Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Reviews

The platform is a firewall and Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. We have implemented it in our production environment, particularly with VPN configurations. It proves to be an excellent tool for safeguarding our perimeter network. One of its standout features is its centralized management server, allowing us to manage multiple devices using a single console efficiently.

The platform's most valuable features are perimeter network security and URL filtering. These functionalities are crucial for us, particularly because we operate in a highly restrictive environment regarding internet access.

While they offer a comprehensive bundled solution, some users may prefer on-premise deployments for certain features, such as URL filtering. Currently, Forcepoint offers WebSense for URL filtering in the cloud, but users who prefer on-premise solutions may find this lacking. They could improve these particular areas.

We have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for 15 years.

In terms of stability, the solution is quite robust. We haven't encountered any major issues, and like any other firewall, it operates reliably 24/7 without significant disruptions. However, there have been occasions when units required replacement, especially if covered under warranty. Additionally, we've implemented high-availability configurations to minimize downtime.

In terms of scalability, it depends on the specific model being utilized. Basic models may have limitations and may need to be more scalable. However, mid to high-range firewall models, such as the Next Generation ones, are stackable and scalable. It means multiple branches can seamlessly run the same solution without encountering any issues.

In our organization, approximately 200 users utilize the solution. It is extensively and regularly used as our users rely heavily on URL filtering.

Although they offer a premium technical support option, which is costly, we have yet to opt for it during our years of using the product. There can sometimes be a delay in receiving support, but typically, they respond within 24 to 48 hours. Despite this, the quality of support provided has been excellent.

The initial setup of Forcepoint is straightforward for trained engineers, but it may appear complex for those without specific training. The deployment process typically involves mounting the firewall and booting it up with an initial setup from a USB boot device. From there, the installation process continues according to the specific requirements and configurations.

In our case, it took more than 15 to 20 days to refine policies and access configurations to meet our specific needs. However, it typically takes less than one to two hours for the firewall to be functional and up and running.

Once you have clarity on what needs to be deployed and what is best for their operations, it typically only requires the support of one or two Forcepoint engineers to assist in deploying the solution.

We took assistance from integrators to implement the product.

The product generates a return on investment.

It is an affordable product. We purchase its yearly license.

Initially, we used Symantec Firewall, which was many years ago. About eight years ago, we transitioned to Stonesoft, the parent company of Forcepoint. We decided to use Forcepoint primarily due to its reputation as a top-notch firewall solution for security.

We utilize Forcepoint to manage secure remote access primarily through VPN terminals and VPN clients.

The SD-WAN capability of Forcepoint did not directly support our network performance, as we did not proceed with its implementation. We were in discussions about enabling SD-WAN but needed help executing the plan. Eventually, due to the end-of-life status of our product, we transitioned to Fortinet as our vendor for SD-WAN solutions.

Deploying and managing the platform was not particularly straightforward. It necessitated experienced engineers trained in Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. Once set up, there were no significant issues or challenges in day-to-day management.

They offer templates that provide detailed reports categorized by user, device, and internal network access.

The value and impact of using this solution lie in the assurance of protection and security. Ultimately, the greatest return on investment (ROI) comes from safeguarding the business from potential attacks and vulnerabilities.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

Educational institutions are the main users. We planned to use it as an all-in-one solution, primarily as an edge solution and Internet-facing firewall.

We're trying to use all the firewall's features. Most of the features were effective, but the usability is a huge concern. 

My experience with this Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall wasn't very pleasant due to its complexity. For example, the firewall loses some features when working in a cluster, which is a huge challenge. It caused me several weeks to solve an issue to make the VPN work, even after opening several cases with support. Also, the debug, which should provide essential knowledge about everything going on, the flow of traffic, and how the engine works, wasn't very informative in identifying the issue.

The problem was eventually solved by chance, thanks to an idea from an expert in the market. We had to refer to a freelancer engineer with huge experience with the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, and he noticed something that solved the issue by luck. We had no evidence or logs that showed this was the issue.

It's the most complicated firewall I've ever faced. You have to know what you're doing to achieve the plan and take action. It would be best to be an expert, take a course, or at least read the full documentation carefully. The interface isn't organized in the same way as other competitors.

You have to be an expert in it. You need to watch training videos or read the full documentation to understand how it works, even to implement a minor firewall change. Working with this firewall requires a lot of knowledge.

I have been working with the product for three years. 

The tool's stability, policy enforcement, and management are magnificent. I rate it a nine out of ten. It depends on the resources available. In my experience, I encountered a situation where the switch collapsed before the firewall did due to huge traffic. The switch crashed before the firewall crashed because of the enormous data transfer and network traffic.

