Until a couple of years ago, everything was fine regarding my main use cases for Cisco Secure Firewall. I didn't have any problems with the equipment, quality, or support. However, in the last couple of years, they started making our lives difficult. Trying to renew the partnership with them became challenging as they were requesting numerous things on our side, and since we are a very small business, it wasn't possible to get through that verification.

Until a couple of years ago, everything was fine regarding my main use cases for Cisco Secure Firewall.

They are definitely reliable, and regarding positive features, once you get through with the purchasing of this equipment they offer their special support schemes, SmartNet support schemes, which are quite useful.

They offer their own software, and regarding integration capabilities, it's not wise to have only one vendor. One might get Cisco Secure Firewall for the outside drone and then get some other software from other companies such as ESET or Panda for the PCs and the servers, and that's how it's typically done.

Regarding policies about partnership, they are losing, not us. There are other equipment options out there that don't require such strict requirements.

With the new systems that Cisco Secure Firewall is deploying right now, I don't have experience with downtimes. With older systems, it happened once with a big customer that they went through the repair and they actually hacked the whole thing. It wasn't actually the equipment's fault. It was a customer's fault because we were begging them to implement two-factor authentication mechanisms, and they never did it, and in the end something happened. That's understandable. You can't blame the equipment for that.

The technical support for Cisco Secure Firewall once you have the SmartNet is very good. The people are always willing to help, they can even log on remotely on the devices and check things. They're very good with that.

It depends on the customer, and regarding the deployment time of Cisco Secure Firewall, it depends on what you want to implement. To set it up just for getting out to the internet may take a couple of hours. However, to prepare a skilled network with site to site VPNs, it's going to take days.

There are other equipment options out there that don't require such strict requirements.

They say that their new software for Cisco Secure Firewall is AI compliant, whatever that means. They have some kind of databases on the cloud, the system communicates with them in order to monitor the traffic getting through and clearing things and stopping attacks or whatever. Everybody does this, but at what level they do it, nobody really knows.

The security policies that an organization has are also upon the IT people and the management to properly identify and implement. If they don't do these things, and they don't update the software of the servers, they leave all the usernames and passwords vulnerabilities there and they don't do something about that, you can't blame the equipment. It's the perimeter kind of firewalling you have with the equipment. But after that you have to do something on your own to help yourself.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Cisco Secure Firewall an eight.

I am a system engineer, and I've been looking for some details and competitive information regarding the standards of this firewall and similar technologies.

There is a good relationship between real throughput, meaning the root performance, and the data sheet performance. When comparing it to other vendors, the data sheet performance is often more than expected and more than the real performance. It includes features like IPS, malware protection, and other security features.

The management usability and security of Cisco Firewall are based on Firepower Management Center, which is quite out of date compared to other vendors.

I have used this solution for more than ten years.

The SLA is great, and the escalation process is also great. For example, if I have a priority one case, I am able to call the manager to raise the severity, etc. So the SLA is very good.

When compared with other competitors like Palo Alto or Fortinet, Cisco stands in a good position regarding the firewall environment. Compared to Fortinet, Cisco is a bit higher. When comparing with Palata and Juniper, Cisco has the same price level.

I am well prepared, and it is quite easy. Cisco has really great documentation, like a deployment guide and a quick start guide, etc.

If engineers are well prepared, it is good to note that Cisco has really great documentation. I have been working with AI features in the Cisco environment with Cisco Firewall, etc. I have been hearing and reading a lot about the integration of AI capabilities into Cisco devices, but I have not worked with that yet.

Overall, I would rate this an eight out of ten.

Cisco Secure Firewall has impacted our cybersecurity cost efficiency.

The important features are IPS intrusion prevention, anti-malware, and anti-spam.

Cisco firewall needs experience with hardware. They should also enhance security antivirus, application detection, user detection, and ID detection.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for three years.

300 users are using this solution.

The support is good.

The initial setup is easy, but it takes some time to push the configurations. Also, it's a little complicated and not friendly to use. It is good only for IT and experienced people.

The deployment took two months and a team of two to three people.

The pricing is average.

I recommend the solution to medium and enterprise customers since it is expensive.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I deployed the Cisco Secure Firewall at the Internet Edge for the most part.

We use the solution for deep packet inspection, Internet Edge functionality, IDS, and IDP.

The solution’s GUI could be better.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for six years.

Cisco Secure Firewall is a scalable solution that allows you to add capacity.

