We compared Prisma Access and AWS Direct Connect across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:
Features: Prisma Access stands out for its ease of use, advanced security features, and global performance. AWS Direct Connect is recognized for its top-notch security, speedy connectivity, smooth migration process, and intuitive interface.
Room for Improvement: Prisma Access could benefit from enhancements in error handling, latency, and integration with other cloud architectures. AWS Direct Connect could use more precise terminology in its documentation and improve the patching and upgrading process.
Ease of Deployment: The setup process for Prisma Access varied in complexity and duration based on the size and requirements of the organization. While some users found it straightforward, others mentioned the need for expertise and assistance. Setting up AWS Direct Connect is considered challenging, particularly when integrating with an existing data center, and it can take several months to fully set up. Initial training is required and usually lasts about a week.
Service and Support: Prisma Access's customer service has received mixed reviews. Some customers expressed a desire for better technical support, while others have had positive experiences with prompt responses and knowledgeable engineers. AWS Direct Connect's customer service has been criticized for its speed and could be improved.
Pricing: Prisma Access is a more expensive solution, but users say the price is justified by its quality and features. AWS Direct Connect is also expensive, as licenses are acquired on a monthly or yearly basis.
ROI: Prisma Access excels in identifying security concerns, seamlessly integrating with various products, and delivering instant value. The return on investment for AWS Direct Connect is influenced by factors such as use case and data transfer.
Comparison Results: Prisma Access provides enhanced security options, convenient user access, and worldwide performance, but some users said it was challenging to use or configure, and it is relatively expensive. AWS Direct Connect is highly secure, has fast connectivity, and is commended for its ease of migration and user-friendly interface. However, the solution could benefit from a simplified setup and improved documentation.
"The solution has good performance."
"It's an ideal gateway solution for small and medium businesses, i.e., around 300 devices can be easily handled."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"The product's initial setup phase is simple."
"There is a system for monitoring the traffic. You can monitor the traffic of the connected people and point out any issues on the connection part."
"The features I find most valuable is WildFire, user integration, and the basic technology features."
"Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is a seamless solution."
"It's quite reliable and performs well for users."
"Prisma SaaS is very easy to use; it's common sense — it's the best-in-class."
"It has predefined or preconfigured rules, which are getting periodically updated. They are providing continuous improvements and periodically updating all search queries that they are looking for. That is one thing that helps us to stay vigilant and focused. If we query our AWS account for any breaches or vulnerabilities with any of the cloud tests, and it alerts us based on these predefined rules. It also provides an option to configure our own rules, and based on these rules, it can query the cloud trail logs, pull the information, and trigger alerts in real-time. I haven't explored this feature much because there are multiple accounts, and we don't have enough time to explore this feature. It also provides multiple integrations. When vulnerabilities or breaches are happening, you should be aware of them immediately. It provides integration with tools such as Slack, PagerDuty so that you can get alerted as soon as the high severity stuff comes up. For example, you have a security group that has allowed public traffic on port 22. As TechOps, you should be aware of this immediately. You cannot scan each machine or look into all security groups to identify it. So, Prisma helps us and alerts us when this kind of high-priority stuff comes up. It has different statistics, analytics, and graphs for data. The description of alerts is also pretty good. They describe what are the possible causes for this and what are the solutions. From Prisma Cloud, you can directly go to the AWS account. When you click on an alert, a resource, or a resource ID, it takes you to the AWS console where you need to log in. If you are already logged in, it will take you to that instance directly, and you can fix the issue there. I have found this feature very useful."
"The solution is not very complex and is easy to manage for people who may or may not have knowledge about Palo Alto Networks."
"There must be a more easy-to-use GUI."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"While Palo Alto has understood the essence of building capabilities around cloud technology and have come up with a CASB offering, that is a very new product. There are other companies that have better offerings for understanding cloud applications and have more graceful controls. That's something that Palo Alto needs to work on."
"Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks should consolidate the portals into a single portal. It is slow and takes more than ten seconds to load a page."
"Their next release should provide solutions for the mobile environment."
"The one thing that I've been a little bit disappointed with is when we have had to open cases with Palo Alto about Prisma Access issues. Versus their other platforms, like their firewalls, where we tend to get really quick responses and very definitive answers, the few tickets I've had to open for Prisma Access have taken them longer to respond to. And they haven't necessarily given me the kind of answer I was looking for, meaning a fix to the problem."
"The Cloud Management application has room for improvement. There are a lot of things on the roadmap for that application; things are going to happen soon."
"When it comes to the VPN, it uses the global protect VPN functionality to connect remotely, but it has a feature limitation for assigning multiple IP sub-links to different user groups. It would be much better if we are able to assign the current IP blocks for the sub-links based on the user groups."
"One thing that would help is if we could get a guide. With Cisco, for example, you can just type the problem regarding your Cisco product and you will easily get your solution. In Palo Alto, however, it's not easy to find the solutions."
"The tools' scalability is subject to some limitations when done on-premise due to the need for additional licenses. However, in other scenarios, increasing scalability involves expanding infrastructure to accommodate more third-party VPN access. It is scalable as long as you pay the money. Also, it needs to improve security."
More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Pricing and Cost Advice →
AWS Direct Connect is ranked 12th in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 4 reviews while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is ranked 5th in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN with 59 reviews. AWS Direct Connect is rated 8.8, while Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of AWS Direct Connect writes "Has low latency and provides good stability ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks writes "Integration with Palo Alto platforms such as Cortex Data Lake and Autofocus gives us visibility into our attack surface". AWS Direct Connect is most compared with AWS PrivateLink, Lumen MPLS IP VPN, Fortinet FortiClient, IBM Secure Gateway Service and Tailscale, whereas Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is most compared with Netskope , Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, Cisco Umbrella, Zscaler Internet Access and Appgate SDP. See our AWS Direct Connect vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report.
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We monitor all Enterprise Infrastructure VPN reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
