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Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Organizations achieved 25% ROI from Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN by eliminating costly MPLS, enhancing efficiency, and reducing costs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN reduces WAN expenses, improves efficiency, and enhances reliability, with ROI in three years for most users.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN support is efficient and responsive, though post-acquisition agent knowledge needs improvement, especially on licensing.
Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is highly rated for expertise and responsiveness, despite occasional delays and redirection challenges.
Aruba's technical support is very responsive.
I can harness the power of the teacher model without lowering my top and laser focus.
Cisco's ongoing reorganizations have affected the quality of technical support, which varies depending on the engineer handling cases.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
The Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform offers seamless scalability and performance for large enterprise implementations with extensive user support.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is praised for its scalability, suitable for diverse industries and enterprises, despite some technical expansion limits.
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
The Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is stable with high user satisfaction, though custom deployments can present occasional issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is stable and reliable, but complex setups and new deployments may face minor issues and bugs.
It is very stable, with no significant issues.
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN needs better documentation, enhanced integration, improved tools, security features, and technical resources for optimal use.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN needs cost efficiency, better interface, enhanced security, simplified licensing, and improved support and scalability.
I would also like the management of EdgeConnect appliances to be incorporated into Aruba Central Cloud Central.
The security could also improve.
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba EdgeConnect offers competitive pricing with flexible licenses, valued for affordability and ease of deployment, yet some licensing enhancements needed.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is costly compared to competitors, with complex licensing but offers comprehensive solutions and performance benefits.
The licensing is not too expensive, however, it is also not cheap.
It is an affordable product and yet still a bit expensive.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform enhances connectivity and performance with advanced features, intuitive interface, and robust security.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers centralized management, security, scalability, cloud integration, and enhances network performance and cost savings.
Additionally, it integrates perfectly with Aruba ClearPass, offering a robust security solution, covering network admin, access control, authentication, and authorization.
Many features are valuable for automation, connectivity, and throughput.
Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations.
Integration with Cisco ISE, Cisco Firewalls, and other Cisco solutions is beneficial.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Pl...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
7th
Ranking in WAN Edge
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (2nd)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (5th)
 

Featured Reviews

JOHN UNAMBA - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrated security features and robust support improve network management
The solution was installed across two branches for a financial institution. One location had a data center, and the other was a branch office. For SaaS applications, traffic broke out from EdgeConnect directly to the cloud. Applications using the data center were channeled through the MPLS link…
Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
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838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

SM
Aug 16, 2022
Aug 16, 2022
@Diyaspino,​ all three are overpriced. Depending on what are you looking for, you may look at Fortinet or even check the latest Sophos offering. There is a number of different postings on SD-WAN in the last few years. Once people learned that SD-WAN is an old VPN with a new user interface, they moved to a new buzzword.
See 2 answers
EB
Jul 25, 2022
Hi @Malith Chandrasekara, @TEDDY LLANO, @reviewer1657632, @Dániel Halmai, @Paul Woods, @Lipaz Hessel ​and @MohamedArshath, Can you please chime in and help @Diyaspino ​with this question? We appreciate your help.  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
DI
Aug 16, 2022
@Diyaspino,​ all three are overpriced.  Depending on what are you looking for, you may look at Fortinet or even check the latest Sophos offering.  There is a number of different postings on SD-WAN in the last few years. Once people learned that SD-WAN is an old VPN with a new user interface, they moved to a new buzzword. 
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
5%
Educational Organization
46%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Silver Peak NX?
The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak NX?
It is an affordable product and yet still a bit expensive.
What needs improvement with Silver Peak NX?
One area for improvement is the Intel support integration. The security could also improve.
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is rated eight out of ten, with some variability depending on the reseller discounts and the size of the enterprise. It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller bu...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases. This is especially notable since Cisco acquired the solution and is still ...
 

Also Known As

Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect
Cisco SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Group Dekko, Kingston Technology, American Student Assistance, Ares Management, Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Colonial Savings, Community Bank, Denali Credit Union, Bed Bath & Beyond, Breweries of Cameroon, Carnival Australia, Coastal Beverages, Toshiba Electronics, Tru Blu Beverages, WAXIE Sanitary Supply, Charleston Area Medical Center, Community Health Plan, Healthcare Company, Mercy Health, Linklaters, Miles & Stockbridge, Thomson Snell & Passmore
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.