CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Cisco vs Palo Alto Networks

Cisco sells security products that protect users, devices, apps, and data. Palo Alto Networks sells network security, security operations, cloud security, identity security, AI security and observability platforms, along with threat intelligence and incident response services. CISO Tribune files both under Firewalls and NGFW. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Cisco
  • Palo Alto Networks
Cisco vs Palo Alto Networks: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
CiscoCisco sells security products that protect users, devices, apps, and data.cisco.comPalo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks sells network security, security operations, cloud security, identity security, AI security and observability platforms, along with threat intelligence and incident response services.paloaltonetworks.com
What it sells
  • Cisco HypershieldA security architecture for data centers that segments workloads and closes exploit gaps at scale.
  • Cisco Secure AccessA secure access service edge (SASE) product that unifies networking and security policy for a distributed workforce.
  • Cisco Duo[1]An identity security product that gives visibility into an organization's identity ecosystem and enforces access policy.
  • Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)A network access control product that uses data from across Cisco's stack to enforce policy, manage endpoints and grant trusted access.
  • Splunk Enterprise Security[1]A security information and event management product that detects and responds to threats using collected logs and events.
  • Cisco Talos[1]A threat intelligence and research organization that supplies threat data used across Cisco's security products.
  • Strata[1][12][21]A network security platform built for Zero Trust and powered by AI.
  • Next-Generation Firewalls[20]Physical appliances and virtualized firewalls that can be managed with Panorama.
  • Cortex XSIAM[22]A security operations platform used by Abraxas.
  • Cortex XCOR[12]An AI-driven platform for observability.
  • Cortex Cloud[1][23]A cloud security product that unifies posture, runtime and investigation workflows.
  • Idira[1][11][12][25]An identity security product for human, machine and agentic identities.
  • Prisma AIRS[26][27]An AI security platform for enterprise AI applications and LLM deployments.
  • Prisma AIRS AI Gateway[27]A product that brings AI governance, identity and runtime controls together.
Categories
Headquarters
San Jose, United States[3][13]Santa Clara, United States[24]
Founded
1984[4]2005[4][24]
Ownership and funding
Public (NASDAQ: CSCO)[1][2][10][12][13]Public (NASDAQ: PANW)[2][9][13][15][18][19][21][22][30][32][33]
Named customers
  • Marriott[5]
  • United States Golf Association[6]
  • Rosen Hotels & Resorts[7]
  • Elon University[8]
  • Village Roadshow[5]
  • Banco Inter[6]
  • State of Louisiana[7]
  • Boyne Resorts[8]
Recent news
  • August 12, 2026Cisco reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $17.3 billion for the period ended July 25, 2026.[2]
  • May 13, 2026Cisco reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenue of $15.8 billion for the period ended April 25, 2026.[9]
  • May 4, 2026Cisco announced its intent to acquire Astrix Security, a non-human identity security company, and completed the acquisition on June 29, 2026.[10]
  • April 9, 2026Cisco announced its intent to acquire Galileo Technologies, Inc.[11]
  • November 25, 2025Cisco completed its acquisition of EzDubs, a privately held AI software company based in San Francisco.[13]
  • September 22, 2026Palo Alto Networks announced a new service that lets enterprises continuously find and fix exposures before attackers weaponize them.[17]
  • September 1, 2026Palo Alto Networks acquired Console, an AI-native platform that adds agentic capabilities to security operations workflows.[9]
  • September 1, 2026Palo Alto Networks reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $3.41 billion, up 34% year over year.[10]
  • May 29, 2026Palo Alto Networks announced it has closed its acquisition of Portkey, a company focused on AI Gateways.[30]
  • May 12, 2026Palo Alto Networks launched Idira, an identity security platform for discovering, controlling and governing human, machine and agentic identities.[11]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 5, 2026[12]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: listed, seen November 4, 2026[19]
Who it fits
From its own pages, Cisco sells mainly to enterprises that need to secure hybrid environments spanning data center, cloud, campus, and IoT. Cisco addresses organizations with a global workforce that need secure access for humans, things, and agents under one consistent policy model. Cisco addresses enterprises that want to govern an agentic AI workforce. Security teams are addressed with unified intelligence and operations for visibility across users, systems, and AI agents.From its own pages, Palo Alto Networks sells network security for branch offices, data centers, public cloud environments and mobile networks. Its customer stories name a tire manufacturer headquartered in India and a provider of IT solutions for the public sector in Switzerland. That provider has state and local government organisations under management. Its pages describe operational technology security for networks that manage physical hardware across manufacturing plants and water utilities, and cover healthcare delivery organizations such as hospitals and clinics.
Last verified
October 10, 2026October 10, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Firewalls and NGFW is the primary category of both Cisco and Palo Alto Networks.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.
  • Both are public companies.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Cisco is also filed under SASE and SSE, Network access control and SIEM. Palo Alto Networks is also filed under Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP), EDR and XDR and Privileged access management.
  • Cisco lists Cisco Hypershield, Cisco Secure Access, Cisco Duo, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), Splunk Enterprise Security and 1 more. Palo Alto Networks lists Strata, Next-Generation Firewalls, Cortex XSIAM, Cortex XCOR, Cortex Cloud and 3 more.
  • Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, United States. Palo Alto Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States.
  • Cisco was founded in 1984. Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005.
  • Cisco is a public company listed on NASDAQ as CSCO. Palo Alto Networks is a public company listed on NASDAQ as PANW.
  • Cisco publicly names Marriott, United States Golf Association, Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Elon University. Palo Alto Networks publicly names Village Roadshow, Banco Inter, State of Louisiana and Boyne Resorts.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Cisco and Palo Alto Networks under Firewalls and NGFW as their primary category. CISO Tribune also files Cisco under SASE and SSE, Network access control, and SIEM, and Cisco sells Cisco Secure Access, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Splunk Enterprise Security in those areas. CISO Tribune also files Palo Alto Networks under Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP), EDR and XDR, and Privileged access management, and Palo Alto Networks sells Strata, Cortex XSIAM, Cortex Cloud and Idira. Cisco sells identity security through Cisco Duo, while Palo Alto Networks sells Idira for human, machine and agentic identities. Cisco describes controls to govern an agentic AI workforce, and Palo Alto Networks sells Prisma AIRS and Prisma AIRS AI Gateway for AI security.

Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, United States, was founded in 1984, and is a public company listed on NASDAQ as CSCO. Palo Alto Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States, was founded in 2005, and is a public company listed on NASDAQ as PANW. Cisco publicly names Marriott, United States Golf Association, Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Elon University as customers. Palo Alto Networks publicly names Village Roadshow, Banco Inter, State of Louisiana and Boyne Resorts as customers.

On August 12, 2026, Cisco reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $17.3 billion for the period ended July 25, 2026. Cisco announced its intent to acquire Astrix Security on May 4, 2026, and completed the acquisition on June 29, 2026. On September 1, 2026, Palo Alto Networks reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $3.41 billion, up 34% year over year, and acquired Console. Palo Alto Networks completed acquisitions of CyberArk on February 11, 2026, Koi on April 14, 2026, and Portkey on May 29, 2026.

What it sells: Palo Alto Networks

What Strata does[1][12][21]
Palo Alto Networks says the Strata Network Security Platform is built for Zero Trust and powered by AI. Palo Alto Networks says Strata proactively monitors, analyzes and prevents sophisticated threats in real time.
What Next-Generation Firewalls does[20]
Palo Alto Networks offers next-generation firewalls as physical appliances and virtualized firewalls. They can be managed individually or centrally using Panorama, and Strata Cloud Manager supports them. Palo Alto Networks says its NGFW uses App-ID technology to classify applications across all ports.
What Cortex XSIAM does[22]
Abraxas says Cortex XSIAM unites SIEM and EDR in one integrated solution. Cortex XSIAM provides SecOps across 3,000 clients and in-house Abraxas devices.
What Prisma AIRS does[26][27]
Prisma AIRS is an AI security platform designed to secure the entire enterprise AI ecosystem and to protect AI applications and LLM deployments. Prisma AIRS offers deployment modes such as Network Intercept and API Intercept.
What Prisma AIRS AI Gateway does[27]
Prisma AIRS AI Gateway brings AI governance, identity and runtime controls together in one place. Prisma AIRS AI Gateway intercepts and optimizes agentic traffic while inspecting and securing communications to protect agents from attacks.

