Cisco Duo vs. Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

Cisco Duois is well suited in all kinds of scenarios where you need to ensure proper security measurements, I think. We can't just rely on our passwords only, as they can be easily stolen through phishing or data breaches thus keeping multi factor authentication is quite essential. I always prefer MFA or at least 2FA for any critical system.

Incentivized

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series are extremely versatile. Whether it be a one office location or multiple sites, the Panorama interface allows centralized management. I've found Palo Alto does a great job with their updates and supporting customers. As a cybersecurity professional, I like that Palo Alto's products offer a wide range of controls to support defense in depth. It is easy for security and network infrastructure teams to use the same consoles to deliver performance with security built in.

Incentivized

• So outside the obvious of multifactor and it being important, one thing I really like about DUO is the integrations and the options it has for integrations are pretty great. And I'd say versatile. I use Cisco ICE as well and I find I'm more most impressed with Cisco Duo specifically with the weird applications we could come up with for it in using it. So I had say the versatility of authentication and other AAA factors with the Cisco duo are why we like it so much.

Incentivized

• The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
• The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
• The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
• It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.

Incentivized

• Documentation is oftentimes missing key information for proper implementation. This is circumvented by reading third-party guides or contacting support for additional details.
• They do not push Fail-Closed as much as I think they should. Fail-Open is fairly trivial to bypass and it should be made known to the customer during setup how much this will affect overall security.
• More vendor integration is something that is always craved by administrators. There are so many third-parties to integrate with.

Incentivized

• Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
• Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
• Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
• Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.

Incentivized

There are a lot of competing solutions on the market; however, Duo "just works", and there is little to no learning curve for the new members to be acclimated to it. As long as that continues I see it as the preferred option moving forward

Incentivized

The PA5220s have far exceeded what we have expected out of them. It was a bit of a learning curve coming from another vendor, but everything falls into place now with ease. The capabilities of the solution still surprise us, allowing us to remove other costly hardware and providing a single point of management needed

Incentivized

La interfaz es intuitiva y fácil de navegar, lo que permite a los usuarios administrar sus dispositivos y acceder a las políticas sin problemas. La integración con las aplicaciones SSO y SaaS facilita aún más el proceso de acceso, mejorando la experiencia del usuario.

Incentivized

The few aspects of the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series that could use improvement - such as slow commit times, which I hear they have improved on in the newest models - are vastly outshined by everything else these appliances provide. We have been using the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series appliances for more than 10 years and plan to continue using them for the foreseeable future.

Incentivized

In the last 5+ years we've been using Duo, there may have been 1 outage that impacted us. We do receive periodic notifications of issues but, for the most part, they impact carriers or functionality that we either don't use, or do not care about.

We do not see any degradation of performance of the protected applications. There are occasional lags in receiving the push but no show stooppers.

I have not needed direct support for Cisco Secure Access by Duo as I have not had a problem with it, but I have full confidence that the support is outstanding. It is now a core component of the corporate technology stack - a problem would mean a serious degradation in the ability of the company to function.

Incentivized

We've run into a couple undocumented bugs, but that seems to happen with every brand and technology. Any time we've had to engage Palo Alto support they've always been professional, knowledgeable and prompt. In almost all cases we've been able to resolve our issues without having to escalate our tickets.

Incentivized

There was no in person training but checking the box was the only way I could complete all of the questions.

This was not organized training but the videos that Duo provides to teach you how to install a particular integration are top notch.

Implementation was straight forward and you can isolate different scenarios in order to test new application setup or add to an existing setup. Gui interface is pretty easy to understand and follow. I had no experience with Duo and still manage to easily set up new policies and rules.

Incentivized

It's easier to deploy. When comparing the quality of technical support, Duo Security is the preferred option. Duo has better integration options for out-to-the-box on-premise and cloud applications. The dashboard brings you more reports, and the access event logging is very complete. The quality of end-user training and documentation is superior. I think the relation price vs. value Cisco Secure Access by Duo has the best rating: service & support, integration & deployment, licensing, and capability.

Incentivized

We are using Cisco ASA before in our environment but when it comes to deep scanning & layer 7 security it doesn't have that capability. After using Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall we are using sandboxing & advance malware protection that provides high-level end-user security. Also after implementing it we can easily monitor user-level traffic.

Incentivized

So far, the only limits we've encountered were tied to our imagination. Duo's strong list of supported integrations is amazing.

• Very positive ROI given it is inexpensive for a small group and helps us secure our most valuable IT assets.
• Lack of extreme policy granularity results in higher administrative overhead, as there is no middle ground (i.e. MFA every time or not at all).

Incentivized

• Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
• There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.

Incentivized