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MuhammadAtif - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer at Alpha Data
MSP
An efficient and easy-to-manage solution that can be used as a core firewall to protect servers
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to manage."
  • "Compared to other vendors, the solution's community should be strong enough to solve the problems engineers face."

What is our primary use case?

Our customers use the solution for multiple purposes. Some users use it as a core firewall to protect their servers. Some users use it as a parameter edge to terminate the VPN connection and to connect with their remote site.

What is most valuable?

The way Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works is completely different compared to other firewalls. The solution is very efficient when it comes to resource usage. We can use multiple processes at a single time. The solution is easy to manage. The most important feature of the solution I like is the reporting. If you want to check your data or traffic usage, you can export it in multiple formats.

What needs improvement?

Compared to other vendors, the solution's community should be strong enough to solve the problems engineers face. If I face any issue, I should be able to Google it and find the solution to rectify it. If one customer has no premium support, he cannot open a case with the portal. He should at least find some help or support from the community.

For how long have I used the solution?

I work as a system integrator and have provided Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to customers for three to four years.

Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Multiple customers from the banking and corporate sectors use Palo Alto Networks PA-Series.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for scalability.

How was the initial setup?

If you have a proper plan to start the solution's implementation, it's very easy. Since Palo Alto has a free-of-cost converter tool, for which you don't have to buy a license or subscription, it's easy to convert the configuration from other vendors to Palo Alto.

What about the implementation team?

The solution's deployment time depends on the customer's environment, infrastructure, and requirements. A migration takes approximately one month.

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

Licenses for the malware and the URLs are not free, but converting the configuration is free. You have to purchase the licenses for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series. Compared to other vendors, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

If budget is not a concern, I would highly recommend users use Palo Alto Networks PA-Series.

Overall, I rate Palo Alto Networks PA-Series a seven to eight 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: Partner
PeerSpot user
Daniyal Khalid - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Solutions Specialist at Google
Vendor
Top 5
A highly scalable solution with excellent features that help users to secure their infrastructure boundaries
Pros and Cons
  • "App-ID is a really good feature."
  • "The support provided by the solution is not that good."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution to secure infrastructure boundaries. I use the product as a backend firewall for applications with traffic.

What is most valuable?

App-ID is a really good feature. The product’s URL filtering features are amazing. The security controls are also very good.

What needs improvement?

The support provided by the solution is not that good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I am using the product currently.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. However, I observed some issues I did not expect from a well-known solution like Palo Alto. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product has different models, and its high-end models can be scaled easily. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The support is good, but not that good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a little tricky. It is not simple and straight.

What other advice do I have?

Except for support, everything else in the product is perfect. If someone is looking for a perfect firewall, they should choose Palo Alto. Overall, I rate the solution 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
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks PA-Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Saloni Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre Sales Executive at Ctap
Real User
Top 10Leaderboard
The product blocks new threats better than other tools and provides good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "Palo Alto blocks the new threats better than other tools."
  • "The interface is complex."

What is most valuable?

Almost all firewalls and OEMs provide the same features. Palo Alto blocks the new threats better than other tools. It provides better Wi-Fi analysis.

What needs improvement?

Palo Alto has too many features. The interface is complex. It could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We are providing the solution to our customers.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have sold the solution to eight to ten customers.

How are customer service and support?

The support is good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

If the product doesn’t fit the budget of the customer, we sell solutions like Fortinet. Fortinet’s support is better than Palo Alto's. Fortinet is partner-friendly. Fortinet is cheaper in India. If a customer requires a product listed in Gartner, we suggest Palo Alto and Fortinet. Otherwise, we suggest Sophos.

Fortinet is better at maintaining partner relationships. Palo Alto also understands the partner’s needs and helps them out. Even the distributors’ technical teams help us. Fortinet’s interface is good. It is easier to deploy than Palo Alto.

How was the initial setup?

It is easy to implement the solution.

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

The product is expensive. The product is suitable for customers who are not cost-sensitive. The new series for the SMB sector has a very good price.

What other advice do I have?

My recommendation depends on the budget of the customer. The 400 series might be different, but we haven’t started pitching it to our customers. The tool is suitable for the customers who know what they are doing. Overall, I rate the tool a nine and a half out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer2233041 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Manager
Reseller
The product is robust and user-friendly, but it should provide additional threat-detection features
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is robust."
  • "The product must provide multiple threat detection features."

What is our primary use case?

The product is used for perimeter defense when two networks are connected.

How has it helped my organization?

Our customer wanted to connect their network to a central location. So, they use the solution at the central location as an aggregation firewall.

