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SD-WAN / SASE technology vendor

Cisco

Cisco sources evidence SD-WAN Cloud OnRamp, Meraki SD-WAN, and SD-WAN + Secure Access SASE integration.

Contact Cisco via Netify ↗www.cisco.com ↗Cisco alternativesLast verified 2026-07-29

Netify profile

Cisco in depth

Platform and architecture

Cisco offers two SD-WAN families. Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) is the enterprise platform: vEdge and Catalyst 8000 routers, separated control and data planes, and vManage (now Catalyst SD-WAN Manager) for orchestration. Meraki is the cloud-managed alternative, with MX appliances configured entirely from the Meraki dashboard. Both integrate with Cisco's wider switching, wireless and identity portfolio, and cloud on-ramps cover AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. The two platforms remain distinct, so buyers should choose a track early.

Security and SASE capability

Cisco's SASE position combines Cisco Secure Access (the successor to Umbrella for SSE), Duo for identity and device trust, and Talos threat intelligence. ZTNA, SWG, CASB and DLP are delivered from Cisco's cloud with single-console ambitions under Secure Access. On-box security on Catalyst and Meraki includes NGFW, IPS and content filtering. The strongest story is for Meraki estates pairing MX SD-WAN with Secure Access in a Cisco-only stack.

Service, support and channel

Cisco sells through the largest partner ecosystem in networking. Most buyers consume Catalyst SD-WAN through managed service providers, including BT, Verizon, Orange and NTT, while Meraki suits in-house teams and MSPs alike. Cisco TAC provides 24x7 follow-the-sun support; named technical account management comes via Cisco CX or the partner. UK channel depth is extensive at every tier.

Commercials and the Netify verdict

Licensing is subscription based: Cisco DNA/Catalyst licences per device tier plus Secure Access per user, with Meraki licences per appliance. List pricing is partially public via partners. The Netify verdict: shortlist Cisco when you already run Cisco switching, wireless or identity, when your operations team knows the tooling, or when you want one vendor across campus and WAN. Expect platform choice (Catalyst vs Meraki) to shape cost and operations more than headline pricing.

Evaluate Cisco properly

An AI can summarise Cisco. It cannot gather structured, evidence-backed responses from Cisco and its closest competitors. Describe your requirement once at netify.co.uk and Cisco arrives pinned for an evidence-graded evaluation: the market takes position around your words, one signature publishes an anonymous notice free, and matched vendors respond side by side with pricing private to you.

AI assistants can score Cisco against a requirements list directly with the score_vendor_fit tool on the Netify connector, and build the same position with workspace_ingest.

Questions

Cisco: common buyer questions

Should I choose Catalyst SD-WAN or Meraki SD-WAN?

Catalyst SD-WAN suits large, complex WANs needing granular routing control, segmentation and scale. Meraki suits lean IT teams and distributed estates that value dashboard simplicity over deep configurability. They are separate platforms with separate management, so pilot the operational model, not just the data sheet.

Does Cisco offer a full single-vendor SASE?

Yes in portfolio terms: SD-WAN (Catalyst or Meraki) plus Cisco Secure Access for SSE, with Duo identity and Talos intelligence. Policy and console unification has improved but is newer than rivals built single-stack from day one, so validate console workflows in a proof of concept.

How do most UK enterprises buy Cisco SD-WAN?

Through managed service providers and Cisco Gold partners. BT, Verizon, Orange, NTT and many UK MSPs run managed Catalyst and Meraki offers, which suits buyers who want carrier-grade delivery without operating vManage themselves.

Key differentiators

  • Broadest platform portfolio in the category, covering Catalyst SD-WAN for enterprise WAN, Meraki MX for cloud-managed branch, and Cisco Secure Access for converged SASE delivery.
  • Cloud OnRamp provides automated optimisation paths for Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and major cloud providers, with native integration into the Cisco security stack.
  • Large global partner and integrator ecosystem reduces delivery risk for buyers wanting managed or co-managed delivery.

Best fit for

  • Enterprises already standardised on Cisco networking who want platform consistency from LAN through WAN to security.
  • Multinational organisations needing strong vendor presence across regions and a deep partner channel.
  • Buyers prioritising single-vendor risk consolidation across networking and security.

