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reviewer2173320 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Project Leader for CVE at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Saves our company time and resources, which equals money saved
Pros and Cons
  • "Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls saves us time."
  • "I would like more reporting and metrics in the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls mostly for firewalls.

How has it helped my organization?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls saves our company time and resources, which equals money.

What is most valuable?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls saves us time. The solution's firewalls have secured our company, and we don't have to worry about anything.

What needs improvement?

I would like more reporting and metrics in the solution.

Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
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For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a very scalable solution.

What was our ROI?

We have seen an ROI with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls because it saves us time. We haven't worried about any security issues and feel very protected with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls.

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

It is expensive but is worth the price.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, we did evaluate other options.

What other advice do I have?

We're fine with the firewall and not shopping around for a firewall.

The fact that it embeds machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention is invaluable to me.

Palo Alto NGFW provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities, which is invaluable to me.

It does a great job of securing data centers consistently across all workplaces, i.e., from the smallest office to the largest data centers, and we have zero complaints.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have helped us reduce about twenty extra hours a week of downtime in our organization.

I rate the value we receive from attending an RSA Conference a ten out of ten.

Attending RSAC will surely have an impact on our organization's cybersecurity purchases made throughout the year afterward.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer2173272 - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "Their Prisma log collection is pretty great. Our product collects the logs, and it definitely makes the configuration of log collection easier."
  • "Everything has been great. More machine learning would be something great to see, but I don't know if it's a priority for Palo Alto."

What is our primary use case?

We're partners. Essentially, we take all the Palo Alto firewall policy information and all the device information, and we put it on a single pane of glass for them.

How has it helped my organization?

It provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities. This communication between security devices or security platforms is pretty important.

It helps to reduce downtime in our organization, but I don't have the metrics.

What is most valuable?

Their Prisma log collection is pretty great. Our product collects the logs, and it definitely makes the configuration of log collection easier.

What needs improvement?

Everything has been great. More machine learning would be something great to see, but I don't know if it's a priority for Palo Alto.

For how long have I used the solution?

We're partners with Palo Alto. We've been partnering with them for about ten years for their firewalls.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's pretty stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's pretty scalable. Palo Alto does a great job across the board from small businesses to large enterprise solutions.

How are customer service and support?

I have not had direct communication with their support.

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

We've worked with different firewall solutions such as Check Point, Cisco, ACI, and Fortinet, but Palo Alto is definitely among the ones that I like to work with.

What was our ROI?

Overall, it provides a wide range of features for securing an environment.

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

You get what you pay for.

What other advice do I have?

The RSA Conference is great. You get to see a wide range of products all in one place. In terms of security, this is the place to be. It has been a great experience.

I believe attending the RSA Conference has an impact on our organization’s cybersecurity purchases made throughout the year afterward. It gives us a good forecast as to where the industry is going and what's to come so that we can be better prepared to partner with all different vendors.

To a colleague at another company who says, “We are just looking for the cheapest and fastest firewall,” I would say that Palo Alto is definitely not the cheapest. It's one of those things where you prefer quality.

Overall, I'd rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2173221 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager, Cybersecurity at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Provides good security and visibility, and integrates well with our SIEM
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is advanced URL filtering. Its prevention capabilities and DNS security are also valuable. It pinpoints any suspicious activities and also prevents the users from doing certain things."
  • "Palo Alto should improve their support. It's sometimes difficult to get the right technician or engineer to fix the problem as soon as possible."

What is our primary use case?

We use Palo Alto as our perimeter firewall. We also use the GlobalProtect VPN solution.

How has it helped my organization?

It gives visibility into different threats. There is a wide range of threats that can be identified.

We collect logs from Palo Alto into our Rapid7 SIEM solution. It's pretty well integrated. This integration is important because we don't necessarily want a solution from the same vendor. I know Palo Alto has Cortex for collection. Being open to other vendors in order to ingest the data or logs is a great thing.

Palo Alto has embedded machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention, which is important because AI is the future. All cybersecurity companies are going to start using it. It's definitely a good thing. We just need to make sure that there's still the human component because AI can still fail.

Palo Alto has a wide range of different appliances or virtual machines. It can be installed anywhere from a small branch to a data center. It helps to secure small businesses to large enterprises.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is advanced URL filtering. Its prevention capabilities and DNS security are also valuable. It pinpoints any suspicious activities and also prevents the users from doing certain things. For example, DNS security prevents users from reaching certain websites, so it's really interesting.

What needs improvement?

Palo Alto should improve their support. It's sometimes difficult to get the right technician or engineer to fix the problem as soon as possible.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Palo Alto for at least five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

They're pretty robust. They also have Unit 42, which is their threat intelligence team. They make you feel safer because they can identify the threats and then implement protection from those into their firewall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is pretty good on the virtual side. Because the virtual environment licensing model is based on credit, if you don't wanna use UI protection tomorrow, you can get rid of it and use those credits for another product or another license.

How are customer service and support?

