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Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Illumio Segmentation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Users experience ROI from Check Point Cloud Firewall via improved security, cost savings, efficiency, and satisfaction with enhanced management.
Sentiment score
5.6
Illumio Segmentation offers cost-effective, time-efficient security, eliminating extra costs and delivering high ROI with significant savings.
The value lies in maintaining operational integrity with zero downtime or incidents, facilitating secure, ongoing business operations.
Cybersecurity consultant at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Implementing CloudGuard has resulted in an excellent return on investment over one hundred percent ROI.
Android Developer at Droidforge
The unified policy is comprehensive and helps me to create firewall policies that are shared across all our facilities and plants.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I observe extensive return on investment with Illumio.
Senior Security Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense
Illumio serves as a single endpoint technology where I can implement various features, including a zero-trust network, north-to-south and east-to-west configurations, and micro-segmentation, all coming from one platform, which ultimately saves us time and money.
Security Professional at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Illumio definitely demonstrates its value in money-saving capabilities, enhancing our lateral environment inside the organization and providing effectiveness overall once integrated.
Security delivery specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Check Point Cloud Firewall support is praised for prompt, knowledgeable assistance despite regional disparities and occasional challenges.
Sentiment score
4.4
Illumio Segmentation's customer service is reviewed as both responsive and lacking, with praise for availability but issues with delays.
They usually respond quite fast, and they are very knowledgeable about what they do.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We had an endless loop of emails trying to fix this, and the suggestion was to reinstall the gateway and do it from scratch, which was not an option at that point because it would leave that specific location without access.
System administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
Available twenty-four by seven.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Whenever I raise a case with their support team, regardless of the priority level—P1, P2, P3, or P4—they generally reply within an hour
Security Professional at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Even if we raise an issue on non-working days like Saturdays or Sundays, we receive prompt responses.
IT Specialist at Allianz
The customer support is very prominent.
Security delivery specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Check Point Cloud Firewall offers scalable, flexible, and reliable security, ideal for enterprises needing seamless defense across virtual and cloud environments.
Sentiment score
6.5
Illumio Segmentation is praised for its scalability, effectively managing large installations and seamless integration into cloud and container environments.
It is capable of managing the increased load and performs well as our needs expand.
IT Security Analyst at Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.
I can deploy it everywhere I need it.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
We have transitioned from 1,000 to 500 users without any issue.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at delaware BeLux
Scaling it to a large level is not an issue for us.
Cyber Security Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
By employing Linux scripting or other methods, I can push the policy to all devices at once, making it easy to scale.
Security Professional at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Illumio's scalability is very good; it is quite easy to scale.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Check Point Cloud Firewall is reliable and stable, performing well despite minor external challenges and requiring regular maintenance.
Sentiment score
8.0
Illumio Segmentation is rated highly for stability, being reliable with no bugs, though some are still fine-tuning it.
I have not observed any downtime.
Sales manager/ project manager at Atea
For instance, when we are working on a release and do an upgrade, we start experiencing unexpected issues.
Chief Technology Officer at Chief Security Officers
The solution is stable.
Network administrator at Helios IT Service GmbH
Illumio is a stable solution with no glitches or bugs reported, making it a reliable product for us.
IT Specialist at Allianz
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Cloud Firewall struggles with onboarding, latency, support, and integration, needing simplification and performance improvements for competitiveness.
Illumio Segmentation needs improvements in user support, tool integration, scalability, GUI, log analysis, and data security enhancements.
Scalability could be improved as well; needing to purchase a new license each time I want to add a new interface is not ideal.
Security architect at Twinformatics
Better documentation would be welcome.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The user interface could be more intuitive, and the initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring a technical team.
Android Developer at Droidforge
They need to install an agent in the container world, while Akamai Guardicore does not need to install an agent, so they have native support that Illumio lacks.
Senior Security Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense
There could also be more examples of how the automations can be done using Illumio.
Cyber Security Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Another improvement might be around scalability, ensuring that as organizations grow, Illumio can handle even larger, more complex environments seamlessly.
DevOps at a marketing services firm with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers perceive Check Point Cloud Firewall pricing as mixed, with flexible options but potentially high costs for advanced features.
Illumio Segmentation offers flexible, competitive pricing tied to workloads, often seen as cost-effective compared to alternatives.
