Cisco SD-WAN vs Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Aug 1, 2023

We compared Cisco Umbrella and Vera Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:

  • Features: Cisco Umbrella is highly regarded for its seamless integration with existing infrastructure, extensive range of security features, and ability to centrally manage security. Versa Unified SASE Platform is highly regarded for its flexibility and compatibility with various hardware.

  • Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella could enhance security by adding a transferring proxy feature and improving its Linux agent for Linux-based companies. Versa Unified SASE Platform could benefit from enhancements in hardware-software integration, documentation, and SSL VPN.

  • Ease of Deployment: Cisco Umbrella has a simple and user-friendly initial setup that can be completed quickly in around 30 minutes. Setting up Versa Unified SASE Platform is generally considered straightforward, although a few have described the process as complex.

  • Service and Support: Customers have praised Cisco Umbrella's support, describing it as excellent and superior to the customer service of other vendors. Users appreciate the Versa team's knowledge and expertise, but some have expressed dissatisfaction with the time it takes to receive a response. 

  • Pricing: The cost of Cisco Umbrella differs based on the specific needs and approach of the customer, with flexible pricing and transparent charges. It is seen as reasonable and competitive by some, but a few perceive it as costly. The setup cost for Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is considered moderate, without any hidden expenses.

  • ROI: Cisco Umbrella has proven to be a valuable investment by addressing maintenance concerns, reducing expenses associated with hardware updates, and effectively thwarting threats. It offers enhanced visibility and aids in remediation efforts. Versa enhances the user experience and improves application performances and file transfers. 

Comparison Results:  Users appreciate Cisco Umbrella for its easy setup, extensive security features, and ability to centrally manage security, but some noted that the solution could improve its Linux agent. Versa is praised for its adaptable licensing, but users say it could improve hardware and software integration.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform Report (Updated: March 2024).
771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It is very stable with very good firmware.""The most valuable feature is the application-level routing.""The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center.""The initial setup is quite simple.""Cisco SD-WAN is a very good product.""Configuration interfaces are quite easy and intuitive. Being a part of the Cisco environment, Cisco SD-WAN is quite straightforward.""Encryption, which is native to the solution, is a valuable feature. Also, central management, onboarding of devices, QS, and routing applications are all okay.""I like the feature that lets you transfer from old devices to new devices without changing the hardware and subscription."

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"The most valuable features are the main steering and the firewall. The security features and SD-WAN features are also quite good.""Our organization finds the application routing features extremely useful.""Overall, it's nice and very user friendly. That's what makes it so successful. They give you complicated features but with a very simple user interface, and that's been a big success for them.""The initial setup is simple.""Versa FlexVNF is a scalable product because it does not have any hardware dependencies. This makes it a versatile solution that can be easily integrated with any firewall.""There are great security and ops features without the need for having a different box for security.""Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.""The product has a dynamic VPN feature for SD-WAN."

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Cons
"Cisco's router and voice gateway has not been available since the launch of SD-WAN.""They should enhance the reporting because, as it is today, they need more executive-level reports.""The initial setup is really complex.""The Cisco way of thinking is to create umbrella-like solutions. I would prefer it if this solution was separate from the entire monstrous Cisco portfolio.""It would be very helpful if we had better access to a knowledge base, or online documentation, to help both us and our customers learn to use this solution.""Cisco SD-WAN doesn't have automation capabilities, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and isn't IOT-based.""Cisco SD-WAN is not as easy to deploy as the Meraki and FortiGate solutions. The zero-touch deployment could be a lot better. The deployment and initial setup are complicated and could be better.""The initial setup is complex and can be improved."

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"The VPN feature is relatively new. It came out two releases ago, and they're still fixing that up.""There are limitations when you connect from multiple locations. It does not work as expected. If you have more than 400 users, then it will choke. It will not perform as expected.""The UTM features can be improved. It should offer better functionality.""With the pandemic and changing work models, it would be ideal if the product more accessibility options or more diversity within the solution itself.""We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades.""The security should be improved.""The solution's current customer support is not that good. So, they need to improve that. Also, the solution's UI is quite complex, so they need to simplify it.""We are thinking about how to make customers consolidate the loads to an SD-WAN network so that the customers can have bigger chunk from the SD-WAN side so that customers can have critical data be transferred with NPS VPN and non-critical data or some labeled traffic can be transferred by the SD-WAN network. I think it's a very important direction for digital transformation."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
  • "80 percent reduction in WAN costs. There are no MPLS or P2P circuits left in the organization."
  • "Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
  • "SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
  • "The costs are a bit on the high side."
  • "It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
  • "The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
  • "It is going to be on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."
  • More Cisco SD-WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is expensive but it makes sense for the market."
  • "It is not very expensive because of the white box support. Its hardware is much cheaper than other products. With the support for x86 and white box, it is one of the most cost-effective platforms that are currently available."
  • "While I cannot provide too much commentary on the price, I feel it to be fair for the moment."
  • "We provide subscriptions for our customers on a yearly, not monthly, basis."
  • "Price wise, it's more expensive than is the competition. I would give pricing a rating of three out of five."
  • "It is neither cheap nor expensive. I rate the pricing a five out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
  • "I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements."
  • More Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
    Top Answer:The product is not too expensive. It is competitive considering security features. The licensing cost is typically based on bandwidth subscription. For example, you must purchase a corresponding… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco should develop a clear roadmap, ensuring seamless integration between Meraki and Viptela. Simplifying the definition and implementation could add significant value, as it can be complex due to… more »
    Top Answer:Versa is a good centralized solution, where you're setting up your infrastructure in a data center type thing.
    Top Answer:Both Versa and VMware are cheap in terms of the router. I find Versa a little more expensive than VMware in terms of remote access and secure web gateway elements.
    Top Answer:We've had the odd occasional stability issue with software upgrades, etcetera. They don't support certain other third-party applications, which can be a bit limiting at times, whereas VMware seems to… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    18,272
    Comparisons
    12,487
    Reviews
    28
    Average Words per Review
    545
    Rating
    7.9
    Views
    3,818
    Comparisons
    2,835
    Reviews
    9
    Average Words per Review
    562
    Rating
    7.7
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Viptela, Cisco vEdge Cloud Router
    Versa FlexVNF, FlexVNF, Versa Titan
    Learn More
    Overview

