but it's normal. All the devices in our platform need a lot of memory or CPU to do the SSL decrypt. This is an issue to improve in all platforms, not only in Cisco. They have SecureX which can be integrated with other platforms. But I think the improvement of SecureX in the platforms is needed. SecureX is really new but I think that needs a little improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco NGIPS or Firepower NGIPS for five years. We use the latest version.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's working correctly, it's working without problems. You can buy another Firepower, and you can do a cluster configuration. And it's really easy, we don't have any problems.

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco support is really awesome. I have another vendor like Honeywell. I really hate when I call Honeywell. But when I call Cisco, I really appreciate it a lot when I talk with the support engineers because the personnel have really good skills and have a really good passion. Cisco support is awesome.

How was the initial setup?

I think the installation of Firepower NGIPS is really easy. You configure the device, you connect that to the Firepower Management Center, and you have deployed the Firepower.

What other advice do I have?

If they're looking for a platform that can protect from attack, from external or insiders who want to attack the network, I think Firepower is a good solution. With  Security Intelligence, other security features make that platform an awesome platform. I would give Cisco NGIPS a rating of nine on a scale of ten. I think no one platform is perfect. I wouldn't give a 10 to a solution ever because 10 is 100%, and I think no one solution can 100% secure. Not because the platform is not working correctly. Because I think no one platform can be 10 by 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
DGM IT Infra & Facility at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Good DDoS protection and IPS/IDS functionality, and it is easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "The features that I find most valuable are the DDoS protection, IPS/IDS, and Firepower for web application filtering."
  • "Better integration with other products, such as a SIEM tool, would provide better peer visibility about your security posture."

What is our primary use case?

We have a data center and we need security products such as Cisco NGIPS to protect us from attacks that are going to impact our organization. For the purpose of completing our compliance audit and VAPT process, we have these kinds of security solutions in place.

What is most valuable?

The features that I find most valuable are the DDoS protection, IPS/IDS, and Firepower for web application filtering. These three things are pretty good and each is valuable as per the different needs of my business operations.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see better support for preventing cross-scripting and brute-force attacks that may originate from our homegrown applications. This is needed because the applications that we are developing for internal use do not go through the heavy security check that we have in place. If there is some flaw in an application, which happens every now and then, then there will be a huge cost that I may have to pay. I would like to know that if I have a security solution in place then I am at least 99% confident that problems will be prevented. As it is now, I cannot say that I am 80% secure against my applications being attacked.

Better integration with other products, such as a SIEM tool, would provide better peer visibility about your security posture. Adding this type of functionality would make this product unbeatable.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco NGIPS for more than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Cisco NGIPS is scalable and we have about 600 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is outsourced and it is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not work with another solution before this one.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and the deployment took about three weeks.

What about the implementation team?

I have ten people who take care of maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing depends on negotiation with the vendor, although I can say that it is moderate. I would not say that it is very high or low, but rather, average.

What other advice do I have?

I am now trying to implement a more rigorous web application firewall because I don't want to manage the bugs or attacks that are going to come from the outside. I would prefer it is managed by somebody who is an expert in web application firewalls. I want to couple it with additional software for load-balancing to improve speed. Allowing somebody else to manage this will free up my time to run my business, which is better for generating revenue for the company.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
NGIPS677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager, Network Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
The features align to our strategic needs but the maturity cycle takes too long
Pros and Cons
  • "It has aligned the features in accordance to our strategic needs"
  • "The aspect of private party integration solutions could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I use it for perimeter security for malware prevention.

What is most valuable?

From a cybersecurity past perspective, it has aligned the features in accordance with our strategic needs. 

What needs improvement?

The aspect of private party integration solutions could be improved. I would like to see a sandboxing feature. And the options that people buy in modules, they need to packaged better as a baseline.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solutions for the last 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Initially, the solution was not stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The system is a bit rigid. We have more than 1,000 people using the solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good but it can be much better.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a bit complex. One had to read so many areas to understand the navigation feature. It took about three years to reach maturity. For deployment, we required about eight people, but for maintenance, we only require four to six.

What about the implementation team?

I had an integrator help implement; they were very professional.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution has a high cost. In my opinion, the cost of renewal is a bit too high.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at several: Imperva, Check Point, Juniper, Sophos, and SourceNET.

What other advice do I have?

We're using it continuously. We plan to increase usage.

During setup, I would advise that you must spend more time on planning. If you do, the transition is easier.

I would rate this solution 6 out of 10. The time it takes for the product to mature, the maturity journey, the product maturity cycle, takes too long.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Tecnical manager at Watronix Information Technology Ltd
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
An efficient cyber security solution with good integration features
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very stable."
  • "They could provide one solution to fit all the use cases."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as an intrusion prevention system to detect malicious attacks on the network.

What is most valuable?

The solution updates at regular intervals. It has the most recent definition of the attacks, including zero-day attacks.

What needs improvement?

They could provide one solution to fit all the use cases. Presently, we have purchased different solutions for total security. It has become expensive for us.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. I rate its stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. It integrates with different XDR solutions. Thus, we can manage all the devices on a single pane. It is suitable for SMEs and large enterprises as well.

I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is quite good. Although, it needs to be cohesive in terms of communication.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup process is complicated. But we can manage it with the right team for installation and technical support from Cisco.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is good value for money. It is highly-priced but competitive in terms of features and support services.

What other advice do I have?

It is an efficient cyber security solution. I highly recommend it to others and rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.