Cisco AnyConnect vs. Ivanti Connect Secure

Cisco AnyConnect is best suited whenever you would like to work remotely and would want to connect to your organization's network securely, in this scenario I would say Cisco AnyConnect trumps a lot of products out there it is simple and easy to use once it is set up. I would not use the Cisco AnyConnect posture enforcement service as a security feature because there are very good products out there that do a better job than it.

Pulse SDP is well suited in an environment where the majority of employees are working remotely or have extensive business travel. In today's environment where cybersecurity is of the utmost importance for all organizations, Pulse SDP provides a solid level of security for those remote employees or those traveling.

• Cisco AnyConnect connects the machine with the VPN very smoothly in a few clicks also provides security with Multi-Factor Authentication.
• It Provides the facility of creating Network groups such as Local and Project Network so that user can limit the connectivity options.
• The System scan feature is so robust, it Scans the System every time we connect to a new network and remembers the older Network and does not Scans while we connect to usual Netwroks.

• Reliable links.
• Efficient connection timeouts.

• Sometimes when the number of users is large for a VPN service, the connection fails, and the client doesn't give a proper error.
• It should have better support for Linux. It is difficult to set up on Linux, and the interface for settings is not at all user-friendly.
• A few times, the internet becomes slow after connecting to the VPN server through AnyConnect. It should be able to find the best and the optimal server while connecting.

• The central management tool is not mature.
• The option to connect before logging in using Network Connect is EOL, and the alternative is not good enough currently (requires machine authentication).

This is software is easy to use, easy to maintain, easy to support, cost effective, and extremely secure. We will continue to use it for all employees well into the future. We have already renewed our licenses for another 5 years - that's how confident we are that this software will remain a primary security solution for our firm.

Configuration is very easy. Installation is very fast. There is little to zero local resource usage. It is easy to use for everyone at our company and is clearly connected or disconnected while running in the notifications tray. This is integrated easily with DUO 2 Factor Authentication, it waits for completion and then promptly completes the connection when authenticated.

Thus far, I have not encountered any outages to Cisco AnyConnect. Any firmware updates are completed infrequently and efficiently such that the users don’t experience noticeable downtime. I have not encountered any errors running the platform at any time of day or night , or from any geographical location. Provided a hard-wired or WiFi internet connection is available, expect Cisco AnyConnect to run without unexpected interruption.

We use Cisco AnyConnect to connect to on-prem resources. The delay in connecting is not noticeable.

Cisco has a lot of knowledgebase articles around AnyConnect that are helpful to configure and troubleshoot issues. Beyond that, Cisco support (TAC) is helpful to provide information and troubleshoot issues with the platform. However, you do need an active subscription or EA for support beyond reading the KBs, as well as for client software updates. This is important to keep in mind when deciding on if Cisco AnyConnect is right for your organization, as this can be expensive (cheaper with an EA if you use a lot of Cisco products).

At Adecco, first and foremost, we have Pulse SDP easy to use for our employees. This is a critical factor for us because employees are spending much less time calling into support than engaged in high payoff activities. However, when I have called in for support, Pulse SDP has been responsive and effective.

We are quite satisfied with the deployment. We might extend our deployment. My suggestion to everyone will be utilizing Cisco cloud infra as well. As it will give you some nice features like cloud based firewall, DNS Security and threat intelligence. Threat intelligence was a key decision maker for us and people should not ignore it.

We used to use the Pulse Secure app as a VPN client, but it was rarely used and distributed among our users due to the license's cost. And there was also little need for users to connect remotely. We switched to Cisco AnyConnect as a technology replacement due to brand recognition, pricing, and support offered. Also, because the service became critical as there are many users depending on this solution to be able to fulfill their obligations, we needed a reliable and scalable application.

The F5 product was more complicated to manage and requires more time to get used to. Juniper VPN is simpler. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager may be better if you need other side solutions like load balancing and GSLB. So, it really depends on your requirements.

It is a simple application with a minimal interface.

• We are able to seamlessly work on multiple clients daily, and it allows us to quickly handle more projects at the same time.
• Cisco AnyConnect has allowed our own company's coworkers to remotely connect back to the corporate network, easily assisting work schedules and processes, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being forced to work remotely, meant our processes still happened quickly and efficiently, by being able to leverage and use Cisco AnyConnect VPN.
• Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have worked 100% remotely for a few years now. This was always due to the reliable connectivity and ease of use with Cisco AnyConnect VPN. I live 2+ hours from our nearest corporate office, and even further from some of my client locations, and I have always been able to connect to any of my multiple Cisco AnyConnect VPN connections, within seconds.

• Potential to implement tight controls on third party risk.
• Reliable remote access.