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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Secure Connect

    Score9.3 out of 10
    N/ACisco Secure Connect is a SASE solution that converges Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and Security Service Edge (SSE) to enable operational consistency across premises to the cloud.N/A

    Zscaler Internet Access

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AZscaler 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 Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler 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 Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Zscaler
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    23 Answers
    99%
    Would buy again
    284 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    20 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    245 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    23 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    284 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    207 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    227 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Identity Management
    Comparison of Identity Management features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    5.0
    2 Ratings
    55% below category average
    Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    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 Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    8.5
    216 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Network Analytics00 Ratings8.7217 Ratings
    Threat Recognition00 Ratings8.3214 Ratings
    Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.5191 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.2205 Ratings
    Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.8203 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.5199 Ratings
    Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.5192 Ratings
    Zero Trust Security
    Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    8.9
    262 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.7245 Ratings
    Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.0236 Ratings
    Network Flow Control00 Ratings8.1217 Ratings
    Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings8.8219 Ratings
    Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.6194 Ratings
    Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.1230 Ratings
    Network Data Encryption00 Ratings8.8207 Ratings
    Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
    Score8.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Forescout Vistaro Platform
    Score6.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.5
    (22 ratings)
    9.0
    (295 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (4 ratings)
    8.4
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (17 ratings)
    8.8
    (279 ratings)
    Availability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    7.2
    (10 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.4
    (2 ratings)
    8.3
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.3
    (2 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.3
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Internet Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Enterprise with Hybrid Workers or remote workers where most of the resources are in cloud. Branches spread around the worlds with private DCs. Enterprise with mpls or sd-wan connection, the Cisco Secure Connect technology is a further technology upgrade from SD-WAN. Central management of l3/l4 policies, DNS filtering and Web Filtering based on the identity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • I think it integrates very well with Meraki, and that's the best thing I like about this product. Meraki is all about simplicity, and when a customer has the same user interface to get their network and security experience just right out of the Meraki dashboard, it really works. Very great. For example, if you want to secure the internet user, you want to use any, sorry, you want to secure any application, you want to secure any brand, it's just a matter of minutes. You can do it.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • For teams which are growing, it is very costly to purchase the capabilities that protects the business and even identifying the right subscription like advance threat protection.
    • The one who does not have any advance or high level Cisco Secure Connect experience, for them it is hard to use the Cisco Secure Connect UI. So, you should make the UI quite extra user friendly.
    • Finding the root cause is very tricky for large datasets.
    • Third party integrations are also not that easy with Cisco.
    Incentivized
    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).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    The product is mature. The product support well all 3 main OS (Windows, Linux, MacOS). Cisco Support is great Cisco backends are powerfull appliance Cisco secure profile are a great feature and because they are controlled centraly, there is less way to bypass the VPN. Cisco SEcure connect is really easy-to-use for non computer expert.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    I gave this rating because it delivers the strongly on things that matters the most to our business like security, reliability and better user experience. It provides the secure access policies and it supports the MFA which reduces the risk. We can securely work from anywhere without any trouble also it supports both on prem and cloud access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    It is better than any other vpn application
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    Better performance compared to compititor
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    There are often performance issues reported
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    never used it
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    Very quick and easy, its a tidy set up, no messy cables and the sound and video quality is excellent. I use this weekly for home calls and larger team calls across the UK and Europe and have no problems. The engineers were in and out within a couple of hours
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    good the engineer give excellent support and eplanation
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    Cisco Secure Connect allows for secure connections to critical systems with a better performance while maintaining security for users and business processes, maintaining the company policies and security posture for improved end user experience without impact on the services. Better tool tested when considering technical requirements and security posture requirements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Cisco
    Will go for any offers with respect to the pricing
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Cisco
    It is flexible across desktop os and mobile os
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    Cisco
    Very professional and supportive
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • The positive impact is that businesses has reduced the dependency on physical hardware by moving and adapting its cloud services and on-prem security.
    • Due to the centralized management, it is easy for developer like us to manage the dashboard and also reduces the time spent on security task and routine networks.
    • Cisco Secure Connect is providing a strong ROI because it reduces infrastructure cists, improved IT tasks, enhances security which is very beneficial for long term businesses.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.