We primarily use the solution for security.
Architect at PepsiCo
An easy setup with good security alerts and a nice dashboard
Pros and Cons
- "Our team has the option to make configuration changes at any given time."
- "At times we have noticed that we get into issues where Panorama is going too slow or has other little problems. The performance can suffer occasionally."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution works on a single pane of glass, so we have a good overview of everything happening.
We can easily look at security alerts.
Our team has the option to make configuration changes at any given time.
There are excellent reporting capabilities within the product.
The setup is quite easy.
What needs improvement?
The pricing should be reconsidered. It's too high right now.
At times we have noticed that we get into issues where Panorama is going too slow or has other little problems. The performance can suffer occasionally.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've worked with the solution for three to four years at this point. It's been a while now.
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable, aside from a few performance issues. We find it to be reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's not really buggy. It's pretty good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution isn't too scalable. Organizations should keep this in mind if they are considering installing it.
We have about ten or more people on the team that make use of the solution. They're admins and they monitor it.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support has been good so far. I'd say that we are satisfied with the service. They seem to be knowledgable and responsive.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup isn't too complex. It's pretty straightforward.
The production instances take about an hour or so. Deployment is fast.
We have ten admins that make sure the solution is working properly at any given time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is too high for us. We'd like it to be more affordable.
What other advice do I have?
We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Palo Alto.
I'm not sure of which version of the solution I'm using. I've worked with many versions, including both newer and older ones.
We use multiple deployment models. We use both cloud and on-premises deployments.
In general, I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. It's worked well for us and we don't believe there's anything feature-wise that is really missing.
I'd rate the solution, on a scale from one to ten, at an eight. Of course, if it was less expensive and had a more stable performance, I'd mark it higher.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Security Specialist at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Provides good security, is efficient with great technical support
Pros and Cons
- "This is an efficient solution."
- "The solution is quite expensive."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use cases are for web security, antivirus, and remote browsing. I'm a senior security specialist and we are integrators.
What is most valuable?
The product is very efficient.
What needs improvement?
This is a relatively expensive solution and I wouldn't recommend it for a stand-alone deployment.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is generally stable. There can be issues but it's generally related to power supply issues a company might have.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is very good. They're very responsive and always have engineers available to help.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup takes around one week and is complex. All other firewall configurations are easier than Check Point. If you face any configuration issue, the only solution is to contact the Check Point team. Deployment generally requires an engineer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are cheaper than Palo Alto but more than other solutions. It's quite expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution unless you're in a location with a lot of power cuts. If you work for a software company, I'll always recommend this solution. If you're looking for a stand-alone deployment, then I would recommend Fortinet. I rate this solution nine out of 10.
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: MSP
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks Panorama. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Network & Security Administrator at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to set up, good support, and allows us to create shared profiles for all gateways
Pros and Cons
- "It has shared profiles for all gateways. If I do not have Panorama, I need to create a separate profile for each and every gateway by logging into that particular gateway, but with Panorama, I can create a shared profile and just push it down to each and every gateway connected to it."
- "In our version, there is no feature to transfer or upload a database of third-party vulnerabilities or signatures so that Panorama can convert them into its own database. This kind of feature might already have come in version 10."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is to have a centralized console for gateways.
What is most valuable?
It has shared profiles for all gateways. If I do not have Panorama, I need to create a separate profile for each and every gateway by logging into that particular gateway, but with Panorama, I can create a shared profile and just push it down to each and every gateway connected to it.
What needs improvement?
In our version, there is no feature to transfer or upload a database of third-party vulnerabilities or signatures so that Panorama can convert them into its own database. This kind of feature might already have come in version 10.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for around four years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
As of now, I am not seeing any limitation in terms of technicality, deployment, and functionality. In terms of licensing, depending on the number of gateways or serial numbers, I need to purchase the license, which is not really a limitation.
How are customer service and technical support?
They are good. Whenever there are some issues or bugs and we are not able to trace them out, we reach out to them. They provide the required support.
How was the initial setup?
It was straightforward. The gateway integration with Panorama was also a pretty straightforward configuration for us.
