Likelihood to Recommend IT works very well in the non-profit and small business space when there is a need for remote access or connecting several sites in a point to point VPN, user management and rule creation are very easy. The use of the MyKerio website for remote management also makes it easy to troubleshoot problems and make changes if technical staff are not onsite.
Read full review Generally speaking, our customers have standard requirements and the WatchGuard Network Security Firebox is there to ensure they stay protected. We've never had a successful breach on a customer's on-premise setup with a WatchGuard Network Security Firebox installed. 3rd parties (like CCTV, Printers, Login Systems, etc.) do not know which port their devices work over, so we have to identify that with them and there are often delays when this occurs.
Read full review Pros VPN for Remote Employees Point to point VPNs Scanning of traffic Ease of management Website filtering by both sites and key words Read full review Incoming Torrent attempts were blocked, but outgoing (by a user) were permitted. Similarly, other direct attempts were summarily blocked. provides full administrative support for analysis of usage and scope. strong Wi-Fi support and security - area wi-fi maps They think of all the things secure and I don't have to worry about it. I have not identified anything else that needs improvement - I am well satisfied. Read full review Cons Support can take longer to respond that it should Could work better with resellers Spend more effort on adding new features Read full review Bridging ports, after the firewall is setup, isn't as easy as it could be. Cloud integration for management requires recreating the entire device. It should just convert the current config. Adding a Proxy policy should be on a different page from the other policy creation page. Read full review Likelihood to Renew I'm giving this note to WatchGuard Network Security due to its ease of daily support (after acquiring necessary knowledge in the solution), which allows agility in configuration changes, its integration of several reliable security features (such as SSL VPN, VPN Virtual Interfaces between companies, and others) and functional and stability in operation, with no downtime in the equipment due to problems or malfunctions
Read full review Usability Very easy to use and manage, user training takes less then 10 minutes. Technicians can perform basic tasks with less then an hour of training and can master it in under a year.
Read full review Although it might take some time to figure out, we have been able to use WatchGuard's online reference library and tech support to create/implement/modify all of our filtering rules and exceptions needed. There really has not been a shortcoming other than perhaps a learning curve.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Applications errors should always be expected in any kind of technology. What matters most is the way you find to resolve it.
Read full review Performance WatchGuard works seemlessly and so in the background you don't realize it's there until you need it!
Read full review Support Rating Support is very slow to respond and it takes a long time to convince level 1 techs that you need to be moved up to someone more senior. I believe support is outsourced and they are graded on how few tickets they need to escalate to higher tiers so they will try to figure out a solution even if it is detrimental to the overall support experience.
Read full review We have only had to contact them once during the initial set up to help bring the internet back on line. After that for the most part our systems have been automated, and could easily be checked form their online FAQ and Knowledge base that they provide. Everything else is easily handled from their browser based interface
Read full review In-Person Training We participate to a in person training and the three days of learning was really useful and complete to gain skill to solve the major part of the problem we encounter during our life. And more the in person training give us the opportunity to create a network with other WatchGuard partner.
Read full review Online Training Online training is good for learning how to use the product. It does not teach security strategy because that is not its intent.
Read full review Implementation Rating I had my key information for setting up the firewall, and they assisted me in finding the settings and appropriate places to enter data. They also helped troubleshoot when I didn't understand some of their feature concepts, and we got it running.
Read full review Alternatives Considered We found Kerio Control to provide the most features and easiest management of all the solutions we looked at, while cost was not the lowest the value was by far the best when you considered all the factors, costs, and manhours involved in deployment and management.
Read full review At 3 of my locations I use both a Sonic Wall and a watch guard. In my experience, the sonic wall has a much better interface. I feel it was much easier for someone that has never accessed a fire wall to be able to make changes and learn very quickly. I feel the Watchguard has better built in applications and the VPN was easier to use and access.
Read full review Scalability We scaled it exactly as we needed it to be! Easy, money-saving, and we didn't end up with features or options that we'd never use or worry about.
Read full review Return on Investment Easy to use makes it easy to train, reducing employee time and IT staff costs. Statefull inspection and web filtering greatly reduce malware incursions. Fact it can run on standard PC hardware greatly reduces cost to implement and makes scaling much less expensive. Read full review The VPNs are very easy to configure, less time to loose at new implementation. The traffic monitor can be improved, I can't see the ISO layers to do a faster diagnosis. Having an ADDS authentication is a plus, can use it with rules and vpn for remote access. Very useful. The dimension feature can be developed as a website + database for NGINX, Apache2, IIS, etc., I feel traped on that linux vm only. Most of the customers doesn't like to pay for a solution like this. They will accept only after beign attacked. WatchGuard can improve the sales with a demo (hacking, active security, etc.). Read full review ScreenShots WatchGuard Network Security Screenshots