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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Trend Micro Web Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (3rd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
17th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (10th), Access Management (10th)
Trend Micro Web Security
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Web Security is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. 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. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
GaneshKhutwad - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers simple to use integration capabilities
The product's initial setup phase is not too simple. If the setup phase was too simple, everyone could have done it easily. The setup phase of the product is neither too easy nor too difficult. When it comes to the deployment process, I need to understand the environment, applications, and endpoint devices, like Wif-Fi, mobiles, and other such areas because our company provides notepads as well to the customer. Generally, our company's customers use the tools in government organizations, and I work in a smart city where there are some government officials involved, so confidentiality should be maintained in certain aspects. For deployment and maintenance, though I currently have seven people on my team, I need three more people added to the team.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"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."
"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."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"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."
"A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"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."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"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."
"Overall, I would rate this solution a ten out of ten."
"The solution's technical support team is responsive."
"It's a stable solution."
"It's a very stable solution."
"Currently, many applications are hosted on the web. They are hosted in multiple clouds and tenants. Organizations with different geolocations and users require a very secure WAF solution. For enterprise companies, it is essential to secure their networks and applications."
"The security of Trend Micro Web Security is good."
"It's secure and useful from an administrative point of view, with controllable login monitoring and so on."
"The most valuable feature of Trend Micro Web Security stems from the fact that it is neither a cheap nor an expensive tool."
 

Cons

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"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."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The initial setup was complex."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"The solution is quite costly."
"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."
"Cloud services are something that F5 Access Policy Manager could do better"
"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."
"The installation is a little bit complex."
"There are multiple ways Web Security could improve, such as usability and web access to several programming modes."
"The cons include it not being implemented in the mid-enterprise segment. For these organizations, it is an additional expense."
"The system should generate reports when an attack has been stopped, contained, or removed."
"The stability of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"They could improve the platform's ability to control normal traffic and prevent attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting."
"What could help Trend Micro Web Security in terms of improvement is the addition of a DDoS protection feature. It also needs to be more comprehensive to meet the needs of large-sized companies."
"The costs are a bit high in terms of licensing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."
"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 not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"The product is very expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"We pay for the license on an annual basis."
"There's annual and monthly options for the license. When you're on the managed services option, it's monthly. They're also setting up an option via AWS where there will be a monthly option via the AWS shopfront."
"It is pricey. Trend Micro has been in the field for 30 years, so you have to pay a premium amount for that."
"The solution is expensive in terms of deployment."
"I don't remember the exact pricing, but I think that it is approximately $10.00 per user."
"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The license is yearly and user based."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Energy/Utilities 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?
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 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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchas...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does n...
Do you recommend Trend Micro Web Security?
I would recommend Trend Micro Web Security to organizations looking for an end-to-end security solution. Trend Micro ...
What do you like most about Trend Micro Web Security?
Trend Micro has a centralized mechanism where we can control and monitor all system protections. It includes detectin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Web Security?
The product is expensive. I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
F5 Access Policy Manager
Virus Wall, VirusWall, Trend Micro VirusWall
 

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
Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen, Mosaic Medical, Okinawa Prefectural Education Center, RAK Investment Authority
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Trend Micro Web Security and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.