Ajdin Heric - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Security Analyst at BH Telecom
Real User
Top 10
Comes with threat prevention, HTTPS inspection, and the Anti-Bot blade features
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's most valuable features for us are threat prevention, HTTPS inspection, and the Anti-Bot blade. Threat prevention helps to protect our assets from threats. HTTPS inspection ensures secure communication, and the Anti-Bot blade is particularly helpful in detecting C2 servers, enhancing our ability to identify malicious activities and protect our network."
  • "CloudGuard Network Security needs to include new features. One specific feature I would like to see is the ability to protect external resources using single sign-on integration with various identity providers, including custom identity providers. Its pricing could also be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

The solution helps to protect our customers at the perimeter. We have integrated the solution into our NSX environment. 

What is most valuable?

The tool's most valuable features for us are threat prevention, HTTPS inspection, and the Anti-Bot blade. Threat prevention helps to protect our assets from threats. HTTPS inspection ensures secure communication, and the Anti-Bot blade is particularly helpful in detecting C2 servers, enhancing our ability to identify malicious activities and protect our network.

We can confidently assert that we are among the top cloud providers, protecting our customers from external threats. With Check Point's CloudGuard Network Security, we offer attack services protection. 

What needs improvement?

CloudGuard Network Security needs to include new features. One specific feature I would like to see is the ability to protect external resources using single sign-on integration with various identity providers, including custom identity providers. Its pricing could also be cheaper. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for six years. 

Buyer's Guide
Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Check Point CloudGuard Network Security. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
771,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

CloudGuard Network Security is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

CloudGuard Network Security is highly scalable in our virtual environment. We can easily add more ports, and it functions perfectly. We use it in cluster mode, deploying multiple Check Point clusters horizontally and vertically, making scalability easy and excellent.

How are customer service and support?

I find Check Point's technical support to be excellent. We have premium support, and whenever we open a case, especially for high-severity issues, we receive a phone call from their support team.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

CloudGuard Network Security's deployment is straightforward. 

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

The product is expensive but also valuable. 

What other advice do I have?

CloudGuard Network Security provides unified security management across hybrid clouds as well as on-premises environments. It helps to manage everything from a single point. 

I have been exploring Harmony SASE for remote security and zero-trust access in some proof-of-concept activities. Also, I'm checking out the CloudGuard Web Application Firewall for safeguarding our applications on the internet.

I rate the product a ten out of ten. We have had a great experience with Check Point, and we haven't faced any major incidents or attacks compromising our organization. It has helped us detect activities on our endpoints. 

I would genuinely recommend it. Check Point is easy to manage, implement, and configure. The support is excellent, and the constant threat intelligence updates ensure protection against various threats. It's truly an amazing product for securing your environment.

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.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Hans Moggert - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Datacenter at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 10
Comprehensive protection for cloud environments offering seamless scalability and consolidated logging for enhanced security
Pros and Cons
  • "Its centralized control, ease of use, and flexibility are the most valuable for our data center security."
  • "The licensing structure is unclear, so a transparent and flexible licensing structure would be preferable."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to protect cloud infrastructure, workloads, and applications from advanced threats and attacks.

How has it helped my organization?

For our operations team, CloudGuard proved to be the ideal solution. Troubleshooting became much simpler as all traffic—allowed or blocked—could be found in a single point, the SmartConsole. Integrating CloudGuard with VMware was straightforward; we established a connection between Check Point Management and VMware, allowing for the automated deployment of CloudGuard in NSX as a service. This automation made deployment and management a breeze, allowing us to easily specify the number of CloudGuard instances needed, which would then be deployed automatically.

CloudGuard's integration with the SmartConsole ensured continuity for our administrators, who could continue using familiar tools and methods. The ability to manage everything within the virtual environment provided speed and flexibility. With CloudGuard, we could define rules to control traffic with precision, redirecting or blocking as needed. 

Check Point's approach of preventing threats at the outset aligns with this perspective, eliminating the need to constantly battle against incoming threats. This proactive stance instills a strong sense of security, as it significantly reduces the likelihood of breaches. Given our positive experiences and lack of any negative encounters with the product, we feel extremely confident in its ability to safeguard our environment effectively.

