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Check Point Harmony Browse vs Cisco Umbrella comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (3rd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (11th)
Check Point Harmony Browse
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
17th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Browsers (4th)
Cisco Umbrella
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (3rd), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony Browse is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 18.5%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
CLAUDIO SANTOS - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides browser protection and has an easy deployment
You only need to create one policy in Microsoft Active Directory. This policy can be applied to all workstations and will manage access using your credentials across the network. The implementation depends on the number of employees. For smaller organizations with 100 to 400 employees, it's straightforward and quick. The process becomes more complex for larger organizations with 3,000 to 6,000 employees.
Alessandro Braga - PeerSpot reviewer
Has comprehensive reporting and scales easily
The reports and notifications are the most useful part of the platform. As soon as you deploy the security layers, the reporting is very comprehensive. It helps you to have, at a glance, a clear view of what's going on. The integration between Cisco Secure solutions is pretty good. We have been able to deliver the solution in a few days. The integration of Umbrella and Meraki is literally one click away from the customer. One of the reasons why we chose Umbrella was its capability to perform end-to-end detection of malware and web traffic. In the last two years, we have been covered, detection has been faster, and we have been able to contain some potential threats along the way. We use the Umbrella stack from DNS protection to web and content protection. Our workforce is made up of 150 Macs; thus, we use Mac as a client. We have some PCs and integration with the network in our co-working spaces. Utilizing Cisco Secure has helped us save time. Being a nimble organization, we don't have IT staff who are fully dedicated to security. The maintenance is also not very time-consuming. In terms of the amount of time saved, it would be half an FTE a year, given the fact that we are informed and notified when threats arise. In terms of operating expenditures, we have been able to negotiate a better cyber insurance rate with our insurance company due to the fact that we are covered by Umbrella. Another benefit of using Cisco Umbrella is application scanning. We have been able to understand how many other applications we were consuming in the cloud, address them, and save money. Without Cisco Umbrella, we would not have realized that we had so many cloud applications in the company. We have been able to close at least four or five applications that were duplicates of others that we were already using in the company. We have realized approximately 10,000 to 12,000 euros a year of immediate savings in an organization of 150 people, which is quite significant.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."
"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."
"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."
"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"Check Point Harmony Browse has a feature that allows users to check the extensions installed in their browser. This feature is valuable because hackers may install malicious extensions on a target computer without the user's knowledge. When browsing, users are often less aware of the extensions installed in their browsers, making it easier for malicious extensions to go unnoticed. By providing visibility into installed extensions, Check Point Harmony Browse enhances security by allowing users to identify and remove potentially harmful extensions."
"This solution has multiple protections that are generally very simple to configure and work quickly with little intrusiveness for the user."
"It provides end-to-end encryption for the communication between the user's device and the remote browser, which helps to protect against eavesdropping and other forms of man-in-the-middle attacks."
"This solution has improved my organization by providing enhanced web security."
"The product enforces the privacy of the users, which is good."
"Its content filtering is great."
"This tool installs a very small agent in browsers. It does not cause performance problems on the host computer, which makes it less annoying for users."
"The downloaded protection as it scans and emulates the files on a browser level is great."
"I haven't needed to reboot the servers for years due to their excellent stability."
"Improves security through DNS visibility, which can block malware, phishing, C&C, etc."
"​They have a wealth of articles in their knowledge base. This has given me the freedom to troubleshoot on my own time. ​​"
"It makes it really easy to accomplish content filtering. We don't have to do a lot of customization. You just click the box for the content category and it's up to date."
"Cisco Umbrella's integration with other solutions has been a great feature in terms of ease of administration. Administration and troubleshooting are faster. The single pane of glass is great as well. Another great feature of Cisco Umbrella is remote browser isolation. With this feature, you open a virtual browser, and it's seamless to the user. If the user ends up going to a bad website that's passed a policy and something bad tries to download, it will not download into the machine because it is a virtual window somewhere in the cloud. You are protected by this feature."
"My overall rating for Cisco Umbrella is ten out of ten."
