We are currently using Smoothwall Filter for our firewall, our connection to the Internet, and we also use it heavily for safeguarding child protection and web filtering.
Comprehensive filtering has safeguarded student wellbeing and protects our community daily
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The features of Smoothwall Filter that I have found the most valuable are the safeguarding and the web filtering.
The benefits of having Smoothwall Filter in our organization are that we're able to pick up on issues often before they even come to a head. It helps us very much with the well-being of the students, which is probably the biggest benefit.
What needs improvement?
I think the ease of use of Smoothwall Filter could improve. They are very good and very powerful products, but you really do need to know what you're doing to be able to manipulate them properly to your own needs. If anything, they could probably be a little bit easier to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
Our experience with Smoothwall Filter solution is twenty years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I don't think we've ever had any complaints about the stability of Smoothwall Filter product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We've never had any issues with the scalability of Smoothwall Filter. We do have a large number of users that utilize the product on a daily basis, but we're still under a thousand. I couldn't possibly comment on whether it's scalable to much larger numbers. I am aware of other educational establishments that use it to a much larger extent, and they don't appear to have any issues, but I haven't got any direct experience I can call up.
How are customer service and support?
Generally, the technical support of Smoothwall Filter is very good. There is a member of the technical support department who could perhaps benefit from more knowledge or customer service, but everybody has to learn. Whenever we needed to speak to their technical support, it has generally been very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience of using a SonicWall product, which was just horrible. It wasn't even comparable to Smoothwall Filter at all. It was clunky and horrible, and it wasn't easy to configure at all. I've also used other firewall products, and they're very good as firewalls, but they don't do what Smoothwall Filter does.
I've used WatchGuard and Fortinet firewalls; they are excellent firewalls. But they don't do what Smoothwall Filter does. They're very strong firewalls, but they're very weak at filtering. Smoothwall Filter offers a combination of both to a very high degree.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup process of Smoothwall Filter was relatively easy from our point of view because we gave that responsibility to Smoothwall themselves. Smoothwall set it up and then handed it over to us so that it does what we wanted it to do.
What about the implementation team?
For anyone looking to implement Smoothwall Filter in their organizations, I would recommend doing the planning very carefully. Think very carefully about how you want Smoothwall Filter to work. Get Smoothwall to set it up for you, ready to hand over to you once it's set up and configured. Planning and communication are essential.
What was our ROI?
It is very difficult to quantify the ROI of Smoothwall Filter in a school. It's like an insurance policy almost. It's difficult to quantify the ROI on the product. In my opinion, in a school, you would be completely mad if you didn't have Smoothwall Filter in place.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We would always prefer the pricing of Smoothwall Filter to be better. I don't think it's unreasonable, but on the other hand, if I can save money, then that's what I want to do.
What other advice do I have?
It is not difficult to maintain Smoothwall Filter at all. As long as we keep our eye on it, it will notify us when there's an update that needs running. The updates generally just work. Obviously, we've got to make sure we do our due diligence outside of errors because it will affect the connection to the Internet. But other than that, it works quite effectively.
The deployment of Smoothwall Filter took no more than a day.
I've not come across any disadvantages of Smoothwall Filter in comparison with other products so far. That doesn't mean that there aren't any issues, but I've not come across any. I would rate this review as a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