Questions about Cisco and Palo Alto Networks

What do Cisco and Palo Alto Networks sell?
Cisco sells Cisco Hypershield, Cisco Secure Access, Cisco Duo, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), Splunk Enterprise Security and 1 more. Palo Alto Networks sells Strata, Next-Generation Firewalls, Cortex XSIAM, Cortex XCOR, Cortex Cloud and 3 more.
Are Cisco and Palo Alto Networks in the same category?
Yes. Firewalls and NGFW is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Cisco and Palo Alto Networks headquartered?
Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, United States. Palo Alto Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States.
When were Cisco and Palo Alto Networks founded?
Cisco was founded in 1984. Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005.
Who owns Cisco and Palo Alto Networks?
Cisco is a public company listed on NASDAQ as CSCO. Palo Alto Networks is a public company listed on NASDAQ as PANW.
Which customers do Cisco and Palo Alto Networks name?
Cisco publicly names Marriott, United States Golf Association, Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Elon University. Palo Alto Networks publicly names Village Roadshow, Banco Inter, State of Louisiana and Boyne Resorts.
Who are Cisco and Palo Alto Networks sold to?
From its own pages, Cisco sells mainly to enterprises that need to secure hybrid environments spanning data center, cloud, campus, and IoT. From its own pages, Palo Alto Networks sells network security for branch offices, data centers, public cloud environments and mobile networks.
What have Cisco and Palo Alto Networks announced recently?
August 12, 2026: Cisco reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of $17.3 billion for the period ended July 25, 2026. September 22, 2026: Palo Alto Networks announced a new service that lets enterprises continuously find and fix exposures before attackers weaponize them.

About Cisco

Cisco sells security products that protect users, devices, apps, and data. Cisco describes the offering as an open, network-native platform built to handle today's threats and enable the agentic enterprise at scale.

Cisco says its security applies policy, inspection, and enforcement at every connection. Cisco also describes unified data for earlier detection and faster response, powered by AI-driven context.

For cloud protection, Cisco describes securing modern cloud and AI apps at runtime with segmentation that keeps up with change, vulnerability shielding to close the patching gap, and protection for AI workloads. Cisco Encrypted Visibility Engine (EVE) is used to find malicious flows in encrypted traffic and to decrypt without sacrificing performance. Cisco says it stops zero days using Snort ML and Talos Threat Intelligence. Cisco offers distributed, optimized enforcement with unified management across a hybrid enterprise, and the same enforcement is described for data center, cloud, campus, and IoT environments.

Cisco describes a security architecture designed to defend modern, AI-scale data centers. Cisco says the architecture closes exploit gaps, segments everywhere, and self-qualifies updates and changes.

For workforce protection, Cisco describes secure access for humans, things, and agents with one consistent policy model. Cisco offers a cloud-native security service edge (SSE) that includes digital experience monitoring. Cisco offers a single-vendor SASE that unifies networking and security for a global workforce. Cisco offers identity security for the workforce that helps see across the entire identity ecosystem. Cisco offers multicloud NAC with zero trust, which uses intel from across the stack to enforce policy, manage endpoints, and deliver trusted access.

For threat intelligence and response, Cisco describes detecting, investigating, and responding faster with unified intelligence and operations. Cisco says this gives a team continuous visibility across users, systems, and AI agents in a single platform. Cisco describes unifying the data fabric, analytics, tooling and AI to automate the mundane, clarify the complex, and proactively mitigate risk.

Cisco also addresses agentic AI. Cisco describes safeguarding the agentic workforce against malicious attacks and data leakage. Cisco says it integrates identity, access, and behavioral controls to govern an agentic AI workforce and reduce risk. At RSAC 2026, Jeetu Patel, Cisco's President and Chief Product Officer, challenged the industry to fundamentally reimagine security.

