Cloud-delivered DNS-layer security, secure web gateway, CASB, DLP, and remote browser isolation — Cisco's answer for organizations modernizing edge security on the Cisco stack. The pitch isn't "the deepest SSE in the market"; it's "the SSE that integrates natively with the Cisco infrastructure you already operate."
Umbrella started as OpenDNS — DNS-layer security blocking malicious destinations before connections complete. Post-Cisco-acquisition it grew into a full SSE platform: SWG, CASB, DLP, FWaaS, RBI. The differentiator versus pure-play SSE vendors like Cato isn't depth — it's stack integration. If your organization runs Cisco Secure Firewall, Duo, Secure Endpoint, and XDR, Umbrella stitches into the same management plane and threat intel feed.
You run Cisco Secure Firewall, Duo, Secure Endpoint, and XDR. You want SSE that integrates natively rather than another vendor to manage.
You're moving from on-prem proxy to cloud SWG, want CASB and DLP layered on, and you have a Cisco buying relationship already.
If full SASE consolidation (network + security + ZTNA in one platform) is the priority, Cato is the cleaner architecture story. Umbrella is SSE, not full SASE.
If you're leveraging Defender for Cloud Apps and Defender for Endpoint heavily, the Microsoft-stack SSE overlap matters. Worth a comparison.