Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) Reviews

Check Point Quantum SASE is a next-generation email security solution. It can be used to protect users from phishing emails.

The tool connects as an API. The installation is very easy. The integration with the existing network was very easy. It is a good tool. We can rely on it.

The tool could be more user-friendly.

I have been using the solution for more than a year.

The tool is very stable and highly reliable. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the tool's scalability a ten out of ten. We have approximately 120 users. We have plans to increase the number of users. Our team members are experts. Anyone can deploy and maintain the solution.

The support is good. The support personnel give prompt responses. They take ownership of our issues and communicate with us quickly. They try to get back to us quickly.

The setup is very easy. The deployment can be done without much effort. It is done at the API level. It is deployed on the cloud.

I do not face phishing attacks and downtime due to the product.

Check Point Quantum SASE is a SaaS-based product. We have to pay yearly. The product is reasonably priced. There are no additional costs associated with the tool.

I evaluated Microsoft Defender. Defender is a good solution, but it is not reliable.

One of the biggest challenges organizations face is email threats. They are completely unknown. The users get deceived by them and tend to click on them. Previously, there was a solution called Avanan. It was one of the pioneers in email security that ensured no unwanted email came to our inbox. I will recommend the product to others. People must look at the solution very seriously. It will help them safeguard their organizations.

Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

The solution provides high performance along with ATP prevention, policy management, remote activity, and IoT support. We have all these features integrated into our security gateway for every business year, like the SASE model. Cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated nowadays. We have this next-generation firewall, to protect all your network, cloud, data centre, IoT devices, and remote connections. Due to these reasons, we prefer Check Point's network solution. It helps improve the remote workforce security.

The solution offers ATP features and management features. We have a smart console and GIA portal. We used to manage all policies on the smart console. We do have the URL filtering and prevention part. We used to do the policy databases and all that configuration from the GIA portal. We have intrusion prevention, application consultant, filtering options and web filtering. It works as a next-gen firewall.

Firstly, there are different consoles involved. If someone is selling another product that already has a single console for managing everything, that would be better.

I have been using Check Point Quantum SASE for 6 months.

Support is handling requests via email. Additionally, they share documents. We haven't encountered any major issues requiring support. They are available 24hr/day along with alerts, reports or security issues.

The initial setup depends on the organisation. Let's say they are currently using FortiGate, but they want to migrate to Check Point Quantum SASE. We have different options for migration. We can either perform the migration manually or upload existing tests. Manual deployment can be time-consuming. We have two types of configurations: basic and advanced. Basic configuration can be completed quickly, but advanced configurations may take more time. Our deployment process is relatively easy, but managing traffic and other aspects can be challenging. We need to align with the organisation's flow during this process.

Deployment takes about a month depending on the number of firewalls.

The zero trust aspect is being used for VPN purposes. It replaces your VPN, assisting anyone trying to access VPNs.

We are using it for large organisations and enterprises. For instance, if some organisations are using Check Point hardware for their firewalls but don't want to switch to other vendors, they can opt for this solution. Especially for big organisations with data centres facing numerous network issues, it's highly scalable. When it comes to firewall configuration, sometimes we encounter issues, but we can't always blame the firewall.

Check Point offers SmartConsole and other tools. If you compare Quantum with FortiGate, FortiGate doesn't have separate controls for various functions like policy publishing and control. In FortiGate, within one console, you can manage everything by enabling features.

Overall, I rate the solution a 7 out of 10.

This tool was acquired when the organization made the decision to move the entire infrastructure to the cloud. It was going to handle different types of schemes such as IaaS and SaaS up to Office 365, so all these schemes were going to meet the need for accessibility by users. We needed a tool with complex, centralized management that would help us prevent all types of malicious attacks both from inside and outside in order to guarantee security and reliability for all our clients.

Since the implementation of Harmony, we managed to establish excellent communication in all environments. It has helped us a lot in preventing cyber attacks from anywhere, such as remote users, internet SaaS, and IaaS. In addition, it provides us with real-time information so we can make decisions immediately and achieve complete analysis to be able to carry out compliance management for the corresponding audits.

The tool has many valuable features - such as protection against threats. It also has centralized management that allows administrators to supervise and control the security of the entire network. The VPN and authentication functions guarantee secure and efficient connections from anywhere in the country, device, or network. Due to these characteristics, the tool is one of the best on the market.

