This article is part of the Cisco Enterprise Agreement Negotiation Guide — the complete pillar resource for Cisco EA strategy.
Cisco's Security Portfolio: An Acquisition Story
Cisco has invested over $15 billion in security acquisitions over the past decade. The key products relevant to enterprise negotiation are: Cisco Umbrella (acquired as OpenDNS in 2015), Duo Security (acquired 2018 for $2.35B), Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly Advanced Malware Protection / AMP, acquired via Sourcefire 2013), and the Cisco XDR platform (built from Kenna Security, SecureX, and internal development).
This acquisition heritage means Cisco's security products were built by different teams, use different pricing models, have different renewal cycles, and face different competitive dynamics. Buyers who treat Cisco security as a monolithic portfolio typically overpay. The opportunity is to evaluate and negotiate each product on its competitive merits.
Cisco Umbrella: DNS Security Negotiation
Cisco Umbrella is a DNS-layer security and Secure Web Gateway (SWG) platform. It protects users from malicious internet traffic by filtering DNS queries and proxying web traffic before threats reach endpoints. Umbrella is sold in tiered packages: DNS Security Essentials, DNS Security Advantage, SIG Essentials, and SIG Advantage.
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Umbrella Competitive Landscape
Umbrella competes primarily with Zscaler Internet Access, Palo Alto Prisma Access, Netskope, and (for SME) Cloudflare Gateway. The Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market is highly competitive in 2026, with all major vendors offering DNS security as part of broader SASE/SSE (Security Service Edge) platforms.
| Product | Primary Competitor | Buyer Leverage Level | Best Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco Umbrella | Zscaler ZIA, Palo Alto Prisma | High — active SASE competition | Zscaler/Palo Alto competitive RFP; Cisco responds with 20–30% discount |
| Duo Security | Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping | High — Microsoft E3/E5 overlap | Assess M365 Entra ID MFA overlap; use as non-renewal threat |
| Cisco Secure Endpoint | CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender | Very high — weakest Cisco position | CrowdStrike/SentinelOne competitive RFP; M365 E5 Defender overlap |
| Cisco XDR | Palo Alto Cortex, Microsoft Sentinel | High — newer platform, less enterprise validation | Challenge XDR ROI vs. existing SIEM investment; delay or defer |
Microsoft E5 overlap strategy: Microsoft 365 E5 includes Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (EDR), Microsoft Entra ID P2 (MFA/Conditional Access), Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB), and Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM/XDR). For organisations already on M365 E5, the functional overlap with Duo, Secure Endpoint, and Umbrella is substantial. Quantifying this overlap in a formal assessment before Cisco renewal is the single most effective lever for security cost reduction.
Cisco Duo Security: MFA Licensing Negotiation
Duo Security provides multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and zero-trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities. It is sold in four tiers: Duo Free, Duo MFA, Duo Access, and Duo Business (formerly Duo Premier).
Duo is Cisco's most competitively exposed security product in the enterprise market. The primary competitive alternatives are: Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) P1 and P2, Okta Identity Cloud, Ping Identity, and Google Identity. Crucially, most enterprises with Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 already have Entra ID P1 included — providing basic MFA and Conditional Access policies without additional cost.
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Duo vs. Microsoft Entra ID: The Overlap Assessment
Before any Duo renewal, conduct a capability gap analysis between your existing Microsoft Entra ID licence tier and Duo Business features. Key questions to answer:
- Which Duo features do you actively use beyond basic MFA (ZTNA, Device Trust, Duo Mobile push)?
- Does Entra ID Conditional Access cover your primary access control requirements?
- Are there integration requirements (non-Azure applications, VPN authentication, legacy RADIUS) that Entra ID cannot serve?
- What is the migration complexity from Duo to Entra ID for your application estate?
Even if you ultimately decide to keep Duo, documenting this analysis and presenting it to Cisco creates powerful leverage. Cisco knows Duo's vulnerability against Microsoft Entra ID and will respond aggressively to credible migration threats.
Cisco Secure Endpoint: EDR Negotiation
Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly Advanced Malware Protection / AMP for Endpoints) is Cisco's endpoint detection and response (EDR) product. It is Cisco's weakest competitive security position in the enterprise market.
The EDR market is dominated by CrowdStrike Falcon and SentinelOne, with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (included in M365 E5) increasingly competitive for Microsoft-centric enterprises. Gartner and Forrester consistently rate CrowdStrike and SentinelOne above Cisco Secure Endpoint across most evaluation criteria.
For enterprises renewing Cisco Secure Endpoint, the negotiation approach should be aggressive:
- Obtain a fully scoped competitive quote from CrowdStrike or SentinelOne (not just a ballpark)
- If on M365 E5, quantify Defender for Endpoint capability parity vs. Secure Endpoint for your specific requirements
- Present competitive quotes to Cisco with a credible evaluation timeline (e.g., "we are running a 3-month POC of CrowdStrike starting next quarter")
- Cisco will typically respond with 25–40% additional discount to retain Secure Endpoint business
- Alternatively, use competitive leverage to negotiate a broader Cisco EA discount that offsets Secure Endpoint cost
Cisco XDR: Evaluation Before Commitment
Cisco's XDR (Extended Detection and Response) platform is a relatively new offering built by integrating SecureX, Kenna Security, and other acquisitions. While Cisco has invested significantly in XDR capability, it remains a younger platform than Palo Alto Cortex XDR, Microsoft Sentinel, or Splunk for enterprise SOC use cases.
Key considerations before committing to Cisco XDR: evaluate total cost of ownership including onboarding and integration effort, assess your existing SIEM investment (if you already have Splunk or Microsoft Sentinel, the case for XDR duplication is weak), and require Cisco to provide reference customers with comparable architecture and use cases before signing.
Cisco XDR is often proposed as an add-on to existing EA structures. In our experience, buyers who push back and request inclusion at no additional cost during EA renewal negotiations regularly succeed — Cisco views XDR adoption as a retention mechanism and will discount aggressively to drive adoption.
Security Portfolio Bundle Negotiation
Cisco increasingly bundles Umbrella, Duo, and Secure Endpoint into "Cisco Security" suite packages within the EA framework. This bundling creates both cost efficiency (vs. buying products individually) and negotiating complexity (harder to assess individual product value and competitive alternatives).
Best practice is to maintain visibility into the per-product cost breakdown even when negotiating a security bundle. Request that Cisco provide explicit per-product pricing within any bundle quote. This allows you to assess each product's competitive position individually and identify which products to push back on hardest.
For comprehensive security portfolio negotiation support, contact our Cisco advisory team. We also recommend reviewing our software audit defence service if you are concerned about Cisco licence compliance exposure alongside security product negotiations.
Security Negotiation Priority Ranking
Not all Cisco security products offer equal negotiating leverage. Based on competitive dynamics in 2026, here is our recommended priority ranking for negotiating effort:
- Cisco Secure Endpoint — Highest leverage; CrowdStrike/SentinelOne are clearly superior alternatives in most analyst rankings. Any credible POC threat drives significant Cisco response
- Cisco Duo — High leverage for M365 customers; Entra ID overlap is real and quantifiable. Most effective for organisations already on E3/E5
- Cisco Umbrella — High leverage in SASE-evaluating organisations; Zscaler and Palo Alto Prisma are credible alternatives that Cisco actively competes against
- Cisco XDR — Medium leverage; newer product, less critical to defend. Push for inclusion in EA at no additional cost or significant discount
Contact our advisory team for a personalised Cisco security cost analysis, or request a free spend assessment. Also read the software audit defence guide for Cisco compliance risk management alongside negotiation strategy.