Cisco SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 1, 2023
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Versa Unified Secure Access...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
8th
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Cisco SD-WAN is 16.8%, down from 25.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is 6.3%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
Unique Categories:
WAN Edge
16.7%
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
1.7%
 

Featured Reviews

RuiAraujo - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 22, 2023
Sufficiently provides ISPs but shouldn't be so bound to them and needs to improve its manageability
Our company uses the solution to migrate from dedicated to our NPL, connect over the internet, and provide either dual ISPs or redundancy. We have about 500 users with no plans to increase usage.  The solution sufficiently provides ISPs.  The solution should improve its manageability. The…
Hassam_Uddin - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 22, 2022
A helpful solution to lower our costs with valuable security features
We mainly implement this solution for SD-WAN service, a next-generation firewall, and UTM It has improved our organization because we use SD-WAN for optimizing connectivity, and it has helped lower our costs by replacing legacy WAN links with a modern WAN architecture. The granularity when it…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the feature that lets you transfer from old devices to new devices without changing the hardware and subscription."
"This solution can scale from SMB to the enterprise level. It is very impressive."
"From my observations, Cisco has been rolling out new features every other day, so I would say their speed of innovation is one of the most valuable aspects for me."
"The solution sufficiently provides ISPs."
"The primary advantage we've observed is the simplification of deployment, leading to decreased IT costs and enhanced operational efficiency."
"With other routing protocols, we have had to send team members to perform installations and configurations. There is a lot of work involved. However with SD-WAN, once it is installed it is fully automated, and we can do all other tasks remotely. We don't have to send staff out to the client's location. It's very independent, and we can establish SD-WAN connectivity easily. It is secure as well."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"It's a scalable solution."
"There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security."
"Versa FlexVNF is a scalable product because it does not have any hardware dependencies. This makes it a versatile solution that can be easily integrated with any firewall."
"Our customers are very satisfied with this solution. They have not mentioned any areas for improvement."
"Their dashboard is also a good point for us and the customer. The solution is very clean and easy."
"The solution is stable and suitable."
"The division of Control Plane and Data Plane is most valuable. It can be deployed anywhere, and you can control it and configure it from anywhere. This is one of the good features of this solution."
"Our organization finds the application routing features extremely useful."
"I like all the features. We utilize different LAN, bandwidth transferring, bandwidth balancing, and mappings. We use it as a centralized solution, and use the same product at all our locations."
 

Cons

"The initial setup is really complex."
"The initial setup could be a bit less complex."
"An area for improvement lies in enhancing the integration with the security functions of the SD-WAN."
"The solution needs to be more flexible around legacy devices."
"Cisco could do more to offer bundling of the SD-WAN and other solutions."
"They have taken away our ability to do what we are good at, which is working on the CLI, the interface right on the router. They have limited the commands so much that troubleshooting is nearly impossible."
"We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments."
"Some competitors are much faster in providing out-of-the-box solutions, more innovative solutions. In terms of innovation, in many cases, they're lagging behind."
"The web interface can be improved."
"With the pandemic and changing work models, it would be ideal if the product more accessibility options or more diversity within the solution itself."
"We are thinking about how to make customers consolidate the loads to an SD-WAN network so that the customers can have bigger chunk from the SD-WAN side so that customers can have critical data be transferred with NPS VPN and non-critical data or some labeled traffic can be transferred by the SD-WAN network. I think it's a very important direction for digital transformation."
"The stability of FlexVNF's controller and devices could be improved."
"Another thing that should be improved in Versa are their firewall features."
"The solution's current customer support is not that good. So, they need to improve that. Also, the solution's UI is quite complex, so they need to simplify it."
"I heard about them for the first time just before I started working on Versa. They do have blogs for information, but they could publicize more about the documentation and architecture. It doesn't seem to have that much exposure, and they should work on their customer base more."
"The support needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive."
"The price of the solution is the only negative factor, it is much more expensive compared with the Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution."
"We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
"The product's license is expensive."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization."
"We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."
"It is not very expensive because of the white box support. Its hardware is much cheaper than other products. With the support for x86 and white box, it is one of the most cost-effective platforms that are currently available."
"The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."
"I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements."
"While I cannot provide too much commentary on the price, I feel it to be fair for the moment."
"Price wise, it's more expensive than is the competition. I would give pricing a rating of three out of five."
"It is neither cheap nor expensive. I rate the pricing a five out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
790,850 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
37%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 product is not too expensive. It is competitive considering security features. The licensing cost is typically based on bandwidth subscription. For example, you must purchase a corresponding su...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco should develop a clear roadmap, ensuring seamless integration between Meraki and Viptela. Simplifying the definition and implementation could add significant value, as it can be complex due t...
What do you like most about Versa FlexVNF?
Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Versa FlexVNF?
Both Versa and VMware are cheap in terms of the router. I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements.
What needs improvement with Versa FlexVNF?
We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades, etcetera. They don't support certain other third-party applications, which can be a bit limiting at times, whereas VMware seems ...
 

Also Known As

Viptela, Cisco vEdge Cloud Router
Versa FlexVNF, FlexVNF, Versa Titan
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
790,850 professionals have used our research since 2012.