We deployed it site-wise. For each HAPS, it took us around two hours to take an existing production gateway behind Panorama.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. It is a good solution. If any environment has multiple gateways, such as 50 or 100 gateways, it is good to have Panorama. If you have only one or two gateways of Palo Alto, you can easily manage them individually without having Panorama.
I would rate Palo Alto Networks Panorama a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Engineering infrastructure manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It has useful threat prevention and security features and good stability with right configuration
Pros and Cons
- "The threat prevention and layer seven security features were the most used and important for us. All operations are quite good in this solution."
- "We found a vulnerability where when we have a low flow, like 2.7K, it is not getting fired by the threat prevention. That's something important to improve on. They should have a proxy or some solution to solve the issue. We also found some issues around decrypting the flow. When we have more flow than expected to decrypt, the performance goes down."
What is our primary use case?
We used Panorama to control all the other modules from Palo Alto and to create the rules.
What is most valuable?
The threat prevention and layer seven security features were the most used and important for us. All operations are quite good in this solution.
What needs improvement?
We found a vulnerability where when we have a low flow, like 2.7K, it is not getting fired by the threat prevention. That's something important to improve on. They should have a proxy or some solution to solve the issue.
We also found some issues around decrypting the flow. When we have more flow than expected to decrypt, the performance goes down.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is fine. It supports the only point used here to decrypt the flows. When we have the right configuration, it has good stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We didn't scale up the solution because it requires a load balancer, which is not there. We have around 40,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
They should have a local technical team. I would rate them a seven out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
It wasn't easy, but it also wasn't very difficult. I would say it was medium. The deployment took around three months.
What other advice do I have?
In order to have the right security level, you need to understand how decryption works or is used in Palo Alto. We had to clarify some points with them related to how decryption works.
I would rate Palo Alto Networks Panorama 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.
Security Unit Manager at Digital Hub Egypt
A straightforward setup with good firewall reporting dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "The dashboards are very good on Palo Alto. They offer a centralized dashboard for managers as well."
- "Panorama needs to work on its configuration issues."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used as a firewall reporting feature.
What is most valuable?
The dashboards are very good on Palo Alto. They offer a centralized dashboard for managers as well.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to improve its pricing model.
Panorama needs to work on its configuration issues.
They should also focus on firewall management. Many clients have multiple firewalls, so Palo Alto should offer better management of them. They could model themselves off of AlgoSec, or maybe FireMon which are other very good firewall management tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. Palo Alto, in general, is pretty good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. We manage about 12 firewalls. The maximum might be 100.
How are customer service and technical support?
Support from Palo Alto is very good. You can get it from the distributor or from Palo Alto directly.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is generally straightforward. Deployment times vary, according to the client's environment and if they have multiple branches, etc. It can take anywhere from one to three days. After that, you have to fine-tune a few items, and that can take another two or three weeks. So the entire deployment process, depending on the organization, can take anywhere from three days to three weeks. Maintenence only takes one person, once again, depending on the setup of the company itself.
What other advice do I have?
Most of our clients deal with the on-premises deployment solution, as cloud solutions in Egypt can occasionally be insecure.
I would advise anyone looking to implement the solution really focus on sizing before beginning the implementation.
I would rate the solution nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Senior Consultant at Eva GROUP
A good solution for enterprise companies, with valuable security group rules, but it needs to be more intuitive and have more European integrations
Pros and Cons
- "Especially for big, worldwide clients, one of the most valuable features is being able to create some rules to place on the security groups."
- "We have had some issues in the past because integrating a new device is not intuitive."
What is our primary use case?
My customers use this solution in their companies.
What is most valuable?
Especially for big, worldwide clients, one of the most valuable features is being able to create some rules to place on the security groups.
What needs improvement?
We have had some issues in the past because integrating a new device is not intuitive. If there is some room for improvement, that would be it.
I'm not an expert on the matter, but I would like to see more capabilities regarding automation and integration. We are seeing a trend where the clients are asking for integrations with European tools. I know the solution is quite integral with all kinds of tools, but there are some different tools here in the market in Europe, so this is important.
