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reviewer1126782 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Top 5Leaderboard
Improved accessibility in securing technology environments with intuitive interface and direct connectivity
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortinet is easier to set up due to its understandable interface and ability to connect to the CLI directly from the web interface without needing an external SSH client."
  • "Check Point NGFW should improve its user interface to make it more user-friendly and intuitive."

What is our primary use case?

I use Check Point NGFW in my role as an Information Technology Security Engineer. We have implemented it for our customers and use it ourselves.

What is most valuable?

Fortinet is easier to set up due to its understandable interface and ability to connect to the CLI directly from the web interface without needing an external SSH client.

What needs improvement?

Check Point NGFW should improve its user interface to make it more user-friendly and intuitive. Additionally, the issue with link selection on VPNs needs to be addressed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been familiar with Check Point NGFW for around two years.

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Check Point NGFW
March 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, I am satisfied with the stability of Check Point NGFW.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I am satisfied with the scalability of Check Point NGFW.

How are customer service and support?

We have an engineer who is certified to work with Check Point, and I am satisfied with their technical support.

What about the implementation team?

We have an engineer who is certified to work with Check Point.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not dealing with the pricing of Check Point products since I am a technician, not a seller or buyer.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I proposed Check Point, Fortinet, and Juniper to our customers. Fortinet is popular for its ease of use and cost-effectiveness.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Check Point NGFW even if the customer doesn't have a Check Point infrastructure.

I'd rate the solution nine out of the ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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PeerSpot user
Technical Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Robust network security with advanced features, user-friendly management, and good scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "Its greatest asset lies in its user-friendly interface, making it exceptionally suitable and reliable for managing gateways."
  • "When it comes to Check Point's small business gateway series, there might be a need for hardware upgrades, as configuring them can sometimes be a bit challenging."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is to enhance security by safeguarding the internet connection for both servers and users.

What is most valuable?

Its greatest asset lies in its user-friendly interface, making it exceptionally suitable and reliable for managing gateways.

What needs improvement?

When it comes to Check Point's small business gateway series, there might be a need for hardware upgrades, as configuring them can sometimes be a bit challenging.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate its stability capabilities eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate its scalability abilities eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Seeking solutions from them can be quite challenging and often takes a while, which then impacts our workload. I would rate it seven out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have some experience with Juniper, WatchGuard, Cisco, and Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is relatively complex.

What about the implementation team?

Deployment duration varies based on the customer's specific conditions. On average, an installation might take around twenty minutes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The best solutions tend to come with a higher price tag. If something is inexpensive, it often implies a compromise in quality. The solution is indeed costly. I would rate it eight out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Check Point NGFW
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Check Point NGFW. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Amier Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
RESIDENT ENGINEER at NetAssist (M) Sdn Bhd
Real User
A stable tool that offers high performance and requires an easy and straightforward maintenance process
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution is the Quantum Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). I also like the solution's functionality, like autonomous threat prevention."
  • "The complexity involved in the solution's initial setup phase and deployment process is an area of concern where improvement is required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company since the solution serves as a firewall and functions on a DMZ network while also providing public-facing services. I serve my company's customers as a firewall administrator.

How has it helped my organization?

My company's customers have benefited from the solution's performance, especially when dealing with a huge amount of traffic. Check Point is a well-known name in the security industry that opts for functionalities like signature-based detection and beyond.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is the Quantum Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). I also like the solution's functionality, like autonomous threat prevention.

What needs improvement?

The complexity involved in the solution's initial setup phase and deployment process is an area of concern where improvement is required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Check Point NGFW for two years. I work as the solution's integrator. Speaking about the version, I use Check Point Quantum 6400 Next Generation Firewalls.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, I haven't faced any issues related to the solution's stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

If I take into consideration my company's customers who use the solution, then I would have to say that there are around 300 to 400 users.

How are customer service and support?

I have availed the services provided by the solution's technical support. My company engages with the solution's local partner to avail the services provided by Check Point's technical support team.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Compared to Palo Alto and Fortinet, Check Point provides good internal performance, especially for big-scale enterprises and entities, making it a tool that is not just suitable for SMEs or mid-sized companies. Check Point is, however, pricier than other solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Check Point NGFW is quite complex. When it comes to the product's setup phase, the engineer should understand the product, and instead of understanding the firewall, it is important to know how to manage or be an admin.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution's deployment is complex.

What was our ROI?

My company's customers have seen a return on investment from the use of Check Point NGFW.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate the pricing of Check Point NGFW a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price.

What other advice do I have?

I take care of the solution's maintenance part, and I feel that it is a straightforward process.