Watch-outs

  • Two distinct SD-WAN product lines (Catalyst and Meraki) means buyers should confirm which fits the target deployment profile and the longer-term roadmap.
  • Managed delivery is partner-led rather than first-party, so service quality varies meaningfully by integrator.
  • Private global backbone is not part of the platform; cloud transport relies on internet and partner gateways.

40 features, 6 categories

Capability matrix

Each capability is graded against public source evidence. Hover any status grade for a definition. Where evidence is limited, the grade reflects that uncertainty rather than assuming the capability is present.

Service delivery and operating model

#CapabilityStatusDefinition
F01Fully managed serviceNot primaryProvider designs, deploys, monitors, changes, supports and reports on the service.
F02DIY / self-managed modelYesCustomer operates SD-WAN controller, policies, updates and incident response.
F03Co-managed servicePartialProvider runs platform/support while customer retains selected policy or change rights.
F04Multi-tenant MSP / white-label supportYesTenant isolation, delegated administration, branded portals, templates and service-provider scale.
F05Professional services and migration supportPartialDiscovery, design, pilot, staging, migration runbooks, rollback and training.
F06Last-mile circuit managementPartner / integratedSourcing, monitoring and support for broadband, DIA, LTE/5G, MPLS and cross-connects.
F07Lifecycle managementYesHardware replacement, firmware upgrades, patching, renewals and EoL planning.
F08Flexible commercial modelYesPer-site, per-bandwidth, per-user, per-device, consumption, NaaS or bundled pricing.

Network architecture and transport

#CapabilityStatusDefinition
F09Encrypted overlay fabricYesSecure tunnels across broadband, DIA, MPLS, LTE/5G, satellite or private WAN.
F10Dynamic path selectionYesReal-time routing based on latency, jitter, packet loss, brownouts, MOS and policy.
F11Active-active link utilisationYesUse multiple links concurrently rather than passive backup only.
F12Application-aware routingYesIdentification and routing for SaaS, UCaaS, ERP and custom applications.
F13QoS and traffic shapingYesPer-application and per-class prioritisation, reservation and policing.
F14Packet loss remediationYesFEC, packet duplication, jitter buffering, TCP optimisation and WAN optimisation.
F15Local internet breakoutYesSecure direct internet access from branch sites.
F16MPLS coexistence and migrationYesHybrid MPLS/internet/cellular during transition.
F17Cellular and 5G supportYesIntegrated/external modem, SIM management, signal monitoring and failover.
F18Cloud on-rampYesAutomated/simplified connectivity to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle, Equinix, Megaport and SaaS.

Gateway, PoP and backbone design

#CapabilityStatusDefinition
F19Public cloud gatewaysYesVendor-operated gateways/PoPs for SaaS optimisation, remote access or security enforcement.
F20Private PoPs / dedicated PoPsUnknownCustomer-hosted, dedicated or sovereign PoP options.
F21Private global backbonePartialVendor-owned or controlled backbone between PoPs.
F22Regional breakout and data residencyYesPin traffic to countries, regions or approved inspection locations.
F23Multi-cloud transit fabricYesBranch-to-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and user-to-cloud connectivity under common policy.
F24Flexible edge form factorsYesPhysical, virtual, cloud marketplace, container or uCPE.
F25High availability designYesDual appliances, dual circuits, dual power, HA clustering and gateway redundancy.
F26SLA-backed service fabricPartialSLA for uptime, response, change handling and possibly latency/jitter/loss.

Security and SASE capability

#CapabilityStatusDefinition
F27Integrated next-generation firewallYesStateful firewall, app control, IPS/IDS, malware inspection and URL filtering.
F28Full SASE platformYesSD-WAN plus SWG, CASB, ZTNA, FWaaS, DLP, RBI, DNS security and threat prevention.
F29SSE ecosystem integrationYesInteroperation with Zscaler, Netskope, Palo Alto Prisma Access, Cisco Secure Access, Cloudflare etc.
F30Zero Trust Network AccessYesIdentity and posture-based access to private applications.
F31Secure web gatewayYesURL filtering, SSL inspection, malware scanning and acceptable-use controls.
F32CASB capabilityYesSaaS discovery, sanctioned/unsanctioned app control and SaaS policy enforcement.
F33Data loss preventionYesData classification, inspection, blocking, alerting and exception workflow.
F34Remote user accessYesClient or clientless access for remote workers, contractors and mobile users.
F35SOC/SIEM/SOAR integrationYesSyslog, APIs, event export, threat intelligence and workflow integration.

