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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (5th)
Versa Unified Secure Access...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
9th
Ranking in WAN Edge
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (15th)
 

Featured Reviews

MOHAMEDELSHERIF - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 17, 2023
Good centralization and manageability for edge routers but quite expensive
Our company uses the solution to provide secure connections for customers.  We have a hybrid data center model that bridges the gap between cloud and on-premises for customers. It is a mixed design to consolidate resources.  We also replace expensive NBLS lines with SDN and the internet to provide…
PranavGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 3, 2023
A cloud-managed, cloud-delivered private access service efficiently connecting distributed users with. distributed applications without compromising on security or user experience.
Certainly, there are areas that require enhancement, and the current focus is on improvements. Presently, I believe that the emphasis should be on enhancing user interface (UI) features, particularly over end devices. The issue arises when attempting to log in to Versa from other devices, as the UI is not device-specific. Consequently, guiding someone to log in to Versa antivirus becomes challenging. Despite the absence of issues on the website, the lack of a login scope impedes graphical representation of user data or databases. Since work databases support only a limited range of features, I recommend augmenting features for end devices to address these limitations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco SD-WAN has separate OMP routing."
"Using SD-WAN to combine services can result in better up time, higher speeds, and much lower costs."
"When we have had power outages for a few hours we have had no issue with Cisco SD-WAN coming back online and functioning."
"The technical support is very responsive."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a highly stable solution."
"You get security, all of the service you need, and it's easy to deploy."
"The solution can scale. We haven't had any issues doing so."
"The primary advantage we've observed is the simplification of deployment, leading to decreased IT costs and enhanced operational efficiency."
"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."
"The necessary enhancement pertains to the controller segment, specifically addressing the issue of frequent flapping when a link is left. In the case of Versa Unified, if a link experiences frequent flapping within an entire branch, it triggers instability. Hence, it is imperative that the overall routing system is not contingent solely upon the active dial branches."
"The flexibility is a great feature."
"The most valuable features are the main steering and the firewall. The security features and SD-WAN features are also quite good."
"Our organization finds the application routing features extremely useful."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution are the next-generation firewall features and geo-blocking capabilities."
"The product has a dynamic VPN feature for SD-WAN."
"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."
 

Cons

"Cisco SD-WAN's clustering mechanism needs to be improved. If there are more than five milliseconds of latency time between installations of the VM manager, the cluster automatically breaks down."
"Its license model needs to be improved. They always make the license model too complex. There are too many license models and too many options. They should have a flexible license model. They can improve a lot of things in terms of scalability, templates, and automation, mainly automation for onboarding a number of sites. If you want some new features, it can take quite a long time. If you want a feature and it is not yet developed, you need to have the support of the business units to have the feature developed. If the feature is not on their roadmap, it can take quite some time before you get the feature."
"We recently found some bugs."
"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."
"The whole solution needs to be re-imagined. It's quite complex right now and really needs to be simplified to make it easier for those of us using it. It should offer more simplified management as well."
"The initial setup is complex and can be improved."
"If you don't have an in-house design team or outsource to a third party with expertise, the setup will be difficult."
"We don't have any issues with this solution other than the price."
"We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades."
"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."
"Certainly, there are areas that require enhancement, and the current focus is on improvements. Presently, I believe that the emphasis should be on enhancing user interface (UI) features, particularly over end devices. The issue arises when attempting to log in to Versa from other devices, as the UI is not device-specific. Consequently, guiding someone to log in to Versa antivirus becomes challenging. Despite the absence of issues on the website, the lack of a login scope impedes graphical representation of user data or databases. Since work databases support only a limited range of features, I recommend augmenting features for end devices to address these limitations."
"Versa provides analytics, but the reporting features have some shortcomings."
"SASE is the next big thing that is coming up, and it needs to be developed in Versa. This is the only thing that needs to be adapted very quickly by Versa. With the pandemic going on, I would like to see more features for working from home. They have launched Versa Secure Access (VSA), but it is currently immature. They need to tighten it up for work from home and SD-WAN concept."
"The smaller units lack a lot of functionality."
"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 security should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Cisco SD-WAN is high and has room for improvement compared to competitors such as Fortinet which has similar functionality."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive. The cost of the solution is approximately 30 percent higher than competitors."
"It's expensive. If you compare Cisco with Fortinet and Juniper, you'll find that Cisco is more expensive than other vendors."
"Licensing is on a subscription basis."
"Cisco's pricing is not entirely satisfactory when you compare the SD-WAN solutions in Asian markets — like the South Asian market in Sri Lanka — because there are several competing brands including Fortinet and Citrix, who provide much the same product for a generally lower price. And when it comes to firewall vendors like Palo Alto and SonicWall, they're also selling here. It's the same with VMware, too; they have much the same features."
"Cisco is more expensive than FortiGate."
"I give the price a seven out of ten."
"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."
"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."
"I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements."
"The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."
"Price wise, it's more expensive than is the competition. I would give pricing a rating of three out of five."
"While I cannot provide too much commentary on the price, I feel it to be fair for the moment."
"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."
"We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
42%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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 pricing is high. Fortinet is cheaper than Cisco. I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
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

Cisco SD-WAN
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 Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,572 professionals have used our research since 2012.