# Cisco Secure Access: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 45 judge labels across 4 categories by 14 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cisco-secure-access

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [SASE platforms](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/sase-platforms/index.md) | 2% | 6 | 26% | 35 |
| [Zero trust network access](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/zero-trust-network-access/index.md) | 0% | 12 | 0% | 8 |
| [DNS filtering](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/dns-filtering/index.md) | 0% | 24 | 0% | 1 |
| [Multi-factor authentication](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/identity/multi-factor-authentication/index.md) | 0% | 62 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "1. Cisco Secure Access + Catalyst SD-WAN — Best Overall" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, SASE)
- "if you have an existing Cisco environment or need strong enterprise integration, Cisco Secure Access would be more suitable" (MiniMax M2.5, SASE)
- "Small business needing the lowest per-seat cost: Cisco Umbrella from $2-4/user/month is the cheapest listed SASE/SSE" (Muse Glimmer 30B, SASE)
- "Strong all-around (8.4/10 avg), Talos security, ThousandEyes monitoring | More complex for smaller IT teams" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, SASE)

## And against it

- "the combination of low independent test effectiveness scores and the elevated ransomware entry-vector risk is a common reason for caution" (Muse Glimmer 30B, SASE)
- "Rebadging concerns: Questions about whether it's truly integrated or just "re-badged Umbrella with extra steps"" (Kimi K2, SASE)
- "Some practitioners consider Cisco Umbrella a "legacy option" rather than a true SASE platform" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, SASE)
- "Complex implementation and management (often cited as overly intricate for non-Cisco shops)" (Grok 4.20, SASE)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Cisco Secure Access, from 136 of the 143 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- sase.cloud: 57
- fortinet.com: 51
- cloudflare.com: 49
- netify.co.uk: 41
- viewpointanalysis.com: 38
- g2.com: 36
- zscaler.com: 28
- dope.security: 26
- cisco.com: 25 (its own site)
- crn.com: 24

### Pages cited

- https://sase.cloud/vendors: 42
- https://viewpointanalysis.com/post/sase-software-options-2026: 38
- https://netify.co.uk/insights/who-are-the-best-rated-sase-vendors: 25
- https://dope.security/post/sase-vendors-2026: 23
- https://thenetworkdna.com/2026/04/top-5-sase-solution-providers-with.html: 19
- https://g2.com/categories/secure-access-service-edge-sase-platforms/small-business: 18
- https://fortinet.com/resources/articles/top-sase-vendors: 17
- https://cloudflare.com/perspectives/4-sase-platforms-to-consider-when-moving-beyond-zscaler: 16

## In its own words

What Cisco Secure Access's own pages state, read 2026-09-28. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Customers named: LogicalisUS

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.