Operations, assurance and automation

#CapabilityStatusDefinition
F36Centralised orchestrationYesTemplates, intent-based policy, zero-touch provisioning and configuration compliance.
F37Customer portal and RBACYesReal-time status, role-based access, reporting, tickets and change requests.
F38Observability and digital experience monitoringYesApp experience, user experience, device health, SaaS telemetry and path analytics.
F39APIs and automationYesREST APIs, Terraform, webhooks, event streaming and ITSM integration.
F40Managed service assuranceNot primary24/7 NOC/SOC, proactive monitoring, incident ownership, RCA, service reviews and change governance.

Commercial

Cost model and pricing visibility

Public pricing visibility

Quote-based. No complete public enterprise price was found in reviewed sources.

Cost model

Quote-based subscription/licence + appliance/support; Meraki public SKUs via partners, enterprise pricing varies by platform and term.

Evidence

Sources and exclusions

40 facts about Cisco were re-verified on 2026-07-29 against named sources, each carrying a sentence quoted from the source and confirmed present on that page. 36 sources were used. 12 more were read and rejected, and are listed below with the reason.

Sourced facts for Cisco, each with its grade, the source it rests on and the sentence quoted from that source.
FactFindingEvidenceQuoted from the source
Fully managed serviceNot primary[10] [1] [12]"Create a multitude of offers from managed business Wi-Fi to managed SD-WAN"
Co-managed servicePartial[12] [2]"Cisco Services and our network of partners act as an extension of your IT team."
Multi-tenant MSP / white-label supportYes[9] [10] [15]"Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can now take advantage of custom branding options within the Cisco Meraki Dashboard."
Professional services and migration supportPartial[12]"Cisco Professional Services provide strategic consulting, design, and implementation expertise to help you build or transform your IT environment."
Lifecycle managementYes[16] [12] [10]"Cisco Support focuses on software updates, hardware replacement, and rapid issue resolution to keep your operations running smoothly."
Cellular and 5G supportYes[13] [7]"With the higher throughputs provided by CAT18 LTE and 5G, wireless WAN connections become feasible as primary transports for different use cases."
Public cloud gatewaysYes[6] [5] [14]"Cisco Secure Connect services operate in the Cisco Umbrella global cloud architecture which is network of data centers located throughout the world interconnected with a high speed, low latency backbone."
Private PoPs / dedicated PoPsNot found[6] [5] [7]Not found in public sources reviewed. Looked at the Cisco Secure Connect data centre list documentation, the Umbrella global network and data centre page, the Umbrella global cloud architecture page and the Cisco SASE/SSE architecture guide. All describe shared multi-tenant Cisco locations only. No customer-hosted, dedicated or sovereign PoP option was named on any of them. Note that the Secure Access offer description does mention that "Data center(s) located in mainland China, when and if available, require a separate subscription", but a separately subscribed regional data centre is not the same as a dedicated or sovereign PoP, so it was not treated as evidence. Unknown here means not found, not absent.
Private global backbonePartial[6] [14]"Cisco Secure Connect services operate in the Cisco Umbrella global cloud architecture which is network of data centers located throughout the world interconnected with a high speed, low latency backbone."
SLA-backed service fabricPartial[2] [14]"Cisco will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver the Core Services to meet or exceed 99.999% Availability in accordance with the Secure Access Service Level Agreement ("SLA")"
Integrated next-generation firewallYes[7] [8] [15]"FWaaS provides cloud delivered firewall services without the need to deploy, maintain, and upgrade physical or virtual appliances at a site."
Data loss preventionYes[15] [8] [7]"Enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP) provides visibility and control over sensitive data leaving your organization."
Managed service assuranceNot primary[10] [16] [12]"Tap into 24/7 support and escalation process for complex issues"
