Cisco Umbrella vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cisco and Proofpoint are both solutions in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.0, while Proofpoint is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 5.9% mindshare in CASB, compared to Proofpoint’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Proofpoint users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker and Cisco Umbrella compete in cloud security. Cisco Umbrella has the upper hand due to its comprehensive features.

Features: Cisco Umbrella provides secure internet access, DNS-layer security, and malware and phishing threat protection. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker offers advanced activity monitoring, threat detection capabilities, and data loss prevention with compliance focus.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella features a cloud-based deployment model and strong customer service for faster implementation and support. Proofpoint involves a more complex setup but offers robust customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker has lower setup costs and favorable ROI, making it cost-effective. Cisco Umbrella may have higher upfront costs but suggests longer-term benefits due to its feature set.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

September 2026

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 4.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 5.9%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella	5.9%
iboss	4.4%
Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker	1.0%
Other	88.7%

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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KamranJameel

Head Of IT at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Secure browsing has protected users from DNS threats and improves malware defense

The major issue is that sometimes when you install the client, it shows you protected and displays that it is live with the backend servers and everything. However, in reality, it was not getting any feed from the main client and is just sending your traffic to open DNS, which sometimes causes an issue because the protection you have implemented can be breached by users. The primary thing that Cisco Umbrella lacked most of the time is their client. Previously, they had a separate Cisco client. Now they have merged everything into the Cisco Secure Endpoint client—one client for everything, for Cisco Endpoint, for Cisco AnyConnect, and for Cisco Umbrella, which they did probably in 2025.

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Farzad Ebrahimi

Senior Devsecops Cloud Cybersecurity Specialist at CGI

Layered security has protected our cloud AI apps and significantly reduced attack incidents

The best features Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker offers are multilayer protection against security attacks and escalation. The escalation feature in Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker is valuable because we are using more and more users, and it is very scalable in relation to the number of users using the same app on the cloud. The performance of Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker stands out as the number of attacks blocked is more than 90%. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker has positively impacted my organization by resolving all of the security issues related to app security. I can share specific outcomes, such as a reduction in the number of incidents, which is more than 90% related to the past.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"As I mentioned, the return on investment is significant, as it saved our office locations' bandwidth because when you are working remotely at home, your internet traffic routes directly to iboss and will not go to your office building, saving bandwidth bottlenecks and ensuring that issues with our building internet circuits will not impact your internet connectivity because you are directly going to the iboss data center."

"This product is solid, fairly easy to use, and reliable."

"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."

More iboss pros

"The best possible thing is that it is very easy to deploy, easy to configure, and very fast to get onboarded with a customer because this is a cloud-based service."

"Cisco Umbrella's integration with other solutions has been a great feature in terms of ease of administration. Administration and troubleshooting are faster. The single pane of glass is great as well. Another great feature of Cisco Umbrella is remote browser isolation. With this feature, you open a virtual browser, and it's seamless to the user. If the user ends up going to a bad website that's passed a policy and something bad tries to download, it will not download into the machine because it is a virtual window somewhere in the cloud. You are protected by this feature."

"The Secure Internet Gateway benefits my company because now our whole traffic goes to the Umbrella Cloud and it gets checked there, so nothing malicious is coming into our network."

"We've found it to be stable and good for our customers."

"For us and for customers, it's the ease of integration with Meraki. It's just a couple of clicks. That allows us to deploy very fast, and it doesn't change the way a customer uses his service. It's just more secure."

"We use Cisco Umbrella for web security and it's very good."

"Reports provide insight into internet usage and information helpful in creating QoS rules."

"The documentation is good, and we have been able to resolve any issues ourselves."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"From stability and availability standpoints, it is pretty good."

"Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker has positively impacted my organization by resolving all of the security issues related to app security."

"The tool's most valuable feature is reporting. It helps us understand what's going on in our environment."

"The quarantine feature is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"The product is stable."

Cons

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"I would like to see simpler dashboards, more detailed reporting, and faster performance in iboss."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"I have heard they are doing DDoS filtering, but I am not certain if they are implementing it correctly."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

More iboss cons

"In the future, they should combine some of the Cisco AMP features that they already have, for anti-malware purposes."

"For us, as an MSP, the initial licensing changes were a roadblock, and they still could be a lot clearer. Specifically, it's an honor-based licensing system. We'd like it to be more specific to our traffic or our users so that we can make sure that the customer is paying for all their licensing."

"The API is very Cisco orientated, which is absolutely fine if you're using Cisco Firepower and SecureX kind of products, but if you want to integrate with third parties, it is a bit tricky. There are some key API connectors for the more prevalent SIEM tools. I would really like to see in Cisco Umbrella the ability to create customized reports and then assign the rights to view these reports to people within a group. I should be able to create a customized report, which is viewable by anybody who has the rights. I should be able to create groups within Cisco Umbrella, and then assign reports to groups and have those reports split out automatically only to those groups. I can kind of do it by restricting my email list, but it is a half-complete way of doing it."

"The detection of wireless attacks or targeted attacks reports many false rates. This is an area that needs some improvement."

"We would like to see the enhancements made to the EDR, as we see features that are running endpoint management."

"The product has been rejected by business due to the pricing; no ROI as such."

"Cisco Umbrella should add some more documentation on proxies."

"We would like them to add more features to Cisco Umbrella."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"They are priced significantly higher and less cost-effective than alternative options."

"Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker should be cheaper."

"The TLS encryption needs to be improved. It's not state of the art."

