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F5 Advanced WAF vs Microsoft Azure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.6
F5 Advanced WAF boosts ROI by enhancing security, reducing overhead, and protecting assets in sectors like finance and banking.
Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Azure is favored for reducing costs, offering flexible scalability, and enhancing service reliability while shifting expenses to operational.
Time savings in daily operations come from the automatic learning and signature update reducing the need for constant manual rule management, allowing the security and network teams to spend significantly less time handling false positive application-related escalations.
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
Subscription models offer clearer ROI due to a more competitive pricing scheme.
Global Channel Alliances Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The amount of attacks it protects against is immense, more than F5 Advanced WAF itself costs.
Security Solutions Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
The value for money is good, and Microsoft Azure has positively impacted our operational costs.
IT Support Specialist at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
When we use Microsoft Azure, it provides enhanced security from our perspective, though I am not certain about the financial return on investment or benefits for our users as I do not have that information.
Head Of Security Management at Ipko Telecommunications
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
F5 Advanced WAF's support is professional and helpful, though response times vary based on service level and issue priority.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Azure's support is responsive and knowledgeable, but speed and accessibility vary with the service level purchased.
Both response time and availability need to be improved.
Project Manager at IBM
F5 Advanced WAF provides the insights and notifications I need in terms of reporting and alerting.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
If there is a bug, the support is usually understanding and resolves issues.
CEO at CyberApp
Microsoft needs to engage L3 and L2 in support when specified in service tickets.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
We eventually get the resolution we seek.
Freelancer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would rate their technical support a ten because we have various support channels available.
Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
F5 Advanced WAF is adaptable, scalable, and supports diverse business needs with robust load balancing and cloud capabilities.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure is highly rated for its scalable resource management, suitable for businesses of all sizes and workloads.
I can run it in HA mode or even divide the traffic volume to the number of instances that I have based on their resource sizing.
Security Solutions Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Microsoft Azure is not just one product; it is a platform with multiple products within Microsoft Azure, and I would say it is scalable and would rate it a nine.
Director at Apeiros Solutions
The scalability of Microsoft Azure is excellent for growth and adaptation, depending on company requirements.
Head Of Security Management at Ipko Telecommunications
It has different kinds of designs that allow for management and deployment in multi-zones, offering both scalable and non-scalable options.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
F5 Advanced WAF is praised for its stability and reliability, handling substantial workloads effectively with minimal bugs.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Azure is generally stable with high uptime, though users note occasional issues and some prefer AWS for reliability.
F5 Advanced WAF has been very reliable and consistent for us; in our on-premise enterprise setup, it has been stable and predictable in day-to-day operations without any unexpected crashes or WAF-related downtime in production.
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
F5 Advanced WAF is pretty stable.
Security Solutions Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
We noticed a few critical servers went down due to a Microsoft Azure-end hardware issue.
Senior Associate at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We are now migrating clients without the zoning into mandatory multi-zone deployments, so if one zone goes down, their application and database remain live.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Microsoft Azure is quite stable, but recent outages and security issues have slightly decreased my confidence.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

F5 Advanced WAF needs a user-friendly interface, better integration, competitive pricing, and improved automation, scalability, and documentation.
Azure users seek a user-friendly interface, better pricing, enhanced support, compatibility improvements, and additional customization with security enhancements.
Deployment training for F5 Advanced WAF is lacking and restricts growth by being inaccessible and costly for partners.
Global Channel Alliances Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Overall, these are not blockers, merely enhancement opportunities, and once tuned, F5 Advanced WAF is very stable and reliable; improving usability, reporting, and onboarding would make it even more effective for larger environments.
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
There is excellent clarity in the LTM and the WAF.
Project Manager at IBM
Recent outages and security issues are also a concern, causing a decrease in confidence, especially when partnering with third-party companies.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
The administrative side is suitable for technical people, but our finance and HR super users find it less user-friendly, as they prefer drag-and-drop features to build their own solutions without contacting IT.
IT Support Specialist at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
There is still room for improvement in terms of pricing.
Director at Apeiros Solutions
 

Setup Cost

F5 Advanced WAF's high cost is justified by its robust features, appealing to enterprises needing comprehensive protection.
Microsoft Azure's competitive pricing and flexible options attract users, despite concerns about long-term cost predictability and specific charges.
Licensing is capacity-driven, so you need careful planning based on traffic volume and use cases, and adding features such as Bot Protection impacts costs; once licensing is clear and sized correctly, there are no surprises.
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
Subscription models have competitive pricing, while perpetual licenses involve an upfront higher cost.
Global Channel Alliances Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The price is affordable and satisfactory.
CEO at CyberApp
Microsoft solutions might be cheaper than some services like AWS, but some solutions may be more expensive depending on the services compared.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Copilot is expensive based on recent pricing for our POC.
IT Support Specialist at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
They have discounts and also provide promotions for a three-year reservation which comes with significant discounts on the infrastructure part.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
 