We contacted support three times, opened three cases for the same issue, and didn't find out what the issue was for two months.

Negative

We need to rethink the usability and the availability of training and resources. These should make administration and operating this solution as easy as other competitors. For example, competitors like Fortinet and Palo Alto have easier management, especially Fortinet.

It has some documents if you can reach them. That's one of the other things they need to improve badly - the documentation is inaccessible. But when we reach the right information for what we're trying to do, it is mostly informative and easy. I'd say it's seven out of ten for ease of use if you follow the instructions. It would work. It's deployed on-premises. I wasn't involved in the implementation phase. It was implemented before I joined the company.

If you're not an expert and you haven't taken a course or have the correct materials to run the solution, I don't recommend it. You have to be an expert in this specific solution before using it. Overall, I'd rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall six out of ten.

The product's most valuable features are its extensive policy features, especially the S7 Pro features, and its DNS security feature, which provides an additional layer of protection not found in other firewalls.

A VPN client feature is missing in our region, which we hope Forcepoint will address in future updates.

We have been using Forcepoint's Next Generation Firewall for the past year.

We find the product to be stable and reliable in terms of performance.

Forcepoint's firewall is highly scalable, which helps our organization handle increased traffic and services. Approximately 35,00 user networks are protected by the product. 

Our decision to utilize the product was based on competitive analysis, and it emerged as the preferred solution.

The setup process is more complex than other solutions but provides satisfactory results. We began the migration process one month before deploying the device and involved two people in it. Maintenance is relatively easy, and we usually contact our partners for assistance when needed.

The platform has significantly enhanced the security of our public services. However, with the rise in IoT devices, it is unclear if Forcepoint addresses this challenge.

I advise ensuring you have experienced personnel to handle the device effectively after installation.

I recommend Forcepoint's firewall and rate it a nine out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for perimeter security. We use it across the entire office.

The most valuable feature is the fact that I can connect both offices together under the solution. I have two offices, and I can route the internet of both offices using the same product. The connectivity is great.

The integration capabilities are good. 

They need to improve their alerts. If I could integrate some of the alerts on WhatsApp, that would be nice. I should have the option to get my alerts, not just by email. I'd like to also see them, for example, on WhatsApp. 

I've been using the solution for two years. 

It is stable and reliable. I'd rate it eight or nine out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

The scalability is very good. I would rate it eight or nine out of ten in terms of the ability to expand.

We have about 200 people using the solution at this time.

Technical support is okay.

Neutral

The initial setup has a moderate amount of difficulty. I'd rate it five out of ten in terms of ease of deployment. The user interface was not something I was very familiar with. There was a little bit of complexity that I had to deal with. IN the end, it took a few days to get everything up and running. 

The pricing is okay. I'd rate it five or six out of ten in terms of affordability.

We are partners. 

We are using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd recommend the solution to others. Overall, I would rate the product eight out of ten. 

I use Next Generation Firewall as the main point of security in our infrastructure.

Next Generation Firewall's best feature is that it can be managed on one platform.

Next Generation Firewall's configuration could be improved.

I've been using Next Generation Firewall for a month.

The initial setup was straightforward, and the full configuration took two to three hours.

We used an in-house team.

Next Generation Firewall is moderately priced.

I would rate Next Generation Firewall five out of ten.

We primarily provide the solution to our customers.

I don't create the use cases. I just deploy as required.

Largely, the solution is used for protection. It can be used for various purposes, including URL filtering, spam filtering, and VPN.

The URL filtering is the most valuable aspect of the product. I've used the VPN for that. It's of great value to the customer.

The solution is stable.

The product can scale well.

Technical support has been quite helpful in the past.

The company should work to improve its VPN capabilities.

For the most part, there aren't really any features or services that are missing.

The implementation may be a bit more complex for a person who doesn't have much experience with the process.

The company should update the URL filtering database. They need to enhance the URL filtering and make it easier to customize.

I've been dealing with the solution for the past two years or so.

The solution is mostly stable. We've just had a little configuration issue around the access and net policy. However, beyond that, it's been pretty reliable.

The solution scales well. If a company needs to scale, it can do so with ease.

Lately, I have not needed their services, however, I have contacted them in the past. I find them to be very helpful and responsive. They have a good support team. We are quite satisfied with them.

I also work with Palo Alto and Check Point.

You cannot say this is a simple product. Comparatively, to other products, such as Fortinet's Firewall, it's much more complex. It has an Azure Server client-server architecture. You need to install the entire management server separately and you need the client's GUI to manage the console. 

Deployment takes a while. It may be ten to 15 days for a medium-sized organization. I've mostly installed this in mid-sized companies.

There is some maintenance required. Often, we offer a monthly health checkup to our clients and we would provide maintenance services. 

