Top Cisco Competitors and Alternatives

Cisco is a significant player in the cybersecurity industry, offering standalone and integrated products to help protect enterprises from an increasingly dangerous threat landscape. Below, we look at how Cisco products match up against the competition.

Evaluating Cisco and Its Competitors

First of all, it’s important to develop criteria by which to evaluate network security solutions. These criteria also need to be specific to your business affected by factors such as:

• Business Size: How many employees and customers you have.
• Industry: The field or fields you operate in, the cyber risks they pose, and the regulatory requirements you must adhere to.
• IT Infrastructure: How you connect employees, run business operations, and deliver services to customers. IT infrastructure includes hardware, software, network resources, and services.
• Security Risks: The attack surface this infrastructure presents to potential attackers and the specific risks, vulnerabilities, and compliance challenges posed.
• Budget: How much money you have to spend on network security. This includes the licensing costs as well as the cost of running and maintaining the solution.

After assessing internal business factors, the next step is researching and comparing potential network security solutions. Factors to consider when comparing Cisco competitors include:

• Capabilities: The functionality, protections, and tools provided by the solution.
• Customization: The ability to tailor the solution to your security policies and needs.
• Integration: How the solution integrates with your existing IT infrastructure.
• Customer Support: The resources and support provided by the vendor to implement, run, and maintain their solution.
• Performance Impact: If the security system delivers protection without significantly slowing down network latency.
• Scalability: Does the solution support your business as it grows and adapts to new security requirements?
• Future-Proofing: How does the product receive regular updates and new capabilities to respond to new threats?
• Reporting: Data collection for logging and reporting features to facilitate investigation and audits.
• Regulatory Requirements: Ensure the solution has the capabilities to remain compliant and prove it through proper reporting.
• Pricing: Determine the total cost of ownership beyond just licensing and compare it to the potential cost of a security breach.

The Pros and Cons of Cisco Solutions

Operating in the communications industry since 1984, Cisco offers extensive network security solutions, including next-generation firewalls, VPNs, intrusion prevention systems (IPSs), security information and event management (SIEM), and more.

These security products are all informed by the company’s extensive experience developing a wide variety of network hardware solutions. This translates to:

• Coverage: Security solutions for use across different network infrastructures.
• Unified Visibility: Combined data and reporting from across its products.
• Streamlined Security Processes: Including threat prevention, detection, and response.
• Strong Access Control and Authentication: Utilizing MFA (multi-factor authentication) and zero-trust models.

However, there are also downsides to their products and areas where Cisco alternatives provide enhanced capabilities:

• Concerning Protection Rate: Cisco received a "Caution" rating after a score of 37.01% in evasion testing data.
• Lack of Real-Time Protection: Many Cisco solutions only offer protection after an attack has occurred.
• Segmented Solutions: Cisco solutions are not unified, making oversight difficult.
• Administrative Challenges: The management of Cisco’s security tools is complex and time-consuming.

Top Cisco Competitors

Check Point

Established in 1993, Check Point continues to innovate with AI-powered cyber protection. Check Point offers an extensive portfolio of security solutions covering networks, cloud, email, endpoints, and mobile devices with a unified security management platform.

Pros

• Industry Expertise: Over 30 years of experience in network security.
• Integration and Usability: Streamlined operations for improved response.
• Real-Time Prevention: Focuses on prevention-first security.
• Stress-Free Upgrades: One-click upgrades without loss of connectivity.
• Hyper-Scale Capabilities: Security that scales with your business.

Cons

• Initial Setup: Lengthy due to many features and customizations.
• Third-Party Integrations: Fewer compared to some competitors.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto has been offering cybersecurity products since 2005 and has developed the App-ID technology for improved visibility of application traffic.

Pros

• Extensive Security Features: A wide array of security features.
• ML-based Protections: Deep learning technology for zero-day attacks.

Cons

• Real-Time Protection Limitations: Typically provides prevention after an attack.
• Operational Efficiency: Complications can arise at scale.
• Visibility: Issues with visibility for the highest-risk applications.
• Advanced Features Downsides: Features typically come at a high cost.
• Vulnerabilities: High-risk exploits discovered in their products.

Fortinet

Known for offering security solutions at more affordable prices, Fortinet provides a range of functionality through its next-generation firewall, FortiGate.

Pros

• Network Speeds: Custom-built security processors to minimize impact on performance.
• Affordability: Targets smaller organizations with cost-effective solutions.

Cons

• Hardware Introduces Limitations: Custom processors are limited.
• SMB Focus: Solutions may struggle in complex environments.
• Admin Challenges: Difficulties in setup and maintenance.
• Application Visibility: Reduced visibility for threats.
• Vulnerabilities: Many vulnerabilities discovered over the years.

Barracuda

Barracuda covers network, email, data, and application security with its CloudGen firewall.

Pros

• Multi-layer Protection: Various detection methods for attacks.
• Stability: Reliable and stable firewall solutions.

Cons

• Lacks Certain Features: Limited VPN capabilities.
• Demanding Management: More difficult for administrators.

SonicWall

SonicWall's products are known for being affordable and easy to deploy, but they can have issues with visibility and reporting.

Pros

• Small Businesses Features: Effective for small businesses.
• Effective Customer Support: Strong communication with customers.

Cons

• Poor Visibility: Limited visibility for applications.
• Source Code Theft: Concerns over internal security.
• Complicated Configuration: Complex setup required.
• Basic Reporting: Limited reporting capabilities.

WatchGuard

Focusing on enterprise network security solutions, WatchGuard offers a range of features but may struggle with larger operations.

Pros

• Pricing: Targets businesses looking for affordable solutions.
• Small Businesses Features: Particularly effective for small operations.

Cons

• Visibility Gaps: Limited insight into application risks.
• Weaker VPN: Less appealing capabilities for hybrid workforces.
• Security Policies: Initial setup can be complex.
• Troubleshooting: Basic logging limits problem identification.

Check Point – The leading Cisco Alternative

Check Point offers the best alternative to Cisco, outperforming across a range of criteria, including functionality, flexibility, usability, and scalability, with over 30 years of experience. Learn more about the Check Point Next-Generation Firewall on our website.