No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Qualys Exposure Management comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
6.0
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN reduces costs, downtime, MPLS reliance, and ensures swift financial returns, enhancing flexibility and deployment speed.
Sentiment score
7.0
Qualys VMDR enhances vulnerability management, boosting security, reducing risks, saving resources, improving efficiency, and delivering ROI and compliance.
With Zero Trust provisioning via the Catalyst Center and Meraki dashboard, new branch offices are configured in hours instead of weeks, freeing engineering teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than manual deployment.
Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions
They are now back to do that with the remainder of their company, so they've realized the value in 12 months and are willing to invest in the remainder of their organization.
Information Technology Consultant at Island Networks
There are many scenarios where we replace MPLS with the internet because now we have the flexibility to migrate to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and we do not need private connectivity such as MPLS.
Regional Manager at Orange
We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is responsive and effective, though some users cite delays and prefer handling troubleshooting themselves.
Sentiment score
6.6
Qualys VMDR's support is responsive and knowledgeable, but users desire faster resolutions and improved service level agreements.
The principal third-level support is very good.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
I would consider Cisco support a 10 out of 10.
Information Technology Consultant at Island Networks
I would rate Cisco's support, their customer service, and technical support as excellent.
Solution Architect at Sonda S.A.
The GUI in Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management is excellent.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
False positives are the main issue that we encounter and need to be handled by the support team.
Senior Project Engineer at CDACINDIA
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is scalable and adaptable, ideal for large-scale enterprise deployments with flexible configurations and robust architecture.
Sentiment score
7.9
Qualys VMDR is praised for scalability, flexibility, and effective asset management despite potential cost and reporting slowdowns.
Its controller architecture is highly matured, making it one of the most valuable and reliable LAN platforms for large enterprises.
Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
Engineer at Routz
It is flexible and scalable, and we can use it and modify it as per our needs.
Junior Associate at ESDS Software Solution Pvt Ltd.
Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Scalability is not a challenge.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is reliable with good performance, but some users face software bugs and complexities after acquisition.
Sentiment score
7.9
Qualys VMDR is highly reliable, with stable performance, rare issues, and effective passive scanning, though reporting concerns exist.
For example, with zero-touch provisioning, if we are adding new sites, we can do it with a few simple clicks.
Regional Manager at Orange
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
Engineer at Routz
A simple issue in the control connections between the fabric causes numerous complexities.
Network Manager at HPCL
Qualys VMDR is stable.
Cyber Security Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
This tool has good and excellent performance in the companies that we sell to in the last months for customers, so stability is evident.
QA Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
I rate the stability of Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management at eight point five out of ten because I occasionally find bugs that are frustrating, and I have already commented on the support issues.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN needs improved flexibility, user interface, cloud integration, and support, plus enhanced analytics, AI, and scalability.
Qualys VMDR needs UI, reporting, integration improvements and better support to address user challenges with false positives and pricing.
Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Better documentation with real-world examples, improved third-party integration, and more detailed monitoring dashboards would make Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN even more effective.
Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner.
System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.
Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is considered expensive, with complex licensing and additional costs, despite discounts and robust features.
Qualys VMDR pricing is competitive but may be high, with discounts and customization available based on usage and enterprise size.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
Technical Consultant at Vertex Techno Solutions (B) Pvt Ltd
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
Engineer at Routz
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.
Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN provides centralized management, seamless integration, security, and advanced analytics for optimized and scalable network performance.
Qualys VMDR offers comprehensive vulnerability management with effective prioritization, continuous monitoring, and robust integration for efficient threat management.
It also provides robust security features, including port security, analysis, mirroring, and multiple other security solutions.
Technology supervisor at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation.
Solution Architect at Sonda S.A.
The centralized dashboard gives me a clear view of all branch sites, making it easy to manage and monitor tunnel health, bandwidth usage, and device status from one place.
Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions
The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
It impacts my workflow overall, with the patch management features as it has the missing patches listed in detail, making it easier to get a comprehensive report and providing some dashboards that offer visual representation.
JMS, RPSG Ventures Limited at RP Sanjiv Goenka Group
Qualys VMDR's continuous monitoring capabilities help us respond to emergent threats by enabling my team to reach out to the security engineers whenever there is any detection of a vulnerability, informing them about it, and creating an incident.
Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (2nd)
Qualys Exposure Management
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (2nd), Vulnerability Management (2nd), Configuration Management Databases (3rd), Container Security (10th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Qualys Exposure Management aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.3%, down 2.6% compared to last year.
Qualys Exposure Management, on the other hand, focuses on Vulnerability Management, holds 4.0% mindshare, down 7.3% since last year.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN2.3%
Cisco DNA Center7.6%
DataMiner5.4%
Other84.7%
Network Management Applications
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys Exposure Management4.0%
Wiz4.9%
Tenable Nessus3.7%
Other87.4%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ashwani-Tyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Manager at Orange
Centralized control has simplified cloud access and has improved operational visibility
If they can have better firewall features as their competitors have, such as Fortinet and Versa, that would help to place this solution better so that we can address security related things. If they can have all the IPS, IDS, everything built on all the edge devices, whether physical or virtual, that could be one improvement. Actually, if customers are existing Cisco customers, if Cisco can be more flexible to leverage the existing investment, that could be another important aspect to save on cost and be more competitive from a pricing perspective. Overall, the pricing or the segment that Cisco deals with is a bit premium, which they charge a bit premium against the competition on the licensing, hardware, and services. The implementation is not straightforward. You need a specialized partner or specialized people who can implement this. It can be simplified a bit from that perspective as well. Mostly the way we implement the policies for a big environment requires a lot of things that we need to take care of. If that can somehow be improved, because they have different components, like they have vManage, they have vSmart, and vBond and all these components have to work with a certain flow that they need to follow.
Ajay Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Vulnerability management has prioritized high‑risk patching and simplified bulk system reporting
The primary issue is with the reporting functionality. Even though we fix vulnerabilities, the reports do not reflect the changes immediately. Sometimes we need to manually run a script to scan the systems before Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management will update the scan results. The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner. Additionally, there are many metrics for calculating vulnerabilities, such as the Qualys ID, severity scores, CVSS scores, and other metrics. The abundance of information can be confusing. These two aspects are the most significant negatives I have experienced with this tool.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
914,889 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business50
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise50
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise74
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco offers premium enterprise capabilities, but its pricing, setup cost, and licensing models represent the most significant hurdles for IT organizations. Cisco hardware commands a premium price ...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN can be improved in minimal ways, because they have updated it now, and the updated version is really good. The only concern is the cost; compared to others, the cost is higher...
What is your primary use case for Cisco SD-WAN?
We are a system integrator and a Cisco Select Partner, deploying all the Cisco portfolios like SD-WAN, switching, firewall, access point, and then Secure Access, our cybersecurity product. We have ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate imp...
What advice do you have for others considering Qualys VMDR?
I have some understanding about PeerSpot, and I have visited the website. PeerSpot is similar to TrustRadius. It takes reviews from customers or end users who are using the tools and technologies i...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Skyline Communications and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: September 2026.
914,889 professionals have used our research since 2012.