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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

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)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (7th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (13th), Access Management (10th)
Netskope Next Gen Secure We...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
14
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.
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…
Manish Dave - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 17, 2023
Offer capability to create policy groups aligned with specific requirements for users, groups, and locations
There is room for improvement in streamlining policies. If I compare it with other products, the groups and are a little different in Netgroup. So what happens is that when you apply a specific Netskope policy, you never know the kind of content it will automatically block, or it will allow. So initially, when doing a pilot, at that time, it takes a lot of time to streamline the policies. So that is one thing they can work on. It should be easy to edit and easy to deploy. The only thing is now, as part of the NexGen SWG, in the same IPU currently, the KATB and UBA portion is very limited. So maybe Netskope can extend it in future releases. That is point number one. Point number two, integration with any DLP solution should be very seamless, irrespective of the brand or make of the DLP. Netskope was also to come up with the endpoint DLP, which was expected in Q4 last year but which is still not out. So, that is the reason why we had to go with a separate DLP. If everything were available in one SKU, we would not have to search outside for the business solution. So maybe Netskope can work on all four mediums of DLP, which are the endpoint, the network, email, and the web. All four mediums should be covered as part of the DLP solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"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."
"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."
"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."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"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."
"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."
"Overall, the product is nice, and I like the URL filtering, CASB, and other security stacks like threat prevention."
"The solution's CASB, DLP, and threat protection features are very good."
"The solution offers good security functionality."
"Prevents data leakage and protects data."
"Web filtering and DLP are good features."
"As Netskope is a cloud-based application, it is possible to analyze and distinguish personal and enterprise instances."
"One of the valuable features of the solution is that everything is on the cloud. It has no on-premise hardware to deal with."
"We can connect cloud apps and monitor them."
 

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"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."
"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."
"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."
"The dashboards for local use could be better."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"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."
"The initial setup was complex."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The technical support’s response time must be improved."
"The operational deployment is not great."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"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."
"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."
"Netskope can only provide the high level related to threats."
"The solution could improve the features for Zero Trust Network Access. They should add more security components to that module."
"The initial setup is a bit complex in that it takes a lot of time. In order to get the product to work as you need it to, there is a lot of configuration required."
"The stability of the solution to be very good. It is not the best and could improve but it is better than other solutions, such as Forcepoint."
"There is room for improvement in streamlining policies. So what happens is that when you apply a specific Netskope policy, you never know the kind of content it will automatically block, or it will allow."
"They should work on marketing material to put out their work with a little more effort."
"Improvement in the solution is required in certain areas where the product does not provide access to its direct end users, who use the portal as an administrator."
"Cost competitiveness is its area of improvement. They will have to figure out how can they strategically price it because there are a few players in the game who have been doing it for a long time. They will have to figure out how to go to market on the pricing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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 expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The product is very expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price is average. Because the license is user-based, you can increase it as per the user quantity."
"The product is cheap."
"The solution's overall cost is cheaper than regular web security solutions."
"We pay a licensing fee of $10,000 on a yearly basis."
"The license model is based on the number of users. You have the possibility to have 10,000 users if you wish."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

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 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 ...
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 cons...
What do you like most about Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?
There are a lot of features, but the groups that are created for the policy groups available with Netskope are alread...
What needs improvement with Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?
Netskope provides vigorous policy enforcement for SaaS platforms based on how we configure it, but its vulnerability ...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

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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.
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Arrow, Cloudrise, Sainsbury, Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy, CSA, AVX Corporation Nuna, City of San Diego Case, Genomic Health Case Study, Oak Hill Advisors, MaRS Discovery District.
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.