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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 Private Access

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AZscaler Private Access™ (ZPA) gives users secure access to private apps and OT devices while enabling zero trust connectivity for workloads.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private Access
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private 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 Private 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
    84 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    20 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    67 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    23 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    84 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    59 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    91%
    Implementation went as expected
    68 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private Access
    Identity Management
    Comparison of Identity Management features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    9.2
    58 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings9.258 Ratings
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    8.8
    27 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings8.827 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence
    Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    8.6
    65 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Network Analytics00 Ratings8.961 Ratings
    Threat Recognition00 Ratings9.053 Ratings
    Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.442 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.255 Ratings
    Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.748 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.245 Ratings
    Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.643 Ratings
    Zero Trust Security
    Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Cisco Secure Connect and Zscaler Private Access
    Feature
    Cisco Secure Connect
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Private Access
    9.1
    78 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Continuous Verification00 Ratings9.171 Ratings
    Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.353 Ratings
    Network Flow Control00 Ratings9.158 Ratings
    Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings9.165 Ratings
    Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings9.264 Ratings
    Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.368 Ratings
    Network Data Encryption00 Ratings9.260 Ratings
    Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings8.752 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private 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
    Score6.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.5
    (22 ratings)
    9.4
    (85 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (4 ratings)
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (17 ratings)
    9.0
    (80 ratings)
    Availability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.4
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 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)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Secure ConnectZscaler Private 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
    Zscaler Private Access works really well in environments setup for FQDNs and where you know what users should/shouldn't be accessing on what ports. You can use Zscaler Private Access to figure out these kinds of features but that doesn't always mean you'll be correct. It also provides a consistent experience for users as they can access their materials anywhere. It also makes the user the last line of defense. If a user's account is compromised then the attacker has access to everything they already did. It doesn't work great in OT environments or Server based environments. Flows have to be initiated from the client and not the server for stuff to behave properly.
    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
    • Connecting users remotely with a secure connection. I am a service desk agent who works with end users, and if there is an issue due to ZPA, it's most likely due to configuration. A really good service.
    • Logging, I believe, works well as I troubleshoot end users and can gather extra details for my network admin. IP.zscaler.com, and the debug logs are nice. Additionally, I like how it shows the App policy assigned to the user's machine ECT.
    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
    • Needs an interface for Support Desk/Help Desk to more easily understand that the problem is a lack of an FQDN or access is not allowed due to policy, not because of a technical shortcoming in ZPA.
    • Documentation of the BC solution is not well-detailed.
    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
    When it works - it works incredibly slick. It's only L4 which seems like a downgrade of security from solutions that promote L7.
    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
    The environment feels more secure, and we are seeing that users are adapting to it fast. The fact that we have tools to assist the users with their day-to-day access helps, as we can hand it off to the helpdesk without any escalations to the Network team. It is a work in progress for our agency, but we are seeing the benefits from the solution.
    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
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    never used it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    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
    ZPA is where the bulk of zero-trust access is found. While the functionality for ZIA is excellent, the policy we implement for internet access is more focused on threat prevention and not narrowly scoped access.
    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
    • We used to get anywhere from 30 to 50 tickets surrounding our previous VPN solution every month. We now average 3-5 tickets regarding remote connectivity, and of those, only 1 or 2 are actual issues with ZPA.
    • Using ZPA Access Policies, we can now block endpoints that have outdated security software from ever connecting to our environment. This was simply not possible with our previous solution.
    • Some of our employee base skews older and had a harder time understanding the change from VPN to Zscaler.
    • There is significantly less downtime with ZPA when compared to other VPN solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Zscaler Private Access Screenshots

    Screenshot of how ZPA provides access for all users while minimizing the attack surface, eliminating lateral movement, and stopping zero day threats. A cloud native service, ZPA can be deployed in just hours to replace legacy remote access tools like VPNs and VDIs.