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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
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (5th)
Versa Unified Secure Access...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
8th
Ranking in WAN Edge
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (14th)
 

Featured Reviews

MOHAMEDELSHERIF - PeerSpot reviewer
Good centralization and manageability for edge routers but quite expensive
The setup is quite straightforward and the solution is easy to deploy. Deployment time depends on the size the customer or enterprise. Each customer has its own use case so it is difficult to give a time estimate. In any case, the work is straightforward with no obstacles or challenges.
PriyankDubey - PeerSpot reviewer
A flexible, stable and scalable solution
I don't have issues with the hardware, as the requisite capacity is visible in the data sheets. All the details in the data sheets are accounted for. But, I find myself confused when it comes to combining this with the software. I have not come across documentation on the Versa website which would provide information about the parameters for selecting the appropriate license. For this we are assisted by the solution's design engineer and the Versa team. I do what I can as a project manager and make the best suggestions I am capable of concerning the competition. Future releases should contain AI for the voice feature. SSL VPN is lacking in the solution. I wish to see this in the near future.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The product helps to aggregate network links. The tool increases security and makes it possible for you to have remote workers."
"The most useful feature is centralized telephony."
"It is very simple to deploy. It's a point-and-click type of deployment, so it's fairly simple."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a stable solution."
"It is very stable with very good firmware."
"So far, the feature that I like best is the policy configuration manager."
"It is very stable."
"This integration between SASE and SD-WAN is beneficial, as we have tested it with various customers."
"The most valuable features are the main steering and the firewall. The security features and SD-WAN features are also quite good."
"Their dashboard is also a good point for us and the customer. The solution is very clean and easy."
"The granularity when it comes to configuration and security features are valuable."
"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."
"Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing."
"Our customers are very satisfied with this solution. They have not mentioned any areas for improvement."
 

Cons

"The tool is very expensive."
"The solution could have a better web interface to simplify changing configurations."
"The user interface needs improvement. Users should be able to find various features faster without much tweaking."
"Cisco SD-WAN could improve on the ease of integration, the configuration should be easier. At the moment the process is more command line based and it would be better if it was able to be done through an interface."
"What I find should be improved is the possibility of really separating the software layer from the hardware layer since today the current offer is not well adopted by the service providers"
"Cisco products are a little bit complicated, so making them a little bit easier would be an improvement."
"The security features could be improved."
"One of the major areas that Cisco can improve on with their SD-WAN offering is their security features. When compared with Fortinet, who have what they call their 'security pillars' (e.g. firewall and security features built-in to their SD-WAN solutions), Cisco generally comes up short. With Cisco, if you need a security component, you have to pay more to get it done. So if they could add more security features that come part and parcel with their existing solutions, then I think Cisco could be very aggressive in the market."
"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 stability of FlexVNF's controller and devices could be improved."
"The web interface can be improved."
"The smaller units lack a lot of functionality."
"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."
"The UTM features can be improved. It should offer better 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 interface could be simpler."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"This is not a cheap option but if you move from Capex to Opex, I expect you should have lower costs."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN is expensive. We pay approximately $50 monthly for the use of the solution."
"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."
"It is expensive. The license limitation is there in terms of bandwidth. Basically, Cisco is always good in terms of performance and related things. However, if you want to have a license, for example, for 100 Mbps, they charge you because of their 100 Mbps. If you want to go without the license of 300 Mbps, it is a bandwidth license as well. This is not happening with other vendors. That is the reason why we moved away from Cisco. The bill gets a little bit high. I do remember that one time we were trying to increase the bandwidth for at least five devices, and the license got as high as 20-grand for five devices, only for the license. It was expensive for us at the time. Our company is not a big company, but it is a solid company. The price was very high, and we moved away from Cisco because of the price."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"It's costly. The cost is high compared to competitors."
"SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
"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."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
44%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

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: December 2024.
824,106 professionals have used our research since 2012.