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Azure Firewall vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall comparison

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Azure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
16th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
Forcepoint Next Generation ...
Ranking in Firewalls
31st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th), WAN Edge (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.2%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
Charan Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and configure but could be more robust
The cost of the solution has increased. The robustness of the software could be better. It should be able to cover host-to-host traffic or HTTP traffic. Configurations can be better. The workloads need to still have free access. The encryption and decryption process is not that seamless. It's a little heavy compared to a FortiGate or other firewalls.
OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides decent protection for the LAN but complicated interface
We had some licensing issues with its web filtering capabilities. That's why we migrated our web filtering to Cisco Umbrella. Moreover, the interface is complicated. It's difficult to locate all the necessary menus and functions. For example, one of the many issues is with SSH. Even now, we haven't successfully opened the port to connect using SSH mode when we want to change the configuration. It's like a black box—not very open to changes and customization. It's simply not easy to configure. There are other problems, too. For example regarding Forcepoint's Websense component. We had a lot of problems managing the web settings within Websense. That's why we migrated to Cisco Umbrella for cloud-based web filtering. It's not that Forcepoint is inherently bad. The issue is that it's not user-friendly. It is not easy to use. The developers need to redesign the interface (GUI) for better management. It is very difficult to manage. For example, simple actions require too many clicks compared to FortiGate or Palo Alto. That's the main problem.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."
"The response is very quick and they can visually resolve our problems in a short period."
"The web tutor and automatic rules by schedule are good features."
"The features that prevent internet connections, the filtering are the most valuable because we did not have any internet protection before."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security."
"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."
"It's very good and very stable for businesses. It works very well."
"It's quite comfortable to handle the FortiGate firewall."
"It is easy for me to protect certain ports or even the IP addresses, as well as do whitelisting, blacklisting, and the FQDN when we want virtual machines connected and to protect certain websites."
"The product's value to my company stems from its ability to secure my organization."
"The feature that I have found the most valuable is the control over the network permissions and the network."
"The solution can autoscale."
"There is not a single feature or single product that can ensure security."
"We use the solution for application and server deployment."
"The most valuable feature is the integration into the overall cloud platform."
"We secure the entry point to the virtual data center with the firewall."
"The most valuable feature is SD-WAN."
"The people we deal with is a local partner in Cambodia and we can get good support from them."
"Next Generation Firewall's best feature is that it can be managed on one platform."
"Forcepoint's stability is satisfactory, for the most part."
"The most valuable feature is controlling the traffic and the logging. They have real-time logins for traffic logs. Troubleshooting was very easy for me."
"The solution offers sandboxing, which can be integrated at any time."
"The most valuable feature is the console management."
"With Forcepoint, this process is simplified compared to others like Fortinet."
 

Cons

"I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive."
"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."
"The support costs and licensing are sometimes so expensive."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."
"The solution lacks sufficient filtering."
"Its price could be better."
"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"The solution could be more user friendly."
"The solution doesn't offer the same capabilities of Fortinet. It should offer intrusion prevention and advance filtering. These are two very useful features offered on Fortinet that Azure lacks."
"I would appreciate it if Azure Firewall included built-in VPN capabilities."
"It needs a lot of improvement, especially on intruder detection. They are working hard on that."
"The threat intelligence part could be better. I don't see why our customers have to get an additional solution with Azure Firewall. It would be great if they made it on par with Palo Alto."
"Azure Firewall definitely needs a broader feature base. It should be able to go all the way up to layer 7 when looking at applications and things like that."
"Maybe one of the things in the tool where improvements are needed as there are some shortcomings consist of Azure Firewall Manager."
"For larger enterprises, they need to adjust the scalability."
"There is a lot of room for improvement, so I would rate it a six out of ten overall."
"Next Generation Firewall's configuration could be improved."
"My team is looking for more throughput and better integration with our security framework."
"The solution needs to build upon its network functionality. It needs to be a bit smarter."
"While they offer a comprehensive bundled solution, some users may prefer on-premise deployments for certain features, such as URL filtering."
"I would like to see more sizing in the next release, and the roadmap should be clear."
"The endpoint protection capabilities of the product are an area of concern where improvements are required."
"They need to increase the local support here. There are also some bugs or fixes on which they need to work. They very well know about these bugs. In terms of licensing, I would like them to either increase the number of features in a single license or make licensing more flexible."
"The network interface could be better, and it could be cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other firewall products, it's a little cheaper in terms of pricing."
"We have the full license that included all of the features and support."
"The initial setup is super straight forward and as far as the licensing goes for the small product that we have, the pricing was pretty competitive. It wasn't as simple and as cheap as a SonicWall but for the service we would get it was a good price."
"It's an expensive solution."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."
"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
"The pricing is flexible."
"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."
"Azure Firewalls operate on a pay-as-you-go model, similar to cloud services."
"It is pay-as-you-go. So, you pay based on the usage. If I remember it well, there is a basic fee, and there is a traffic fee. It is not per month. It is per hour or something like that. It is not so expensive."
"Before choosing this solution, we evaluated others, and we found this to be the most cost-effective."
"I rate the product pricing a five out of ten."
"Azure Firewall is quite an expensive product."
"The total cost of ownership is much less than Palo Alto, Cisco, or any other brand."
"It is expensive, especially with the premium functions. For one of the clients, it was very expensive. You have to use it more at an enterprise level, and there, it was not at an enterprise level. So, it was very costly, but security-wise, it was a very wise decision to use it that way."
"The solution is cheaper than other brands. My company has an enterprise contract and we finally got a good price with Azure."
"The pricing of the solution is normally competitive with other products."
"The solution is expensive."
"We have just a subscription for the cloud, and this license is great. The license is so good."
"Next Generation Firewall is moderately priced."
"There is a need to make payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product is not expensive."
"There is a license required to use this solution and we can purchase it for one, two, three, or five years."
"Forcepoint is very expensive but it's really secure."
"We have found the price could be reduced. It is a little expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
In terms of pricing, I would place Forcepoint in the middle when compared to other firewalls like Fortinet and Palo A...
What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
There is a lot of technical stuff that could be improved. We've encountered scenarios that were really hard to set up...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Information Not Available
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
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