Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client vs Cisco Umbrella comparison

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility is a unified agent that provides different security services to help empower and protect organizations. It offers the visibility and control you need to figure out who and what is gaining access to your extended company before, during, and after an attack.

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility is an endpoint security platform that includes remote access, posture enforcement, and online security features. It provides your IT department with all of the secure access options it needs to deliver a reliable, user-friendly, and highly secure mobile experience. It not only allows VPN access via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), but it also provides additional security via built-in modules, such as Cisco Network Access Manager, Cisco

AnyConnect ISE Agent, and Cisco AnyConnect Web Security Client.

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Features

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Accessible from any location: Cisco AnyConnect allows any user to connect to the workplace network from any device, at any time, and from any location.

• Unified endpoint compliance: Cisco AnyConnect unifies endpoint posture and remediation across wired, wireless, and VPN environments for Cisco ISE. It offers endpoint posture testing for OS levels, the most recent antivirus updates, and other resources to improve endpoint security and compliance.
  
• Web security: Cisco AnyConnect includes a web security module that may be used with either the on-premises Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSA) or the cloud-based Cisco Cloud Web Security (CWS). Admins can give comprehensive secure mobility to all end users by combining online security with VPN access, which is critical for BYOD deployments.
  
• Secure network access: The Network Access Manager has advanced connection features that allow managers to decide which networks or resources endpoints can access. It includes an IEEE 802.1X supplicant as well as some unique encryption methods that can be deployed as part of authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) capabilities.
  
• Mobile device support: Cisco AnyConnect is compatible with the most common devices used by today's workforce. With per-application VPN, highly secure remote access can be device-based or powered transparently by certain enterprise mobile applications.
  
• Simplified management and usability: Cisco AnyConnect provides a consistent user experience across on-premises and off-premises devices without causing IT headaches.

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Endpoint security that is context-aware, comprehensive, and ongoing
• Flexible access to company resources over wired, cellular, and VPN networks
• Low cost of ownership
• User Verification
• Prevents data threats at entry
• Protects users who are off the VPN
• Uses visibility and analytics to optimize security
• Unlocks endpoint visibility

Reviews from Real Users

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to be customized and its reliability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

Hakan T., Senior Solution Sales Consultant at a tech services company, writes, “Every time I have to connect to the network I use this solution. It is a customizable solution, it makes life easier for me. It makes the global workforce work much easier and more secure.”

Another PeerSpot reviewer, a Product Manager and CMOS Image Sensors at a manufacturing company, mentions, “Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client works well, we don't have any issues with it. The most valuable feature of this solution is that it works all of the time.”

Cisco Umbrella offers flexible, cloud-delivered security according to users’ requirements Cisco Umbrella includes secure web gateway, firewall, and cloud access security broker (CASB) functionality all delivered from a single cloud security service. Cisco Umbrella’s protection is extended to devices, remote users, and distributed locations anywhere. As company employees work from many locations and devices, Cisco Umbrella is the easiest way to effectively protect users everywhere in minutes.

Cisco Umbrella uses machine learning to search for, identify, and even predict malicious domains. By learning from internet activity patterns, this DNS-layer security solution can automatically identify attacker infrastructure being staged for the next threat. These domains are then proactively blocked, protecting networks from potential compromise. Cisco Umbrella analyzes terabytes of data in real time across all markets, geographies, and protocols.

Cisco Umbrella works with leading IT companies to integrate its security enforcement and intelligence. Built with a bidirectional API, Cisco Umbrella makes it easy to extend protection from on-premises security appliances to cloud controlled devices and sites.

Cisco Umbrella is suitable for small businesses without dedicated security professionals, as well as for multinational enterprises with complex environments.

Why use Cisco Umbrella?

• Simplify security management: Cisco Umbrella is the fastest and easiest way to protect all users within minutes and reduces the number of infections and alerts sent from other security products by stopping threats at the earliest point. With no hardware to install and no software to manually update, ongoing management is simple
  
  
• Reliable reporting: Cisco Umbrella reports show activity for each device or network in the system. Users gain a more complete picture of the security risks facing their organization and can take action to remedy them.
  
  
• Manage and control cloud apps: Umbrella provides visibility into sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services in use across the enterprise. Users can uncover new services being used, see who is using them, identify potential risk, and block specific applications easily.

Reviews from Real Users

Cisco Umbrella stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of the major ones are its DNS-based protection, ability to protect users no matter where they are located, stability, and high performance.

Daniel B., a network specialist at Syswind Kft, writes, “We primarily use the solution as cloud security for our branches. It protects us from direct internet outbreaks. It makes for good flexibility. The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple. Efficient protection on the DNS level and even higher. The sandboxing feature analyses and handles the complicated security risks.”

Victor M., SOC & Security Services Director at BEST, notes, “It provides security for the remote workers and it helps to improve enterprise security in a very easy way. We mainly enjoy web software protection capabilities. It prevents the end-users from getting into bad sites or sites that potentially could have malware or could be phishing. It helps end-users avoid the wrong sites. The solution works very smoothly. The user interface is good.”

OpenDNS is a part of Cisco providing a suite of consumer products aimed at making the internet faster, safer, and more reliable.