What is most valuable?

The solution is robust. It is one of the best firewalls in the industry. It has a good track record. It is user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

The product must provide multiple threat detection features. Additional features must be embedded in the firewall to enhance it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is much more stable than any other firewall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is scalable. It is a pay-as-you-go solution.

How are customer service and support?

We have our own engineers who provide our customers with technical support.

How was the initial setup?

Palo Alto installs the tool. We sell only the on-premise version of the tool. We sell the critical infrastructure for it.

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

Palo Alto’s pricing is way higher than any other solution provider. It is expensive to buy and maintain the product. The renewal prices are higher than the competitors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Palo Alto is the best firewall because of its features, robustness, and threat detection and prevention. Palo Alto is expensive compared to Fortinet. Considering the cost and performance, I recommend Fortinet to people. Fortinet is cheaper and provides similar features as Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

I am selling firewalls. I heard that endpoint security and other additional security solutions can be added to the firewall. The services are expensive. If people have enough budget, they can choose Palo Alto. Overall, I rate the solution a seven 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: Reseller
PeerSpot user
MuhammadNadeem - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Reseller
Top 20
The reporting feature, application ID functionality and integrations are incredible
Pros and Cons
  • "The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to us."
  • "Pricing flexibility could be an aspect worth considering, as it has been a concern for some of our clients."

What is our primary use case?

Most of our clients in Pakistan deploy Palo Alto Networks PA-Series for a variety of use cases. They primarily use it to target VLANs within their networks, including different types of networks like DMZ. These clients integrate the PA-Series with their applications, servers, and often utilize SSL VPNs for secure remote access. These scenarios are typical in the IT sector and align with the types of deployments we see commonly in our region.

How has it helped my organization?

We mostly utilize the Spireware profile within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series for threat prevention, which includes basic subscriptions like URL filtering. Many customers are highly satisfied with the threat prevention and firewall capabilities provided. While some customers use team applications like IBM SIM software, we primarily focus on mini CRMs for releases. Through integration and utilizing firewall data, we maintain a strong network security posture, addressing threats effectively. We also conduct security life cycle reviews and leverage tech support files from customers to continually improve our security measures.

What is most valuable?

The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to us. With the firewall, we can precisely control and block applications like WhatsApp, log activities, and prevent certain types of uploads. Utilizing the application IDs provided by Palo Alto Networks helps us secure our network effectively. Integration with other tools and systems further enhances our overall security posture. Some of our customers have integrated the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series with Forescout, and the integration is working exceptionally well. We've created policies using Post Guard to detect and block malicious traffic or duplications. When such threats are detected, both the firewall and Postgres work together to promptly block them within the network.

What needs improvement?

I don't have any specific suggestions for improving the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series at the moment. I find it to be a very effective solution, and I don't have any major complaints or areas for improvement in mind. However, pricing flexibility could be an aspect worth considering, as it has been a concern for some of our clients.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series for 5 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Similarly, I find the product's stability to be top-notch, also rating it a 10.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, I would rate it a solid 10 out of 10, indicating excellent scalability capabilities.

How are customer service and support?

Regarding technical support, Palo Alto Networks has been very responsive and helpful whenever I've reached out for assistance or submitted a ticket, earning a positive recommendation from me for their support services.

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


I can compare Palo Alto PA-Series with products from competitors like Fortinet. In my opinion, Palo Alto PA-Series is better than Fortinet because it offers accurate throughput and firewall permissions, unlike Fortinet's highlighted throughput figures that may not match actual performance.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Palo Alto Networks PA-Series for the first time is straightforward and easy, especially if you're familiar with firewalling and network configurations.

What other advice do I have?

When it comes to handling large volumes of encryption traffic, PA-Series is effective when encryption detection is focused on sensitive data, although it may reduce speed for overall traffic. I rate PA-Series a 10 out of 10 and highly recommend it to other users due to its reliability and performance compared to competitors like Fortinet.

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: Reseller
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PeerSpot user
Technical Manager at PSR
Real User
Top 5
A very secure product that offers great scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable solution."
  • "The technical support offered by Palo Alto is an area of concern where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company to cater to the needs of our clients, so based on the requirements of the clients, we configure the firewall.

What is most valuable?

Palo Alto's advantage is that it offers very secure products. Unit 42 in Palo Alto and sandboxing are advantages offered by the product, along with the fact that it provides users with updates every minute, so users keep getting updates. App-ID is the name of a feature in the product that is very good. None of the other firewall products offer the aforementioned features. With the product, the area around NAT is very secure, and users get a lot of options for NAT.

