Cisco Umbrella Alternative for SMBs and MSPs

In this post we propose an ideal Cisco Umbrella alternative that you can implement at a fraction of the cost of Cisco Umbrella, yet still have excellent protection from web-based threats and precision internet content control for your workforce.

WebTitan Cloud is the leading Cisco Umbrella alternative for SMBs and Managed Service Providers (MSP) that serve the SMB market. WebTitan Cloud is, in many respects, a direct swap out for Cisco Umbrella, and one that will save you a small fortune on DNS filtering costs.

Before we cover the cost of WebTitan versus Cisco Umbrella, it is worthwhile taking a moment to explain why DNS filtering is now an essential part of the security stack and why you need to add this additional layer of security if you are not already using a DNS filter.

Why is a DNS Filter Necessary?

You will no doubt be aware that the internet can be a dangerous place. As an IT professional or SMB owner, you need to make sure that your employees do not venture into areas of the internet that could cause your business harm.

Even general web browsing can pose a risk of a malware infection or ransomware download, and employees can easily be tricked into visiting phishing web pages where credentials are harvested. These are very real threats that need to be mitigated.

Rather than leave things to chance and hope your employees obey the rules and recognize all threats in time, you can implement a content filtering solution such as a DNS filter. A DNS filter requires no hardware purchases nor software downloads. You just reconfigure your DNS and point it to the provider of your DNS filtering service and apply your content controls.

All content filtering takes place in the cloud, there will be no latency, and filtering will take place without any content being downloaded. You can control the categories of content that can be accessed and, if rules are broken by employees, they will be directed to a block page and no harm will be done. You can run reports on web usage, apply controls to conserve bandwidth, and perhaps most importantly, you can prevent employees from visiting malicious websites and can block malware and ransomware downloads. Without this additional security layer, your business will be at risk.

Is It Worth Paying the Cisco Umbrella Price?

We are not going to try to convince you not to look at Cisco Umbrella, as it is an accomplished DNS filtering solution that is suitable for many enterprises and SMBs. The product will certainly protect your business from web-based threats and will allow you to enforce your internet policies. However, there is a but. If you are already using Cisco Umbrella or have made enquiries about the solution, you will be aware that the product comes at a considerable cost.

Cisco Umbrella is not a one-size fits all solution. Cisco caters to a range of different customers, from small businesses to large enterprises and packages have been devised accordingly. The most basic offering is DNS Security Essentials, which is a bare bones DNS filtering package that blocks malware and ransomware downloads and allows you to enforce your internet policies. However, there are many important features lacking that most SMBs will feel are important. For instance, now that most websites have moved over to HTTPS, connections to those sites are encrypted. You therefore need to decrypt, inspect, and then re-encrypt that traffic. The basic package dos not include this feature. Decryption and inspection of all SSL traffic is only available in the top-level package.

DNS Security Advantage is the second package offered, which provides more features such as greater insight for investigations, file threat intelligence, and some other tools. At the top end is the comprehensive Secure Internet Gateway Essentials package, which offers enterprise-grade DNS filtering with a host of features required by enterprises with a huge workforce. For most SMBs, the top package will offer a host of features that will most likely not be used. Unfortunately, the lowest level package is missing some important features that really are required by many SMBs.

What is the Cisco Umbrella Cost Per User?

So, how much does Cisco Umbrella cost? This is a key consideration for SMBs as they are likely to have limited budgets. They need to pay for several layers of cybersecurity to block the threats they are most likely to encounter. Spend top dollar on one solution and it is likely to mean less can be spent on other important security controls.

At the standard level, the Cisco Umbrella cost per user is $2.20 per month, which is considerably more than Cisco Umbrella alternative options such as WebTitan. For 100 users, Cisco Umbrella will cost $2,640 per year and that price does not include support, which Cisco considers an optional extra. If you opt for one of the more advanced packages, that price will increase considerably.

The standard price for a Cisco Umbrella alternative is around $1.00 to $1.50 per user per month, but here at TitanHQ we have a highly competitive pricing policy and can provide you with a Cisco Umbrella alternative for just $0.90 per user per month. That will save you $1,560 per year, based on 100 users.

There is More to Consider than the Cost of Cisco Umbrella Alone

Cost is not the only consideration, although it is certainly important. You will want to ensure that your DNS filter allows you to control content easily and it must provide protection against web-based threats. So, does opting for a Cisco Umbrella alternative reduce the protection you will get? Actually, you can pay less and improve protection, have an easier to use product, with better reporting, and less complexity.

At TitanHQ we have a totally transparent and flexible pricing policy and provide the same, high level of protection for everyone. All customers benefit from full SSL filtering to ensure that HTTPS traffic is inspected and analyzed, and all customers get industry-leading customer support at no extra cost.

WebTitan is also loved by users who rate it highly for ease of setup, ease of use, ease of admin, and for the quality of support provided. This can be seen on review sites such as G2 Crowd, as detailed below.

The Leading DNS Filtering Solution for MSPs Serving the SMB Market

TitanHQ is the global leader in cloud-based email and web security solutions for the MSP that services the SMB market. WebTitan has been designed to be ideal for MSPs and includes a host of features not offered by Cisco. In contrast to all packages of Cisco Umbrella, we offer a range of hosting options. You can even host in your own environment, something that is important for many MSPs. You can also have WebTitan in white label form, ready to take your own branding, another big plus for MSPs. The solution is also easy to integrate seamlessly into your own environment thanks to a suite of APIs.

Find out More About Our Cisco Umbrella Alternative Today!

Our sales staff will be happy to explain the benefits of WebTitan over Cisco Umbrella and schedule a product demonstration to show you how easy the solution is to use and integrate into your own environment. If you would like to try WebTitan before committing, you can also take advantage of our free 14-day trial. For more information, give the TitanHQ team a call today.