delivery modelboth[2] [12] [10]"Cisco will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver the Core Services to meet or exceed 99.999% Availability in accordance with the Secure Access Service Level Agreement ("SLA")"
underlay ownershipcustomer_supplied_only[7] [13] [1]"Route traffic across different links (MPLS, Internet, 5G, etc.) based on destination"
sse layer ownershipnative[3] [15] [7]"Simplify the complexity of IT by leveraging one powerful platform for Cisco SD-WAN, SWG, ZTNA, DNS-layer security, CASB, and more."
regulatory documentationdocumented[17] [11] [18]"Data centers are certified by industry-recognized standards such as ISO 9001:2008, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SSAE16, and ISAE 3402"
pop countNot found[6] [5] [14]Not found in public sources reviewed. Cisco publishes locations but not a headline count. The Cisco Secure Connect data centre documentation lists roughly 33 named locations across the Americas, APAC, Europe and MEA in a table, and the Umbrella global network page tabulates approximately 50 or more data centre locations with operators and peering fabrics, but neither page contains any sentence stating a number, so no quote is available and the count cannot be graded. The Umbrella global cloud architecture page gives reach and peering figures instead, and the Umbrella global network page states "The Cisco Umbrella global cloud architecture serves more than 30,000 customers daily in 190+ countries.", but neither is a PoP count. The two Cisco tables also differ in scope, so deriving a single figure would mean resolving that conflict myself, which is out of scope.
sla availability pct99.999[2] [14]"Cisco will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver the Core Services to meet or exceed 99.999% Availability in accordance with the Secure Access Service Level Agreement ("SLA")"
sectors.healthcareYes[24] [38]"Healthcare organizations run thousands of branches throughout the world, ranging from small clinic to large hospitals spanning across multiple regions."
sectors.financial servicesYes[25] [32]"Argentine bank establishes a new standard for software-defined networking across global locations."
sectors.retail ecommerceYes[29] [25] [34]"As big box stores, QSRs and grocery stores rapidly adopt a cloud-first strategy, the IT landscape has become significantly different."
sectors.manufacturingYes[23] [31]"Kamstrup optimized its network with Cisco SD-WAN and ThousandEyes, enabling seamless global expansion."
sectors.energy utilitiesPartial[30] [38]"fleets, oil and gas, energy and water utilities, and remote condition monitoring and control"
sectors.government public sectorYes[23] [25]"Federal, state, and local government agencies can deploy a FedRAMP-authorized SD-WAN cloud-delivered solution designed to optimize performance, enhance security, and simplify their operations."
sectors.educationYes[28] [44]"As schools, colleges, and universities rapidly adopt a cloud-first strategy, the IT landscape has become significantly different."
sectors.transport logisticsYes[23] [30] [38]"United Airlines uses Cisco SD-WAN to centralize network management, enhance security, and boost performance across its global operations."
sectors.professional servicesYes[25] [33]"Tech Mahindra reimagines network operations to deliver agility across 32 branches and 6 hubs."
sectors.hospitality leisureYes[35] [46]"Meraki MX security and SD-WAN appliances"
regions.uk irelandYes[26] [25] [27]"LINX Manchester"
regions.europeYes[26] [27]"AMS-IX"
regions.north americaYes[26] [27]"Equinix Ashburn"
regions.asia pacificYes[26] [27]"Equinix Singapore"
regions.middle east africaYes[26] [27]"UAE-IX"
regions.latin americaYes[26] [27]"IX.br Sao Paulo"
regions.china mainlandPartial[26] [27]"Ningxia (Multi-AZ)"
organisation fit.large global enterpriseYes[23] [25] [32]"scaling connectivity across 1700 sites in 185 countries through a unified platform"
organisation fit.mid marketYes[36] [35] [34]"Cisco small and medium enterprise solutions"
organisation fit.small businessPartial[36] [37]"Gartner characterizes the SD-WAN small branch as a remote site supporting up to 10 people, where simplicity, cost consciousness, and flexibility of transport choices are key."
published pricingnot_publishednoneNo price is published that we could quote. The value_tier field on this record is a Netify assessment of relative cost position, not a supplier claim.