What needs improvement?

The technical support offered by Palo Alto is an area of concern where improvements are required. It is very difficult to get technical support, which is a very pathetic area. If you try to figure out a solution to your issues with the help of a web browser, it is very difficult to find a proper solution. Other firewall products have proper portals where everything gets published with all the details on how to resolve an issue. There is a need to have a dedicated person or specialist to manage Palo Alto, but getting one is a problem. Overall, the area of technical support is not user-friendly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series for eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Some issues are there with the stability part of the solution, but based on the feedback from clients, Palo Alto sends updates like all other solutions. One can say that the tool is mostly stable.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution.

Our company has a strength of 250 employees.

My clients deal with two or three enterprise-sized clients who use Cisco. Small and medium-sized businesses use Palo Alto. Some of our big clients who operate at an enterprise level use Palo Alto.

How are customer service and support?

It is very difficult to get to the product support team, and it takes at least half an hour to get connected with the technical team. I rate the technical support a four out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

For deployment, Palo Alto provides a tool that doesn't work properly on many of the systems from Windows, and only the product's previous versions work properly, but the latest versions don't work. Palo Alto offers Limited options to users and allows for easy migration when it comes to products like Cisco, Fortinet, or IBM, but for low-end servers, there are no options to migrate from the tool.

If a large part of a client's workforce operates with cloud services in place, then the solution can be deployed on the cloud. Nowadays, most people are moving to the cloud.

The time required to deploy the solution depends on the firewall size and configuration, but I know that it requires at least a month.

Our company has around 14 members from the network security side involved in the deployment process.

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

Price-wise, Palo Alto offers high-price products. It is mostly the enterprise-sized customers who prefer to use Palo Alto products. Recently, Palo Alto launched Palo Alto Networks PA-400, which is much cheaper than the other products on the market. My company has to make yearly payments or opt for a three-year payment when it comes to the charges associated with the licensing model of the product. The clients of the tool need to procure the license for the premium support. Almost all the vendors of firewall products follow the aforementioned steps nowadays when it comes to the licensing model.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Considering the presence scenario, I can suggest Fortinet since I found its products doing well in business. Support and configuration-wise, Fortinet is better than Palo Alto, but technology-wise, Palo Alto is the number one product in the market. Fortinet is much more user-friendly than Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

The tool is not very easy to maintain, but people go for it since it is a secure product. Only those who know about Firewall products can maintain the solution.

Some of our company's clients have migrated from Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to FortiGate or Fortinet since it is very easy to manage with a very user-friendly UI.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is a good solution, but someone in the organization should manage it since it is not a very user-friendly tool. If you want to configure something, you need to know how Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works and also know about what architecture is and all. Other firewall products can be easily configured since very user-friendly GUIs are made available to users. Checking logs in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is very difficult. If someone knows how to check logs, then it's fine because otherwise, it's very difficult.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer2326002 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Architect at a mining and metals company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A next-generation firewalls prevent cyber threats and safely enable applications
Pros and Cons
  • "The direct profiles is a valuable feature."
  • "The pricing of the solution needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We have a hybrid environment where we use a mixture of self hosted PA-Series. IRROLs and the vendor hosted by raws via the Prisma Access Solution. 

What is most valuable?

The direct profiles is a valuable feature. 

What needs improvement?

The pricing of the solution needs improvement. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have experience using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series. 

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

I have used Cisco and Fortinet. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Palo Alto is a tricky one. 

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

It is a very expensive solution. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the overall solution an eight 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 MHESI
Real User
Top 5
Comes with WildFire feature but pricing is expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's most valuable feature is WildFire."
  • "Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive. We would like to see additional threat hunting features."

What is most valuable?

The tool's most valuable feature is WildFire. 

What needs improvement?

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive. We would like to see additional threat hunting features. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for more than 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?

My company has 1000 users for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series. 

How are customer service and support?

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series' support is very quick. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We used Cisco before the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series. We chose the product because of its community. 

How was the initial setup?

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series' deployment was easy and took one to two days to complete. My company has two to three administrators to manage the product. 

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

The tool's pricing was reasonable when we bought the product. We pay around 60,000 dollars per year. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Check Point, McAfee, and Fortinet. We chose Palo Alto Networks PA-Series because of its performance, pricing, and technical support. 

What other advice do I have?

You need to do a POC before choosing the product. I rate it ten out of ten.  

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 Palo Alto Networks PA-Series Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Palo Alto Networks PA-Series Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.