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Security Consultant at Airpel
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A good cyber security tool that is 802.1X compliant, but requires improvement to its agent-based authentication feature
Pros and Cons
  • "The 802.1X compliance authentication feature of this solution is very good."
  • "We have found that the agent-based authentication, available within this solution could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for cyber-security purposes.

What is most valuable?

The 802.1X compliance authentication feature of this solution is very good.

What needs improvement?

We have found that the agent-based authentication, available within this solution could be improved.

The price-point for this solution is very high, which should be looked at in comparison with similar products currently on the market.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for five years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found this to be a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We believe this product is easily scalable.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for this product has been good in our experience.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The setup for this solution is very straightforward, but full deployment can take a number of years.

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

The cost of licensing for this product is quite high, but this cost covers all the features of the solution so it is a single payment for the term that has been selected.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a seven 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
Owner at Securnet
Real User
Has a valuable Bring Your Own Device feature and good usability
Pros and Cons
  • "We think it's simple. We think it's very useful and we really like reports and everything."
  • "The biggest disadvantage is the pricing."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the Forescout Platform mostly for the Bring Your Own Device features. So we like it very much. We like the dashboard, the usability, and the Bring Your Own Device feature. That's our main usage of the Forescout.

How has it helped my organization?

We are really adapted to the product. So we find it perfect.

What is most valuable?

Now that I'm used to it I don't see many places to improve it. We really like it as it is. We think it's simple. We think it's very useful and we really like reports and everything. We like it very much.

What needs improvement?

The biggest disadvantage is the pricing. I can see that the product has value. I see that the product is really good. I think that the pro is it's really stable, but price-wise, I think it's bad. But you have to pay for quality. But the pricing can be a little bit improved in my point of view. It will be harder to choose if we start comparing features and prices and when we made the initial choice. Our choice was based mainly on features. There was no price comparison involved. I think that it is not in the same landscape. The landscape has changed and there are a lot of contenders in this field. The price scale could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have worked with Forescout Device Visibility and Control Platform for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The availability is one hundred percent available. So we don't have issues with that also, so very good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The installation is small enough, it's 500 users and there are no issues with the performance. So our escalation costs, we are small so it's perfect. I've had no issues. The availability is one hundred percent available. So we don't have issues with that also, so very good.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support was really great at the beginning of the setup. At the moment we don't use it because the product is very good. I cannot say if it's good or it's bad because we don't use it, we don't see any issues. It's very good. So for me, I cannot tell you if the support is fast or it's slow, or if it's good or bad because we don't use it. No, we don't use the support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. We have help from the manufacturer, so to put it in place it was straightforward. We have been using it for two years now with no issues.

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

The pricing is really bad. We think that it's expensive. So the pricing part is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will buy it. 

I would rate Forscout Device Visibility and Control Platform at a nine 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
Buyer's Guide
Forescout Platform
November 2024
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Founder at EME Pty Ltd
Real User
Easy to manage and prevents network access by rogue devices throughout our network
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are remote access and administration scripts."
  • "We experienced some detection issues when checking compliance for the Sophos agent."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for Network Access Control to prevent rogue devices connecting into the network.

How has it helped my organization?

This product allows monitoring and control of the PC fleet across the company.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are remote access and administration scripts.

What needs improvement?

We experienced some detection issues when checking compliance for the Sophos agent.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Pre-Sales Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
For larger scale projects which includes multiple sites, CounterACT can be easily deployed in a centralized or decentralized manner. Its graphical user interface could use a revamp.

Valuable Features

CounterACT is a very flexible product in terms of deployment where the users will have a Layer 2 or Layer 3 deployment depending on their network infrastructure while maintaining the product's features regardless of which deployment. For larger scale projects which includes multiple sites, CounterACT can be easily deployed in a centralized or decentralized manner. Besides that, deploying CounterACT introduces almost little-to-no network infrastructure changes.

Integration with third-party products is also an important feature of CounterACT. While many of their competitors' products can only be integrated within their own portfolio, CounterACT manages to integrate with today's top security products to cover the security gaps that many solutions may introduce. CounterACT also provides a ControlFabric platform which may allow the users to integrate all of their security and network solutions into CounterACT.

Improvements to My Organization

As a distributor's engineer working on CounterACT, there are a few vast changes that I have seen after deploying CounterACT for our customers. A few of our customers reportedly had an easier time with their auditors on endpoint compliance, where they would only need to generate and turn in CounterACT's report. This saves both the customer's and the auditor's time.

