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reviewer1049148 - PeerSpot reviewer
Regulatory Specialist at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
A user-friendly next-generation firewall with good support and useful security features.
Pros and Cons
  • "Operationally, it is easier, and the manageability and their security features are good."
  • "When it comes to their support, we have to select every single component that we want to include in a particular bundle. That is a very tedious process. T"

What is our primary use case?

We use a very basic model with a small installation to secure a small office segment with 50 users.

What is most valuable?

Operationally, it is easier, and the manageability and their security features are good. Vendor support is also good.

What needs improvement?

When it comes to their support, we have to select every single component that we want to include in a particular bundle. That is a very tedious process. The vendor will help us identify the product and the features, but it could be better. The price could also be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

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

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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
November 2024
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How are customer service and support?

Vendor support is good.

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

Compared to other solutions, it's very expensive to set up and maintain.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell potential users that Palo Alto is the best, even compared to Cisco or any other competitor. 

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls a nine.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1525950 - PeerSpot reviewer
ITSM Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Real User
Reliable with good App-ID, Content-ID, User-ID, and encryption and decryption features
Pros and Cons
  • "The App-ID, Content-ID, User-ID, and encryption and decryption are valuable features."
  • "They can improve the handling and management of User-ID. They should also improve its price. Their technical support can also be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for data center protection, intrasystem security, endpoints protection, load balancing, and DHCP.

What is most valuable?

The App-ID, Content-ID, User-ID, and encryption and decryption are valuable features.

What needs improvement?

They can improve the handling and management of User-ID. They should also improve its price. Their technical support can also be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We went from 4 devices to 16 devices, and it was not a big problem. Currently, we don't have any plans to increase its usage. Our network won't grow over the next two years. It will stay as it is.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is sometimes lousy, but sometimes, it is okay. Their technical support can be improved.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is not too complex for an environment like this.

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

Its price should be improved.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls an eight 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
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Information Technology Project Manager at JSC "Penkiu kontinentu komunikaciju centras"
Real User
Configuration is very simple
Pros and Cons
  • "The configuration is very simple."
  • "PA-220 Next-Generation Firewall would be perfect if it has spam filtering."

What is our primary use case?

We have several use cases for this solution. They include anti-virus, user identification, two-factor authentication for VPN, and application filtering.

What is most valuable?

The configuration is very simple. 

What needs improvement?

An additional feature that should be included in the next release is spam filtering. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using PA-220 Next-Generation Firewall for over a year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

PA-220 Next-Generation Firewall is a stable solution. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We only contacted technical support when we were trying to make a sales configuration for the environment here. We had some integration questions for technical support. Of course, we got the answers we needed. The Palo Alto tech support got back to us quickly. 

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

The price for Palo Alto solutions is very high. It should be a bit lower. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
A next-generation firewall solution with an efficient parallel processing feature
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the architecture because it separates the management plan process and the data plan process."
  • "I think visibility can be improved."

What is most valuable?

I like the architecture because it separates the management plan process and the data plan process. When I perform something CPU-intensive on management configurations, it doesn't disturb the data plan.

On the data plan, it uses parallel processing. This makes the security process and network process is more efficient.

What needs improvement?

I think visibility can be improved. If I use the Panorama monitoring dashboard, it's still the same with or without Panorama. Even with monitoring, we don't get any valuable information. 

If I am a customer, I will take many variables into considerations. If I choose to use Panorama, there should be a difference between when I use it and when I'm not. If I'm a customer who paid for Panorama even when I have many firewalls, I won't get good visibility of the information I need to easily monitor our security environment.

My customers have been attacked by ransomware. It's difficult to understand how the ransomware got through Palo Alto Panorama and Palo Alto dashboard monitoring from reporting. It makes it difficult to conclude what happened on the traffic which passed through Palo Alto. As such, I have to generate an all block report CSV file and analyze it through Excel.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for about two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

On performance and stability, I've never heard any complaints. The product is running well and easily maintained by an admin.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I think scalability's the same as any other firewall. If we look to scale five years later, it will be scalable to perform the change. This model on Palo Alto makes it easy to add a new network, so Palo Alto offers more scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is still not good for me.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is so simple. We just needed to make a password and make it a point to point connection. I think it's that simple; make a point to point connection, access the web UI, perform initial configuration so the firewall can be managed through the network, and then we can manage everything through the web UI.

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

The device is very expensive compared to Cisco and Fortinet. But many of my customers use Palo Alto as Palo Alto is the standard of their organization.

What other advice do I have?

I'd tell potential users of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls that their decision depends on their budget. If you have an adequate budget, then I recommend Palo Alto. If you have a limited budget, you need to consider your needs and look at Cisco ASA's price and Fortinet's price.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls an eight.

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
reviewer961413 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Technician / Support
User
I like GlobalProtect, the URL filtering and the threat prevention, but the boot time should be improved on

What is our primary use case?

