Cisco AnyConnect vs. WatchGuard Network Security

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco AnyConnect
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Cisco offers an SSL VPN solution via AnyConnect.N/A
WatchGuard Network Security
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
WatchGuard Network Security is a network security and firewall software. WatchGuard includes secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services designed for SMB’s.N/A
Pricing
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Support
Contact sales team
Contact sales team
Basic Security
Contact sales team
Contact sales team
Total Security
Contact sales team
Contact sales team
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Considered Both Products
Cisco AnyConnect

No answer on this topic

WatchGuard Network Security
Chose WatchGuard Network Security
We are a small Technology business and WatchGuard Network Security is a solid affordable and easily implemented solution.
Chose WatchGuard Network Security
Most 'UTM' or Layer-7 firewalls share the same feature set. They mostly offer the same security layers like Web filtering, basic packet inspection, proxied layer 7 inspection, anti-malware, and some integrated portal. Basic VPN features, et cetera. What sets WatchGuard …
Features
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Virtual Private Network
Comparison of Virtual Private Network features of Product A and Product B
Cisco AnyConnect
9.0
13 Ratings
0% below category average
WatchGuard Network Security
-
Ratings
AES 256-bit Encryption9.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Kill Switch8.89 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-Platform Support9.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Split Tunneling9.511 Ratings00 Ratings
IP Address Masking9.012 Ratings00 Ratings
No-Logs Policy8.39 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Server Locations8.611 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic Wi-Fi Protection9.210 Ratings00 Ratings
Simultaneous Connections9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Support Services8.512 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco AnyConnect
-
Ratings
WatchGuard Network Security
8.4
474 Ratings
3% below category average
Identification Technologies00 Ratings8.4432 Ratings
Visualization Tools00 Ratings7.4427 Ratings
Content Inspection00 Ratings8.4458 Ratings
Policy-based Controls00 Ratings8.9471 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP00 Ratings8.3401 Ratings
Firewall Management Console00 Ratings8.3463 Ratings
Reporting and Logging00 Ratings8.0458 Ratings
VPN00 Ratings9.1455 Ratings
High Availability00 Ratings8.7411 Ratings
Stateful Inspection00 Ratings8.6425 Ratings
Proxy Server00 Ratings8.7308 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Small Businesses
Norton 360
Norton 360
Score 6.7 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.3 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.3 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(103 ratings)
8.4
(489 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(12 ratings)
8.4
(38 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(81 ratings)
8.6
(119 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(9 ratings)
9.1
(5 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(3 ratings)
8.5
(5 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(86 ratings)
9.3
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(5 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(7 ratings)
9.1
(265 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(4 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(7 ratings)
8.5
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.7
(3 ratings)
8.5
(5 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.6
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.6
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco AnyConnectWatchGuard Network Security
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect has allowed me to connect to the network when I am not at the office. For example, in an international digital campaign, it was possible to access readily important files and work on other collaborative working spaces without any violation of security measures. I noticed that there was a slight lag whenever several members of the team logged in at the same time during the weekend.
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WatchGuard Technologies
I've been impressed to consider how many Watchguard Network products we utilize. Firewall/VPN, Wireless APs, and endpoint antivirus. It makes it easy to diagnose issues and find resolutions with minimal interactions with the end user or their system. Reliability of the network hardware has been superb, and we have minimal issues with their software
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Pros
Cisco
  • It provides you an exceptional hybrid work experience. It enables your employees to work seamlessly from home, office, and other branches.
  • It enables your employees to access corporate applications anytime, even after office hours.
  • It helps your team to maintain a healthy work-life balance and boosts your productivity.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • Incoming Torrent attempts were blocked, but outgoing (by a user) were permitted. Similarly, other direct attempts were summarily blocked.
  • provides full administrative support for analysis of usage and scope.
  • strong Wi-Fi support and security - area wi-fi maps
  • They think of all the things secure and I don't have to worry about it.
  • I have not identified anything else that needs improvement - I am well satisfied.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Cisco AnyConnect can use the system resources as long as the program is being run.
  • Account activation may be very difficult when connecting from areas requiring captive portal login, if certain settings are not allowed.
  • By default, it is possible to request the user to authenticate again at specific intervals.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • Sometimes, it is not very intuitive. You'll not know how to use certain features unless you read the documentation.
  • Some settings in the firebox are not visible unless you enter edit mode. This can cause inadvertent issues if you make a change when you just want to review the settings.
  • The use of blocks in the design of the Firewatch interface can be confusing. A better design could have been used.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
It is perhaps the second most functional tool we have, it will definitely be renewed every year. Our network is stable, which ensures that there is less for our technicians to troubleshoot, which frees them up to ensure other parts of the company are maintained. This keeps our costs low and our downtime at a minimum.
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WatchGuard Technologies
I'm giving this note to WatchGuard Network Security due to its ease of daily support (after acquiring necessary knowledge in the solution), which allows agility in configuration changes, its integration of several reliable security features (such as SSL VPN, VPN Virtual Interfaces between companies, and others) and functional and stability in operation, with no downtime in the equipment due to problems or malfunctions
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Usability
Cisco
It has many advantages and uses other than other common VPNs but it's very important to understand the problems and issues which till not solved yet. The major issue is there is no support system or no body is doing hypercare for clients or client organizations. Speed is good, but making a connection is worse, and nobody cares about it.
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WatchGuard Technologies
Although it might take some time to figure out, we have been able to use WatchGuard's online reference library and tech support to create/implement/modify all of our filtering rules and exceptions needed. There really has not been a shortcoming other than perhaps a learning curve.
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
I have been using Cisco AnyConnect for past two years and thus I can say very firmly that I have never seen the outage from the Cisco AnyConnect services either It is VPN, System Scans or the Network Connectivity. Talking about the errors likewise major errors I have faced throughout my period of use.
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WatchGuard Technologies
Availability has always been a strong point of this product, it is rare that watchguard does not have a solution for customers' network monitoring needs.
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Performance
Cisco
Absolutely no speed issues, and I see no evidence of slowdowns across any of the multiple platforms I use daily. It's operation is completely invisible most of the time, except where there is a loss of connection due to server issues or a loss of power. Everything loads quickly and accurately.
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WatchGuard Technologies
The performance of WatchGuard Network Security is very good, in the years that we have used the solution we have only had a single error and Watchguard itself was able to solve it. Furthermore, when purchasing any product, the partner always evaluates the capacity of the solution to recommend the most appropriate product for our needs.
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Support Rating
Cisco
Because whenever I log the case with Cisco support, yes they have come back with valid technical data. So this is what has happened and we could fix it in this way. That support will detail what happened and how to get it overcome very quickly. That's what I like. The support level we get is really good for the product
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WatchGuard Technologies
We have only had to contact them once during the initial set up to help bring the internet back on line. After that for the most part our systems have been automated, and could easily be checked form their online FAQ and Knowledge base that they provide. Everything else is easily handled from their browser based interface
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In-Person Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
WatchGuard Technologies
We participate to a in person training and the three days of learning was really useful and complete to gain skill to solve the major part of the problem we encounter during our life. And more the in person training give us the opportunity to create a network with other WatchGuard partner.
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Online Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
WatchGuard Technologies
Online training is good for learning how to use the product. It does not teach security strategy because that is not its intent.
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
Our Managed Services vendor helped us with the implementation. When we initially setup our AnyConnect using MFA for remote connectivity, the setup was easy and straight forward and worked just fine. After a year, we decided to change to an "always on" feature and use machine and user based security certificates instead of MFA. We had to open a ticket with Cisco support and have their assistance getting this feature to work. Turned out they had a small bug in the code for that version of AnyConnect and it has since been corrected. We have had no issues with the upgrades since that time. The deployment of the software to the user machines was done with SCCM and was straight forward. The user machine upgrades are easy - when the user machine connects and sees a new version available, it upgrades itself! What could be easier?
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WatchGuard Technologies
I had my key information for setting up the firewall, and they assisted me in finding the settings and appropriate places to enter data. They also helped troubleshoot when I didn't understand some of their feature concepts, and we got it running.
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco is one of our core partners besides Microsoft and SAP. And so yes, we are utilizing very many projects from Cisco. I would mention the whole networking equipment, the routing equipment, the wireless LAN, and also when it comes to infrastructure to compute infrastructure, we are utilizing Cisco servers within our converged infrastructure Flex spot. So we have been running a flex bot from Cisco, NetApp, and VMware for 12 years, and we are still very satisfied with the product. We are looking forward to upgrading to the newest blades and fabric interconnect to continue this journey.
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WatchGuard Technologies
Watchguard Network Security is easier to use and more effective that its competitors, with certifications you can trust and a good reputation, we can rest assured that our network security is in good hands. Competitors have also demonstrated poor aftersales support, which has not been the case with WG
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Scalability
Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect has been a speedy, reliable, and efficient tool for the creation of your own VPN whatever location that you've brought your laptop. Customer support is consistently top-notch, coming up with quick fixes to whatever difficulties are thrown your way. I would not hesitate to reccommend Cisco AnyConnect to any business that needs connected employees throught the world.
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WatchGuard Technologies
This product is very scalable since previously everything related to Watchguard was on premises but that has now changed with the inclusion of watchguard cloud. Now the product has evolved to have full control of firewalls at the cloud level.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • 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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • The intuitive Web Interface reduces the entry to learning for new techs, so less training is required and inexperienced techs can figure out tasks if they understand basic networking and firewall functions.
  • The licensing model for the hardware places them at the top of the list for mid-tier devices that are overpriced. They are barely competitive considering that you can't use a device for more than 5 years no matter what. And the security/maintenance costs are in addition to the hardware costs which are already high compared to other mid-tier brands.
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ScreenShots

WatchGuard Network Security Screenshots

Screenshot of WatchGuard Cloud Customizable DashboardScreenshot of Threat Monitoring SummaryScreenshot of Device Security SummaryScreenshot of Automated ReportingScreenshot of User Authentication SummaryScreenshot of Endpoint Protection Summary