Another improvement that we can see is automated security, where the customers would not need to manually turn on and off the switch ports for their guests. CounterACT automatically recognizes these guest and provides a self-registration feature to their guest while still maintaining the customer's network security posture.

Room for Improvement

There are few areas which will need vast improvements. The CounterACT graphical user interface could use a revamp as it may not look appealing enough to the end users.

Another area which the CounterACT should improve is their ability to deliver a more precise error messages to their users. At times, the error messages are not clear enough and are too technical to understand. Some of their error messages are not generic, as they are only understandable by the ForeScout engineers.

Use of Solution

I've used it for three years.

Deployment Issues

There were no issues with deployment.

Stability Issues

There are few issues with CounterACT that need more attention, mainly it's ability to process and perform discovery faster. At times, CounterACT takes too long to determine the endpoints, which may cause delays to the end users.

CounterACT could also use a more stable management console interface. This is because there will be times where CounterACT takes too long to login to its management console.

Another issue with CounterACT is that it does not provide very meaningful error messages when some error occurs. The error messages are hidden and it does not show unless the users click on a specific button or mouse over to the problematic elements.

Scalability Issues

There have been no issues scaling it.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customer Service:

The Customer Service is very responsive and helpful. They managed to resolve most of our issues with the products without much hassle.

Technical Support:

The Technical Support is very responsive and helpful. They managed to resolve most of our issues with the products without much hassle.

Initial Setup

Initial setup is very straightforward because there are only a few network configurations needed to be done. It does not require any downtime and could be deployed at any time during production hour. There are a few endpoint configurations that need to be done, which users can do so through their Microsoft ActiveDirectory or desktop management tools or software.

Implementation Team

We implemented the solutions with our S.I. To ensure a smooth implementation, it is crucial to have all the endpoints and network requirements ready and configured before CounterACT is installed. It is recommended to start with the default policies and work on these policies to meet customers' requirements.

ROI

As we are an implementer, we do have an ROI for all our products.

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

For pricing and licensing, CounterACT is not an overly expensive product. They can fit most of our customers' budgets.

Other Solutions Considered

We managed to evaluate Cisco ISE. Cisco ISE is a complex solutions to deploy where it only supports users who use Cisco switches.

ForeScout CounterACT is a much more appealing product because of the market here in Malaysia, where the users uses multiple brands of switches with complex network infrastructure. CounterACT could easily adapt to these environments without any changes made to the customer's network infrastructure.

Other Advice

ForeScout CounterACT is like a Pandora's box, which contains a lot of functionalities that can be used to improve the customer's daily operation tasks and reduces manual workforce. It is recommended that the implementer understand what CounterACT can be used to do as different customers' business functions could use different functions of CounterACT.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user102570 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user102570Pre-Sales Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant

Hi Michael, I think there was a typo on the report. I was using version 7.

See all 2 comments
MuhammadNadeem - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Reseller
Top 20
Implements compliance on our client's systems and assists us in securing our servers
Pros and Cons
  • "The threat prevention feature provides complete visibility."
  • "The system controls could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to implement compliance on our client's systems and prevent access from outside the organization.

What is most valuable?

The virtual firewall available on this solution is great and assists us in securing our servers. Additionally, the threat prevention feature provides complete visibility. It is very helpful in detecting, blocking and monitoring heavy scanning on the system.

What needs improvement?

The security features can be improved because we use it for sensitive information, such as compliance. Additionally, the system controls could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and provides real-time monitoring for users, switches and other available features.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. We recommend it for all companies. It can be installed in enterprise, and we currently have it for over 4000 users.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy to integrate with the customer's environment. It doesn't have any downtime. I rate the setup process an eight out of ten.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented this solution through an in-house team.

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

I don't have details on the licensing costs or pricing because it changes frequently, and a different department deals with it.

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution an eight out of ten. The solution is good, but the systems control and security features could be better.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator Reseller
PeerSpot user
Chief Technology Officer at Penta Global Limited
Real User
Easy to use, quick to set up, and offers good management
Pros and Cons
  • "It allows for good detection of all the vendor products we have on-site."
  • "The solution could always improve by adding more features to make it more robust."

What is our primary use case?

Right now, we are looking to implement the solution in a hospital where a lot of people come to the lobby and are outsiders or guests. The VOD and guests' mobile phones will be able to connect to the Wi-Fi. This is the latest use case we are working on.

What is most valuable?

The solution offers very good management.

It allows for good detection of all the vendor products we have on-site.