The menu is full of options, which is good in some ways, but for a newbie it can be a little bit overwhelming and you need to properly understand it before starting to work with it. I think the ramp up at the beginning is quite intense.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been familiar with this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. Among our clients, it is actually one of the preferred solutions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our clients who use this solution are enterprise companies. We have around 50 people at our company working with the solution. The number of admins needed for the solution depends on the company, but most of our clients have over 15 admins.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is kind of easy. I think it takes about half a day to set it up properly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is considered a little bit expensive, but depending on the client, it's worth it. Again, it depends on the client, but they generally consider it a good solution.
The payment structure depends on the contract that the client has with Palo Alto. I think usually the cloud solution is charged monthly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I also work with Fortinet, and I think their solution is more intuitive. The menus are less charged, and I found the documentation to be a little bit more clear.
What other advice do I have?
I would tell people considering this product that you always have the support of Palo Alto. They can be plan B just in case something happens while configuring a new device, for example, to ensure everything gets configured the way it should be at the beginning.
I would rate this solution as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Sr. Director, Security and Architecture at a pharma/biotech company with 11-50 employees
Provides visibility into what is going on, 100% stable, and infinitely scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Panorama enables you to provision all your firewalls and other things as a cluster. It is quite useful for that."
- "Its UI and usability could be improved. The way the UI looks could be improved to make it a little bit more intuitive. Other than that, it is a pretty simple product."
What is our primary use case?
It is essentially a lightweight SIEM, so it'll detect and flag any sort of vulnerabilities or attacks on your network.
I've been using the most recent version of it. In terms of deployment, it is on the cloud. It is a private cloud. It is Palo Alto's Cloud, and I think they host on AWS.
How has it helped my organization?
It centralized the management of our Palo Alto systems. It provided more visibility into what was going on. It sort of gave a single painted glass picture instead of 25 different pictures.
What is most valuable?
Panorama enables you to provision all your firewalls and other things as a cluster. It is quite useful for that.
It is a very simple product. It does what it is designed to do.
What needs improvement?
Its UI and usability could be improved. The way the UI looks could be improved to make it a little bit more intuitive. Other than that, it is a pretty simple product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for four or five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is 100% stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is highly scalable. It is pretty much infinite.
In terms of the users, the Firewall Management team and the Security team use it. There are probably only 10 people who really have access to it. They also take care of its maintenance.
It is being used extensively at the moment. Its usage will just kind of naturally grow over time. As we deploy more devices, we'll put them into Panorama for management.
How are customer service and support?
Palo Alto is very good at technical support. They're a 10 out of 10. They're very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used FireMon in the past. It does a little bit more, but it is not as tightly integrated as the Palo Alto solution.
How was the initial setup?
It was very straightforward and very simple. I helped them roll it out and watch them spin it up. I didn't do anything configuration-wise, but I think it took us 10 minutes. It was that fast.
What about the implementation team?
It was done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its licensing is yearly and multi-yearly. It is not expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Be prepared for simple. It is not complicated. You're up and running in 10 minutes, so you'll be surprised.
It is only for Palo Alto products, so you can't scale it to anything else. It does what it is designed to do, which is to manage Palo Alto firewalls and other Palo Alto equipment.
I would rate it a 10 out of 10. It is a pretty simple platform; it is just the UI that can be made a little more intuitive. That's it.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager - Projects & Programs at BhaktiVedanta Hospital
Easy to set up with a nice user interface and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The installation process is very simple."
- "The configuration could be a bit better."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the product for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
Security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. We find that the security level is very high.
The user interface is very good. it's easy to navigate and very user-friendly.
The installation process is very simple.
The product is scalable.
The stability has been good.
We have found the technical support to be very helpful.
What needs improvement?
The configuration could be a bit better. For us, it's a critical aspect. We've noticed Cisco may be better in this regard.
For how long have I used the solution?
We only recently upgraded the solution within the last six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Palo Alto is good. We don't have issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be scalable. Users can expand it if they need to.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support from Palo Alto has been very good. We are quite satisfied with the service we receive.
How was the initial setup?
The installation process is not overly complex or difficult. It's very easy and quite straightforward. A company shouldn't have any issues with it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We've looked at Cisco and noted that configurations seem to be easier using that product as opposed to Palo Alto. That said, Palo Alto is okay and still manageable.
What other advice do I have?
We are just customers and end-users.
I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We have been quite pleased with its capabilities.
At this time, I would definitely recommend the solution to other companies and organizations.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Palo Alto Networks Panorama Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
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