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Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Symantec Proxy 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
7.0
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (13th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
Cisco Web Security Appliance
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
9th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Proxy
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
12th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Jack Hamm - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 20, 2024
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
Feb 20, 2024
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.
Mel Stevenson - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 6, 2023
A scalable enterprise-level tool with advanced features that provide accurate database categorization
We use the product for malware filtering, content filtering, and reporting The CPL code is the best feature of the solution. We can get the tool to do extremely advanced things with the command line code. The database categorization is extremely accurate. The solution must add a new category for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"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."
"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."
"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."
"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."
"This solution offers categorization for YouTube and other specific applications from Facebook to WhatsApp, which can be controlled whether it's on mobile or PC."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance can integrate with Active Directory, enabling us to manage all the end-users within AD. It's helpful for setting rules based on individual users and groups. For example, you can configure policies for inbound and outbound traffic."
"The solution provides good web reputation and anti-malware protection."
"The solution offers content filtering and micro-content controls, such as regulating the types of images and their resolution."
"It integrates well with Cisco Email Security Appliance."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the functions of proxy for the users who use the internet and the security it offers against the not-so-secure web pages."
"The tool has good Umbrella DNS security."
"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 Symantec antivirus suite and the proxy component are the most valuable feature."
"Global Intelligence Network is the best feature of the product."
"Symantec Proxy’s technical support is very good."
"The most valuable feature of Symantec Proxy is the support and autoscaling."
"The tool's most valuable features are content-to-content filtration and SCCM protection."
"The product is very good, and the URL filtering database is great."
"The developer's assistance is valuable, enabling seamless integration which allows for a comprehensive view of categories, even if not certified by the link."
"It's a stable solution."
 

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, obviously, there are bugs."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"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."
"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"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."
"Cisco lacks a GUI-based troubleshooting feature compared to products by other vendors."
"The solution is not very compatible with other products."
"I would like more automation."
"Technical support needs to be improved because they take a very long time and there is no communication or notification."
"As Cisco Web Security Appliance is eight years old, though it's simple to access its UI, the UI needs a little bit of updating. If it could be more interactive similar to the latest gen solutions, that would improve the product. Adding a few more integrations would also make Cisco Web Security Appliance better."
"It should have a user-based quota, per-user quota, that can be defined on the appliance."
"The product is great, however, incorporating features offered by competitors would be beneficial."
"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 traffic filtering could improve. Our firewall traffic is limited. Additionally, it would be helpful if there was a dashboard and reporting feature."
"I would like to see more improvements in the cloud."
"The user interface could be improved, and the price could be lower as well."
"The initial setup can be somewhat complex, and deploying the system can take some time."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement."
"Technical support is an area that requires some improvement."
"Symantec Proxy needs to include content management capabilities."
"There are performance issues with all of the proxies."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"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."
"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."
"There is a subscription-based license needed to use this solution."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance is not the cheapest solution on the market, but it's well worth it."
"The solution's cost depends on how many users you purchase. It was maybe $3 or $5 per user, which is a bit expensive."
"The pricing is too high."
"At the time, licensing fees were paid on an annual basis."
"When you compare the price of this solution to the price of FortiGate, it's high."
"I know from the manager that the price is too high and that other solutions offer the same features for less."
"I rate Cisco WSA a seven out of ten since it is costly."
"Symantec Proxy has different expiry dates and renewal dates, which is a problem, so Broadcom should improve the licensing renewal process for the solution."
"The price is too expensive compared with that of another solution."
"The product is highly priced. There are no additional costs apart from the standard licenses."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others on the market."
"In terms of cost, it is expensive. Its pricing has been a challenge for us since its acquisition by Broadcom."
"The solution is very expensive."
"There are no licensing fees required."
"There is a license needed to use Symantec Proxy."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Non Profit
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
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?
A positive improvement would be to expand into more areas for product monitoring. You have an agent that resides on t...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We use it for URL filtering to enforce our enterprise Internet use policy. We use it for our current initiatives in a...
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?
I rate the product price a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price.
What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The solution could provide seamless integration with other technologies. Cisco's strength lies in its reliable manage...
What do you like most about Symantec Proxy?
We can address and rectify issues promptly, resulting in consistently positive outcomes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Proxy?
The product is highly priced. There are no additional costs apart from the standard licenses.
What needs improvement with Symantec Proxy?
In future releases, we look forward to the cloud side. So, I would like to see more improvements in the cloud.
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security
Blue Coat Encrypted Traffic Management, ProxySG Appliance
 

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
Jefferies
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Web Security Appliance vs. Symantec Proxy and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.