What users are saying about
22 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.7 out of 100
Based on 22 reviews and ratings
11 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener noreferrer'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.8 out of 100
Based on 11 reviews and ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
For a larger organization, this is a must. It provides insight into what the users are doing online and most malicious sites will no longer be accessible if access is denied. This can also give access to non-work related sites, but in a limited capacity, based on user or time of day. Though a smaller company would benefit from the features, it may be cost prohibitive.

Verified User
Director in Information Technology
Legal Services Company, 11-50 employeesCisco CWS
Remote and telework but not for onsite filtering.
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Pros
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
- Control of domains/sites allowed for access. We can be sure our users are not using their online activity to accidentally, or intentionally, to go to malicious, threatening, intolerance, hate, or pornography.
- Reporting is easy and informative. Reports allow you to summarize for specific time periods, and then drill down to see time spent, or bandwidth used.
- Blocking and/or allowing instantly for a specific user or groups is easily done and takes effect immediately.
Director of IT
GiumarraFood & Beverages, 201-500 employees
Cisco CWS
- Flexibility
- Scalable
- Ease of administration
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Cons
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
- More configuration in the reporting options would be helpful; there are a number of reports available to run, however more options for customisation would be useful.
- The ability to add a list of domains/URL patterns to whitelist or block would be beneficial; while you can do a bulk edit, you can't just copy and paste the URLs in, you have to modify the line of text so that it matches the format, and adds it to the list. The ability to just import a list of addresses would be a huge time saver.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Aviation & Aerospace Company, 501-1000 employeesCisco CWS
- Intuitiveness of the UI
- Real time reporting
- Report detail
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Usability
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
Barracuda Web Security Gateway 8.0
Based on 1 answer
There are a lot of settings you can adjust. The web log is easy to use. If a user is having issues accessing a website, you can go in and see what's being blocked and why. After that, you can make adjustments fairly easy. The GUI is easy to navigate and updating the software is a simple click of a button.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Plastics Company, 201-500 employeesCisco CWS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
Barracuda Web Security Gateway 9.3
Based on 5 answers
Barracuda support is always available, 24/7. They are always friendly, supportive, and follow-up with anything they promise. Any ticket that is opened is touched constantly by the support team until it is remedied
Director of IT
GiumarraFood & Beverages, 201-500 employees
Cisco CWS
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
SonicWall, Barracuda NG Firewall, and WatchGuard provides Content Filtering, but are primarily firewalls with Content Filtering features. The Web Filter is a dedicated appliance with more storage space and better reporting of users.
Service Manager
Accellis Technology GroupInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees
Cisco CWS
CWS is on par with Forcepoint cloud web security. It offers flexibility and scalability.
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Return on Investment
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
- I came into the company with Barracuda already implemented so it worked well for a number of years.
- Their support contract was a bit pricey.
- For what the company paid for the system, Barracuda was worth the money over the 10 years it was implemented.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Retail Company, 201-500 employeesCisco CWS
- Increased security
- Decrease in number of infections
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Screenshots
Cisco CWS
—Pricing Details
Barracuda Web Security Gateway
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Cisco CWS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No