Cisco Services provide expert guidance to plan, design, implement, operate, and optimize an IT environment. Cisco says support for Cisco Security products is available through the Cisco support hub, which provides product-specific resources, documentation, downloads, and expert assistance.

Cisco on the record

Sources

Cisco full record

  1. [1]Security Products and Solutions for Cloud and Workforce Protection - CiscoCisco · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cisco reports fourth quarter earningsCisco · newsroom.cisco.com · published August 12, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]IndexCisco · cisco.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cisco systems reaches agreement with state city on major land purchaseCisco · newsroom.cisco.com · published April 17, 1996 · Tier A
  5. [5]MarriottCisco · cisco.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]cisco.comCisco · cisco.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Rosen hotels and resortsCisco · cisco.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Elon universityCisco · cisco.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Cisco reports third quarter earningsCisco · newsroom.cisco.com · published May 13, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Cisco announces intent to acquire astrix securityCisco · blogs.cisco.com · published May 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Making AI Trustworthy and Observable in Real-Time: Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire GalileoCisco Blogs · published April 9, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Cisco Security Services Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  13. [13]Cisco completes EzDubs acquisition - CiscoCisco · published November 25, 2025 · Tier A

Palo Alto Networks full record

  1. [1]paloaltonetworks.comPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Palo alto networks to announce fiscal second quarter 2026 financial results on tuesday february 17 2026Palo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · published February 3, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Panw 20250731Palo Alto Networks via SEC EDGAR · sec.gov · published July 31, 2025 · Tier A
  4. [4]Palo alto networks global identity operations faqPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Village roadshow fortifies entertainment empire with ai powered cybersecurityPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Banco inter resolves cases faster with cortex xsiamPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Louisiana scales security using ai driven cortex xsiamPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Boyne resorts achieves game changing soc improvements with cortex xsiam and unit 42 mdrPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Palo alto networks acquires console to agentify securityPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · published September 1, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Palo alto networks reports fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 financial resultsPalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · published September 1, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Palo alto networks introduces idira the next generation identity security platform built for the ai enterprisePalo Alto Networks · paloaltonetworks.com · published May 12, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Leader in Cybersecurity Protection & Software for the Modern Enterprises - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Advanced Threat Prevention - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Legitimate SaaS Platforms Being Used to Host Phishing AttacksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Palo Alto Networks Completes Chronosphere Acquisition, Unifying Observability and Security for the AI EraPalo Alto Networks · published January 29, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Palo Alto Networks to Acquire Portkey to Secure the Rise of AI AgentsPalo Alto Networks · published April 30, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Palo Alto Networks Delivers Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 to Customers with Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI DefensePalo Alto Networks · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls Reviews & Product DetailsG2 · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier C
  19. [19]Palo Alto Networks Reviews, Ratings & Features 2026 - GartnerGartner Peer Insights · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier C
  20. [20]Next-Generation Firewalls - Product Selection - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  21. [21]Next-Generation Firewalls - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  22. [22]Abraxas unlocks agile, AI-powered SecOps across the Swiss public sector using Cortex XSIAM - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  23. [23]Navigate the Cortex Cloud Runtime Security docs | Cortex Documentation PortalPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  24. [24]Apollo Tyres unifies security and slashes MTTR with Palo Alto Networks - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  25. [25]Authorized Training Partners - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  26. [26]Prisma AIRS - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  27. [27]The AI Control Plane for the Enterprise - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  28. [28]What Is Healthcare Cybersecurity? - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  29. [29]What Is OT Security? Definition, Architecture & Guide - Palo Alto NetworksPalo Alto Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  30. [30]Palo Alto Networks Completes Acquisition of Portkey to Secure AI AgentsPalo Alto Networks · published May 29, 2026 · Tier A
  31. [31]Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Koi to Secure the Agentic EndpointPalo Alto Networks · published February 17, 2026 · Tier A
  32. [32]Palo Alto Networks Completes Acquisition of CyberArk to Secure the AI EraPalo Alto Networks · published February 11, 2026 · Tier A
  33. [33]Palo Alto Networks Completes Acquisition of Koi to Secure the Agentic EndpointPalo Alto Networks · published April 14, 2026 · Tier A

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