Atera vs. Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Atera
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Atera's Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Helpdesk, Ticketing, and automations platform supports organizational IT management at scale with the proprietary Action AI™ solution. Atera's IT Copilot augments existing tech capabilities with AI auto script generation, ticket summaries, and recommended solutions. Atera’s platform features: Windows, Mac, and Linux agents and support Proactive IT management capabilities help address potential…
$139
per month per user
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Palo Alto next-generation firewalls classify all traffic, including encrypted and internal traffic, based on application, application function, user and content. Users can create security policies to enable only authorized users to run sanctioned applications.
$1.50
per hour per available zone
Pricing
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Editions & Modules
MSP - Pro
$129
per month (billed annually) per user
IT Department - Professional
$149
per month (billed annually) per user
MSP - Growth
$179
per month (billed annually) per user
IT Department - Expert
$189
per month (billed annually) per user
MSP - Power
$209
per month (billed annually) per user
IT Department - Master
$219
per month (billed annually) per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsUnlimited devices.Users may also choose to pay per gigabyte of data used starting at .065/GB. Note that prices listed here reflect installations via Amazon Web Services. Pricing may differ if other service providers are used.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Features
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Application Performance Management
Comparison of Application Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
Atera
10.0
1 Ratings
32% above category average
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Virtualization monitoring10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
IT Asset Discovery10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring Tasks
Comparison of Monitoring Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Atera
9.4
113 Ratings
24% above category average
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Remote monitoring9.1112 Ratings00 Ratings
Network device monitoring8.899 Ratings00 Ratings
Activity Monitoring10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Management Tasks
Comparison of Management Tasks features of Product A and Product B
Atera
9.2
112 Ratings
23% above category average
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Patch Management8.7111 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based automation8.597 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Access
Comparison of Remote Access features of Product A and Product B
Atera
7.8
1 Ratings
13% above category average
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Attended device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Unattended device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile device access1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Virtual device access10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple-display support7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple concurrent sessions9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Atera
-
Ratings
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
8.7
23 Ratings
1% above category average
Identification Technologies00 Ratings9.523 Ratings
Visualization Tools00 Ratings7.523 Ratings
Content Inspection00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Policy-based Controls00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP00 Ratings9.522 Ratings
Firewall Management Console00 Ratings9.023 Ratings
Reporting and Logging00 Ratings8.023 Ratings
VPN00 Ratings9.023 Ratings
High Availability00 Ratings9.522 Ratings
Stateful Inspection00 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Proxy Server00 Ratings5.011 Ratings
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AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
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User Ratings
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(115 ratings)
9.5
(39 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
(4 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(62 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(5 ratings)
8.4
(9 ratings)
User Testimonials
AteraPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
Atera
If you want an extremely small, easy-to-install setup for your servers that manages your machine's IT part hassle-free and integrates with some amazing third-party tools at decent pricing, you should definitely go forward with Atera. However, the tool does have certain limitations on aspects like features and customization, so do check if Atera has those features you require before subscription or trial.
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Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series are extremely versatile. Whether it be a one office location or multiple sites, the Panorama interface allows centralized management. I've found Palo Alto does a great job with their updates and supporting customers. As a cybersecurity professional, I like that Palo Alto's products offer a wide range of controls to support defense in depth. It is easy for security and network infrastructure teams to use the same consoles to deliver performance with security built in.
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Pros
Atera
  • Remoting in from anywhere, even on my phone or tablet, has enabled me to quickly diagnose, or even fully resolve, problems.
  • The ticketing, once users are set up, is a breeze. It also keeps everything in one place for them.
  • With Atera the need to travel on-site has been dramatically reduced.
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Palo Alto Networks
  • The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
  • The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
  • The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
  • It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.
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Cons
Atera
  • Some basic functions need some extra work
  • Some basic things are behind paywalls
  • Feature board is not credible. Ideas taking very, very long to implement
  • Atera has no clear road map
  • SNMP monitoring needs a make over and needs more options
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Palo Alto Networks
  • Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
  • Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
  • Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
  • Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.
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Likelihood to Renew
Atera
As of right now, we have found nothing that can offer as many features as Atera does along with the affordability. They are doing monthly releases each month and not just making small changes (shared scripting library, chocolatey support, Install packages, Splashtop SOS support, Scheduled tickets to name a few). The uptimes are great and accessibility to the dashboard has yet to be limited. We are a happy customer and bordering on fanboy status now
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Palo Alto Networks
The PA5220s have far exceeded what we have expected out of them. It was a bit of a learning curve coming from another vendor, but everything falls into place now with ease. The capabilities of the solution still surprise us, allowing us to remove other costly hardware and providing a single point of management needed
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Usability
Atera
Atera has a user-friendly interface that improves navigation. Support staff can quickly access real-time alerts and remote devices and manage tickets without much training. ​Atera’s usability has positively impacted our organization by increasing operational efficiency and improving response times to resolve issues.
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Palo Alto Networks
The few aspects of the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series that could use improvement - such as slow commit times, which I hear they have improved on in the newest models - are vastly outshined by everything else these appliances provide. We have been using the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series appliances for more than 10 years and plan to continue using them for the foreseeable future.
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Support Rating
Atera
Atera support provides answers to my questions lightning fast. They have never left me feeling like I'm out there on my own. I can ask questions by email, or by chat, or by opening a ticket with them and they are always on it quickly. They also have a forum where other Atera users can help you if you need it, and you can also add feature requests via the forum.
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Palo Alto Networks
We've run into a couple undocumented bugs, but that seems to happen with every brand and technology. Any time we've had to engage Palo Alto support they've always been professional, knowledgeable and prompt. In almost all cases we've been able to resolve our issues without having to escalate our tickets.
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Alternatives Considered
Atera
Because Atera is a much more effective and efficient solution to manage all our IT operations, it automates each of our business processes. It offers us the best support to respond to any problem that may arise. I think Atera is much more cost-effective and reliable; its value is justified with each function and satisfies all our business needs and requirements.
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Palo Alto Networks
We are using Cisco ASA before in our environment but when it comes to deep scanning & layer 7 security it doesn't have that capability. After using Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall we are using sandboxing & advance malware protection that provides high-level end-user security. Also after implementing it we can easily monitor user-level traffic.
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Return on Investment
Atera
  • The intuitive user interface has enabled both users and support technicians to familiarize themselves quickly with the functionality, and the learning curve is less.
  • Some features need to be accessed through documentation; they're not available directly on the dashboard.
  • Sometimes, internet access plays a significant role, whereas low connectivity is a hindrance.
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Palo Alto Networks
  • Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
  • There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.
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ScreenShots

Atera Screenshots

Screenshot of Atera’s AI-powered solution.Screenshot of Atera's process automation.Screenshot of Atera's real-time monitoring, which gives visibility and control of the IT environment.Screenshot of Atera's ticketing, where users can deliver end-user support and issue resolution at scale.