Valuable Features

F5 Advanced WAF excels in detection, customization, and reporting, providing comprehensive web application security and user-friendly operation.
Microsoft Azure excels in scalability, integration, security, and cost-effectiveness, enhancing development and operational efficiency with robust support.
The Advanced Attack Signature database is very strong and regularly updated, effectively blocking SQL injections, cross-site scripting, command injections, and file inclusion attacks while allowing selective enabling or disabling of signatures to avoid blocking genuine traffic.
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
F5 Advanced WAF offers the best features that are capable of stopping any type of attack, and it is a really reliable and stable product that you can rely on to stop any type of attack.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
The perpetual license, despite an initial higher cost, lacks transparency regarding support expiration.
Global Channel Alliances Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Power BI, another feature of Azure, is extremely elegant and has robust features that support forecasting using R and Python.
Works at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
If Microsoft gives a report, such as a server performance report in a detailed way, which shows what is consuming more CPU, memory, and disk IO, and network utilization during a particular time, it would be helpful to visualize that information.
Senior Associate at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
What is very interesting in terms of scalability is the automatic possibilities to provision some new machines to be able to absorb the number of users we have in the system.
Technical Director / Market Evangelist at CAST Software
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 Advanced WAF
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (2nd)
Microsoft Azure
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
323
Ranking in other categories
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (1st), PaaS Clouds (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 Advanced WAF and Microsoft Azure aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 Advanced WAF is designed for Web Application Firewall (WAF) and holds a mindshare of 7.5%, down 10.3% compared to last year.
Microsoft Azure, on the other hand, focuses on Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS), holds 10.2% mindshare, down 19.3% since last year.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 Advanced WAF7.5%
Fortinet FortiWeb7.8%
Imperva Application Security Platform7.8%
Other76.9%
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure10.2%
Amazon AWS17.1%
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)9.8%
Other62.9%
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
 

Q&A Highlights

reviewer1433010 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Sep 08, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Kallamuddin Ansari - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize
Application security has protected critical banking services while policy learning minimizes false blocks
F5 Advanced WAF performs well overall, but I have noticed some points that could enhance the solution. Initially, policy tuning could be simpler, as while the learning engine is powerful, initial tuning still requires experienced engineers, which can be challenging for new teams due to the complexity of options and parameters. A more guided and simple tuning workflow would help reduce the learning curve. Additionally, tighter native integration with SIEM or SOAR tools would simplify correlation and investigations for security teams, although log exports are available. Overall, these are not blockers, merely enhancement opportunities, and once tuned, F5 Advanced WAF is very stable and reliable; improving usability, reporting, and onboarding would make it even more effective for larger environments.
Syed Abid  - PeerSpot reviewer
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Versatile integrations and reliable customer satisfaction elevate cloud service experience
For Microsoft Azure improvement, they need to enhance their support system. The first level of support should be improved in terms of quality and response time. They need more technical support at the first level, as there are currently only one or two technical people among five to ten staff members at this level. They should ensure that the first level support is more technical because we normally provide services to technical users ourselves. When an issue arises, it usually escalates to the second or third level. When facing first level support, they may have limited knowledge and only collect screenshots to forward to their seniors. They should ensure that the first level support is aligned with L2 and L3 to better assist us, especially since we mention in the ticket that our issues are related to specific problems and require that sort of support.
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Comparison Review

it_user8586 - PeerSpot reviewer
Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Aug 14, 2013
Amazon vs Rackspace vs Microsoft vs Google: Cloud Hosting Services Comparison
Amazon Web Services, Rackspace OpenStack, Microsoft Windows Azure and Google are the major cloud hosting and storage service providers. Athough Amazon is top of them and is oldest in cloud market, Rackspace, Microsoft and Google are giving tough competition to each other and to Amazon also for…
 

Answers from the Community

reviewer1433010 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Sep 8, 2021
Sep 8, 2021
Yes, it is definitely supported on most cloud platforms. You can find all needed info regarding Azure cloud on this link: https://azuremarketplace.micro
2 out of 3 answers
GS
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Oct 31, 2020
Yes, it is definitely supported on most cloud platforms. You can find all needed info regarding Azure cloud on this link: https://azuremarketplace.micro
MO
Group Head, Enterprise Systems at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Dec 4, 2020
Sure. It's available on the Azure Marketplace
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business140
Midsize Enterprise53
Large Enterprise150
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 Advanced WAF?
It's a fairly easy-to-use and user-friendly tool. My administrators and team also like its ability to customize the rules per the requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Advanced WAF?
Regarding the price, I think the cost is a bit higher compared to others. Earlier we were using Radware, and compared to Radware, it is very high. However, it is providing more features than Radwar...
What needs improvement with F5 Advanced WAF?
In terms of additional features I would like to see from them in the future, I think the GTM is a bit complicated to configure, which I observed. Otherwise, LTM and WAF are straightforward. I faced...
Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?
IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to manage data and applications. One of the features we like is the cloud activity ...
Which is better - SAP Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure?
One of the best features of SAP Cloud Platform is that it is web-based and you can log in from anywhere in the world. SAP Cloud Platform is suitable for companies of any size; it works well with bo...
How does Microsoft Azure compare to Google Firebase?
I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. In particular, the Firebase library grants you access to a shared data structure...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MAXIMUS, Vivo, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office, City Bank
BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, F5, Imperva and others in Web Application Firewall (WAF). Updated: January 2026.
881,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.