What is our primary use case?
We use the Forescout Platform primarily for asset management.
How has it helped my organization?
The federal government's continuous diagnostics and mitigation programs are the focus of the current project I'm working on.
It's one of the tools that has given the federal government visibility into network devices and everything.
What needs improvement?
The most common complaint I hear about Forescout is about their technical support.
Some sort of highly scalable platform, such as a private cloud, that can be distributed across a network quickly and grow rapidly, would be beneficial.
I believe that the overall user experience has not always been preferable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Forescout Platform since 2018.
I haven't had enough direct experience with the current project to know, but I know the federal government has a variety of various stages of Forescout deployment, but I believe it's just different versions of the CounterACTs appliances and such.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has a place in terms of stability. I believe Forescout is likely to compete with other NAC tools used by agencies, such as Cisco ISE and new EDR tools that are entering the market. I believe, will be considered. But, overall, the asset management, is effective.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of our deployment, it's basically just buying more CounterACT appliances whenever we need to scale up. It can be done, but it's not scalable in the way that a cloud deployment is, it's somewhere in the middle.
We have a large number of users, in our organization.
It has been implemented in a large number of federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and the Treasury. It's quite large.
I believe that the current state should be maintained. I don't believe there are any major plans to increase our usage. Maybe just upgrades or future license upgrades, or something like that.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support needs improvement. They are not very responsive to existing customers.
My interactions with them have been satisfactory, but I've heard from federal agencies that they had difficulties because they brought it to us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When we arrived, Forescout was still in the process of being deployed. I don't believe they had the kind of capability that Forescout provides prior to our arrival. If anything, they had different NAC tools.
How was the initial setup?
Because of the way it is deployed, the initial setup was complex.
I would rate the initial setup a three out of five.
It took a long time to complete. It's a massive deployment, depending on the agency, it could take at least six months to get it up and running and collect the data we require. Some of it is still ongoing.
What about the implementation team?
To my knowledge, Forescout did the majority of the deployment.
We are Forescout Platform integrators, consultants, and partners.
Most agencies, I believe, have NAC engineers who manage it, and they most likely have training skillsets for it. I would say that most shops require two to three, three to four people to maintain.
What was our ROI?
In terms of ROI, I've never seen any data.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have pricing information.
There are no additional costs that I am aware of.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
They evaluated other solutions before choosing the Forescout Platform.
What other advice do I have?
Before you begin deploying it, I would suggest that you define how you intend to use it. Just have an end state in mind so that you can build towards it and ensure you have all the functions you need for the design in place. Whatever you want to do with the data that comes out of it, try to define it first.
I would rate Forescout Platform a six 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: