Prisma SD-WAN ION Virtual Appliance (BYOL)

What do you like best about the product?

Prisma SD-WAN has been a game-changer. The biggest win for us is definitely the centralized management – having that "single pane of glass" view, especially with our existing Palo Alto firewalls, is incredibly valuable. It makes troubleshooting so much faster and more intuitive. I also love how it dynamically steers traffic based on real-time conditions. We've seen a noticeable improvement in application performance, and the lag that used to frustrate our team has pretty much disappeared.

What do you dislike about the product?

One thing that took some getting used to was the terminology and how policies are structured within the orchestrator. It's powerful, but there's a definite learning curve to fully grasp its intricacies. The UI, while functional, could also use a bit of polish in certain areas. Sometimes, navigating between different policy layers or trying to find specific logs feels like it requires more clicks than it should. And I've heard some folks mention that the documentation could be more robust – luckily, we haven't hit too many roadblocks that required deep dives into it, but it's something to consider.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Prisma SD-WAN addresses several key challenges:
- High WAN Costs and Complexity: It reduces reliance on expensive MPLS by intelligently utilizing cheaper broadband and LTE/5G connections, lowering operational costs and simplifying network setup.
- Poor Application Performance: It ensures critical applications (especially SaaS) always have the best path, dynamically routing traffic to minimize latency and packet loss, leading to a significantly improved user experience.
- Limited Network Visibility and Manual Management: It provides centralized, deep visibility into network and application performance, and automates many operational tasks through AI/ML (AIOps), reducing manual effort and speeding up troubleshooting.
- Inconsistent Branch Security: It integrates security natively, often as part of a SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) strategy, ensuring consistent security policies across all locations and for all users and devices.
For me, this translates to cost savings, better application performance for our users, and a vastly simplified network management experience. We spend less time troubleshooting and more time on strategic initiatives.

What do you like best about the product?

The cloud-native model is interesting, the policy-based approach is conceptually modern, and the integration with Palo Alto’s broader ecosystem is definitely a plus

What do you dislike about the product?

Complex and unintuitive management interface – The console is not user-friendly, and many configurations require a steep learning curve, even for teams already familiar with other SD-WAN solutions.

Lack of stability – We experienced instability in tunnels and failovers that weren’t always timely. In critical environments, this is a serious concern.

Limitations in complex scenarios – The product seems to perform better in standardized deployments. When dealing with advanced configurations or integration with existing systems, options are often rigid or require workarounds that feel like temporary fixes.

Support needs improvement – Response times are not always fast, and we frequently had to re-explain the same issue to multiple support engineers. Additionally, the available documentation is scattered and, in some cases, outdated.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Prisma SD-WAN is designed to solve challenges related to traditional WAN architectures, such as complex site-to-site configurations, inefficient use of bandwidth, and lack of visibility or centralized control. Its cloud-delivered model aims to simplify branch connectivity, improve application performance, and provide granular policy enforcement across distributed networks.
In our usage is reducing the dependency from Service Provider MPLS networks

What do you like best about the product?

What I like best about Prisma SD-WAN is how intelligent and automated the path selection is.
It constantly monitors the performance of all WAN links and dynamically steers traffic based on real-time conditions like latency, jitter, and packet loss — which has significantly improved application performance without me needing to manually intervene.
I also like the management over cloud which is easy to control.

What do you dislike about the product?

One thing I dislike about Prisma SD-WAN is that the initial learning curve can be a bit steep, especially if you're coming from a traditional networking background. The terminology and the way policies are structured in the orchestrator take some time to get used to.
Lastly, the UI — while functional — could be a bit more hard in some areas. For example, navigating between different policy layers or finding certain logs sometimes takes more clicks than it should.

That said, these are mostly usability issues, and once you're familiar with the platform, they’re manageable.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

The biggest one being reliable and efficient connectivity across multiple sites. Before, we were dealing with complex routing setups, inconsistent performance across WAN links, and limited visibility into application traffic.

With Prisma SD-WAN, we now have dynamic path selection based on real-time network conditions, which means critical applications like VoIP and video conferencing always get the best possible link. That’s directly improved user experience and reduced complaints from remote offices.

What do you like best about the product?

honestly, I was bracing for a headache, but it just clicked right into place. Once it was running, everything felt smoother; our apps worked better, and the lag that used to frustrate the team pretty much disappeared. On top of that, knowing our network is more secure with all these new devices popping up everywhere is such a relief. Plus, saving money every month doesn’t hurt! It’s those little wins that make it feel like a smart, no-nonsense upgrade.

What do you dislike about the product?

honestly, tweaking the analytics dashboards to fit what we need feels way more complicated than it should be and What bugs me most is that sometimes video calls get choppy, which is really annoying when you’re trying to stay professional.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Prisma SD-WAN fixed our slow apps and security worries, especially with more devices from hybrid work. Everything runs smoother now, the team’s happier, and it saved us money—which is a big relief.

What do you like best about the product?

The compatibility with a lot of enviroments because we some time we need to communicate cloud with onprem and the configurations we need to follow are so easy to configurate

What do you dislike about the product?

1. Complex initial setup – The onboarding process can be complex, especially for teams without deep networking experience.
2. Steep learning curve – The interface and configuration options are powerful but may feel overwhelming at first.
3. Documentation gaps – Some users report that documentation is either too generic or lacks real-world deployment examples.
4. UI performance – The web interface can sometimes be slow or unintuitive, especially when navigating large configurations.
5. Licensing and cost – Pricing models may not be straightforward, and costs can grow with scale.
6. Integration quirks – Integration with legacy systems or third-party solutions may require manual workarounds.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Prisma SD-WAN helps solve the challenge of managing and optimizing connectivity across multiple branch locations. Traditional WAN architectures relying on MPLS were costly, rigid, and hard to scale. With Prisma SD-WAN, we can use broadband and LTE links efficiently, while still maintaining high availability and performance.