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

The solution’s pricing is competitive.

I rate the solution's ease of management and configuration an eight out of ten. I would recommend Cisco Secure Firewall to other users based on what they want it for and a combination of price point and supportability.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Our use for Cisco Secure is for the firewall.

Network segmentation is the most valuable feature.

The dashboard can be improved.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for seven years.

It is stable.

It is scalable. A thousand-plus users are using the solution in my company.

The initial setup is straightforward.

Pricing is high.

Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

I use the solution in my company for some internal testing purposes, so I don't use it in a real environment. I use it in my dummy lab environment.

The product's user interface is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.

From an improvement perspective, the product's price needs to be lowered.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for three years. I am a customer of Cisco.

I have faced no issues with the stability of the product. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

The product offers good scalability.

I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

I have experience with Sophos.

The product's initial setup phase is a little difficult.

The product's deployment phase is a good and easy process.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

The product is expensive.

I can't describe a particular scenario where the product has improved security, but I can say that the devices from Cisco are much more trustworthy and reliable compared to other devices in the market.

The most effective feature of the product for threat prevention stems from the granularity of the control that the devices from Cisco provide to its users.

The product offers great integration capabilities.

For our company's daily operations, the user interface provided by Sophos is much better and interactive compared to the one offered by Cisco.

You can choose Sophos if you want a low-budget or budget-friendly product. You can choose Cisco if you want a high-end and highly scalable tool with great integration capabilities, especially if budget is not an issue.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

We had implemented our Cisco API and Cisco Stealthwatch. We use the Cisco Secure Firewall for easy integration that can collaborate with all these Cisco solutions. My operations will also have less maintenance and the same existing team.

Cisco Secure Firewall's security solutions, advanced malware protection, and DDoS communication are very good. With Cisco Secure Firewall, the security is very much manageable because it protects all the incoming and outgoing traffic of our several telecom IT rooms.

The solution's deployment is time-consuming, which should be minimized and made more user-friendly for us.

The solution's graphical user interface could be made more user-friendly, and the configuration can be simple.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for five years.

Cisco Secure Firewall is a stable solution.

I rate Cisco Secure Firewall ten out of ten for stability.

Cisco Secure Firewall is a scalable solution. Around 400 users are using the solution in our organization.

I rate Cisco Secure Firewall a nine out of ten for scalability.

The solution’s technical support is good.

The solution’s initial setup is complex and requires Cisco-certified people.

Two engineers were involved in the solution's deployment, which took one week.

We have seen a return on investment with Cisco Secure Firewall because it provides advanced malware protection and seamless integration with my existing solutions.

Cisco Secure Firewall is a moderately priced solution. We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution.

The solution’s maintenance is very easy, and one person can do it.

Overall, I rate Cisco Secure Firewall an eight out of ten.

For companies prioritizing security, the optimal choice is one that offers a range of feeds to cater to diverse needs. This is particularly crucial for organizations implementing DDoS mitigation. The preferred solutions typically align with the top server vendors, with Cisco, Forti, and Barracuda consistently ranking among the top three vendors we collaborate with.

It's not unexpected, but it's a common scenario where customers request dual layers of security. For instance, when dealing with regulatory compliance, especially in financial sectors regulated by entities like the Central Bank, having two distinct units is often mandated. If a client predominantly uses a solution like Palo Alto, they may need to incorporate another vendor such as Cisco or Forti. Importantly, there's a significant disparity in interfaces and management platforms between these vendors, necessitating careful consideration when integrating them into the overall security architecture.

I have been using Cisco Secure Firewall for the past ten years.

The solution is extremely scalable and based on my experience, I would rate it 7 out of 10.

Cisco is a well-established company, and it offers accessible support, both locally and through online resources. The abundance of information makes it easy to find the necessary details and assistance.

The implementation timeline for our firewall is contingent on the readiness of the policy. If the policy is prepared, the deployment can occur within a day. However, if the policy is not finalized, a brief meeting is convened to gather the necessary data for rule establishment. Once the information is ready, the implementation on VMware proceeds. Notably, there is a requisite waiting period, such as fine-tuning for optimal rule configuration, as each customer has unique requirements. It's crucial to tailor the rules to fit the specific needs of each customer, as there is no one-size-fits-all best practice in this context.

It is extremely expensive compared to its competitors and I would rate it 2 out of 10.

I would recommend this solution and rate it 8 out of 10.