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Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (18th)
Stormshield Network Security
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (14th)
 

Featured Reviews

Rohit Ghorpade - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Identity-based perimeter control has improved security and supports reliable remote access
Currently, we are working with vendors such as Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Cisco, Check Point, and Citrix. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is a better firewall. Deep packet inspection and threat prevention basically comply with whatever traffic is incoming and outgoing through the firewall. I do not think anything improvement is required. The thing is that Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works mostly on a license-based model. If you want to utilize any feature, you have to purchase the license. For example, URL filtering requires a license purchase. It simplifies the implementation because LDAP server profile can be integrated. Basically, that simplifies the implementation of access rule or security policy.
Zsolt Jónás - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at NaxoNet
Advanced GUI and layered security have supported compliance and simplified intrusion prevention
I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability solution would be beneficial because currently, if you build a high availability solution with Stormshield Network Security, you have a main device and another one is a backup device. The HA can switch between them, but it would be good to have a master-master solution, not just a master-slave one. I could set a URL that I can call to update the DNS record. Currently, Stormshield Network Security devices support DynDNS, which is not a usual feature request from a server environment. I have my own solution instead of DynDNS because I don't prefer it, so I have my own service for that. However, the GUI does not support using a custom service instead of DynDNS. I had to solve it in the console on Stormshield Network Security device, but it would be much better if it was reachable on the GUI. I had to figure out a trick for the IPsec configuration. In the IPsec config, we have to provide the remote side's IP address, but it's always changing. This means that an office, for example a company that has an office but without a fixed IP address, cannot be used with IPsec VPN.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the tool's security and web filtering features."
"The solution has a three-layer architecture, and it helps customers to deploy the solution quickly."
"I rate the stability as ten out of ten."
"The most effective features for threat prevention in the PA-Series are its integration with Cortex and the use of machine learning AI for advanced threat detection."
"It is stable when you set up something and put it into production. Once it works, you don't have other tasks or actions to perform."
"It functions very well in data centers."
"The best features of the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall include Global protector VPN workings, and content filtering is easy to manage and operate."
"The solution provides good customer support."
"The performance of this solution is good."
"Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain."
"The scalability of the solution is good."
"The multi-layered security approach of Stormshield Network Security is a good one and has helped with compliance."
"The features I find most valuable is the backup inspection, the filtering, and the load balancing, and I am also impressed by the antivirus feature that gives us two controls over the viruses - one is from the parameter and one on the endpoint."
"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."
"Stormshield is pretty robust, compared to other products like Fortinet, as you get more security with Stormshield and spend less money."
"I feel we have more options with the Stormshield firewall and new features that we haven't previously had."
 

Cons

"I had opened a case before with the tool because I could not create a wildcard for the security address. We can create wildcards for security addresses in Fortinet, but this feature doesn't exist in the product."
"The UI definitely needs work. In my opinion, the UI could be simpler and more user-friendly for the average user."
"I have found that the tool works well for me, but there are areas where security testing and protection could be improved, especially in virtual or cloud environments. However, in this project, once we deployed it, we haven't encountered any issues. The cost is currently manageable, but as we migrate fully into the cloud, additional features like capacity upgrading and improvements to hardware resources will be necessary, especially since our equipment consists of older generation switches and routers. So, I'm looking for additional capabilities in these areas."
"However, they are expensive and there might be some sticker shock if you just looked at them for the price."
"The interface is complex."
"With Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, I find that the support team takes a long time to resolve the issues that a user may face during the use of the product."
"There seem to be some issues with TAC (Technical Assistance Center) or Palo Alto support. Anytime you open a case, a level one engineer joins, and then you have to escalate it to level two or three. The support system has changed in the past few years, and that's something they need to look into."
"There is room for improvement in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series in the areas where they can minimize applications and implement features that can be useful for us."
"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."
"A more user-friendly interface would be helpful."
"The SD card could be more secure."
"It could be better if it were more user-friendly for us as we dont use it very often even if we never had problems to modify setup when needed."
"Support is always an issue because they're constantly busy."
"This is not a next-generation firewall."
"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."
"Being more cost effective. I went with a pair of Watchguard M300 recently when buying a new firewall cluster for our own use because it was way cheaper than NetASQ/Stormshield N700 while being faster, and it offers true multi-master firewall clustering if needed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is fair."
"The tool's pricing was reasonable when we bought the product. We pay around 60,000 dollars per year."
"Compared to other vendors, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"From my perspective, managing the price is important, especially because we're a small business. For larger organizations like Barclays, we provide our requirements to the client, and they place the order on BigFix. It's their responsibility to consider their budget and make decisions accordingly. We appreciate the features we get, but the cost-sharing still depends on the client."
"Palo Alto’s pricing is way higher than any other solution provider."
"The product is offered to users at high prices compared to the pricing model of the other vendors in the market."
"The prices are pretty high, definitely on the upper end."
"I think the price is good."
"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."
"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."
"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."
"The pricing could be better."
"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."
"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
If we look at the features, then the price is good, but they do charge for the GlobalProtect VPNs. Overall, the pricing is good, but if they included GlobalProtect, it would be more valuable.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
There is room for improvement in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series in the areas where they can minimize applications and implement features that can be useful for us.
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
I am using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to ensure protection and cybersecurity by preventing and implementing network security features to safeguard networks against threats and malware. I have to ...
What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?
I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability solution would be beneficial because currently, if you build a high availability so...
What is your primary use case for Stormshield Network Security?
I already use Stormshield Network Security, and I am now looking for a new solution. I am already working with Stormshield Network Security, and the official reseller of Stormshield.
What advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?
The pricing is increasing, and I would say it is a bit expensive. Palo Alto and others are much more expensive, but Stormshield Network Security is also not inexpensive. My overall review rating fo...
 

Also Known As

No data available
NETASQ Firewalls
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location
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