Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) Reviews

We are a company of around 30-50 people who have been working from home since the pandemic began. Our environment is completely cloud-based and all our computers are managed by our organization. 

We needed a solution that would help us protect users and the information that is handled in our company. This solution had to comply with characteristics such as the protection of network connections, prevention of threats such as malware and phishing, data protection, and, above all, it had to be easy to implement and manage. This is why we implemented Check Point Harmony Connect.

Check Point Harmony Connect helped us create a more secure environment in our organization, since our users can be safer when browsing and not being attacked by malicious actors who try to affect them with phishing or malware. On the other hand, administrators have more visibility of the sites to which users navigate and be able to control them, they can also access audit reports that allow them to make better decisions on security rules that must be applied. The protection of data in our company is the most important.

The characteristics that I have liked the most are the ease of implementation and administration. It is a cloud-based service it can be configured easily and very quickly and the administration center is very friendly for administrator users who do not know or have used the product. 

In addition, it is a cloud-based service that helps prevent cyber attacks by ensuring internet access for our users who work remotely, facilitating access control. 

Another valuable feature is that company information is kept protected by internet access control, applications to be managed, and URL filtering protection.

Sometimes downloading PDF files can be slow. It may take a while to scan the downloaded files. On some computers, the Check Point Harmony Connect agent can be a bit heavy to run in terms of CPU and Memory resources. 

Transparency to end-users could be improved. 

More compatible applications can be included. 

The support provided could be improved for when problems arise that require support from the Check Point team. Check Point is an expensive product so support should be more adequate. 

Some EDR features may still be under development and may need more time to be ready for use on a larger scale.

I've used the solution for one year.

Stability is 90% good. File scanning and web console stability could be improved.

The scalability is good.

Support is good, however, in some cases, they could improve the response time.

Neutral

I have not used any other option before.

The initial configuration was very easy to perform; the installation on the endpoints was very simple for the users.

The initial setup was handled by an internal team with supervision or support from the provider.

There have been savings related to the number of hours of implementation and administration.

I recommend that you evaluate using Check Point Harmony Connect, since, although its price may be a little more expensive, it is a solution that adds advanced security to the organization.

I only evaluated Microsoft and evaluated if Fortinet had any product that met the requirements.

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.

I use Perimeter 81 mostly for remote work. I work in a fast-paced, customer-centric environment overseeing a team of about four or five people who regularly need urgent assistance. I also host group meetings that require me to use other applications that need a VPN. Perimeter 81 has helped me stay connected right around the clock with almost no need for IT app support each day. Dealing with clients online requires good VPN hosting, and Perimeter 81 has provided that

Perimeter 81 has been a game-changer at my company. Service delivery has improved internally and externally. We had lots of dropped VPN signals with our previous provider, so it was refreshing when we started testing Perimeter 81. We are now considering switching all of our remote employees to Perimeter 81 based on the experiences that the initial users shared during our bi-weekly department and company meetings. 

It connects quickly and stays connected. The user interface is pretty neat too. The app has in-house support with user guides that give you step-by-step walkthroughs on navigating the app. In addition, there is a live chat feature that offers prompt assistance on the go. There is also a diagnostic feature that helps you troubleshoot any issue you have, but I've never had to use this because I haven't had any issues. 

If I were to be nitpicky, I would ask that Perimeter 81 offer the option for us to change the color of the graphical user interface, like maybe pink or green or so on. 

I've been using Perimeter 81 for about six months

Perimeter 81 is highly stable.

Perimeter 81 is highly scalable.

Our previous VPN provider dropped the signal too often.

Setting up Perimeter 81 wasn't complex.

We deployed Perimeter 81 in-house.

I rate Perimeter 81 10 out of 10.

It was implemented at work to be able to monitor collaborators and know what pages they are using and thus be able to take the necessary actions to block pages that are not authorized in the company and also know in which pages collaborators spend more time and be able to measure their work performance and thus be more effective in our company, on the other hand it helps a lot to improve the traffic and performance of the network, which is one of the points where it helps a lot.

Once all the security breaches of our collaborators have been detected, we can determine which options to mitigate in the company and improve security.

Harmony has improved the organization in being able to better monitor the use of internet bandwidth, accesses, pages, restrict pages, and allow sites, however, it has also been found that it makes machines a bit inefficient, this is because the program consumes many resources of the device where it is connected, sometimes causing slowness and starting to see many jams in the programs or processes that are being executed.

It has also been possible to determine that, for use on a Mac PC it is not very complicated to do the installation. You must have very robust equipment.

One of the most valuable features found using Harmony is being able to monitor in a simple and orderly way.

The panel configuration and agent installation on each of the machines is very practical and quickly distributed. Furthermore, all the equipment that does not have an agent installed can be viewed in the administration panel and have better control of each of the devices.

Another valuable characteristic is the configuration of reporting and information of each of the users. This report is quite complete, and it is possible to determine what actions to take in the organization and be able to present a report to high command.

One of the areas that must be improved is the ability to make the software less burdensome for the devices since they consume a lot of resources which makes it necessary to make an economic investment in the device itself such as servers, desktop laptops. that handle a relatively normal performance according to the functions it performs since, if used with a high-performance computer, Harmony behaves well and does not cause slowness.

This made us uninstall the product on several collaborating machines since the PC's performance dropped a lot. Some programs, like Teams, do not work and this causes us problems where we cannot monitor those machines.

He used the product for 5 years.

