Watchguard - A Network Integrators best choice for Perimeter Security
November 22, 2021

Watchguard - A Network Integrators best choice for Perimeter Security

Raymond Banfield | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller

Overall Satisfaction with WatchGuard Network Security

WatchGuard Firewalls are a cornerstone to our client's network security. Over the last 20 years, I have seen the WatchGuard Appliances evolve, it was a leader in such that it combined the features of a proxy firewall and a stateful packet inspection/filter. The WatchGuard Firewall Appliances have shown time after time, that it is one of the most flexible firewalls, while still being one of the leaders in security. But one of the earliest to deliver this level of security, but at a price range that is suitable to small to large organizations. [Their] Gold level support built into the subscription services, while covering a wide range of functions, also is reasonably priced but also offers 24/7 support, which is great for both small networks and large. As well as an effective failover setup, that is easy to maintain. The management interface, with both HTML console and GUI console, remains one of the easiest to learn and maintain. WatchGuard continues to contract with, or acquire best-of-breed functions, into its appliances and virtual appliances. Examples of this include, Spam Filter, AV Detection, Application Control, IPS, Website filtering, APT [Advanced Persistent Threat], and more.

Pros

  • Zero Day attack vector protection
  • Deep Packet Inspection on HTTP/S, FTP, MAIL, and more
  • Flexible Branch Office VPN
  • Multiple External Interface Connections
  • up to 40Gb/s
  • UTM Throughput

Cons

  • Support for Wireless Broadband Modem devices increased in range
  • Management of Wireless Network from Watchguard System Manager
  • ROI is high, with extending support and services is easily done. and at the end of product life, can be used to discount the appliance replacing it.
  • Ease of training Junior to Mid level technical people in basic administration
  • Ease of Deployment, meaning better security and more time efficiency in implementation.
  • WG Products Flexibility, meaning we can implement in any network environment for any type of organization, to their needs. Making it easier to service any clients in need.
Our company [is] certified WatchGuard Reseller and Support partners. We have used WatchGuard as our flagship product for network perimeter protection since 2000. We have seen WatchGuard continually grow and increase its sophistication and range of security features. I have assisted many clients with purchasing the correct model, and implementation for many different types of organizations Non-Profit Government Services and other Non-Profit Organisations Education Real Estate Marketing Construction Telecommunications Food & Beverage Suppliers Hospitality International WAN Integrations Wholesale Retail WatchGuard Support & Distributor Support for both Resellers and End Users is of the highest caliber and is 24x7 without the price tag of other Enterprise and SMB appliances WatchGuard Certification program supports end-users, by insuring WatchGuard Implementers have the skills to make any deployment a success, with the same technical training available to any End User Employees. As a partner of WatchGuard, I have never hesitated in being able to recommend WatchGuard as a solution to a Client Organisations needs
When Implementing, take your time. Build up a plan from the physical network layer through to the logical layer, and [filter]. Using an Integration Partner such as AKCS can make this process painless, but also show and explain to in-house technical staff the setup and reasoning. Turn on logging for all events and rules while configuring and implementing the firewall, so you can see in the real-time logs where the security service may be too restrictive, so you can adjust according to your need. Be diligent in using Alias' as this will help you to make firewall policies that are easy to read when the configuration is being updated or examined later. Make sure you consider a High Availability implementation if the firm will be impacted if the external connection downtime will mean a significant impact for the organization. In Australia, Next Business Day, or quicker hardware replacement is not available at this time, although it has been available in the past, and maybe in the future, it is currently not on the WatchGuard Product roadmap
The simplification of licensing, and features, means that it is a clear pricing structure, allowing organizations to have a clear understanding of the budget needed for their firewall and security. Making it simpler to budget for, and to include in projected budgets. There is no need to have multiple appliances to do different tasks, such as SPAM and WebContent controls. This allows non-technical clients to be able to understand how the Firewall and Security services are priced and supported, without the need to go through the fine print, of having to continually pay extra for security features to be implemented. And with the organization's accounting staff to be able to predict the cost of the appliance and its future cost, with either extending the security functions and support or knowing when it will be time to plan on replacing/upgrading the hardware.
WatchGuard has in the past always been one step ahead of new security needs for network perimeters. They have managed to do this, and continue to have high throughput with all security turned on, while many of its competitors will not show you what [their] speed is with all services, but will only show their line speed [throughput speed with no security of traffic]. They continually add best-of-breed services and optimize them for speed. Some of those same services are used by their competition but rarely come close to the same throughput. Not having to buy standard Next-Generation Firewalls services on a piecemeal basis, improves ROI, and also improves security as you do not have to feel that you need to compromise on one or more security services to bring in the appliance within budget. And WatchGuard support is packaged in with this, so it is one of the most affordable firewalls with all the features installed and activated.

Do you think WatchGuard Network Security delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with WatchGuard Network Security's feature set?

Yes

Did WatchGuard Network Security live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of WatchGuard Network Security go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy WatchGuard Network Security again?

Yes

Well suited to all Small businesses through to Medium-sized Enterprises, and Education Facilities. For small businesses, it is a flexible unit, that includes all the tools needed in 1 hardware and subscription package. Through to larger organizations with a leading throughput when all security services are running. It is great if you have a need to connect to any business partner sites via customized VPN connections, its configuration flexibility allowing it to connect to any other brand of the corporate firewall. An example is where a client had a need to do security and web filtering for both securities and for the category of websites allowed, while also needing to connect to several different business services suppliers. We were able to easily set up 2 units in Hardware Failover VPN for remote users to connect from laptops and desktops including Windows and Mac operating systems Connect to a Cisco VPN, Amazon VPN, Juniper Firewall 10 Gb Interfaces MFA for Remote User VPN Access to Youtube Education channels while restricting Students and Teachers, and having [fewer] restrictions for Administrative Staff.

WatchGuard Network Security Feature Ratings

Firewall
9.2
Identification Technologies
9
Visualization Tools
10
Content Inspection
9
Policy-based Controls
8
Active Directory and LDAP
9
Firewall Management Console
9
Reporting and Logging
7
VPN
10
High Availability
10
Stateful Inspection
10
Proxy Server
10

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