F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Ivanti Connect Secure comparison

F5 and Ivanti are both solutions in the SSL VPN category. F5 is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while Ivanti is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.4. F5 holds a 15.6% mindshare in SV, compared to Ivanti’s 22.3% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 76% of Ivanti users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Read 14 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews

800 Views
675 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Ivanti Connect Secure

Read 26 Ivanti Connect Secure reviews

1,396 Views
856 Comparison Views

76% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Ivanti Connect Secure

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and Ivanti Connect Secure based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two SSL VPN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

October 2024

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Helped 816,406 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Ranking in SSL VPN

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (20th), Network Access Control (NAC) (7th), Remote Access (13th), Access Management (10th)

Ivanti Connect Secure

Ranking in SSL VPN

2nd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 15.6%, down from 16.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 22.3%, up from 17.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

SSL VPN

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai

Associate Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure

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. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.

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Bhaskar Rao

Network manager admin at Yamaha

Provides connection with roaming users with easy deployment

It is easy to integrate other solutions with Connect Secure. We are currently using Ivanti Connect Secure with client-based connectivity. Implementing clientless connectivity enable us to connect without the need for any client software. This allow us to access office resources such as URL-based or SAP SaaS-based systems. Additionally, Ivanti is working on enhancing this feature, which is a positive development. In terms of competition, backups from other providers like Cisco AnyConnect and Fortinet are also considered. I've worked with Cisco Connect and FortiGate, which are relatively easy to work with. FortiGate does have quite a few bugs, making some applications not visible, which can cause discomfort during implementation. The only concern arises from the vulnerabilities that are found. Ivanti Connect Secure's security is a priority, since they're operating on a legacy OS platform. Approximately 22,000 Ivanti users have transitioned from Juniper to Pulse Secure and then to Ivanti. I strongly recommend avoiding the use of any legacy platforms for security reasons. It's advisable to utilize the latest platforms equipped with comprehensive security management features. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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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 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."

"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."

"The portal access was very good."

"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."

"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 performance of the solution is valuable."

"Our customers have never complained about the stability"

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

"The product is easy to use."

"The flexibility in their management is great."

"It is customer-friendly. It is quite easy for our users to connect. There is also the flexibility of the features."

"VPN tunneling is a very valuable feature of Pulse Connect Secure. I also like that it is straightforward to use, and you can see traffic logs on it."

"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are multi-factor authentications, and VPNs and SSL VPNs we are using."

"The most valuable features of the solution are reliability and uptime."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"Ivanti secures access to the corporate network from various devices and locations."

More Ivanti Connect Secure pros

Cons

"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 we already have Citrix for VDI. We got NetScaler almost free as part of our VDI deal. Three years ago, I convinced him to use the solution because it's better, but now, with budget constraints, he may want to switch."

"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better"

"F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."

"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."

"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."

"The solution’s GUI looks very old."

"The solution is quite costly."

"The initial setup was complex."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

"Zero test FDP (Fraud Protection and Prevention) should be improved."

"We want to switch to another solution because there are some challenges with the support from Pulse. The quality of documentation is also not good. It is sometimes very hard to find documentation that provides a solution and describes how all this works."

"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are the user-friendly connection and interconnecting."

"The stability could be better. There are sometimes bugs in the system."

"I don't have any downsides to report about the product at this time."

"The support team of the product needs improvement. Sometimes we have issues with multiple authentications, but there is no help from the support team."

"This solution normally works but at times, we have had trouble with connectivity."

"Connection-wise, Pulse Connect Secure could be faster, and this is its area for improvement."

More Ivanti Connect Secure cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"The product is very expensive."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."

"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."

"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."

"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."

"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."

"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."

"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?

From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?

The product costs around 2000 rupees per year.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?

Some vulnerability issues have led to a high alert in the US and other countries. We've had to initiate a reset of all systems, including Factory and DC, and refresh the configurations.

See all answers

Comparisons

Citrix Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 12% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 7% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 5% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Competitors

Fortinet FortiClient vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 23% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 8% of the time

OpenVPN Access Server vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 6% of the time

Ivanti Secure Access vs Ivanti Connect Secure

Compared 6% of the time

More Ivanti Connect Secure Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

November 2024

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Ivanti Connect Secure

November 2024

Download Ivanti Connect Secure product report

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager

Pulse Connect Secure

Learn More

Ivanti

Overview

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

Ivanti Connect Secure provides a seamless, cost-effective SSL VPN solution for remote and mobile users from any web-enabled device to corporate resources— anytime, anywhere.

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

October 2024

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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