One of the most crucial and beneficial aspects of Check Point is its ability to consolidate and present logs in a clear and easily accessible manner. This centralized approach offers immense value, as it allows users to access all network security information from a single point, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple tools and sources. With Check Point, users can conveniently find and manage all security-related data in one centralized location.

What is most valuable?

Its centralized control, ease of use, and flexibility are the most valuable for our data center security.

What needs improvement?

The licensing structure is unclear, so a transparent and flexible licensing structure would be preferable.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been working with it for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability and reliability, the virtual machine running CloudGuard functions seamlessly and as anticipated, demonstrating no issues or disruptions.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Regarding scalability, you have the flexibility to deploy as many instances as necessary. If additional instances are required, you can easily add them to production by obtaining the necessary licenses.

How are customer service and support?

While we haven't encountered significant issues necessitating support, we did face occasional challenges with perimeter gateways rather than CloudGuard itself.

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

Before this project, we collaborated with a sister company that utilized Cisco ACI, but it didn't prove to be the right fit. Considering our longstanding partnership with Check Point as our security provider, particularly for network and cloud traffic, choosing CloudGuard for East-West traffic inspection seemed like a natural extension. Additionally, observing our sister company's positive experience with CloudGuard on Cisco ACI further reinforced our confidence in the product as the best solution for our needs.

What about the implementation team?

Initially, we sought the help of a partner for deployment, but for upgrades and migrations, we largely handled them ourselves. Fortunately, these processes weren't overly complex, and we found helpful documentation on the Check Point website to guide us through them.

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

When we initially adopted CloudGuard, we operated under a different licensing model based on the number of hosts. The licensing model has since transitioned to a cluster-based variant.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

For any private cloud data center leveraging software-defined networking through VMware or Cisco ACI, CloudGuard stands out as the optimal choice. It offers unparalleled flexibility and ease of management, making it the ideal solution for customers already utilizing Check Point in conjunction with virtual networks within their data centers.

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.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Check Point CloudGuard Network Security. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
771,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.
ICT Officer at Kenyatta National Hospital
Real User
Top 5
Secure, highly stable, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is the increased mail protection including spam."
  • "The price of the solution could be reduced, it is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Check Point CloudGuard Network Security for protecting our Office 365 mail.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has improved our company because our Office 365 solution is secure. Most of our Microsoft solutions are now more secure than before when they had spyware and malware. We no longer have these problems as before.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is the increased mail protection including spam.

What needs improvement?

The price of the solution could be reduced, it is expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Check Point CloudGuard Network Security for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security can scale but it will cost you more.

We have approximately 2,000 mailboxes using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support from Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is very good.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We did not use another solution prior to Check Point CloudGuard Network Security.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is not difficult, it was simple. However, someone else might have difficulties. The whole implementation took approximately one day.

What about the implementation team?

We had the Check Point CloudGuard Network Security team help us remotely with the implementation.

We have a service level agreement with some vendors for the maintenance, but we rarely call them, because we handle it mostly in-house.

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

The price of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is very high compared to other solutions, such as Fortinet FortiMail. For the over 2,000 mailboxes we use with the solution it is very expensive.

Here in Kenya, the cost of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is approximately $160,000.

I rate the price of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security a three out of ten.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Fortinet and Barracuda, but Check Point CloudGuard Network Security was better. I found it uses very few resources.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good solution, but they have to be ready to pay the high costs.

I rate Check Point CloudGuard Network Security an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Cassio Maciel - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Cielo
Real User
Protects very well against advanced threats and covers all features under one license
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature for me is that you have just one license. You can test and implement everything you need with one license. You do not need to pay for separate module licenses when you want IPS or other features."
  • "We faced issues while upgrading our CloudGuard Network Gateway. When we tried to use the template that Check Point offers on their site, it was not available for the second to the latest version, so I was forced to upgrade my management server. That was very challenging for us."

What is our primary use case?

We are using CloudGuard Network Security to protect North-South traffic or VPCs. We are using the CloudGuard firewall between the Internet and VPCs. All the traffic needs to pass through the firewall.

How has it helped my organization?

CloudGuard Network Security provides features, such as threat emulation, that native cloud solutions do not offer. AWS, Azure, and GCP have a lot of features, but you sometimes need to pay charges for specific features. With Check Point products, you have all these features in one license. You pay once and you can use everything.

