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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros and cons

Vendor: F5

4.1 out of 5

15 reviews
87% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) offers stability and reliability, praised for its ease of installation and integration. It delivers a return on investment with effective access provision during crucial times. While performance and load balancing are highlighted, potential buyers note the prohibitive pricing and challenges with complex setups. Improvements in cloud services and better technical support responsiveness are needed, as integration with other products can also be enhanced.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager is stable and reliable, with no complaints about its stability from customers.

It is easy to install, integrate, and use, providing significant value to users.

The load balancing and virtual IP creation features are valuable and frequently used.

It offers useful authentication features, including SAML and SSO, enhancing security and ease of access.

Organizations have seen a return on investment, with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager providing timely access solutions.

CONS

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager could improve its cloud services.

The price is considered high and could be improved.

The initial setup is complex.

The technical support response time needs improvement, and there is a lack of knowledgeable local support teams.

Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions could ease user authentication and access control.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Pros review quotes

IS

Senior Network Engineer at Fiserv

Feb 12, 2024

The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature.

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Ashish Kumar Rai

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

Mar 18, 2024

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.

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reviewer1401780

Cyber Security Solution Architect at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 19, 2020

Our customers have never complained about the stability

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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.

838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

Jun 21, 2022

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.

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reviewer1245708

Director of consulting at a marketing services firm with 51-200 employees

Jun 27, 2022

The portal access was very good.

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reviewer2644098

Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees

Jan 22, 2025

A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on.

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AR

IT Security Specialist at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

Sep 10, 2024

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.

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reviewer1659684

Engineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Sep 6, 2021

The solution is stable and reliable.

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reviewer1868262

Technical Staff at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Dec 1, 2023

The tool is reliable and easy to configure.

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Network and Security Engineer at CITG - Continental Information and Telecom Group

Oct 27, 2023

The product allows us to create customized portals for your users.

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Show 5 more reviews (out of 15)

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Cons review quotes

IS

Senior Network Engineer at Fiserv

Feb 12, 2024

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

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Ashish Kumar Rai

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

Mar 18, 2024

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.

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reviewer1401780

Cyber Security Solution Architect at a tech consulting company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 19, 2020

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

Read full review

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.

838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

Jun 21, 2022

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products.

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reviewer1245708

Director of consulting at a marketing services firm with 51-200 employees

Jun 27, 2022

The initial setup was complex.

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reviewer2644098

Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees

Jan 22, 2025

If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great.

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AR

IT Security Specialist at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

Sep 10, 2024

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.

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reviewer1659684

Engineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Sep 6, 2021

The solution is quite costly.

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reviewer1868262

Technical Staff at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Dec 1, 2023

The technical support’s response time must be improved.

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Network and Security Engineer at CITG - Continental Information and Telecom Group

Oct 27, 2023

Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control.

Read full review

Show 5 more reviews (out of 15)

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Product Categories

Product Categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Network Access Control (NAC)

Access Management

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Fortinet FortiProxy vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

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

Forcepoint ONE vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Blue Coat Secure Web Gateway Virtual Appliance vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

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