They should improve certain features, although they have a modern graphical interface. They can centralize the options or have faster access to options, in addition to improving the authentication to the tool since sometimes it presents problems when entering. In a future version of the tool, they could add a space where information on common errors is shown so that there would not be much dependence on the support they offer.

I managed to use it for approximately two years.

It is a stable tool; I very rarely have problems.

Regarding scalability, it is very good. It behaves and integrates very well with other tools.

Support is one of the points of improvement. They should focus on this part as they are not complying with the SLAs.

Positive

There was no solution implemented previously. This was done when it was decided to implement a cloud implementation.

The implementation is a little complicated at first; its learning curve is intermediate.

The implementation was carried out with the vendor who demonstrated considerable skill in managing the solution.

It is an investment that must be considered and looked at very carefully. You need to understand what type of tool is needed since it is an important contribution to online safety.

The installation is simple once you know how to do it. At first, it is somewhat complicated- especially the configuration. Once you learn, it's very easy. The cost was one of the best quotes we found with the features we needed.

We explored several tools on the market, such as Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, Sophos XG Firewall, and Fortinet FortiGate.

It is a very complete and competitive tool in the marketplace.

Our company operates within the intricate and highly regulated insurance market. Here, the sanctity of data is paramount and any breach could result in significant consequences for our stakeholders. 

Given the sensitive nature of our data and the frequent exchange of confidential information with our clients and partners, having a secure connection at all times is non-negotiable. 

Perimeter 81 has emerged as a linchpin in our cybersecurity strategy. Whether our employees are working from the confines of our fortified office infrastructure or accessing systems remotely, Perimeter 81 ensures that our data remains secure. 

Its robust architecture dovetails seamlessly with our existing IT infrastructure, offering us peace of mind in an environment increasingly characterized by cyber threats. 

Adopting Perimeter 81 has yielded noticeable improvements in our organization, especially in the realm of user experience. It's no secret that some cybersecurity tools can be daunting for users, especially those who aren't inherently tech-savvy. 

However, Perimeter 81’s interface is intuitive, and its setup is straightforward. This has reduced the learning curve for our employees substantially. The ease of use not only translates to quick adoption rates - it also ensures that our employees remain compliant with our cybersecurity protocols, enhancing the overall security posture of our organization.

While the entirety of Perimeter 81's suite is commendable, the quick access LAN feature stands out as a particular favorite in our organization. The ability to swiftly and securely access our local area network without cumbersome processes or technical hitches is invaluable. 

This feature not only boosts productivity by ensuring uninterrupted access to essential resources; it also buttresses our cybersecurity measures by ensuring that this access is always secure. The competitors of Perimeter 81 can learn a thing or two. 

While Perimeter 81 has proven to be an invaluable asset, there's always room for improvement. A focus on catering to non-tech users even further would be beneficial. Offering in-app explanations detailing what each feature does, its benefits and potential use cases can help users better understand and utilize the tool to its full potential. 

Moreover, integrating interactive tutorials or walkthroughs for new features in future releases could provide users with hands-on guidance, further simplifying their experience.

I've used the solution for six to 12 months.

I've never had any issues whatsoever, so the stability is very strong. 

The solution is easily scalable for both small and medium-sized organizations.

I haven't yet had to reach out to Perimeters' customer service and support. 

Neutral

No, we didn't use any similar solution before Perimeter 81.

The initial setup is very easy and straightforward, even for non-tech users.

We used a vendor team with a high level of expertise. They could help us quickly and answered all our questions. 

I wasn't personally part of the decision, however, I know that our choice was made after a thorough evaluation process comparing different competitors. 

Regarding use cases, I can say that the solution's user experience is very good. Also, the solution's UI is excellent. In general, we use it for SASE use cases, and to access VPN, ZTNA etcetera.

I am working on automation upstream for Harmony Connect Check Point. There are a bunch of integrations like RDP integrations and active directory integration. Also, its security policy management is seamless.

Automation and scalability are areas where the solution lacks and needs to improve.

I have been using Check Point Harmony ConnectCheck Point Harmony Connect for a year. My company has a partnership with Check Point. Also, I don't remember the version of the solution I am using.