Because of the pandemic, there's a lot of turnover and the quality of the support technicians is not great. I hope they will improve. I would rate their support a 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 didn't use any other solution previously.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward. They have great documentation. We use Palo Alto in the Azure environment, and their Azure documentation is one of the best documentation I've ever seen. It's very detailed. It can be confusing sometimes because there's a lot of information, but it's definitely good. They're good at documenting, and their knowledge base is really interesting for troubleshooting. There's a lot of useful information.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it ourselves. We didn't use any company to deploy it.

What was our ROI?

It's hard to tell. It's preventing attacks, but I don't have any specific case where I can say whether a particular attack would not have been blocked by another vendor.

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

It can be quite expensive, but there's a good incentive for the three-year contracts. The part that is especially confusing is for the virtual environment. The credits or the licensing system can be very confusing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We didn't evaluate any other options.

What other advice do I have?

As a result of my experience with Palo Alto NGFW, to a colleague at another company who says, “We are just looking for the cheapest and fastest firewall,” I would say that the cheapest and fastest means there is a potential risk of breach. Even though Palo Alto is quite expensive, it definitely makes you feel secure. The configuration of the appliances or virtual machines is pretty straightforward, so you don't need to be highly trained in order to be the administrator of the platform.

It's important to attend an RSA Conference even if you're already a customer. That's because you might not be necessarily aware of the new products, so going to an RSA Conference can help you identify new solutions that may be valuable for your company. 

Attending an RSA Conference will have an impact on our organization’s cybersecurity purchases made throughout the year afterward. There are a lot of different vendors that I've found, and I will probably get in touch soon.

Overall, I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
Ahmed Hesham - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Raya Integration
Reseller
Top 5Leaderboard
A next-generation firewall with useful functions and features
Pros and Cons
  • "I like all the functions and features."
  • "I think automation and machine learning can be improved to make bulk configurations simpler, easier, and faster"

What is our primary use case?

We use it for LAN users, internet access, and more. The NG Firewall has many functions like user control, access control for servers, natural controls based on applications, schedules, ports, RTs, and IPS functionality with antivirus or security functionality. We also use it to control internet access, traffic shaping for bandwidth control, and fraud prevention.

What is most valuable?

I like all the functions and features.

What needs improvement?

I think automation and machine learning can be improved to make bulk configurations simpler, easier, and faster. Scalability can also be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with NG Firewalls for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't think Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls are scalable. Only Cisco is scalable. For clustering, Cisco activity models like the 4000 model are better. For example, if the firewall is undersized due to expansion, you can cluster and add more appliances to the system.

How are customer service and technical support?

I think Palo Alto has good support. Technical support helped me solve most of my issues very quickly. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup depends on the client's infrastructure and the project's scope. 

If it's migration, Palo Alto has a great tool called the Expedition tool. It helps to migrate any firewall to the Palo Alto firewall. This process takes about a day, and it's very simple.

If it's a fresh installation, it depends on the number of policies you need to apply and the number of metrics. You can do it using the command line. You can do it easily and quickly, but it depends on how much the customers prepare. Sometimes the customer has no information to provide, and you struggle to get this information. Sometimes this process can take two to five days or take weeks. 

What about the implementation team?

We implement and maintain Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for our customers.

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

Paul Alto is the most expensive solution in this category. The subscriptions and support are also expensive, but everything is included in the hardware, including the subscriptions.

If a customer is price-sensitive, I will go for Fortinet without a second thought. If customers are willing to invest in their data centers, I might go with Palo Alto and Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls a 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
Senior Manager Network Design at MEEZA, Managed IT Services Provider
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Provides ease of deployment and helps us maintain a secure network environment
Pros and Cons
  • "The product's most valuable features are the ease of deployment, regularly updated security information, and robust hardware."
  • "Palo Alto's various products need better integration to ensure they work harmoniously."

What is our primary use case?

We use this firewall to segment our network into two parts and control traffic between them, providing a secure and efficient way to manage our network.

What is most valuable?

The product's most valuable features are the ease of deployment, regularly updated security information, and robust hardware.

What needs improvement?

Palo Alto's various products need better integration to ensure they work harmoniously.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for the past six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The firewall is very stable; I rate it ten out of ten in terms of stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is highly scalable, accommodating around 5,000 users at our site. We plan to increase usage, which is a matter of purchasing new licenses without affecting current operations.

How are customer service and support?

While I have not used technical support service, my team has, and they have found it to be very good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We switched from AWS to Oracle Advanced Analytics because while AWS was easy to use, it was more expensive.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is easy but requires careful planning and expert design to ensure optimal deployment. The process involves planning, reviewing requirements, designing, implementing, and operating the firewall.

What other advice do I have?

Palo Alto NG Firewall effectively prevents threats and helps maintain a secure network environment.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5
The configuration is quite simple to understand, but the functionalities are limited
Pros and Cons
  • "The configuration is quite simple to understand."
  • "The functionalities are limited."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to access clients.

What is most valuable?

I like the configuration of the product. The configuration is quite simple to understand. The product is easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

The solution has a lot of features. However, there are no deep configurations available. The functionalities are limited. Other products offer more customization.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for the last five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is currently being used by three of our customers. We provide them with dedicated VMs.

How are customer service and support?