Check Point NGFW is good for big companies.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
reviewer1856865 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineering and IS Access at SFR
User
Easy to use with good management capabilities and advanced routing
Pros and Cons
  • "The management of the firewall and advanced routing is great."
  • "We need east/west Check Point firewalls in order to do micro-segmentation."

What is our primary use case?

We use Check Point as well as Cisco. The firewall is used in order to continue filtering with VMware VMotion on different data centers. 

How has it helped my organization?

We have several data centers that are stretched. Our Check Point firewalls are used to filter north/south traffic.

With BGP on Gaia, when one of the clusters is unreacheable, the traffic is rerouted to another cluster. 

We also use VSX which is really a very good product for macrosegmentation.

What is most valuable?

The management of the firewall and advanced routing is great. It's easy to use and troubleshoot.

What needs improvement?

We need east/west Check Point firewalls in order to do micro-segmentation. A good solution for us is a solution that can be installed on différent systems (Linux, Windows K8S, bare metal, etc.) and can have centralized management.

Troubleshooting is also a big feature that will be necessary in this use case. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for many years.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at Ciscos ASA and Fortigate.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a french isp
PeerSpot user
reviewer1805079 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Fujairah Port
User
Offers a secure environment with great protection and simple upgrade capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "We can also run policies with two or more people simultaneously without problems or the risk of developing the wrong policy."
  • "The smart console is heavy."

What is our primary use case?

We currently use Check Point's firewall for our data center. We use Check Point firewall for providing the first layer of security to web application servers and intranet servers. It is robust and easy to upgrade, which makes it less stressful for the administrators. Its failover clustering option also works seamlessly.

The Check Point firewall is used to secure our environments. It also allows us to set up tunnels between our various sites.

We use it for the publication of services, as well as a notification system that reports on user behavior and unusual traffic - both within and outside of the network. 

How has it helped my organization?

Over the years, we have experienced various types of attacks on our company, and, without the help of the Next Generation CheckPoint Firewall, we would have lost.

The spoofing feature helps us to prevent various attacks in our organization.

The firewall policy designing and implementation allow for inline policies that make for clearer teaching on the correct use of policies as well as a more readable list. We can also run policies with two or more people simultaneously without problems or the risk of developing the wrong policy.

What is most valuable?

The initial sizing is not a problem. You can easily add more resources if needed. Reliability is a major factor in any hardware or software solution, and Check Point uses cutting-edge hardware. Their software upgrade process is flexible for different deployment requirements. 

Their threat analysis reporting in their management console is comprehensive and easy to use. The web-based dashboard is well designed and offers a wide variety of out-of-the-box reporting. It offers admins extensive customization.

What needs improvement?

The list of site-to-site VPN configuration options is long. They can become confusing and communication with other vendors when deploying VPNs is not the strongest. It's totally different from any other VPN vendor I've encountered.

It lists the current threats identified on the appliance's front page. It would be easier to find information by clicking on the threat and clicking the exact logs, rather than all host logs.

The smart console is heavy. It would be better if it was like the web-based consoles that Palo Alto and Fortigate FW offer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for more than a year.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Manager at trt18
Real User
Very good security especially where high bandwidth is needed
Pros and Cons
  • "I use it as well as a VM. We use it a lot because we have all fiber optic connections, so we could use almost all of that. The federation is beautiful because I can transfer all traffic to my main site where I can use just one link to the internet, and I can use it as a proxy as well. It is good to keep control and security."
  • "In terms of what could be improved, we have a cluster with two nodes and usually we have some problems when process gets really high and it has to choose which services it keeps going. I would like to have a better solution here, like if instead of just one we could use both at the same time. It would be good if it could work together. Then when one has a failure or something like that, the other one is there to transfer, to take all the services and keep working."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution for VPN mostly, for the IDS and prevention and detection. I use it for security exploits, like HTTPS exploits.

I also use Check Point NGFW as a federation. I use it to connect to my other sites. We have five of them, mostly in cities where we need a high bandwidth.

What is most valuable?

I use it as well as a VM. We use it a lot because we have all fiber optic connections, so we could use almost all of that. The federation is beautiful because I can transfer all traffic to my main site where I can use just one link to the internet, and I can use it as a proxy as well. It is good to keep control and security.

What needs improvement?

In terms of what could be improved, we have a cluster with two nodes and usually we have some problems when process gets really high and it has to choose which services it keeps going. I would like to have a better solution here, like if instead of just one we could use both at the same time. It would be good if it could work together. Then when one has a failure or something like that, the other one is there to transfer, to take all the services and keep working. They have an integration between the nodes but I would like to use both of them working together. In the solution they could both be active, instead of active and passive. I would like them to add backup features to Check Point Firewall.