    Cisco SD-WAN is a software-defined WAN (wide area network) solution that provides for secure stable connections to applications for enterprises and organizations. Cisco SD-WAN works to speed up the seamless movement to the cloud. A very robust and reliable solution, Cisco SD-WAN is cutting-edge in threat security and stability of the complete network and has very low latency.

    Cisco SD-WAN uses Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), data centers, and even the internet to smoothly advance the move to a SASE (Service Access Service Edge)-based architecture. The Cisco SD-WAN dashboard gives you a complete visual of your entire infrastructure; you can see everything in real time. You will also have simplified IT operations and gain advanced network capabilities, dependability, and security. One valued feature is the overlay management protocol (OMP), which applies to your entire network to speedily connect all your company data centers. Cisco SD-WAN has a very flexible architecture and can be deployed on premises, in the cloud, hybrid, and even has multi-cloud options. Cisco SD-WAN instantly discovers, authenticates, and provisions all devices, both existing and new.

    Cisco SD-WAN simplifies the management of multiple connections across the WAN, improves the end-user experience, improves overall application functionality and performance, and is a very cost-effective solution. Cisco SD-WAN integrates well with Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and many other cloud-based business solutions. Additionally, Cisco SD-WAN optimizes connectivity and streamlines workflows for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure.

    Benefits of Cisco SD-WAN

    • Increased profitability - Cisco SD-WAN will improve performance and decrease overall connectivity costs.
    • Improved productivity - Cisco SD-WAN requires less staff to manage and secure the WANs so valuable resources can be allocated elsewhere in your organization, increasing total productivity.
    • Flexible scalability- Cisco SD-WAN’s flexible and easily scalable architecture will allow your organization to address significantly greater business opportunities, helping to consistently increase revenue.
    • Enhanced security - Cisco SD-WAN offers real-time policy enforcement, ensuring that downtime and unplanned outages are kept to a minimum.

    What real users have to say:

    Cisco SD-WAN is fast with lower costs: “Using SD-WAN to combine services can result in better up time, higher speeds, and much lower costs.”

    Cisco is a brand you can trust: “Cisco is an industry leader, so customers have a high level of trust with the brand - more so than with some newcomers that might have some more revolutionary solutions, but no name recognition.”

    Cisco SD-WAN offers load-balancing and real-time traffic monitoring: “Load balancing is a feature that allows us to take the best of our links and distribute the load intelligently, always with an eye on the end-customer experience.”

    The Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is a comprehensive solution that provides secure access to cloud applications and services. It combines networking and security functions into a single platform, making it easier for organizations to manage their network infrastructure. The platform includes features such as SD-WAN, VPN, firewall, web filtering, and more. It also offers advanced security capabilities such as intrusion prevention, malware protection, and threat intelligence. With the Versa SASE Platform, organizations can ensure secure access to their cloud applications and services from any location, while also reducing costs and simplifying network management.

    Sample Customers
    Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
    CenturyLink, RCN Business, Colt Technology Services
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider44%
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization35%
    Computer Software Company14%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider71%
    Construction Company14%
    Media Company7%
    Recreational Facilities/Services Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Retailer7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business15%
    Midsize Enterprise42%
    Large Enterprise43%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise63%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco SD-WAN is ranked 1st in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 86 reviews while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is ranked 8th in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions with 20 reviews. Cisco SD-WAN is rated 8.0, while Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Cisco SD-WAN writes "A solution for integrating services to enhance up-time, performance and lower costs". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform writes "A flexible, stable and scalable solution ". Cisco SD-WAN is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Meraki SD-WAN, VMware SD-WAN, Juniper Session Smart Router and Cato SASE Cloud Platform, whereas Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, VMware SD-WAN, Cato SASE Cloud Platform, Meraki SD-WAN and Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange. See our Cisco SD-WAN vs. Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform report.

    See our list of best Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions vendors and best WAN Edge vendors.

    We monitor all Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions 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.