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Microsegmentation · November 2026 Edition
Illumio Segmentation vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation
Two of fourteen models named Illumio Segmentation first on the direct prompt; three named Akamai Guardicore Segmentation. Both were named by all fourteen models and Illumio Segmentation carries 56 labels and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation 43, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share11%9%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate18%7%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 8; printed, not drawn.
Labels5643A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Illumio Segmentation reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.ColorTokens Xshield was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. ColorTokens Xshield vs Illumio Segmentation · ColorTokens Xshield vs Akamai Guardicore Segmentation · Zero Networks Segment vs Illumio Segmentation
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the microsegmentation page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Illumio SegmentationFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAkamai Guardicore Segmentation
Direct233 against Illumio Segmentation
Paraphrase21
Comparative112
Budget-constrained004 against Illumio Segmentation · 3 against Akamai Guardicore Segmentation
Scale-constrained10
Negative003 against Illumio Segmentation
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Illumio Segmentation and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation were named in the same answer 148 times, of the 184 answers naming Illumio Segmentation and the 158 naming Akamai Guardicore Segmentation. In those answers Akamai Guardicore Segmentation took the first choice eight times and Illumio Segmentation fifty-seven.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Illumio Segmentation and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | |||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Illumio Segmentation Akamai Guardicore Segmentation first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Illumio Segmentation on the left and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Illumio Segmentation and Akamai Guardicore Segmentation stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.GPT-5.4 miniAkamai Guardicore Segmentation, Illumio Segmentation alternatives: Zero Networks Segment
Illumio Segmentation first, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation an alternative
1 of 14 modelsAkamai Guardicore Segmentation was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-6 LunaIllumio Segmentation alternatives: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, ColorTokens Xshield
Akamai Guardicore Segmentation first, Illumio Segmentation an alternative
2 of 14 modelsIllumio Segmentation was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashAkamai Guardicore Segmentation alternatives: Elisity, Illumio Segmentation, Isovalent/Cilium, Tigera Calico, Zero Networks Segment
GLM 4.7 FlashXAkamai Guardicore Segmentation, ColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Cisco Secure Workload, Illumio Segmentation, VMware NSX
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Perplexity SonarColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Illumio Segmentation, Zero Networks Segment
Grok 4.20ColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Elisity, Zero Networks Segmentation
DeepSeek V4 FlashColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Illumio Segmentation
Qwen 3.7 FlashColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Illumio Segmentation, Palo Alto Networks, Tigera Calico
Muse Glimmer 30BColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Broadcom, Illumio Segmentation, VMware NSX, Zscaler Private Access
Neither was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Mistral SmallColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Zero Networks Segment
Llama 4 MaverickColorTokens Xshield
Kimi K2Zero Networks Segment alternatives: ColorTokens Xshield
MiniMax M2.5ColorTokens Xshield alternatives: Airlock Microgateway, Faddom, Opinnate Network Security Policy Manager
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Level: the same share of first choices.
Illumio Segmentation5%#3 of 11Akamai Guardicore Segmentation5%#2 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Illumio Segmentation leads by two points.
Illumio Segmentation11%#3 of 8Akamai Guardicore Segmentation9%#4 of 8Enterprise
Illumio Segmentation leads by seventy points.
Illumio Segmentation77%#1 of 8Akamai Guardicore Segmentation6%#3 of 8What the models said about Illumio Segmentation
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid Enterprise Giants (like Illumio or Tufin) unless you have the scale” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Cons reported are: requires tuning in high-throughput environments; PCE can experience slowness at very large scale... Agent overhead and deployment time is a common friction.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“even the well-known players like Illumio face criticism primarily around a steep learning curve, not necessarily abandonment-level problems” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best dedicated enterprise platform: Illumio is a strong default when the priority is workload-centric segmentation across heterogeneous hybrid environments.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“PeerSpot ranks Illumio Segmentation as the top rated solution in 2026 with the largest mind share, 9.0 rating and 21.9% mind share.” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“A pioneer in microsegmentation... Illumio and Guardicore are leaders, with Illumio offering more mature policy engines” Mistral Small · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about Akamai Guardicore Segmentation
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Instead of paying high six-figure annual licenses for enterprise microsegmentation suites like Illumio or Akamai Guardicore” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · soft negative
“often start at tens of thousands of dollars annually ... can strain limited budgets” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · soft negative
“If You Can Stretch the Budget ... Minimum deal size: ~$40,000” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · soft negative
“I recommend Akamai Guardicore Segmentation (now part of Akamai) as the top choice for east-west network segmentation (microsegmentation).” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“the safest "best overall" microsegmentation choice is usually Illumio or Akamai Guardicore Segmentation” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
“ColorTokens for rapid deployment and Akamai Guardicore (or Illumio) for deeper visibility and policy management” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
ColorTokens Xshield vs Illumio SegmentationColorTokens Xshield vs Akamai Guardicore SegmentationZero Networks Segment vs Illumio SegmentationZero Networks Segment vs Akamai Guardicore SegmentationIllumio Segmentation vs Cisco Secure WorkloadAkamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Cisco Secure WorkloadAll ten head-to-head pages and the full microsegmentation standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.