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There are numerous firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) vendors that offer cloud-based firewall or next-generation firewall (NGFW) solutions that are hosted and managed by the service provider rather than the network owner.
See below to learn all about some of the leading FWaaS vendors in the global market:
1. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike is an Austin, Texas-based cybersecurity company that provides threat intelligence, threat response, and cloud workload solutions and services.
CrowdStrike Falcon Firewall Management is a deployable cloud-native security architecture that aims to eliminate the complexity involved in managing native firewall solutions. It offers a centralized approach to enforcing security policies and managing network access privileges.
Falcon Firewall receives high user reviews on third-party review sites, such as TrustRadius with a 9.1 out of 10 rating, and Gartner Peer Insights with a 4.8 out of 5 rating.
“Probably the most valuable thing to me is the real-time response piece. The fact that I can connect to an endpoint as long as it is on the internet, no matter where it is globally,” says user Michael Getz, enterprise cybersecurity architect at Swagelok, in a review at PeerSpot.
“I can remove files from the endpoint, drop files on the endpoint, stop processes, reboot it, run custom scripts, and deploy software. Pretty much no other tool can do all that.”
CrowdStrike won Frost & Sullivan’s Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award in the endpoint security category in 2022.
Differentiators
Falcon Firewall Management is a ready-to-use FWaaS solution that can be deployed within minutes and doesn’t require system reboots. Additionally, it has no impact on the host’s functionality, even with daily use.
See more: Why Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) is Important?
2. Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks is a Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity company with a core emphasis on cloud-based and network security solutions.
Palo Alto Prisma Access is a comprehensive SaaS offering that connects all endpoints to the centralized security management system. It has built-in accommodation for hybrid and remote work, reducing the chances of data breaches and leaks.
Prisma Access receives positive reviews by its users on third-party review sites, such as PeerSpot with a 4.2 out of 5 rating, and Gartner Peer Insights with a 4.6 out of 5 rating.
“Prisma Access works as a centralized cloud, where all users get connected. No matter what is the location of those users, they will always get minimum latency to access resources available at HQ or at the corresponding work location,” says user Praphulla Deshpande, Associate Consultant at Atos, in a review at TrustRadius.
“Ideally, it gets used by whole department users or it’s based on access and policy defined, and it really helps to minimize latency while running queries or taking server access.”
Prisma Access was recognized as a leader in the Forrester “New Wave” in the zero-trust network access category in 2021.
Differentiators
Prisma Access was designed to prevent cyberattacks. It goes beyond the superficial protection of the outer parameter of your network, without the weight of being a native part of the network’s infrastructure.
3. Zscaler
Zscaler is a San Jose, California-based cybersecurity company that aids customers in accelerating their digital transformation. It offers zero-trust solutions that improve security for users.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall is a FWaaS security offering that allows for fast and centralized access to security tools and capabilities off network connection. It reroutes all of your network’s traffic into the cloud-based firewall without any in-house software or hardware.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall receives mostly positive reviews at third-party review sites, such as PeerSpot with a 3.9 out of 5 rating.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall is “on the customers’ premises. I’ve designed and supported several client projects, and this is definitely for customers, for enterprise networks,” says user Tejas Jain, specialist master, infrastructure and cloud architect manager at Deloitte, in a review at PeerSpot.
“The solution is absolutely scalable. Every single time we have a new footprint in a different geography, they are doing great, and I’ve never faced any challenges, even in China, which is the bone of contention for most providers.”
Zscaler won the Zero-Trust Champion of the Year award from Microsoft in 2021.
Differentiators
As a cloud-based security solution, Zscaler Cloud Firewall is low weight with minimal effect on your network’s infrastructure and resources. It offers a wide variety of security tools and capabilities without compromising the security or speed of the network’s traffic and operations.
See more: 5 Top Firewall Trends
4. Fortinet
Fortinet is a Sunnyvale, California-based network security company that offers a variety of solutions, ranging from antivirus and firewall software to endpoint detection and response (EDR) and advanced intrusion prevention systems (IPS).
FortiSASE is a secure access service edge (SASE) solution that delivers Fortinet’s network security capabilities and SD-WAN connectivity seamlessly over an integrated cloud. The security is extended from the edge to all network users, applications, and devices.
Fortinet FortiSASE receives high ratings on third-party reviews sites, such as G2 with a 4 out of 5 rating and Gartner Peer Insights with a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
“Easy implementation with no complexity. End user can simply download agent and start using it,” says user Divakar M., a network engineer at a medium-sized company, in a review at Gartner Peer Insights.
Fortinet was chosen as the Product of the Year in the UTM and firewall category by the IT Professional in 2019.
Differentiators
FortiSASE stands out, because it enables companies to grant access to web, cloud, and network resources on a per-user and per-session basis. The centralized system makes access control management more straightforward with integrated security.
5. Cisco
Cisco is a San Jose, California-based tech leader in computing networking and security solutions.
Cisco Umbrella Cloud-Delivered Firewall is part of the Cisco Umbrella, a collection of first-line defense tools available over the internet. The FWaaS is an Umbrella feature that provides visibility into your network’s traffic and user activity, blocking threats and unauthorized behavior as needed.
Cisco’s Umbrella solutions receive high user reviews on third-party review sites, such as TrustRadius with an 8.7 out of 10 rating, and G2 with a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
“The single-pane-of-glass management is very important. We have a very small team. We can’t spend a lot of time going from product to product to product to either investigate or set up policy,” says user Steven Cruse, a network security architect at Lake Trust Credit Union, in a review at PeerSpot.
“We use Umbrella to front-end all of our DNS requests and that way they protect any of our end users from going to any kind of malicious site. It doesn’t matter if they’re in-house in one of our locations, or if they’re remote and working from home.”
Cisco Umbrella was named the Best Cloud Security Solution by CRN Tech Innovator in 2020.
Differentiators
The Umbrella security solutions provide comprehensive visibility and control over your network’s traffic, users, and applications.
6. GFI Software
GFI Software is San Gwann, Malta-based technology company that develops enterprise-grade software solutions that cater to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
GFI KerioControl is a unified FWaaS solution for enterprise security that can be deployed as standard software, virtual firewall, or directly on company hardware. It provides advanced capabilities and tools for its users to secure siloed teams and divisions and safeguard network resources.
KerioControl receives mostly positive reviews at third-party review sites, such as G2 with a 4 out of 5 rating and TrustRadius with an 8 out of 10 rating.
“The most valuable features of Kerio Control are the IPS and traffic rules. The traffic rules are very user-friendly, and the IPS is working well,” says user Ali Amini, an IT consultant at ArioRasaneh, in a review at PeerSpot.
“Additionally, the anti-virus is effective with quick options, such as filtering.”
KerioControl was rated among the world’s ”Top Intrusion Detection and Prevention” solutions in 2019.
Differentiators
GFI KerioControl is a centralized unified threat management (UTM) system that provides the capabilities, functionality, and protection of an NGFW without any of the weight on network resources found using in-house software alternatives.
See more: What is Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS)?
