Cisco Secure Client (formerly AnyConnect) for Remote Access
Introduction
If you have ever connected to a corporate network from home, there is a fair chance you clicked an icon called AnyConnect. It is one of the most widely deployed remote-access VPN clients in business, and as a Cisco and Meraki certified firm we deploy it constantly. There is just one thing that confuses people: AnyConnect is not really called AnyConnect any more. This is our practical guide to Cisco Secure Client, what the rename changed, where it fits and what it costs.
Yes, AnyConnect is now Cisco Secure Client
Let us settle the naming, because half the searches still say the old name. At version 5, released in 2022, Cisco renamed "AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client" to Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect). The current release line is 5.1.x.
Practically, nothing you relied on disappeared. The VPN client you knew is still there; it is now one module inside a broader Secure Client package. Cisco keeps "AnyConnect" in the official product name precisely because the brand is so well established. So when your staff say "the AnyConnect thing", they mean Cisco Secure Client, and the two names refer to the same software.
What it is and where it runs
Cisco Secure Client is the endpoint software; it needs a Cisco headend to terminate the tunnel. In most businesses that headend is one of two things:
- Cisco Secure Firewall (the ASA and Firepower/FTD platforms), the traditional enterprise home for AnyConnect-style VPN.
- Cisco Meraki MX, the cloud-managed security appliance, which supports Secure Client for remote access alongside its own client VPN options.
That second point matters for a lot of South Wales businesses, because Meraki is popular with firms that want cloud-managed simplicity. If you run a Meraki MX, you can offer staff the same enterprise-grade client without standing up a separate firewall.
The client itself is genuinely cross-platform, covering Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, so a mixed fleet of company laptops and personal phones is not a problem.
Licensing: Advantage vs Premier
Secure Client is licensed per user, and this is where it separates from the free options. Licensing is counted by the number of unique or authorised users, and it comes in two tiers:
- Secure Client Advantage covers the core remote-access VPN: device and per-application VPN, third-party IKEv2 headend support, trusted network detection and basic device context. It also bundles non-VPN extras such as the Network Access Manager 802.1X supplicant and the Umbrella roaming module. Advantage is available as a 12 to 60 month subscription or as a perpetual licence.
- Secure Client Premier adds the advanced posture services, endpoint posture for Secure Firewall and ISE posture through Cisco Identity Services Engine, so you can check a device's health before it is allowed on. Premier is subscription only, 12 to 60 months.
We will not quote you a per-user figure here because it depends on term, quantity and how you buy. The point to take away is that Secure Client is a paid, per-user product, and you are paying for control and integration rather than just an encrypted tunnel.
More than a VPN: the module story
The rename to Secure Client reflects what the software has become. Beyond the VPN, the package can carry additional modules such as Umbrella for DNS-layer protection, Secure Endpoint for anti-malware, Network Visibility for flow telemetry, and the posture agents mentioned above. You deploy one client and switch on the modules your licence and needs justify. For an organisation trying to reduce the number of agents on every laptop, that consolidation is a real operational win.
It also changes how you think about a remote worker's laptop. Instead of a VPN that simply grants access and then looks away, you get a client that can check the device on connection, protect it while it is off the network, and feed telemetry back to your security team. For a business that has to answer questions after an incident, that trail of who connected, from what device and in what state, is worth as much as the tunnel itself.
What we deploy Secure Client for
We reach for Cisco Secure Client when a business has requirements the free options cannot meet. A regulated firm that has to prove a connecting device is patched and encrypted before granting access uses Premier and ISE posture to enforce exactly that. A larger organisation with an existing Cisco Secure Firewall or a Meraki MX estate gets Secure Client because it slots into infrastructure and identity systems they already run. A business that wants a single managed client across a mixed fleet, with logging that stands up to an audit, gets the consolidation the platform is built for.
In short, it earns its licence cost through scale, posture and integration. For a five-person team on UniFi kit it would be overkill, and we would say so.
Is it right for your business?
Choose Cisco Secure Client when you already run Cisco or Meraki, when compliance demands posture and identity controls, or when your headcount justifies enterprise management. If you want vendor-neutral, self-hosted control instead, OpenVPN is worth a look, and if you are a small team on UniFi that just needs quick, cheap access, Ubiquiti Teleport will likely do the job. Our remote-access VPN pillar guide lays the three out together.
As a Cisco and Meraki certified team, we deploy and support Secure Client across Cardiff, Swansea, Bridgend, Newport and the wider South Wales area as part of our firewall and VPN service. If you are running Cisco or Meraki and want remote access set up properly, licences included, get in touch for a free consultation and we will design it around your compliance and scale.