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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

"The product's user interface is very easy to use and convenient."
"The platform's most valuable feature has been its centralized management capability, which allows us to monitor and control multiple devices from one location."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Scalability is not an issue as long as you are able to buy additional licenses. Ten percent of our customers use Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, and we have large accounts with 50% of their end users behind this firewall."
"I like its system management and filtering options as a layer seven firewall."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The solution is quite scalable."
"The most valuable features are the Virtual Private Network and the Electronic Control Lists."
"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks Panorama is its innovation and impressive capacity to handle network traffic efficiently."
"Panorama provides management functionalities."
"We use the solution for centralized monitoring."
"The most valuable item is centralization and we can get all of the router bases in a single window."
"The most valuable features of Palo Alto Networks Panorama are centralized management. We can manage all our firewalls."
"The ability to manage a large number of firewalls from a single point is most valuable."
"Palo Alto Networks Panorama has a lot of features."
"The product can scale."
 

Cons

"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center's logging functionality could be improved."
"Areas for improvement include pricing points and the range of products available at any given time."
"The product could be improved by simplifying its user interface and reducing complexity."
"Cisco Firepower has been effective in solving various problems, but it could be improved by making it simpler and more user-friendly like Fortinet."
"The solution should improve the user interface."
"I recommend they work on usability and ensure the solution is more user-friendly."
"The interface is an area that could be improved."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
"It communicates with remote devices, and sometimes, there is a little bit of delay during its communication with remote devices. There should be real-time communication or updates from the manager to devices."
"Its scalability can be improved. It is too expensive to scale it in the way Palo Alto wants us to scale. Scalability is one of the main reasons why our customer is looking for alternatives. It is too expensive to scale. Its redundancy also requires improvement, but it seems that in the latest version, redundancy is improved, and you can have more than two devices in an HA pair. So, they are heading in that direction. It would be good if they combine their dynamic list functionality in a much better way with Panorama and include it as out-of-the-box functionality. Palo Alto supports the dynamic list functionality for some basic threats, but there is a lot of scope for improvement."
"A bottleneck in Palo Alto Networks Panorama is the licensing. The licensing model for the product is complicated. Another area for improvement is the PDF report generation because you'll notice that it's missing some details."
"The alerts in Palo Alto Networks Panorama could improve by integration with other systems, such as a forwarding trigger system. For example, if a customer has their own system it would be helpful to have the alarms integrated."
"The initial setup requires expertise and can be a bit complex."
"The price of Palo Alto Networks Panorama could be better."
"The solution can improve by providing unique reports in relation to the function of which you choose the firewall to do."
"In our version, there is no feature to transfer or upload a database of third-party vulnerabilities or signatures so that Panorama can convert them into its own database. This kind of feature might already have come in version 10."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has the best price on the market."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"The platform is costly."
"As for pricing, the tool is expensive for us. I'd rate it eight out of ten on a scale where ten is the most expensive."
"It is rather expensive."
"When you are using a Cisco solution you know it will be expensive. Cisco makes you pay for everything individually. We pay for the licenses that we need."
"The price of the solution is expensive. We do not have to pay more than the standard licensing fees."
"I use the free version of the product."
"It is very affordable when compared to more expensive firewalls."
"We pay approximately $3,000 a year in order to use the product."
"The price of Palo Alto Networks Panorama should be reduced. We pay for the solution annually."
"Its cost is quite high."
"The product's pricing is high but flexible. It now follows the pay-per-use pricing model. I would rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"It is not a cheap solution."
"The solution is priced well and there is a license for this solution that we pay annually for."
"The pricing model is reasonable for this class of solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
21%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Engineering Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

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: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.