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Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs Palo Alto Networks Panorama comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is 8.1%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

Yonas Abebe - PeerSpot reviewer
Great dashboard with extensive visibility and good support
I expect more integration with AI. I expect Cisco to be easier for users in India, especially for junior users. For a junior one, it may somehow be complex, especially when configuring something. I remember version 6.4 had an integration with Eddie, allowing me to define a policy according to my users, however, the latest version, lacks this integration. The logging of FMC should be improved as it does not offer real-time solutions like DazaSodo.
Kim Ejby Lorentzen - PeerSpot reviewer
Unified firewall management streamlines operations across branches with prompt support services
The primary use case for this solution is the management of the entire firewall portfolio across various branches Palo Alto Networks Panorama has simplified management by providing a unified interface for firewall management and configuration. One of the key advantages of Palo Alto Networks…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a fine solution in terms of scalability."
"Malware detection, URL filtering, and antivirus are the most beneficial features for our security management. The platform has three main components: filters, hardware, and antivirus. We use the standard approach for automation and integration. The person in charge of management follows the rules and policies of the equipment and handles operations. However, we haven't set up any notifications, so it's mostly manual."
"The product's user interface is very easy to use and convenient."
"The solution is useful and powerful."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the intrusion prevention system."
"I like its system management and filtering options as a layer seven firewall."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is scalable."
"The technical support team is responsive and supportive."
"In Panorama, installing the policy, and pushing the policy, it's quite seamless."
"I find this solution valuable for full monitoring, centralized control for reporting, and centralized management."
"Palo Alto Networks Panorama provides many features, such as alerts, traffic monitoring, and logs."
"The interface is very easy to use. You can do most jobs from one single console."
"Panorama enables you to provision all your firewalls and other things as a cluster. It is quite useful for that."
"Palo Alto technical support is excellent."
"The most valuable aspect of Palo Alto Networks Panorama for me is the centralized management of multiple firewalls."
"The most valuable item is centralization and we can get all of the router bases in a single window."
 

Cons

"I expect more integration with AI."
"The product's setup could be easier."
"The product could be improved by simplifying its user interface and reducing complexity."
"I had a challenging time trying to size the firewall on the cloud. Maybe the information is there, but I couldn't find it easily. Usually, it depends on the cloud provider itself, whether you use AWS or Azure. These guys give you the information, so this part is not as detailed."
"Areas for improvement include pricing points and the range of products available at any given time."
"I recommend they work on usability and ensure the solution is more user-friendly."
"Cisco firewalls use old ESR or a Linux system, and there are problems with encryption. When we switch on encryption, the throughput goes down."
"Cisco Firepower has been effective in solving various problems, but it could be improved by making it simpler and more user-friendly like Fortinet."
"This would be a better solution if it were more tightly integrated with the firewalls."
"As the cybersecurity threats have become more aggressive these days, Palo Alto Networks Panorama can still be improved, particularly on the security side, for example, more network management, and penetration test. Improving the security feature for internal endpoints is needed in the solution."
"The ease of use of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is an area for improvement. Another downside is that you need a lot of comprehension to understand what it is."
"The general customer feedback is when saving the configuration, it takes a long time. That needs to be fixed. The troubleshooting, the debugging part is also a little bit of a pain. It's not user-friendly on the interface to do our debugging when comparing it with other firewalls, like Forcepoint."
"Aside from pricing, I don't have any issues with Panorama."
"We had some challenges with the initial setup, but it was more on a learning curve basis."
"When creating remote access for users, it would be beneficial to be able to base the object on on-premises or the cloud."
"We found a vulnerability where when we have a low flow, like 2.7K, it is not getting fired by the threat prevention. That's something important to improve on. They should have a proxy or some solution to solve the issue. We also found some issues around decrypting the flow. When we have more flow than expected to decrypt, the performance goes down."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive. We have a multi-license, and we pay extra for support."
"The platform is costly."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has the best price on the market."
"The price of the solution is expensive. We do not have to pay more than the standard licensing fees."
"My license offers all the protection, like malware protection, VPN protection, IDS, IPS, and endpoint protection."
"The product pricing is reasonable and falls in the mid-range."
"It is rather expensive."
"It could be considered relatively cheaper when compared to some other vendors in the market."
"Although I don't have direct knowledge of the setup cost I believe it is mid-range."
"We're a reseller, and we're an MSSP. So, we get some extreme discounts."
"The solution is expensive and could be cheaper."
"The price of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is high. There is a pay-per-use model."
"My company pays for the licensing cost of Palo Alto Networks Panorama yearly, and it's all-inclusive, so there's no need to pay extra for some features."
"There is a license needed to use Palo Alto Networks Panorama. The cost is not that important, what is important is meeting all the requirements and security features."
"It is very affordable when compared to more expensive firewalls."
"There is a license required to use this solution and it is paid annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
22%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Engineering Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
I expect more integration with AI. I expect Cisco to be easier for users in India, especially for junior users. For a junior one, it may somehow be complex, especially when configuring something. I...
What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
The most valuable aspect of Palo Alto Networks Panorama for me is the centralized management of multiple firewalls.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
The solution requires more flexibility and quicker response times. High-speed replies are crucial. Additionally, the AI module should be on-premises, not in the cloud. It should support more flexib...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs. Palo Alto Networks Panorama and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.