The pricing and licensing are expensive, costing between seven thousand to eight thousand dollars.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Check Point is expensive, however, with the features and capabilities, I can justify the cost.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It is the highest in the market.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I know that Illumio is the cheapest solution in the security area.
IT Specialist at Allianz
But when you compare it to firewalls, then it may not be that expensive.
Senior Security Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense
I think it's not very expensive if we compare it with Guardicore.
Cyber Security Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Cloud Firewall offers advanced security, scalability, and integration for seamless and secure operations in multi-cloud environments.
Illumio Segmentation enhances security with flexible visibility, easy policy management, real-time monitoring, and zero-trust architecture for threat containment.
One of the most valuable features is the automated threat prevention, which helps us detect and block potential cyberattacks in real-time, minimizing data breaches.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Centralized management is the feature I like best, resulting in reduced workload and more continuous policy.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
Network Security provides us with unified security management across hybrid and cloud as well as on-prem.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Illumio helps in audit purposes by saving data and showing blocked traffic, ensuring no outside traffic is allowed.
IT Specialist at Allianz
The most important feature is the traffic review analysis, where we use the draft view and the reported view that helps us understand how the application interacts with other applications in the environment, and based on that, we are able to define the policies.
Cyber Security Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Illumio is a powerful tool for micro-segmentation and zero trust security that provides strong visibility, flexible policy management, and effective threat containment, enhancing an organization's internal security posture.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Cloud Firewall ...
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
167
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (8th), Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (3rd), WAN Edge (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
Illumio Segmentation
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (10th), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is 4.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Illumio Segmentation is 14.8%, down from 24.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Illumio Segmentation14.8%
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security)4.4%
Other80.8%
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2875401 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Unified security policies have protected our hybrid network with deep, user-based controls
The main limitations of Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) are not in Check Point itself but in the cloud platforms on which it is deployed. Because not all clouds have L2 infrastructure, you cannot build a unified clustering system everywhere. As a result, the problem usually is not with Check Point, but with the cloud. The main problem with Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is that it uses a separate thick client instead of a browser. A browser-based SmartConsole exists, but it still has a number of limitations, while the thick client, the so-called SmartConsole, often works unstably, freezes, and has to be restarted. I do not recommend using Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) as a VPN hub for site-to-site VPN because it is inconvenient to monitor the state of its tunnels, especially visually. It does not have a convenient snap-in and everything can be checked only via the console, which is very inconvenient. Check Point is not the most universal solution as a device that provides routing and administration capabilities in addition to security. It is an excellent firewall, but it has a number of limitations in terms of routing and in creating VPN sessions, especially in terms of displaying their states.
Irfan Sharfi - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Professional at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Micro-segmentation has transformed endpoint protection and now isolates internal threats effectively
Illumio can be improved in several areas based on our feedback. Sometimes, the PCE experiences slowness, especially when deploying around 300,000 endpoint devices. When these devices communicate within the network, loading the map or connections can cause latency, which needs improvement for a more user-friendly and faster experience. Regarding improvements to the interface, I believe we can add more features to the graphical user interface, such as proper logs. While the logs currently indicate what was blocked or allowed, clicking on a specific log should provide more information, such as which extra-scope rule is causing a denial, offering better analysis for troubleshooting.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business72
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise81
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is comparatively conservative in terms of pricing; it is not a very expensive product. If you are a Check Point shop with multiple ...
What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is definitely lagging behind its peers. I am not sure what the reason is. Compared to Palo Alto, they are not there in terms of cap...
What is your primary use case for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is a cloud-native application protection platform and a suite of multiple products. We primarily use it for our hybrid multi-cloud ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
It will be the same price as the Akamai price for Guardicore. It's expensive, that's true. But when you compare it to firewalls, then it may not be that expensive.
What needs improvement with Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
I would appreciate if Illumio Segmentation's interface were better. It is good enough to manage the operation and get the visibility, but when looking for data regarding licenses and expansion mana...
What is your primary use case for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
My main use case for Illumio Segmentation is security and visibility, as I am able to get a lot of visibility in networking, even in sites I don't know about, and it is a strong security solution. ...
 

Also Known As

CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point vSEC, CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point Virtual Systems, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
Illumio Adaptive Security Platform, Illumio ASP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, Helvetica Insurance
Plantronics, NTT Innovation Institute Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs. Illumio Segmentation and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
906,852 professionals have used our research since 2012.