Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Mimecast Integrated Cloud Email Security vs. Palo Alto Networks Advanced URL Filtering

I would say a small business with a basic firewall and security needs would be a perfect fit for the Barracuda CloudGen firewall. I know that they soon end up leaving the NG models and are moving forward with the F series firewall. I think the F series is a much more difficult to manage device and doesn’t offer simplistic configuration or use and lacks cloud control so I don’t understand the move on Barracuda’s part to nix a great easy to manage the firewall. I do think that the NG line is maybe too simple for bigger businesses and would lack some main features that they would require.

Incentivized

Implementation is fast and easy. It takes care of a large number of email security needs, with an established knowledgeable support team any problem or issue can be resolved promptly. As a cloud native solution the portal is easy to use and intuitive. Email archive is a great established product that is well designed and means IT have access to historical data quickly, the search feature is great. We find that there are a number of email security products like outbound DLP and signature management tools that would be great additions to Mimecast, but their offerings are weak. Missed opportunity.

Incentivized

Because of it's complexity, Palo may not be well suited for a small organization that may not have dedicated networking staff. But for a mid to large-sized enterprise, Palo shines.

Incentivized

• The management software is excellent. It make it much easier to manage the firewalls than some of the other vendors.
• Watching real-time traffic is easy to do when trying to troubleshoot a users issues getting to a particular service.
• Support from Barracuda has been excellent. We rate their phone and online remote support as being the best in the business.
• We like the QoS and Traffic shaping of the NG Firewalls. They help is manage our limited bandwidth, so that business critical resources are available over lesser critical resources.
• Integration with Active Directory makes it easy to identify users activities in logs.

Incentivized

• Stop inbound malicious emails
• protect end users from clicking on infected links in emails
• Provide interactive end user training to improve cyber security awareness

Incentivized

• Threat Detection and Prevention (Malwares, Un-Authorized Access)
• Out of the box patterns for threat detection
• Built in and Updated identification patterns
• Unified Dashboard/Alerting on anomaly

Incentivized

• Very complex and steep learning curve to get up to speed.
• Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature. Takes time to determine "your" customized build.
• Interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it's organized or arranged. Again, steep learning curve.

• Recent changes to the dashboard have meant you cannot see the portal in tab views, making use a little slow
• Outbound DLP rules are static and not as impressive as competitors on the market
• Reporting is extremely basic and limited top 20 results
• Email Signatures is impossible to use and a missed opportunity

Incentivized

• Steep learning curve
• The top-down URL filtering match can sometimes be tricky and requires some expertise in setting up the desired policy

Incentivized

Easy enough to use and configure using the management UI. Reporting from the web filter is a little clunky, and not very user friendly. To be perfectly honest, once it's set up and running, there isn't a lot to do from the day-to-day side of things, which is not a bad thing.

It is very easy to use and setup. It integrates well within all of Palo's products such as NGFWs and Prisma Access. There is a dedicated log inside of Palo products for URL filtering to aid in troubleshooting. It integrates with AD/Azure so that different users can have different URL filtering rules. Filtering can be adjusted in real-time

Incentivized

I could go on and on about how good Barracuda's support really is. I have yet to have a problem they didn't help me fix and I always learn something when talking with them. The story that best describes my overall experience with Barracuda's support is this: When I first put in the xSeries they had a problem with a policy route. There was a bug in the code and in the one situation I was it, it just would not work. I went up the levels of support and they couldn't fix it. Well, next thing I know I am on the phone with 2 of the guys that programmed the thing and they work out the solution in no time and get me going. That is support. That is what I have come to expect from Barracuda. If the tech on the phone doesn't know the answer, they do not stop until they find it. Grant it, I also have to admit I do not call support with every problem, I try to work it out on my own first as that is how I learn best, so when I do call support it is going to be complicated.

Incentivized

Palo support is excellent, and I have never had to wait when contacting them for support. One of the best support teams in the business, in my opinion.

Incentivized

Our Cisco firewall was always difficult to make any changes against. It had no user-friendly GUI interface. We were calling technical support most of the time whenever we needed to make any changes. The Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has a GUI interface which we are looking forward to getting better acquainted with as we move off of our old Cisco. Of course, Barracuda's technical support is always there and is top notch!

Overall they are very similar products, but what elevated Mimecast Integrated Cloud email Security over Proofpoint was the people. The staff, from the prompt and knowledgeable support staff, very helpful customer success managers and always available account managers. Technology is only ever as good as the people using or supporting it, and the staff at Mimecast really give great support and assistance in getting the full value from the product stack.

Incentivized

Palo Alto Networks Advanced URL Filtering is the best solution to work with Palo Alto Firewalls and Panorama as an orchestrator. We choose Palo Alto Networks Advanced URL Filtering as it could reach the success criteria during the PoC.

Incentivized

• We saved multiple thousands of dollars the first year out with the firewall in maintenance fees. We paid for the firewall and 3 years of service and still saved money.
• The ease of management allows me to do my job more efficiently. I save a lot of time when doing my day to day job because I can get to my firewall virtually anywhere.
• I feel a lot safer and my business more secure knowing that I have configured things the way they need to be and it was simple and not overly complicated.

Incentivized

• Improved security protection on emails
• Prevents email attacks with advanced email security
• Creates a cyber aware workforce with url rewrite and cyber training videos

Incentivized

• Palo has been an excellent investment for us.
• Having robust URL filtering built into the same device as the firewall saves the cost of a separate appliance and improves performance.

Incentivized