I handle the installation for clients. I understand the process and can do everything for them.

This is an expensive product compared to Fortinet, however, it is cheaper than Palo Alto. That said, I can't speak to exact pricing. A different team manages the sales and licensing aspects. 

You can compare this solution to a few other vendors. For example, most of the features available in this product are also available in other products as well. If you're talking about Check Point NG and Palo Alto, Forcepoint is very similar. Palo Alto and Fortinet use a single appliance. However, Check Point and the Forcepoint have a  server-client with the architecture actually. We need to install the GUI from that. And a management server and engine we'll install separately too.

We have a partnership with Forcepoint. We are resellers of the solution.

We have clients that have the solution, and therefore we tend to deal with different versions of the solution. It might not always be the latest.

I would recommend the solution. I would rate it at an eight out of ten.

Forcepoint could make the interface more reasonable and easier to navigate. If you are not good at Forcepoint, you cannot easily manage it. Fortinet is easy to navigate and reach.

Forcepoint should focus on upgrades. Sometimes, service is impacted or disrupted after an upgrade. You have to read the release notes carefully before doing anything.

I have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for three years.

Four years ago, I called support. Their response was very bad, but the antivirus was good.

Fortinet is better because it is very easy to manage. For Forcepoint, you need someone to dive into GUI or make some changes in the configuration, navigate, etc.

The initial setup is complex with the NG firewall compared to Fortinet. You can manage it easily by doing some virtual context and trying to divide the solution. You need experience for that. You have to do some lab to do something to prepare.

The product is not expensive.

I recommend Fortinet. Fortinet is booming now, but it is expensive. Both have pros and cons. You can compare both with Palo Alto. Palo Alto is more stable and more scalable. Forcepoint has many more features than Fortinet.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Forcepoint is a next-generation firewall, we are using it as a firewall for one of our customers, which includes one data center and 95 branches. Using the SD-WAN feature on Forcepoint NGFW, we provide a secure connection from all the branches to the data center.

We like the scalability of Forcepoint because, with the Forcepoint NGFW solution, we can scale anything. The solution has central management, so we can manage all the branches and devices centrally in one controller. This also allows the customer to manage the solution centrally.

Forcepoint comes with the SD-WAN feature, which connects all the branches and devices to the data center with a central connection. We bypass using a VPN or IPsec or anything like that because Forcepoint can do it automatically. Also, one of the controller benefits is that it can monitor the tech, meaning all the devices that are managed by Forcepoint.

I think some of the customers who already use Forcepoint will benefit from using SD-WAN because it has features like auto-scaling, but I think the auto-scaling needs improvement since only Forcepoint NGFW comes with the SD-WAN solution. Plus, auto-scaling is an important tool and it still may not be good enough for some customers, so I think there is room for more improvement in the auto-scaling feature in SD-WAN.

We have also gotten a slow response from technical support when we experienced hiccups, errors, and bugs. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the support capabilities.

My company has been using the solution for about one year.

For a simple deployment with simple requirements, like firewall blocking and connecting to the LAN or data center, the stability of the device is quite good. However, when it comes to a complex deployment, the rules, firewall features, SD-WAN core features, and auto-scaling can cause the device to be not quite stable.

We like the scalability of Forcepoint because with the Forcepoint NGFW solution, we can scale anything. However, I think there is room for more improvement in the auto-scaling feature in SD-WAN.

I think their support capabilities have a lot of room for improvement because my company has had several issues. Of course, other products have issues too, but they have good support that helps us deliver a solution to the customer. With Forcepoint, however, the technical support is slow and I think the support team needs to be improved.

The installation is quite simple, but when it comes to configuration we need to know why the customer is implementing the solution. Firewalling or connecting other branches is a simple configuration but with something like auto-scaling or antivirus, Forcepoint needs to be more straightforward.

I think we deployed a data center in a half-day, so you can deploy the controller or the data center in about a day. The time it takes to activate and configure each branch varies, and may range from 15-40 minutes. Once we activate the solution and set it up for the customer, they connect it to the internet with our password and can begin working. Overall, I think one week is more than enough time for a thorough deployment.

There are some options for licensing. I think usually the licenses are valid for three years, but in my country we only have the option of a one-year license. The license is gauged on the requirements and the controller. There is a basic license and an advanced license, which offers more protection for antiviruses, like web category filtering.

I think Forcepoint is a good simple solution for firewalling. Because of the instability we faced within our project, which I think can be common with Forcepoint, I would only recommend this solution for a retail business with minimal, non-complex requirements. If you need more SD-WAN features, like auto-scaling, I don't think I would recommend Forcepoint. 

I would rate this solution as a five out of ten.