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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Forescout Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (20th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (13th), Access Management (10th)
Forescout Platform
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
IoT Security (1st), Endpoint Compliance (4th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forescout Platform is 13.8%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 18, 2024
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
The use case depends entirely on the client's specific requirements. We configure the APM accordingly. For instance, in some scenarios, we've used F5 for VPN purposes. In others, we've deployed F5 BIG-IP primarily as a load balancer. The choice depends on the enterprise's needs. They might want…
Odai Halawani - PeerSpot reviewer
May 27, 2024
It's an easy and effective solution, especially for device profiling without agents
Forescout Platform works as our next-gen solution, helping us monitor and manage devices connected or disconnected from the network. Additionally, it assists in remediating noncompliant devices Forescout Platform's most valuable aspect is its excellent device profiling for devices without agents,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"The load balancing features are valuable."
"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"It's one of the tools that has given the federal government visibility into network devices and everything."
"The threat prevention feature provides complete visibility."
"Obtaining visibility into the network and connected devices is very simple with this tool. It takes me three minutes to do a base deployment when all the parameters are available."
"Provides a good overview of all devices on a network."
"The solution's implementation and operation are very easy."
"Forescout CounterACT has allowed us to better open our access and control wireless access globally from our HQ. This allows us to monitor the network access for every office globally. This has improved overall security, reducing risk and opening up the opportunity to provide greater end user flexibility."
"Within three or four days, we have complete visibility of your infrastructure on the network. Compared to other solutions, the deployment of the solution is easier and we can close the project quickly."
"I have noticed that in the last year the license model has changed from licensing the whole appliance to licensing the number of devices. It's more simple for a large installation, or a user to have CounterACT as their peripheral site in the company. It's a good choice to have changed the license policy."
 

Cons

"The solution is quite costly."
"The initial setup was complex."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."
"I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal."
"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."
"The operational deployment is not great."
"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"Two things can be improved in the Forescout Platform. First of all, the support for some certain proprietary protocols from other vendors, but they are very widely used. If the TechEx from Cisco, was added to Forescout, then it will be a full solution for me."
"In the next release of the solution, it could benefit from being more flexible to allow for more freedom."
"The product needs to improve its support. I know a case that dragged on for about one and a half years. They eventually suggested professional services and closed the ticket. We followed their advice, engaging the account manager and professional service team, only to discover that the issue was a bug. After reopening the case, it's been about six months, and the problem still hasn't been resolved."
"If older network devices are used there can be some compatibility issues while using the Forescout Platform. Additionally, if the switches that are deployed in your infrastructure are not captured properly to the endpoints there might be some difficulties with Forescout Platform trying to monitor the network traffic. Traffic management is an area the vendor should work on."
"For improvements, I think technical support could be enhanced. The time zone difference makes remote support difficult - I'm in Indonesia, and they're in the US. Maybe the Forescout Platform could provide engineers from Asia Pacific."
"As a user, if I am using a laptop that is Wi-Fi connected, Forescout identifies my port connectivity as one user license, and if I take that same laptop with the same username to a wired network, which is also the same network that is used for the Wi-Fi connection, Forescout detects it as a separate license."
"Forescout Platform isn't flexible with connections to devices like printers and forces you to re-enter details like the MAC address after any breakdowns."
"Definitely, having more third-party integration would be an improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"We paid between $20,000 and $25,000 for a three-year license with maintenance."
"For one license, we pay around 3,000 Indian rupees."
"The Forescout Platform's pricing is in the middle range, not too cheap or expensive."
"We might have paid in the ballpark of $20,000 yearly for our licenses. I do not recall there being other fees over and above the standard licensing fee."
"We need to pay for integration for each integration that we want to do and there is an additional license fee. This adds more costs. It is not something that anyone can afford. If you want to integrate this with a lot of other tools, it can be costly."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. We have paid for the license for five years. We have integration with Symantec AV for orchestration, and we have an additional license."
"We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."
"The pricing structure should be enhanced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
32%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
Regarding price, I'm not directly involved in purchasing, but our CIO thinks the product is very expensive. He's considering moving from the tool to Citrix NetScaler WAF because it's cheaper, and w...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
 

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager
Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Forescout Platform and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.