GFI KerioControl vs. WatchGuard Network Security

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.

Incentivized

I've been impressed to consider how many Watchguard Network products we utilize. Firewall/VPN, Wireless APs, and endpoint antivirus. It makes it easy to diagnose issues and find resolutions with minimal interactions with the end user or their system. Reliability of the network hardware has been superb, and we have minimal issues with their software

Incentivized

• VPN for Remote Employees
• Point to point VPNs
• Scanning of traffic
• Ease of management
• Website filtering by both sites and key words

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Support can take longer to respond that it should
• Could work better with resellers
• Spend more effort on adding new features

Incentivized

• Sometimes, it is not very intuitive. You'll not know how to use certain features unless you read the documentation.
• Some settings in the firebox are not visible unless you enter edit mode. This can cause inadvertent issues if you make a change when you just want to review the settings.
• The use of blocks in the design of the Firewatch interface can be confusing. A better design could have been used.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Availability has always been a strong point of this product, it is rare that watchguard does not have a solution for customers' network monitoring needs.

Incentivized

The performance of WatchGuard Network Security is very good, in the years that we have used the solution we have only had a single error and Watchguard itself was able to solve it. Furthermore, when purchasing any product, the partner always evaluates the capacity of the solution to recommend the most appropriate product for our needs.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Online training is good for learning how to use the product. It does not teach security strategy because that is not its intent.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Watchguard Network Security is easier to use and more effective that its competitors, with certifications you can trust and a good reputation, we can rest assured that our network security is in good hands. Competitors have also demonstrated poor aftersales support, which has not been the case with WG

This product is very scalable since previously everything related to Watchguard was on premises but that has now changed with the inclusion of watchguard cloud. Now the product has evolved to have full control of firewalls at the cloud level.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• The intuitive Web Interface reduces the entry to learning for new techs, so less training is required and inexperienced techs can figure out tasks if they understand basic networking and firewall functions.
• The licensing model for the hardware places them at the top of the list for mid-tier devices that are overpriced. They are barely competitive considering that you can't use a device for more than 5 years no matter what. And the security/maintenance costs are in addition to the hardware costs which are already high compared to other mid-tier brands.

Incentivized