The stability of the solution is not bad. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

There are a lot of hidden features, so I can't really give you a rating. We are working on it, so it is a work in progress.

The scalability of the tool is pretty good. However, we need to do some work on it to improve it. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six or seven out of ten.

In the next release of the solution, I would like to see more automation features.

The number of users using the solution depends and varies from client to client. It can scale from a small and simple number of 20 to 30 users to almost 10,000. It could be more than 10,000 users. However, it could be more from other partners.

Check Point provides high-quality technical support. The support was pretty quick. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

I have been out of Cisco domain for quite some time since I used it in my previous company. I am not using high-end Cisco technologies anymore. However, I may use it in the future.

I rate the setup phase an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is an easy setup. Also, it's hard to generalize since it depends on what we have to do.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

The initial deployment was done using Check Point's UI for us, so it was five hours.

Regarding the steps for deployment, I would say that there is a deployment software that you have to onboard. Then, you have to do the initial registration, and once you do the initial registration, you'll have to integrate Azure. After Azure is integrated, you have to deploy the users for the applications.

Regarding pricing, I can say that the more the number of users, the less they have to pay.

I would tell others planning to use the solution that the solution has simplicity and good UX. Also, people will have to wait for future automation rollouts.

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.

I have experience with Check Point Harmony Connect and Harmony Endpoint, mainly in an enterprise setting for the cloud-based access control and firewall functionality. It is a good, easy-to-deploy solution that is ideal when it comes to managing access to enterprise resources for those working in a home office type of scenario.

What I like about Harmony Connect is that every packet through the network is screened and filtered so that only clean packets can enter the PC. This is useful for a variety of security reasons because you no longer need to worry about things like DDoS attacks, etc.

Nowadays a lot of people are working from a home office, and Harmony Connect is an ideal solution when it comes to remote working. Let's say there is an organization of around 100-200 people — if they are working from home, they will have a strong need for enhanced firewall and UTM functionality. In this case, the organization can simply deploy Harmony Connect and the employees will have access to secure VPN connectivity.

Another point to mention is that Harmony Connect's real advantage over other solutions is that their support is excellent and they have really awesome technical staff.

The main problem with Harmony Connect is that, because it's in a new category of offerings by Check Point, there's very little marketing of the product so far, and this means that many potential users don't even know this kind of solution is available. There are also few testimonials or case studies talking about people who have used the product and fell in love with it, for example.

The second area in which they could improve is the performance of their management portal. For the end user of Harmony Connect, the performance is great and lightweight, but there is often some slowness when using the management portal as an administrator.

I have six months of experience with Harmony Connect.

Harmony Connect is very stable and its performance is good in the production environment. One of my customers has been using it for six months so far and no issues have been found.

It's a cloud offering so it scales nicely. I don't know about managing Harmony Connect beyond 1,000 users, but I'm not finding any difficulty with scaling because you just need to push the agent to the end user. I believe Check Point are using a major cloud provider such as Amazon, and I don't think scalability is an issue at all for them.

The real advantage of Harmony Connect is their support team. They are excellent, and their technical guys are really awesome. If there is any issue, you simply call them, and most of the time the issue will be resolved on the first call.

They are not very aggressive in their promotion of Harmony Connect, so you would expect that the support might be lacking but this is not the case. And when it comes to new feature requests, they are open to listening. If you can convince them to bring out a new feature, they will keep you updated and perhaps even connect you with their R&D team, no matter how small you might feel to them. Check Point's support team is truly one of the best.

Positive

Earlier, we used to deal with Symantec, but lately Symantec has not been operating well in India. It is very difficult to even get quotations for the pricing, so we don't deal with them much nowadays.

You hardly have to click more than three times and your Harmony Connect will be configured.

The implementation for about 1,000 users is not particularly difficult. It will need a system administrator for the data, managing the security features, and maintenance, but typically two or three staff members are more than enough to handle it.

The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period. On top of that, for those solutions you would also need to pay for the expertise to manage the solution, including 24/7 monitoring and so on.

We have considered another solution called Prisma Access from Palo Alto Networks, and it may turn out that we will need that solution instead of Harmony Connect to fulfill our future ambitions, but I don't have any personal experience with it yet.

I would rate Harmony Connect a nine out of ten.

