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Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (12th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
Cisco Web Security Appliance
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Jack Hamm - PeerSpot reviewer
We experienced benefits immediately but the report generation is lagging
iboss excels on the networking side but lags slightly behind competitors like Zscaler and Netskope in terms of security feature parity. I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention. Using iboss for DLP instead of traditional endpoint solutions is preferable, but its current feature set requires some clunky workarounds. I'd also like to see better integration of DLP into the platform. Additionally, while it's improving, reporting can be slow at times. This is problematic when generating reports for executives who expect them immediately. I'd like to see further improvements in reporting speed and efficiency.
IgnitiusMolepo - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures security for remote workers
The Cisco Web Security Appliance provides DLP to organizations. It helps prevent the unauthorized transmission of sensitive information by blocking such attempts. Additionally, it safeguards against malware attacks, particularly on websites not authorized by our company. Its role in protecting us from malware is pivotal. The organization itself handles the configuration and management of Cisco Web Security Appliance. Cisco assists in deploying and configuring the appliance and managing all associated services. Integrating the Cisco Web Security Appliance with other solutions is quite challenging. For instance, when we tried to integrate Netscape KSP, we encountered difficulties retrieving logs. Additionally, our solution failed to interact with the Web Security Appliance. Overall, the integration process remains problematic, hindering the effectiveness of our security infrastructure. We have both the cloud version and the on-premises version. For clients who require data sovereignty, we offer the on-premises version, which includes a data sovereignty tool. This allows them to enforce policies that prevent the transfer of logs to third-party data centres, ensuring compliance with their country's regulations. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
SunilSharma10 - PeerSpot reviewer
Needs to improve performance but offers good user management capabilities
If there is a category of generative AI or GenAI, it is not a very detailed category, as there are many AI-based sites where data exfiltration can happen. In the category of generative AI or GenAI, the tool is not updated, and the solution has targeted only four or five sites to be included in the aforementioned category. Categories like generative AI or GenAI are not updated regularly in the solution, making it a problematic area where improvements are required. The performance issues in the product are an area of concern where improvements are required. The proxy categories in the product have certain shortcomings where improvements are needed. The solution's proxy categories are not updated regularly. The tool's categories, like the one involving generative AI, have certain shortcomings since it does not get updated, and it is not able to target many sites that the developers use for code review, which may lead to some security breaches in the future.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."
"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."
"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."
"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."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"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."
"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"The most valuable feature is that we can use it as a proxy."
"Since working with the tool, we have not found any threats in our organization."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance is user-friendly and easy to manage. It protects your environment while accessing the internet."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Web Security Appliance is the provided anti-malware functionality and URL categorization. I can block access to malicious websites. 99 percent of the cases are related to a malicious website. If I cannot browse those malicious websites, then we are 99 percent protected."
"The product is stable."
"The tool has good Umbrella DNS security."
"It also has high availability."
"This appliance gives me good visibility in the userbase and their activities."
"Configuration and customized policies are easy to implement."
"The product's user management is an area where my company does not face any challenges."
"Everything is handled on the backend side. Users don't need to have any proxy on-premises. The solution handles all the dirty or initial traffic from their network, managing it on the backend itself."
"The initial setup is easy. It's not difficult."
"In terms of functionality, Forcepoint is the best web proxy available."
"I have found the simplicity of the solution valuable. The dashboard and reports are good as well."
"The solution provided our organization with easy and secure internet access."
"Giving visibility to people's actions in the network, while keeping attackers out: across data centers, offices, branches, and the cloud."
 

Cons

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."
"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."
"There are certain shortcomings related to the product's management capabilities, where improvements are required. The solution needs to provide better management of the category of web pages."
"The licensing model needs to be more flexible."
"Setting up Cisco Web Security Appliance is highly complex and it takes about a week. We have to connect it to the Active Directory and configure all the policies for end users. It takes a long time to configure rules for our company data like port forwarding and separating the public and local components."
"The GUI is not user-friendly, so it needs to improve or be simplified."
"The tool needs to improve cloud-based decryption."
"The solution could improve the graphical user interface. It is not up to the regular standard of what we would expect from Cisco. Additionally, they need to improve the categorization when blocking in the settings. The CLI could have a better view than the graphical user interface but I did not investigate further."
"Technical support needs to be improved because they take a very long time and there is no communication or notification."
"I would like more automation."
"We have a lot of false positives, which is one area that can be improved."
"Managing the endpoint for both DLP and web security should be simplified."
"An area for improvement would be the classification of websites - it can take a long time for new websites to be classified."
"The documentation is almost too much, it could be laid out in an easier to understand."
"It has a problem with tablets and the iPhone. It's not filtering on these platforms. It filters on Windows but not iOS or Android."
"There should be more hardware models available and the application control could improve."
"What's missing in Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is a specific level of micro-control on protocols or devices, for example, where you can control a particular user or user device."
"To access the root of the product for troubleshooting you must have a data engineer. This is the big issue with Forcepoint. The support community is not good."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"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."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"I rate Cisco WSA a seven out of ten since it is costly."
"The licensing options begin with 100 users and this is a high threshold for smaller networks."
"The tool's licensing is yearly."
"There is a subscription-based license needed to use this solution."
"The pricing is too high."
"The solution has a standard license."
"Regarding Cisco price-wise, it is always on a bit on the higher side."
"When you compare the price of this solution to the price of FortiGate, it's high."
"The price of this product should be reduced to make it more competitive."
"Forcepoint's pricing is moderate."
"The solution's price is good."
"The licensing is not expensive."
"It is a well-priced option."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
"It is quite expensive."
"Compared to the other products in the market, Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway can be a cost-effective tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Non Profit
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?
Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.
What needs improvement with iboss?
I have the same complaint about them that I have about other software companies. Sometimes when you call in support, ...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We are a PreK-12 public school district, and we use iboss to filter internet content for our students at home and sta...
What do you like most about Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The most valuable features of the solution are the functions of proxy for the users who use the internet and the secu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Web Security Appliance?
Pricing is competitive and varies across sectors. Public sector clients receive good pricing, whereas enterprise or c...
What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The product is great, however, incorporating features offered by competitors would be beneficial. Competitors sometim...
What do you like most about Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?
The product's user management is an area where my company does not face any challenges.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?
The price for Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is normal, rated around five to six out of ten.
What needs improvement with Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?
Improvements in the analysis dashboard should allow the retrieval of more detailed information about user utilization...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security
Forcepoint SWG, Websense Web Security, Forcepoint TRITON
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Caixa Seguradora
Adventist Health, Alphawest, Amadori, Anoka County, Compartamos Banco, Davies Turner, EverBank, iGATE, Karlstad Municipality, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Scavolini, Smurfit Kappa, Toyota
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Web Security Appliance vs. Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.