"Meraki features and cloud-based functionality are advanced and easy to manage centrally."
"It blocks malicious DNS queries daily which is very beneficial."
 

Cons

"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"The dashboards for local use could be better."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."
"The only thing they should add or improve is the reporting series."
"More focus and emphasis is required on customization and real-time notification and alert system."
"A slight reduction in the cost subscription model can prove to be a game changer."
"I would like the solution to be implemented more easily for teams and directly on Android or iOS devices."
"One of the new features I would like to see is the possibility that these tools can be brought to mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones in iOS or Android applications."
"Support must be faster in solving problems."
"security solution for users Devices and Access" What is our primary use case? The application is good as its lightweight and its functions are really similar to a browser extension. It offers real-time protection for internet users by addressing active concerns. Moreover, it incorporates a reputation feature to ensure swift access to websites within a second. The effectiveness of Harmony Browse’s capabilities is really an advantage. What is most valuable? The installation process is simple. Once initiated, the process is quite straightforward and seamless, making it easy to complete. What needs improvement? Regarding the Harmony Browse, I call it "Kuna" which is accurate. The quantum product serves as my primary focus due to its project cost, and I aim to introduce support in this area. This is because firewall implementation holds significant importance for organizations. I want to improve more on the quantum losses. There's a concept I'd like to include in Harmony Browse, known as automatic catching. This mechanism comes into play when an individual closes their browser while possessing sensitive information, like monetary data. To counteract potential risks, we employ a browser cache-clearing process to minimize the cache's accumulation. This action ensures that malicious entities can't exploit the cached data for attacks. To enhance this further, there's potential for the implementation of a self-cleaning technology. For instance, when a user exits the browser, an automatic action could be initiated to clear the browser cache, serving as an additional layer of security. This can be helpful if added."
"URL filtering could be better."
"The reporting could be improved by way of the information that's displayed. For example, when you pull a report, it shows an internal employee going to many websites, but you can spin that right down by saying a lot of it is being cached."
"If I want to see which users access a website, I need an Active Directory registered on Umbrella's cloud."
"For us, as an MSP, the initial licensing changes were a roadblock, and they still could be a lot clearer. Specifically, it's an honor-based licensing system. We'd like it to be more specific to our traffic or our users so that we can make sure that the customer is paying for all their licensing."
"Missing a real data leakage prevention solution."
"Some countries don't have a DNS server leading to a domain resolution IP, not at a local level."
"Overall, I'm quite happy with Cisco products, but there could be one place where you can check what's going on. There could be one place where you get all the information about these products so that you don't need to look around. You get the status, information about what lately happened, and if there was anything on the machine in one single place."
"Network connectivity was a bit of a challenge at the beginning, but we were able to get the right help from Cisco."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"The product has a reasonable pricing."
"The price is not very expensive for our organisation, but for others, it might be a little expensive."
"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"I think Cisco Umbrella is priced well. We have a mix of customers with different verticals such as education. We have clients in the commercial space as well. Umbrella is at a good price point for all of our customers."
"The licensing part for Umbrella is really flexible."
"The price depends on the use case, and it's a bit linear. But it depends on the customer's strategy and how Cisco plans to optimize the costs."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"The price is quite good."
"It has a reasonable price. It is certainly not as expensive as it used to be. It is in line with other offerings on the market. There are a number of different flavors of Umbrella. They could bring Umbrella SIG down a bit because its price is a little bit high for what it does, but I also understand why its price is high."
"I am not sure, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I think it's $1.00 or so per device/month."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
29%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?
Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.
What needs improvement with iboss?
I have the same complaint about them that I have about other software companies. Sometimes when you call in support, ...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We are a PreK-12 public school district, and we use iboss to filter internet content for our students at home and sta...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Browse?
When you purchase Check Point Harmony Browse, you can access this feature. For example, if an employee works from hom...
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?
Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...
What do you like most about Cisco Umbrella?
Cisco Umbrella is easy to monitor, manage, and deploy.
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
OpenDNS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
Information Not Available
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony Browse vs. Cisco Umbrella and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.