Sources used

  1. [1] Tier 1. Cisco SD-WAN solutions overview Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own primary solution page named in the task. Marketing level, thin on operational detail.
  2. [2] Tier 1. Offer Description - Cisco Secure Access (Product Description PDF) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own contractual offer description. Highest value source here because it is legal rather than marketing text; carries the availability figure.
  3. [3] Tier 1. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Connect Anywhere - Cisco Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own SASE landing page. Useful for stack composition, no infrastructure numbers.
  4. [4] Tier 1. Cisco Secure Access product page Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own product page. Very light on the specific capabilities sought; mostly ZTNA framing.
  5. [5] Tier 1. Global cloud network activity and data centers - Cisco Umbrella Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own infrastructure page with a data centre table. Table is not a sentence, so it cannot supply a quoted PoP count.
  6. [6] Tier 1. Cisco Secure Connect Data Center List - Cisco Meraki Documentation Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own technical documentation. Strongest source found on Cisco-operated PoP infrastructure and inter-PoP backbone.
  7. [7] Tier 1. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and Security Service Edge (SSE) Architecture Guide - Cisco Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own design zone architecture guide. Definitional in places, so care taken to separate generic SASE definitions from Cisco product claims.
  8. [8] Tier 1. Solutions - Cisco SASE Design Guide Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own design guide. Product-specific and therefore useful for confirming FWaaS, IPS and DLP are Secure Access features.
  9. [9] Tier 1. Dashboard Branding for MSPs - Cisco Meraki Documentation Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own documentation. Direct and explicit on white-label branding for MSPs.
  10. [10] Tier 1. Cisco Meraki | Managed Services Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own MSP page. Useful as evidence that the managed-service operator role sits with partners, not Cisco.
  11. [11] Tier 1. Cisco Trust Center - Compliance Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own trust centre landing page. Framework names appear only as navigation link parameters, not as body sentences, so it cannot carry a quoted grade.
  12. [12] Tier 1. Cisco Services Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own services page. Carries the professional services and support lifecycle statements.
  13. [13] Tier 1. Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge Platforms Data Sheet Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own hardware datasheet. Authoritative for cellular and 5G transport support.
  14. [14] Tier 1. Cisco Umbrella Global Cloud Architecture Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own infrastructure page. Gives peering and historic uptime claims but no PoP count and no backbone ownership statement.
  15. [15] Tier 1. Cisco Secure Access Data Sheet Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own datasheet. Best source for DLP, IPS and multi-org detail.
  16. [16] Tier 1. Cisco Support services Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own support page. Confirms hardware replacement and software updates but contains no NOC/SOC or root cause language.
  17. [17] Tier 1. Cisco Meraki Trust and Compliance Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own trust page. Only page found that names specific certification frameworks in body text; applies to Meraki data centres rather than to the whole Cisco SASE estate.
  18. [18] Tier 1. Cisco Trust Center Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own trust centre. Framework detail sits behind the gated Trust Portal, so nothing quotable was obtained.
  19. [23] Tier 1. Cisco SD-WAN for a secure, future-ready workplace (Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN solution page) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's own primary SD-WAN solution page. Carries named customer story cards (Nestle, United Airlines, Coca-Cola Icecek, Kamstrup, HelloFresh, The Sto Group) and a FedRAMP government statement. Quotes re-verified on a second independent fetch and matched character for character.
  20. [24] Tier 1. Cisco Catalyst Center - Validated Profile: Healthcare (SD-WAN) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier technical documentation. A healthcare-specific published SD-WAN deployment profile, i.e. a dedicated sector framework rather than a marketing mention.
