# Cisco alternatives: what AI models name instead, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. 247 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Cisco holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cisco/alternatives

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Illumio Segmentation: 71
- Zero Networks Segment: 36
- ColorTokens Xshield: 19
- Akamai Guardicore Segmentation: 18
- Cisco Secure Workload: 5
- Tailscale: 4

## Microsegmentation

**Small business**: 84 of 84 answers did not name Cisco.

- Zero Networks Segment: first choice in 23 of those 84
- Illumio Segmentation: first choice in 8 of those 84
- Akamai Guardicore Segmentation: first choice in 6 of those 84
- Tailscale: first choice in 4 of those 84
- AWS Security Groups: first choice in 3 of those 84
- ColorTokens Xshield: first choice in 3 of those 84
- Azure Network Security Groups: first choice in 2 of those 84
- Calico: first choice in 2 of those 84

**Mid-market**: 81 of 84 answers did not name Cisco (Cisco is #8 of 8 at 0%).

- ColorTokens Xshield: first choice in 16 of those 81
- Illumio Segmentation: first choice in 13 of those 81
- Zero Networks Segment: first choice in 8 of those 81
- Akamai Guardicore Segmentation: first choice in 6 of those 81
- Faddom: first choice in 3 of those 81
- Cilium: first choice in 2 of those 81
- Cisco Secure Workload: first choice in 2 of those 81
- Calico: first choice in 1 of those 81

**Enterprise**: 82 of 84 answers did not name Cisco.

- Illumio Segmentation: first choice in 50 of those 82
- Akamai Guardicore Segmentation: first choice in 6 of those 82
- Zero Networks Segment: first choice in 5 of those 82
- Cisco Secure Workload: first choice in 3 of those 82
- Elisity: first choice in 1 of those 82

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.