Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued) vs. Zscaler Internet Access

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Cisco IPS Sensors have reached EOL, and EOS.N/A
Zscaler Internet Access
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA) is a secure web gateway (SWG), delivering cloud native cyberthreat protection and zero trust access to the internet and SaaS apps.N/A
Pricing
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Features
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
5.0
2 Ratings
56% below category average
Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
10.0
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.4
216 Ratings
9% above category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings8.6213 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings8.2210 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.4187 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.1201 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.7199 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.5195 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.4188 Ratings
Zero Trust Security
Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.8
262 Ratings
3% above category average
Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.6240 Ratings
Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.0231 Ratings
Network Flow Control00 Ratings8.1212 Ratings
Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings8.8215 Ratings
Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.5190 Ratings
Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.0226 Ratings
Network Data Encryption00 Ratings8.8203 Ratings
Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Small Businesses
LevelBlue USM Anywhere
LevelBlue USM Anywhere
Score 7.9 out of 10
ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.1 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon
Score 9.1 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(290 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(6 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.7
(274 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.2
(10 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco IPS Sensor (Discontinued)Zscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
IPS sensors are more suited for companies that do not have visibility into their network with third-party analyzing tools. Scenarios would be to place IPS sensors at the perimeter firewalls mainly. IPS sensors are less appropriate for companies that have third-party analyzing tools that will mitigate vulnerabilities and malicious traffic and activities already.
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Zscaler
I feel the product is very good to set up basic standards and go beyond that in many aspects. However, due to being sometimes too simple, it limits the ability to do some other complex changes. Having the ability to do both would be ideal for some, if not all, of the products within Zscaler Internet Access. A simple setup to have it stand-up, and more advanced settings for those more experienced.
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Pros
Cisco
  • Identifies and blocks malicious traffic.
  • Detects unwanted traffic and allows your company to be proactive, let alone reactive.
  • Comprehensive Threat protection allows companies to adjust thresholds and policies at will.
Read full review
Zscaler
  • Provides a secure VPN connection point for endpoint connectivity.
  • Provides the VPN connectivity in a fast and reliable connection state.
  • Very dependable, once connected the connection stays up and there's no fuss.
  • Very good at letting you know when you are not authenticated.
  • Very easy to authenticate and regain access when your session times out.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • The web GUI is somewhat slow.
  • Sometimes difficult to adjust policies.
  • Fail open feature may not work properly all the time.
Read full review
Zscaler
  • ZS CLI support to turn off ZIA and ZDX service specifically on mac.
  • Better visibility into failed posture devices, including a timeline and the reason the posture failed (This is about the Zscaler mobile portal: Enrolled devices --> Failed posture devices).
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
While Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) delivers critical value in cloud security and RBI compliance, I rate renewal likelihood 7/10 due to evolving needs versus platform limitations. Below is my rationale:
Key Gaps:
1. Advanced Threat Costs:
ZIA’s add-ons (e.g., Advanced DLP, Sandboxing) incur 35%+ cost premiums – straining budgets as transaction volumes (UPI/iMobile) grow 50% YoY.
2. API Banking Scalability:
ZIA’s API rate limits throttle real-time policy sync during UPI peaks (10K+ TPS), forcing workarounds for finacle integrations.
3. RBI Future-Proofing:
Limited native support for upcoming digital rupee (CBDC) security rules requires custom development, increasing compliance overhead.
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Usability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
Getting started was pretty straightforward. We can tell the product is way more robust than we are using it. It started as a replacement for previous DNS-blocking content filtering, but we're exploring how this will add value with an upcoming DLP redesign and with traffic optimization at some of our remote sites with severe bandwidth limits.
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Performance
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
There are often performance issues reported
Read full review
Support Rating
Cisco
Cisco TAC has been great at helping with configurations and issues that may arise
Read full review
Zscaler
Zscaler's ZIA support is quick and knowledgable. They respond within 1-2 hours of you submitting your ticket. They are very thorough and are typically ready to jump on a live troubleshooting session. Our ZIA platform and how we use is it unique so at times tickets can be open for weeks but we alway get quality support compared to other unrelated product support in our enterprise
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
good the engineer give excellent support and eplanation
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
IPS sensors provides the necessary network visibility my company needs to satisfy its security appetite. By doing so, we have been able to stay compliant and up to date with today's network security requirements and procedures. We are able to be proactive with vulnerabilities and reactive to malicious traffic and intrusions in our day to day operations.
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Zscaler
The overall user community and scope of supportability outweighed the others on our short list. Netskope was a close second, but the risk, though small, was greater than that of bringing Zscaler aboard. We were looking for a mature, well-supported, highly functional, and fine-grained solution that met all our user and information security requirements.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Provided less need to purchase third party analyzing tools.
  • Needed more dedicated staff to build/review/and maintain policies and such.
  • Answers companies need for network security.
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Zscaler
  • I would say it has a very good ROI, as whenever someone can't access something, they submit a ticket to our network engineer, and within minutes, the site is safely added to ZIA with best-practice configurations. After seeing a little of the UI from the Zenith event, it seems very user-friendly to control these policies.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Zscaler Internet Access Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), a cloud native security service edge (SSE) solution that builds on a decade of secure web gateway leadership. Offered as a scalable SaaS platform through Zscaler's security cloud, it replaces legacy network security solutions, preventing advanced attacks and data loss with a comprehensive zero trust approach. ZIA is integrated into the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ to provide superior defense-in-depth, secure connectivity, end user experience, and administrative visibility and control.