  21. [25] Tier 1. Cisco Networking Customer Stories Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier customer-story index listing named customers alongside the exact Cisco products deployed. Useful because it ties named organisations directly to Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN / Cisco Software-Defined Wide Area Network.
  22. [26] Tier 1. Cisco Secure Access Regions (Secure Access user guide) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier technical documentation, strongest regional evidence found. Enumerates every Secure Access (Cisco's SASE/SSE service) data centre by continent, country, city, deployment type and peering fabric. Reached via a 302 redirect from https://docs.sse.cisco.com/sse-user-guide/docs/secure-access-regions. Every string cited below was individually re-verified as literally present on a second fetch.
  23. [27] Tier 1. Cisco Secure Connect Data Center List (Cisco Meraki documentation) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier documentation for the Meraki-based SASE offering. Corroborates the Secure Access region list. Table row formatting did not survive markdown conversion cleanly, so used for corroboration only and not as the sole carrier of any grade.
  24. [28] Tier 1. SD-WAN: The secure foundation for the new education landscape of networking Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's dedicated education-sector SD-WAN page. Sector-specific and product-specific, but contains no named education customer.
  25. [29] Tier 1. SD-WAN: The Secure Foundation for The New Retail Landscape of Networking Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier's dedicated retail-sector SD-WAN page. Sector-specific and product-specific.
  26. [30] Tier 1. SD-WAN for Industrial Solutions Solution Brief Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier solution brief. Names energy, water utilities, oil and gas, transit, rail and fleet use cases for SD-WAN, but names no customer in any of them, so it supports 'partial' only.
  27. [31] Tier 1. Cisco and Kamstrup Customer Case Study Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study. Cisco's own industry label on the page is Manufacturing and the products list includes Cisco SD-WAN and Cisco SD-WAN Manager.
  28. [32] Tier 1. BBVA Customer Story Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study. Industry label Financial Services, products list includes Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.
  29. [33] Tier 1. Tech Mahindra Customer Story Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study. Industry label Professional Services, headline explicitly about Cisco SD-WAN.
  30. [34] Tier 1. Room & Board Customer Story Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study. Industry label Retail, products list includes Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Cisco Meraki MX security and SD-WAN appliances.
  31. [35] Tier 1. Distinctive Resorts and Cisco Meraki Case Study Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study. Industry label Hospitality, products list includes Meraki MX security and SD-WAN appliances. The story's headline is about cameras rather than WAN, so the SD-WAN element is present but incidental.
  32. [36] Tier 1. Cisco small and medium enterprise solutions Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier segment landing page. Explicitly targets small and medium enterprise, but names no SD-WAN product on the page, so it evidences segment targeting rather than SD-WAN segment targeting.
  33. [37] Tier 1. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Small Branch Design Case Study (Cisco Validated Design) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier validated design document. Defines the small branch profile and worked example. Note it describes small sites belonging to a 500-site chain, not small businesses as buyers.
  34. [38] Tier 1. Cisco Case Studies and Customer Success Stories (filtered to Networking) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier case study index with sector filters. Confirms which sector labels Cisco itself uses. Many entries are general networking rather than SD-WAN, so used to locate candidates rather than to carry grades.
  35. [39] Tier 3. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Pricing (TrustRadius) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Third-party software marketplace listing, no named author or date. Used only to record the absence of any listed price, which is consistent with what was found on Cisco's own pages. Not sufficient alone to set a price tier.
  36. [40] Tier 1. Cisco Industries (sector index) Undated. Read 2026-07-29. Supplier index of the sectors Cisco addresses corporately. Deliberately NOT used to grade any sector, because it is company-wide and says nothing about SD-WAN or SASE capability in those sectors.