The primary use is for secure site protection. 

I work at a worker's compensation company that deals with sensitive information, such as SSN, home addresses, phone numbers, and doctor notes that contain medical history and conditions. 

This product helps us keep the information on websites that are solely accessible through Perimeter 81 so we do not leak the patients, doctors, or adjusters' information to the public. Everything is in a safe space while at the same time, Perimeter 81 makes working from home accessible. 

It helps improve our organization by allowing employees work all over the globe providing colleagues with safe internet no matter what part of the globe they find themselves. 

Providing access and security allows our company employees to work from home and remotely. They are not confined to one space or location if they need to travel. The Perimeter 81 VPN provides the luxury to travel and work while maintaining security to create the work-life balance everyone needs. 

It improved our organization more than can be explained. We plan to continue to further use of this technology. 

The VPN is the main function used. It's valuable to us since it's the only way to access most company websites. All company websites can only be used if users are connected to Perimeter 81. It does not matter what location you are in. 

If Perimeter 81 is not connecting, it slows down company productivity. This is why we appreciate the live updates and minimal issues we have when dealing with this product. The faster we work, the more patients are taken care of, and the higher client success rate we can achieve. Perimeter 81's VPN feature helps our company be as efficient as possible. 

A Google Chrome extension would be handy instead of logging into the app. That way, it's pre-signed in and ready to go while browsing. 

While the app connects as we log in, it would be helpful to be able to stay signed in and have an automatic connection while browsing. The connection may be faster and stronger that way as well. 

A VPN Extention through the web browser would be a great asset to web users and companies. With a one-time login, we can have access and not worry about reconnecting to the VPN. I'm looking forward to seeing this feature. 

I've been using Perimeter 81 for one year. 

We did not previously use a different solution. 

Currently, I do not have access to this information. 

I'm an employee. I do not make decisions on organizational software. 

I'm using it for the VPN, I work from a home office and need to access data from different websites. I'm a front-end web developer for a famous brand, working remotely from another country, and the content I have to access must be from different countries. There are some internal tools we must use too, and we must access them with a VPN. Some of these tools are on mobile too, so we also have to install VPN solutions on mobile phones. I have to use a tool that we can access multiple VPNs and switch regions with ease.

We use some VPN solutions, and Perimeter 81 has the best user experience for desktop or mobile. The other solutions have more steps to set up, are more complicated and it was not a good experience. Unfortunately, I can't use Perimeter 81 for all VPN use cases, due to the company's policy, however, when I can, I always choose it. 

I have to use it on my phone too, and my smartphone was not compatible with the other VPN solutions (old Android version), but Perimeter 81 works on old mobile phones and is very light. 

The best points of Perimeter 81 are the:

- User experience
- Design
- Ease of use
- Support for mobile and desktop
- Very light mobile app

The other VPN tools have some old interface with a not great user experience. I use a Mac and the interface looks like an old Windows App. Perimeter 81 is very pretty. My phone is an old Android version (I cannot upgrade right now) and I could not use the other tools to access the VPN because their two-step authentication app could not run on my phone. Perimeter 81 app works on old phones and is very lightweight. The battery consumption is very low. 

I am very satisfied with the product right now. I don't know if it is technically feasible, however, if the Desktop App could be used as a Web App or a Chrome Extension it would be very nice. It would help a lot if I could click a link with the right-click and select from a range of options like: "Open a with VPN: Network main" and that tab would open with VPN activated only on that. And then I could refresh the tab with the VPN on or off. When I access a URL, the Extension could have an option like: "Reload current tab with VPN".

I've used the solution for two months.

I didn't have to deal with any bugs so far.

Our team is big, from people all around the world. Everybody is using a VPN. It scales well.

Until now, I have not needed to reach out for service support.

Neutral

Yes, I did use a different solution, however, I didn't make a full switch as some tools we use can only be accessed with specific VPN tools. That said, when I can choose, I prefer Perimeter 81 due to its ease of use.

It was very easy to set up.

Our IT team provided a step-by-step to setup the solution.

I don't deal with the billing.

I don't deal with billing, however, it would be nice to have a time trial.

IT selects the tools we use. I did not evaluate others.

I'd advise others to use it if you need to access VPN for both desktop and mobile.