The stability is very good, however, it harms a little of the performance of the PC.

The scalability has been very good, it has helped us a lot to be able to improve our company.

The support needs to improve lately it is very average they do not respond quickly they do not always comply with the SLA

Positive

We did not previously use a different solution.

Implementation is now easier since we have considerable experience using the tool.

The installation was carried out with the tool vendor since we did not have much knowledge, today we have managed to have that learning curve and we have been able to do our own installations.

The investment in a security product will always have a return, not directly economical, but indirectly since all our information is secured.

The cost is very accessible and the installation is very easy to implement.

We did not evaluate other options.

It is very user-friendly. The panel is easy to use.

My company integrates the solution into other companies where we are required to do a project for them per the requirements. I had the opportunity to suggest Check Point Harmony Connect two years ago at the Bank of Brazil.

The most valuable features of the solution vary and depend on what our company does. For example, I may work with a big water distribution project where everything revolves around IoT. In general, I can say that everything depends on the type of project where I need to be working as an architect.

In our organization, we use two managed SaaS products or technology at a time when everything appears to be moving to the cloud, and we still work with tools like Check Point Harmony Connect that require a license since the problem related to the product lies in the licensing part, the aforementioned details should be considered to improve the product.

The complex initial setup phase of the product is an area that can be improved.

I have experience with Check Point Harmony Connect.

It is a very stable solution.

It is a scalable solution since the SaaS licensing part of the solution is by the number of users and not by the number of assets or people or everything you need to manage it.

My company provides customer support. We have an operations center with all the tools to provide the necessary support to our clients. I remember that the technical team from Check Point was very supportive when I was working with the Bank of Brazil. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup of Check Point Harmony Connect was very complex and complicated since our company had to integrate 17 different applications into one console.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

The solution’s UI is more user-friendly and has more functions.

The solution is very complicated for new people. The solution could add more connectors.

I have been using Perimeter 81 for two months.

The product is stable.

The solution is scalable. Around 30-40 users are using this solution.

The initial setup is easy. We must first install it on a machine and then access the connection for deployment. If you go with the standard setup, it won’t take much time, but with a database, it takes some time.

The solution is expensive.

The solution’s maintenance is easy. Since the data collector is free, they don’t provide any support. Web filtering is paid, so they provide support for it.

Before you go with the solution, ensure to check the certificate.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

The primary use case has to do with the remote connectivity of sites.

I have found the IPsec VPN to be valuable.

The integration from a management perspective could be improved so that the management can, from an existing Check Point firewall, manage a Harmony firewall through one pane of glass.

I would like to see the use of either GRE or non-IP tunnels in the next release.

I've been working with Harmony Connect for about 18 months. I tested it but did not run it in production.

Stability wise, I'd rate Harmony Connect at seven out of ten. It could be more stable in some respects.

The scalability is good, and I'd give it an eight out of ten.

I found the technical support to be okay. Most of the technical support was geared to the regular equipment, and we had to find specialists within Check Point to look at Harmony Connect. Because of that, I would give technical support a rating of seven out of ten.

Neutral

The initial setup is simple in some ways but complex in other ways. You need to know a lot about the Check Point side and the portal side to make it work.

I would rate Harmony Connect's pricing at six out of ten. It wasn't particularly expensive, but it wasn't super cheap either.

We evaluated Silver Peak. Comprehensiveness was the main difference between Harmony Connect and Silver Peak. Harmony Connect is a little more suited for smaller branch offices as opposed to full-site connectivity.

Overall, I would rate this solution at seven on a scale from one to ten.

I needed the solution to attach it to the vendor's file in our accounting software. The customer service team provided such an efficient and fast service. We have an account manager, which is great as we get personalized attention. I asked for the W-9 form once, and it was provided to me. I was not able to download it and then forgot about it. I asked for it again, and without any hesitation, the team provided it again. They were not rude about it. I later realized and apologized for asking for it twice.

Our organization is more secure with Perimeter81's Virtual Private Network (VPN). We manage sensitive information of clients. In my department, we manage bank and credit card information. It is a lot of responsibility to have access to that kind of data. Now that our company has implemented Perimeter81's services with the VPN, personally, I feel more secure when navigating through these different platforms. It is a great investment for today's workplaces - especially when we handle critical information virtually.

The feature that I have found to be most valuable is the reputation that the company has regarding privacy. Nowadays, this is critical, especially when you do all of your work online. 

Similarly, I find that the work that Perimeter 81's customer service team does is very valuable. I have heard from our IT department that Perimeter 81's team is quite knowledgeable and efficient. These are important traits and they describe not only the company's service but the quality of its product as well. So far, our company is very happy with the product.

Overall the product is very efficient. However, personally, there is something that I dislike. I have found that the log-in/out process takes quite some time. I usually click on the app, and it asks me to login in through the web, and then after I log in it takes me back to the app. It seems to me that I should be able to log out without having to leave the app. I do like that it connects automatically/logs in as soon as I sign on. I am not sure why login in is easier than logout. 

The resolution took a couple of hours to be solved, around six hours.

The stability is good.

The scalability is good.

The experience with technical support was great. The team is professional, polite, and efficient.

Positive

This is the first time that we used a VPN in the company.

I'm not able to say what the setup is like.

I'm not able to say if we had any outside assistance.

I'm not able to say what the ROI would be.

I am not able to advise on the cost/pricing.

This decision was made by the IT department, however, naturally, they did evaluate other vendors