Many companies are going to the cloud. In future releases, it would be nice to have a cloud integration so we could work in a hybrid form for some years, like some services in the cloud and others on-premises. So it would be nice to have some features in this sense.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Check Point NGFW since 2018. For two years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I couldn't tell you about the scalability. I don't know. I know that we can use a federation, but I think it is scalable because we can buy additional licenses. As I mentioned, right now we have five working together, but we can buy until 50 or a 100, so I guess that it is scalable because you can keep increasing.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is hard. We came from another Cisco solution and even then it is hard, especially talking about the traffic. So we had to inspect the traffic and sometimes we had to do a lot of configurations. It would be nice if it was easier.

It took about three months to deploy.

It would be nice if it was easier to set up and to maintain.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Right now we keep a contract with a company in Brazil, so we hardly talk to Check Point itself and we don't like it very much. In most cases we have to search and look into the database to really find the solution, so it could be better.

What other advice do I have?

I'd say that Check Point NGFW is a good product but it's hard to set up and keep it going, so we had to invest in some training and we have to keep at least two employees just to keep it working.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Check Point NGFW an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Director at TechPlayr
Real User
Centralized architecture, with good support, but the scalability could be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "We have not had any issues with the firewall."
  • "Check Point can scale but at times we have experienced some issues."

What is our primary use case?

We deploy solutions for customers. We don't engage in buying. 

We are both consultants and implementers.

What is most valuable?

We have not had any issues with the firewall.

Support is good and it's centralized architecture.

What needs improvement?

We are also working on load balancers. We don't have the option to work more with load balancers, we would like to see what else can come out of this in terms of security.

Technical support and scalability both require improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Check Point NGFW for the last ten years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Check Point can scale but at times we have experienced some issues.

How are customer service and support?

Palo Alto is better compared to Check Point. I would rate Palo Alto as superior support to Fortinet or Check Point.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to work with Fortinet for approximately five years, and the Palo Alto Appliances was some time back.

I believe the Palo Alto support is excellent, and it has more features than Fortinet. Many businesses, in my opinion, are choosing Palo Alto.

Palo Alto support is very good.

Fortinet's main issue is the support. We can't take it to the enterprise level because the Fortinet support is not very good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Check Point has previously held a large market share, but perhaps not recently. I think that the price point in India is a bit different. Check Point offers options. I don't see that Check Point is very high, but it is geared more towards enterprises.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have evaluated Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to see what was available, and recently, I researched the Azure VM series to know how it worked.

What other advice do I have?

I'm leaning toward the now cloud. The appliance base has now been removed. We are now concentrating our efforts on the Azure Cloud, AWS, and other similar platforms. I believe that people must mature in order to work on it. That's where things stand. As a result, we must learn how this is implemented on cloud platforms.

I would rate Check Point a seven out of ten but NGFW a six out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Director at Facultad de Ciencias Actuariales, Universidad Anáhuac México
Real User
The best enterprise solution for cybersecurity protection
Pros and Cons
  • "A stable solution with multiple interfaces"
  • "Complex and not very easy to use."

What is our primary use case?

I'm at a university in Queretaro, Mexico and it's used to protect our infrastructure: wireless, LAN, PCs.  Since the solution prevents attacks, we have the checkpoint in all our equipment, from the critical infrastructure to the directors' and employees' cell phones.

How has it helped my organization?

This is the best enterprise solution. Almost every university in Mexico has Fortinet or VXN, but our mission is to have the best cybersecurity protection for our information and our users. We're a private university and our clients and information are the priority. This is the reason why I chose Check Point NGFW.   

What is most valuable?

The solution interface is good. It has three different ones: the NGFW, the Endpoint, and Harmony Mobile.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of this solution is good.

How are customer service and support?

Because my employees work in other departments, we used the deployment consultant. The service was very good.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was simple because we had the checkpoint expert support. The time it took was standard and once the installation was complete, there was no problem at all.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The setup was simple because we had our partner and checkpoint expert support.  The time it took was standard and once the installation was complete, there was no problem at all.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. This is a very good solution. It's complex because it's not too easy to use, but the brand and our partner help us with NG Firewall configuration issues or other solutions like Harmony.

The university is growing every year and with that, I purchase more endpoint licenses and Harmony Endpoint because the firewall works well on the dimension and capacity. Next year, we plan to integrate Harmony Email and Office. The solution also prevents threats to Office 365.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Check Point NGFW Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Check Point NGFW Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.