The local support is good. The response is slow when I try to reach out to technical support on the customer portal. It might be because the tickets I raised were P3 or P4 tickets. However, I do not get proper responses for P2 tickets either. I get a good response when I call support directly.

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

We also use FortiGate, Check Point, Forcepoint, and SonicWall. We use the tools based on our clients’ requirements.

How was the initial setup?

The initial installation was easy. It was not difficult for me because I am familiar with many products.

What was our ROI?

The solution is worth the money. However, there are other tools that provide features similar to Palo Alto but are less expensive.

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

The solution’s cost is a little high compared to other products.

What other advice do I have?

I will recommend the tool to others. It is a fine product. If someone is looking for DLP and other features, the product might not suit them. The product has good URL filtering features. Overall, I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

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

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head of Engineering at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Has a user-friendly dashboard and a more complete IPS
Pros and Cons
  • "Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' IPS is more complete and is very good. This is a user-friendly solution that is easy to install, and it provides the best protection."
  • "Palo Alto needs to improve their training. They do not invest in their partners. I have been a partner for seven years, and it is very expensive for me to certify my engineers."

What is our primary use case?

We have clients in the government and supermarkets, for example, who use this firewall for integration with EDR, NDR, CN, and IPS.

What is most valuable?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' IPS is more complete and is very good. This is a user-friendly solution that is easy to install, and it provides the best protection.

It's very important that Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls embed machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention because all components are moving laterally these days. We need tools that follow the zero-trust model.

These firewalls have helped reduce downtime in our organization as well.

What needs improvement?

Palo Alto needs to improve their training. They do not invest in their partners. I have been a partner for seven years, and it is very expensive for me to certify my engineers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with these firewalls for almost seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The firewalls are very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Palo Alto's scalability is not as good as that of Check Point. With Check Point, I can integrate the firewall with other products.

How are customer service and support?

We do not have technical support in Brazil, so I would rate it a two out of ten. However, Palo Alto's technical support in the US is good, and I would give them a rating of eight 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 worked with Check Point, but it's very difficult to configure. Palo Alto is much easier to configure, and the dashboard is very user-friendly as well.

How was the initial setup?

Because I have worked with Palo Alto for seven years, the initial setup is very easy for me. However, new engineers may find the configuration difficult.

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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are very expensive compared to other firewalls such as Fortinet. As a result, Palo Alto is losing some of its market share. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls an eight out of ten because it's a good product.

I like attending RSA conferences because it gives me the opportunity to see what competitors are doing and what is new on the market.

Attending RSAC does have an impact on our cyber security purchases, but I would like to see manufacturers offer more training, certifications, labs, and demos at RSAC. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer2169330 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Security Analyst at a mining and metals company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Has an organized, user-friendly interface and is relatively stable
Pros and Cons
  • "Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a very nice interface for logging and monitoring. I find it easy to navigate and use, and the interface is organized as well. I can find answers within a couple of hours and have seen time savings."
  • "The customer-facing side needs to be improved in terms of the engagement and involvement of support staff."

What is our primary use case?

We use Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for segmentation and basic routing. They are the gatekeepers for the network.

What is most valuable?

I like being able to investigate anonymous VPNs and also like to use traffic-capturing features. We've had some anonymous VPNs coming to our network, and we're trying to make sure that internal users are not able to use those to get past our security.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a very nice interface for logging and monitoring. I find it easy to navigate and use, and the interface is organized as well. I can find answers within a couple of hours and have seen time savings.

We have Azure firewalls that are licensed through Palo Alto. It's super important that Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provide a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities because we are moving almost entirely to Azure. Thus, the more Azure integration we have, the better it's going to be for us long term.

These firewalls have been efficient at securing data centers consistently across all workplaces.

We haven't had many downtime issues with Palo Alto.

What needs improvement?

The customer-facing side needs to be improved in terms of the engagement and involvement of support staff.

For how long have I used the solution?

My first exposure to this solution was about a year and a half ago.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The firewalls are relatively stable. We have a few that go up and down, but that has more to do with licensing issues than with the firewall itself.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support needs to be improved with regard to the time to respond and the response itself. We've been getting the same responses over and over again. It would help us out a lot if the technical support staff were more engaged or involved.

From what I've heard from our firewall engineer, I would rate technical support a four out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

What was our ROI?

We utilize GlobalProtect and have seen a better return on investment with regard to security and peace of mind.

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

Licensing is a big issue for us because of the complexity and the lack of engagement from Palo Alto. It has been hard to talk with them as we don't get the best answers.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are always evaluating other vendors and are currently looking at Cisco. Though both Palo Alto and Cisco firewalls are feature-rich and provide very good value, Cisco is better at customer engagement. They are easier to talk to as well.

What other advice do I have?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are not the cheapest and fastest, but they are one of the top ones in terms of the most effective firewalls.

Overall, I would rate NG Firewalls an eight out of ten. They're definitely a top competitor.

I love the opportunity to see technical demos and take hands-on tours with some of the products at RSA conferences. They are the best part because I get to learn and gain exposure to new technology. It is particularly helpful when we want to look at other avenues.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Updated: April 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.