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SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

SteelConnect EX Enterprise ...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
27th
Ranking in WAN Edge
22nd
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
5th
Ranking in WAN Edge
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2024, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of SteelConnect EX Enterprise SD-WAN is 0.3%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is 12.3%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Jason Best - PeerSpot reviewer
May 14, 2020
Analytics feature is very granular and comprehensive, although complicated to use
It's like an SD-WAN project basically. You really need to make sure that the product matches the needs of what the customer's trying to achieve and their overall strategy to meet their core business requirements. I think a certain customer made a mistake in choosing this solution because a large part of their network was Cisco and they had firewalls that were from Fortinet. I think they would have been better off and it would have been better from a CAPEX, OPEX point of view. It would've been more advantageous for them to have maybe chosen a Cisco or Fortinet solution based on their existing environment. Make sure you understand your network correctly before you try to implement any SD-WAN solution. That was one of the good lessons I learned about SD-WANs with this specific product. I wouldn't say it was a fault of the product. I would say it's more a fault of the CTO who tries to do things quickly without taking into account the existing environment or give the internal faculties the time to provide real low-level design implementation. It was more of a management mistake than from their technical team. In the next release, I would like to see things like integrated security but with local internet breakout instead of using third party solutions like NetScaler or Palo Alto. I would also like to see the integration of things like a VPN so that if you have remote sites where you might have remote workers that need to access the site from home or something, there's a VPN solution. Those are two key features and hotspots in the sort of global crisis. I would rate Riverbed a seven out of ten. I could never give any solution a 10 cause they all have good and bad points. To get any solution to a ten is pretty much impossible. If I was to rate it against others like Fortinet, I would probably give Fortinet an eight or nine. Again, I think you have to be careful because it's very subjective. I think it really depends on the type of environment, the type of customer you're deploying the SD-WAN solution for, and from which perspective you're looking at like if you an operator, if you're a large enterprise, if you're looking for a plug and play type solution. If you're looking for more of a security solution, I would go for Fortinet. It's kind of tough to say. I'd probably put the clouds a little bit ahead of the game because it does what it's supposed to do and easily. It's a little more of a plug and play type solution. Fortinet, for example, is more complex. I put it in a close second place, it's better from a security perspective. It has integration with FortiGuard. After that, I would put Riverbed in third place.
Atif Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 31, 2023
Effective and highly customizable solution
One of the main reasons customers appreciate VMware SD-WAN is its comprehensive set of features. It covers network software services, starting from the underlying hardware and creating a virtualized network overlay. As a result, many customers find VMware SD-WAN to be highly beneficial for their networking needs. VMware SD-WAN Orchestrator provides centralized enterprise-level installation, configuration, and real-time monitoring. Additionally, data flows through the cloud network, enhancing performance. The solution offers simplified operations with RapidZERO Touch provisioning and cloud management, optimizing application performance. Security is one area where the solution is comfortable and reliable for us, especially in managing on-prem and cloud adoptions and accelerating performance through bandwidth optimization. So, it's very beneficial for us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The analytics is the most valuable feature because it was very granular and very comprehensive, although a little complicated to use. If you're really interested in knowing what's happening on your network, it's a very good solution. That was the .NET Profiler part of the solution."
"VMware SD-WAN is easy-to-use."
"SD-WAN is cloud-based and you can manage multiple sites within one single pane of glass."
"It is fairly similar to other solutions. It has the capability for testing link connectivity, which is its unique feature from a control perspective."
"The service they provide is very stable and is the main influencer of why customers purchase this solution."
"The most valuable feature is the Dynamic Multipath Optimization (DMPO), which allows the customer to maintain and monitor their link quality in real-time."
"The most valuable feature of VMware SD-WAN is flexibility. It is more flexible than other vendors."
"Some of the best features are the SD-WAN platform for VMware and the NSX network virtualization."
"It is very simple to configure. When you use the cloud to configure the equipment, it has zero-touch provisioning."
 

Cons

"The routing scalability needs improvement. We have run into a lot of limitations and also primarily from a routine perspective, things like RSPs line support. It was supportive but not really supportive."
"VMware SD-WAN could improve by having more partnerships with other vendors."
"There is room for improvement with respect to security."
"VMware SD-WAN could improve if the hardware could integrate the interface using ICP. Additionally, if VMware SD-WAN is used with SSE providers that use tunnels there are some issues prioritizing traffic because it cannot decrypt."
"There are a number of customers we have that require a fully mashed SD-WAN on VeloCloud that is not available currently."
"It needs better security."
"They need more gateways"
"VeloCloud needs improvement in terms of its security features."
"The solution is pricey. It could be cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of this solution is higher than that of other SD-WAN vendors."
"The cost of VMware SD-WAN is high, but I think you can still get better pricing if your volume is high."
"VMware SD-WAN provides competitive pricing."
"Price would be a challenge for customers, because it is expensive."
"The minimum cost is $10,000 a month to have a monitoring station set up."
"You need to pay for a license to use this product."
"The solution's price combines the license and the bandwidth you used."
"The licensing model of VMware SD-WAN could be improved, it is not always that competitive. The biggest concern is to be competitive against other solutions. However, the way that the licensing model is designed is not corresponding to the real use cases of my customers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How smoothly can SteelConnect FlexVNF be integrated with Versa OS?
SteelConnect FlexVNF may be integrated with Versa OS relatively smoothly, as shared by many. A few steps may be involved, but the process is generally straightforward. The impact on CPU and storag...
What are the biggest differences between Fortinet Fortigate and VMware SD-WAN?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. It is a very stable, reliable, and consistent solution. We like that we can manage the entire...
What do you like most about VMware SD-WAN?
One of the key use cases for VMware SD-WAN was assisting a customer in the industrial zone. They required virtualized servers and wanted to enable VMware SD-WAN to connect their sites in Japan or C...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware SD-WAN?
VMware SD-WAN provides competitive pricing. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.
 

Also Known As

SteelConnect, Riverbed SteelConnect
VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Roxtec, Software Solutions Company, Rignet
Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction,  The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: August 2024.
800,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.