The solution is very similar to other solutions, so it's not hard to figure out how to use it.

What needs improvement?

The solution could always improve by adding more features to make it more robust.

For how long have I used the solution?

I deployed the solution for one project about a year and a half ago. I may implement another one for another project this year.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is quite good. It does depend on the complexity of the setup, but for our purposes, we've never run into any issues.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never had to contact technical support. We've never had a need to do so yet. I can't speak to the level of service they provide. We have our own team in-house that will troubleshoot if we run into problems.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. It's not complex.

It took us about one week to deploy the solution. It didn't take long to set everything up.

What other advice do I have?

I'm basically focusing on the product line right now. It's pretty good. The nice thing about it is that at last, we have a kind of software that's very easy to work with.

While most people in most of the cases do not want to go for Mac, in the case of cybersecurity, I believe it is very important to do so. In enterprise cases, the common culture is the DYD. Organizations need to add some sort of network access control to prevent many issues.

I'd rate the solution itself eight out of ten overall. It's quite good, but it could always continue to improve.

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
reviewer1155042 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Security Officer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Good compliance with simple user interface, and lots of plugins
Pros and Cons
  • "The user interface is quite simple."
  • "The solution does have a bit of complexity, and there's some complexity in the deployment. Users need to be trained before undertaking an initial setup."

What is our primary use case?

We've been able to use the solution for a couple of tasks including using it to monitor for anti-virus compliance. We also use it to monitor the health of the security history of our endpoints.

What is most valuable?

It's a great solution. We use it for the internet here and it's been helpful. It's a great product for our Mac PCs and we can implement it to both our wireless and our wired network.

It's very quick.

The compliance aspects of the solution are excellent and one of the solution's best features. It helps us maintain the compliance of our endpoints.

In terms of physical tools, we are very satisfied.

In our organization, the solution provides us with a sound perimeter. 

The user interface is quite simple.

The version we're currently on, 8.6, has a lot more plugins than past versions. Now you can plug in anything you want. It helps us to utilize the product more fully.

What needs improvement?

There's always room for improvement for the solution. Off the top of my head, I really can't determine anything that is lacking right now. Basically there is no room for improvement that I can describe.

The solution does have a bit of complexity, and there's some complexity in the deployment. Users need to be trained before undertaking an initial setup.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has very good uptime, and we have had no issues at all in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We didn't have any issues with the ForeScout scalability. So far, we've agreed with the pricing required for both the hardware and the software. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't been in touch with technical support, so I can't speak to their level of service and how they interact with clients.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is not that simple, however, it's not complex, either. It's a solution that does so much it needs a bit of understanding to properly use it. Once team members go for basic training, they should be able to handle it. The basic training will also give team members a networking background to be able to master the solution. It's not very difficult, but a person will have to be a bit technical.

What other advice do I have?

I'd advise companies to ensure their teams are well trained in ForeScout before starting implementation of any kind. Those setting up and using the solution should have a basic background in networking. If users are comfortable with configuring, they can create processes for the environment. That way, it will be deployed properly.

Teams should also test the solution first before they launch so there won't be any surprises. If they need to make changes, they need to manage the process properly.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. If it was a bit less complex, I'd give it perfect marks.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
System Architect at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
You can use it to implement 802.1x on your infrastructure and also have a very granular control of your devices, including shadow devices.

What is most valuable?

The most important feature is that this solution works well without a 802.1x feature. You can use CounterACT to implement that feature and also have a very granular control of your devices, including shadow devices.

How has it helped my organization?

We were searching for a solution that could help us not only to detect and manage unauthorized access, but also to implement 802.1x on our infrastructure. And when we were working to reach that goal, we found other improvements from using CounterACT, such as antivirus installation, P2P control, and shadow IT -- and that's another plus for them.

What needs improvement?

The best improvement they could make would be reporting and better integration with AD. Last but not least, a management web interface would be nice in the next version/release.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used it for about a year.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We had no issues with the deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have an HA cluster in place that works very well. We've had no issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We had no issues scaling it for our needs.

How are customer service and technical support?

Fortunately, for now, we've had no need to call technical support.

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

We didn't have a NAC solution in place. This is the very first solution we've tried mostly because other solutions have 802.1x as a mandatory requirement.

How was the initial setup?

It was not so easy to deploy in our environment, the learning curve for this solution is quite hard.

What about the implementation team?

From my experience, it is impossible to implement this kind of solution in-house. You need a consultant or a trained person who can do this job.

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 Forescout Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Forescout Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.