Cisco Catalyst Center vs Hermes Secure Email Gateway
Cisco Catalyst Center
cisco.com
Hermes Secure Email Gateway
hermesseg.ioSide by side
| Figure | Cisco Catalyst Center | Hermes Secure Email Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $62.50/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 3 |
| Spec score · Email Security Gateways | 7.8 (#6) | 9.0 (#1) |
| Deployment | Cisco describes hardware and virtual appliance deployments, including current guides for VMware ESXi and Ubuntu KVM. | It can run as a gateway in front of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, or Postfix, as a full mail server, or in hybrid mode. |
| Integrations | Cisco documents integrations with ISE, ThousandEyes, Webex, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, Infoblox, and BlueCat, plus generic APIs for other ITSM and IPAM systems. | Published integration targets include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, Postfix, Nextcloud, LDAP and Active Directory. |
| Support | Cisco says Catalyst and Cisco DNA software subscriptions include embedded software support and downloads; opening a support case requires a Cisco Service Contract. | Community support is informal through GitHub forums, the issue tracker, Matrix, and Telegram; direct vendor support requires eligible Pro support coverage or purchased incidents. |
Plans
Cisco Catalyst Center
- Cisco DNA AdvantagePriced on request
- Cisco DNA EssentialsPriced on request
Hermes Secure Email Gateway
- Community EditionFree
- Community EditionFree
- Pro Edition$750 a year
In their own words
Cisco Catalyst Center
Cisco Catalyst Center has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Hermes Secure Email Gateway
Hermes Secure Email Gateway is a self-hosted Docker Compose stack for email security, mail hosting, encryption, and collaboration. It can sit in front of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, or Postfix, run as a full mail server, or combine those roles in a hybrid setup. Incoming mail passes through Postfix postscreen and RBL checks, followed by scanning orchestrated by Amavisd-new with SpamAssassin and ClamAV. Hermes checks SPF, signs and verifies DKIM, enforces and aggregates DMARC, and signs and verifies ARC. Encryption options include SMTP TLS, S/MIME, PGP, encrypted PDF fallback, and Dovecot mail-crypt at rest. Full-server mode adds Dovecot mailboxes, IMAPS, POP3S, Submission, LMTP, quotas, shared mailboxes, and Sieve rules. Bundled Nextcloud supplies file sync, webmail, calendars, and contacts; Authelia provides single sign-on and multi-factor options. The free Community Edition is open source. Pro costs $750.00 per year per server and has a free 30-day trial. Hermes requires a Linux host with Docker Engine 24.0 or later and Docker Compose v2.