Sources found and not used

These were read and rejected as evidence. They are listed so the record can be audited rather than taken on trust, and because what a comparison refuses to rely on says as much as what it cites.

  1. [19] Cisco Secure Access: A Comprehensive Guide (Medium, SDNTechForum). https://medium.com/@sdntechdemo/cisco-secure-access-a-comprehensive-guide-82f73a59ea70 Not used as evidence. Self-published third-party blog with no named accountable author or editorial process.
  2. [20] Why Five Nines of Service Availability Matters for SASE - Palo Alto Networks Blog. https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/why-five-nines-of-service-availability-matters-for-sase/ Not used as evidence. Competitor marketing blog discussing rival SLA claims; not a source on Cisco's own commitments.
  3. [21] Cloud-Delivered Security Services Features - G2. https://www.g2.com/products/cloud-delivered-security-services/features Not used as evidence. Review aggregator with crowd-sourced, unattributed and undated feature claims.
  4. [22] Cisco global cloud architecture sets the stage for powerful cloud security (router-switch.com mirror PDF). https://www.router-switch.com/media/upload/subscribe/cisco-global-cloud-architecture-sets-the-stage-for-powerful-cloud-security.pdf Not used as evidence. Reseller-hosted mirror of Cisco collateral with no verifiable version or date; superseded by the Cisco-hosted originals used instead.
  5. [41] Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN CloudOps - Cloud Infrastructure. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/sdwan/knowledge-base/CloudOps/b-cisco-sdwan-cloudops/m-cloud-infra.html Not used as evidence. Read looking for a list of controller hosting regions; the page gives only an illustrative US-East / US-West example and enumerates no actual region list.
  6. [42] Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN CloudOps - Ordering, Licensing, and Account Management. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/sdwan/knowledge-base/CloudOps/b-cisco-sdwan-cloudops/m-ordering-account.html Not used as evidence. Read looking for published licence tiers and prices; it describes a la carte DNA Cloud SKUs versus Enterprise Agreement bundles but publishes no prices and no region list.
  7. [43] Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN At-a-Glance. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/enterprise-networks/sd-wan/nb-07-enterprise-grade-wp-cte-en.html Not used as evidence. Read looking for pricing or explicit market-tier positioning language; contains only commissioned ROI figures, no price points and no segment statements.
  8. [44] West Ada School District Customer Story. https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/case-studies-customer-stories/west-ada-school-district.html Not used as evidence. This is the leading Cisco education networking case study, but the deployment is Meraki and Catalyst LAN/wireless with no SD-WAN component, so it cannot support an education SD-WAN grade.
  9. [45] Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Solutions for Industrial Networks. https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/networking/sdwan/industrial/index.html Not used as evidence. Read for sector naming; the page describes rugged edge use cases (substations, roadways, renewable energy, fleets) but names no industry as a served vertical and no customer. The companion solution brief (evidence 8) was used instead.
  10. [46] Cisco Meraki Hospitality and Tourism customer stories. https://meraki.cisco.com/customers/hospitality-and-tourism Not used as evidence. Confirms a large hospitality customer roster (InterContinental Hotels Group, Club Mediterranee, Motel 6, bluegr Hotels) but the listing page itself does not state which of them use MX SD-WAN, so the named Distinctive Resorts case study was used instead.
  11. [47] Cisco Meraki MX Family datasheet. https://meraki.cisco.com/product-collateral/meraki-mx-family-datasheet/ Not used as evidence. Fetch blocked by robots.txt, so the page could not be read in this task and nothing may be graded from it.
  12. [48] Cisco Meraki Security and SD-WAN product page. https://meraki.cisco.com/products/security-sd-wan/ Not used as evidence. Fetch blocked by robots.txt, so the page could not be read in this task and nothing may be graded from it.

Claims that disagree

Where two sources conflict, both are recorded rather than one being chosen quietly. Confirm these directly with the vendor.

  • f21 private global backbone. [6] Cisco Secure Connect and Umbrella data centres worldwide are "interconnected with a high speed, low latency backbone", implying a vendor-controlled inter-PoP network. [14] The Umbrella global cloud architecture page attributes inter-region performance to internet peering and anycast rather than to a backbone, stating "Umbrella peers directly with more than 1000 organizations" and that "Our innovative use of Anycast augmented routing is integral to Cisco Umbrella's top performance and rock-solid reliability".
  • sla availability pct. [2] Contractual offer description frames 99.999% as a commercially reasonable efforts target: "Cisco will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver the Core Services to meet or exceed 99.999% Availability". [14] Umbrella marketing page presents 99.999% as achieved historical fact: "Umbrella's DNS security services have delivered 99.999% business uptime since 2006."
  • pop count. [6] Cisco Secure Connect data centre documentation tabulates roughly 33 named service locations, with some marked TBD or Coming. [5] The Umbrella global network and traffic page tabulates a materially larger estate, on the order of 50 or more data centre locations.

Verification notes

Re-verified 2026-07-29 against named primary sources. Every graded fact carries a source, a tier and a verbatim quote confirmed present on the cited page by an independent check. Industry, region, organisation-size and pricing evidence was sourced on the same basis. Facts that could not be sourced are published as unknown with the reason. The value_tier field is a Netify assessment of relative cost position, not a supplier claim: most of this market publishes no price. Sources found and rejected are listed at tier 4.

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