"I think some of the hiccups that we had were with the number of domains that we had and how that had to be implemented in Proofpoint."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"The price could be lower."

"When talking about Cisco solutions in general there pricing model is horrible. For example, you can sell a Meraki-based solution, but if the customer starts shopping around, someone is going to have access to the pricing at a level that you cannot compete because they do not have uniform pricing. Not everybody gets fair pricing. Unless you are one of the real major corporations selling the solution your ability to compete is impossible. Cisco will acknowledge the situation and assure you next time it will be in your favor but it never becomes favorable for you. Cisco is not very good in this regard. However, Umbrella is good."

"I think it's worth the money."

"You get what you pay for if you break the solution up into tiers."

"I am not sure, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I think it's $1.00 or so per device/month."

"In terms of licensing, we're not able to be extremely clear with the customer because it's based on their reporting. It's not based on the actual traffic. If they say they have 50 users but they have 80, we'll just buy for 50 users. That's something where we'd like to have more flexibility."

"The pricing is fair."

"We were using the free version, and we implemented the paid version about two months ago. I'm paying a fair price, but everything is negotiable with Cisco. One of the benefits that I got by having Cisco Umbrella is the licensing of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"The tool's most valuable feature is reporting. It helps us understand what's going on in our environment."

"We had an enterprise contract with them for about 32,000 users at that point, which has now grown."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	51
Midsize Enterprise	31
Large Enterprise	51

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

iboss could be improved by making the dashboard more user-friendly, providing more detailed real-time alerts, and imp...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for cloud security, helping to protect users when they access websites and cloud applications...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

The pricing and licensing for iboss were reasonable for the security features. The setup costs were manageable, thoug...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?

Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Umbrella?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that the pricing is acceptable, but it is marginally a ...

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What needs improvement with Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker?

Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker can be improved with more AI features, as it could help. I feel it is fine to no...

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What is your primary use case for Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker?

My main use case for Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker is to protect our applications on the cloud against securit...

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What advice do you have for others considering Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker?

My advice to others looking into using Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker is that more AI features are needed. Proo...

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Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 23% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Web Gateway vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Forcepoint CASB vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Compared 22% of the time

Netskope vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Compared 13% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Compared 12% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Compared 5% of the time

More Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

October 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

October 2026

Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker report

Download Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

OpenDNS

FireLayers, PCASB

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

Cisco Umbrella provides fast-deploying DNS-layer security with powerful threat protection capabilities. Trusted by over 30,000 entities, it ranks highly in DNS security and effectively supports secure remote work environments.

Cisco Umbrella offers comprehensive DNS security, web filtering, and ease of use, enhancing network security through robust threat protection and malware prevention. It processes over 600 billion requests daily, making it a leader in its field. The seamless integration with existing infrastructures and cloud-based nature makes it suitable for remote and distributed work environments, ensuring consistent security throughout. Management is streamlined with a single-pane interface that simplifies administration, while in-depth reporting capabilities provide valuable insights for continuous monitoring.

What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?

DNS Security: Provides leading protection by managing DNS queries and blocking malicious sites.
Web Filtering: Offers granular control over web content to safeguard internet usage.
Ease of Integration: Fits well into existing infrastructures, simplifying deployment and use.
Intuitive Management: Single-pane management streamlines administration and enhances usability.
Cloud-Based Flexibility: Supports secure remote work environments.

What benefits can users expect from using Cisco Umbrella?

Superior Threat Protection: Reduces risk by effectively detecting and preventing cyber threats.
Consistent Security: Provides uniform protection across network environments.
Efficiency and Visibility: Leverages comprehensive reporting for better security insights.
Easy Deployment: Quick and straightforward setup with minimal disruption.

Cisco Umbrella is widely adopted in industries requiring advanced DNS-level security to counteract malware, phishing, and cyber threats. Its ability to monitor and protect remote and roaming employees makes it an attractive option for sectors highly dependent on cloud services. By managing DNS queries and blocking harmful sites, Cisco Umbrella enhances cybersecurity across networks, providing an added layer of protection for businesses worldwide.

Cisco

Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker provides comprehensive security for cloud applications, helping organizations protect against data breaches and manage compliance within cloud environments efficiently.

Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker leverages a combination of advanced threat protection, data loss prevention, and identity management to secure cloud-based applications. By offering visibility and control over user activities, it enables IT professionals to mitigate risks and ensure compliance with industry regulations. Its seamless integration with existing security frameworks allows for a streamlined approach to safeguarding digital assets.

What are the main features of Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker?

Advanced Threat Protection: Shields against sophisticated cyber threats targeting cloud applications.
Data Loss Prevention: Detects and prevents unauthorized data sharing across platforms.
Visibility & Control: Provides comprehensive insights into user activities for enhanced monitoring.
Identity Management: Ensures secure access by managing user credentials and permissions.

What benefits and ROI should users expect from Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker?

Enhanced Security Posture: Reduce risks by securing sensitive data in cloud applications.
Compliance Assurance: Meets regulatory requirements through effective monitoring and controls.
Cost Efficiency: Minimizes security costs with integrated solutions compatible with existing systems.
Operational Ease: Streamlines deployment process for faster time-to-value.

In finance, healthcare, and education, Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker is implemented to protect data privacy and meet compliance standards specific to each industry. By tailoring configurations to sector-specific needs, organizations leverage its capabilities to maintain robust security and support regulatory adherence.

Proofpoint

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim

Emerging Technologies, HP, CSA, Perion

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

September 2026

Free Report: Cisco Umbrella vs. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Umbrella vs. Proofpoint Cloud App Security Broker and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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