Finding a solution for easy management, where the company is protected in a matter where an unwanted software is blocked.

How has it helped my organization?

Functional and very futureproof but a bit hard to manage, and the worst thing is that it takes almost 20 mins to boot up, and to commit a config takes half that time.

What is most valuable?

  • GlobalProtect
  • URL filtering
  • Threat prevention. 

These features are great, but they have drawbacks and could be a bit better, flexible, and easy to manage since it takes the admin time to get them right. 

What needs improvement?

  • Boot time
  • Easy UI for the non-network specialists
  • Commit time
  • Virtualization
  • Credit to Palo Alto knowledgebase. 

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1210221 - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Leader at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Plenty of useful features, reliable, but priced high
Pros and Cons
  • "There are plenty of features available in this solution, such as attack blocker and spam blocker. Additionally, it is very robust and in-depth."
  • "The solution is not straightforward."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution to protect our network.

How has it helped my organization?

This solution has helped our organization by protecting the perimeter of our network from both internal and external threats.

What is most valuable?

There are plenty of features available in this solution, such as attack blocker and spam blocker. Additionally, it is very robust and in-depth.

What needs improvement?

The solution is not straightforward.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex. The full installation, including customize to meet our requirements, took approximately one month.

What about the implementation team?

We used the help from an integrator team for the implementation.

What was our ROI?

The technical support is satisfactory.

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

The price of the solution is on the higher side compared to competitors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are currently looking for a better-priced solution.

What other advice do I have?

This is a very good solution but it is very expensive.

I rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls a six 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
reviewer1483797 - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Engineer - Network Security Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
Very flexible, integrates well with apps and other security tools; robust
Pros and Cons
  • "Flexible and integrates well with apps and other security tools."
  • "Interface could be improved visually and simplified."

What is our primary use case?

I deploy this solution for our clients. Firewalls can be used when you want to achieve SD-WAN connectivity. In a client's VPN or site-to-site VPN, it can be used to secure networks locally. If you have an extender or server room, you can secure your IT infrastructure for your servers. The solution can be installed on edge to protect your internal network. If you have services running on AWS or Google Cloud, or Alibaba Cloud, it can be deployed there. Some clients have a hybrid kind of infrastructure. I'm a service delivery engineer and network security lead and we are customers of Palo Alto. 

What is most valuable?

It's a flexible solution and integrates well with apps and other security tools like SIEM, web applications. They can share their data orchestration. It's robust and fast in terms of architecture and data processing, there aren't any bottlenecks.  

What needs improvement?

The interface could be improved visually and simplified. It sometimes feels like some of the features are hidden and not easy to find. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable solution. 

How are customer service and technical support?

In terms of technical support, I've noticed that as long as you have an enterprise license the support is good. 

How was the initial setup?

For a beginner, the initial setup might be somewhat complex because the interface is a bit different, so there's a learning curve. It's not that steep, and once you get it, it's okay. In terms of other solutions, the Palo Alto deployment takes longer than Fortinet, for example, because of the intricacy of the user interface. In a medium size organization, deployment can take three to four days. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. The uptake is mostly with medium and large enterprise, it's strong there. For small to medium size businesses, the preference is usually Fortinet or Sophos. It's really about what suits the client. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
it_user1056699 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Provides a high level of security and the app ID is very good
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very stable."
  • "Generating reports is not so easy."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use this solution for the core banking network. It's for core security. So it's to protect against intrusion, to protect against any kind of cyber attack that can happen to it. It protects our core infrastructure.

How has it helped my organization?

Mostly it's improved the security side. There was no security before, and we were looking for a solution that could give us the exact capacity to do all the configurations that we need, while also providing a high level of security. 

What is most valuable?

The app ID is very good.

What needs improvement?

The support needs improvement. Also, better reporting of errors would be good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solutions for over 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is not so good. Because if you want to upgrade, you have to change the service completely. We have about 2000 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

It's a long wait time, although sometimes it's been quicker to get them. Occasionally, the type of answers provided are not so great.

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

We used to use Check Point, but we switched. It's because we found Palo Alto is better. Check Point is much slower, more expensive.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward for us. We are technology oriented, so for us, it was straightforward. No complexities. For deployment, we needed about 5 people. Maintenance is only three people. Three engineers are looking after the books.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves.

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

I would advise anyone to go ahead and understand exactly what they need. It's not because Palo Alto's cost is a little less. Depending on use, it's expensive. So they should understand the requirements first, before going with Palo Alto.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We previously had Check Point and eventually compared it with the Palo Alto screening, which proved that Palo Alto was the best. It was not a difficult choice.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10. Generating reports is not so easy. I think with support, for everyone, and for all the bank company workers, they can do that a bit better. Then maybe I would rate them higher.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Updated: November 2024
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Buyer's Guide
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