CloudGuard Network Security improves our security against advanced threats. Others do not offer features like threat emulation out of the box. CloudGuard Network Security protects very well against advanced threats.

We have a high level of confidence in our cloud network security by using CloudGuard Network Security. The product is similar to what we use in traditional data centers. The infrastructure is almost the same. The way to manage the policies is the same. It is very easy to implement and manage CloudGuard networks. There is some difference when you are using auto-provision, but in the end, it is the same technology. It is easy for a traditional network engineer to work with CloudGuard.

We did not go for the cloud vendor's cloud firewall because we wanted to be able to manage all the firewalls, policies, and other things from a single point. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature for me is that you have just one license. You can test and implement everything you need with one license. You do not need to pay for separate module licenses when you want IPS or other features. The license includes everything that you need.

What needs improvement?

The version upgrades need improvement. We faced issues while upgrading our CloudGuard Network Gateway. When we tried to use the template that Check Point offers on their site, it was not available for the second to the latest version, so I was forced to upgrade my management server. That was very challenging for us.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security for 8 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I cannot remember the last time I had an issue. It is stable, but every product has a few bugs. If you maintain the configuration and the versions, everything is fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We do not have any problems because we can use the auto-provision templates. If I need to scale up or scale down, I can do this. If there is any issue, it is very transparent. For example, if I lose my gateway, the manager will automatically create a gateway and bring everything up.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good. Their response is fast. You can contact an engineer in a few minutes, but it depends on the severity of the issue. In the case of a high-severity issue, you can talk to an engineer to assist you with an issue.

Compared to other vendors our company has been working with, Check Point has better support. They have the best technical staff.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We only use Check Point products. In our data center, we are only using CloudGuard.

How was the initial setup?

It is very easy. With a few clicks, you can implement your firewall. 

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

It is fair. Its license covers all the features. There is a cost-benefit. The licensing for the cloud is better than on-premises because, with on-premises, you have to pay separately for different things.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate CloudGuard Network Security a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Network and Security Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Provides unified management, but the version upgrade seems to have a limitation
Pros and Cons
  • "We have unified management. It is one of the advantages of this product."
  • "There is a limitation with the version upgrade. We are using version 81.10 and from what I understand, it is problematic to upgrade this version. I do not know if that is true."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for network security.

The whole reason we got it was to expand and make an extension to the Azure Cloud so that we could establish services that would make a link between the on-prem and the cloud. That was the goal.

How has it helped my organization?

We have unified management. It is one of the advantages of this product.

In terms of protection, we have not yet done any kind of penetration tests. We will check them later. In the future, we would also want to use all kinds of features such as IPS, IPSec, etc.

What is most valuable?

Its advantage is its layout. You do not need to get any unique devices and install them. The installation is easy. The assimilation is less easy because you have to work with a manager in Azure and upload and define all kinds of addresses.

In essence, you do exactly what you do with on-prem. It is the same operation. You can manage it in the same way as on-prem, which is an advantage. You can manage the firewall in the cloud from on-prem, and you do not need any more interventions.

What needs improvement?

There is a limitation with the version upgrade. We are using version 81.10 and from what I understand, it is problematic to upgrade this version. I do not know if that is true. I am trying to figure it out. If I want to upgrade to a newer version, I have to make new machines. If this is true, it will negatively impact my thoughts regarding the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is always running. Its availability is high because it is located in two different data centers. This is the purpose of the cloud. It is located in two data centers in two different countries. We have placed one in Frankfurt, and the other one is in Amsterdam or London. That is the advantage. Because it is not the same country or city, the availability is great.

How are customer service and support?

I mainly receive support from an integrator. Check Point did not accompany me as a vendor from the beginning. I am satisfied with the integrator at the moment. He gives me the answers. 

We had a few inquiries recently, and he gave me the answers. They were also very helpful during the installation. So, I have had less communication with the manufacturer. For more complex issues, I can communicate with Check Point's support.

I would rate the integrator's support a nine out of ten because sometimes, it takes a long time for the integrator to find the solution to the malfunctions. The glitch related to the deleted machines was very critical for our organization. Things were working normally on the network, but the entire project was simply blocked for a few days. I expected the integrator to open a ticket in a faster way, but he did not open any ticket at all. He resolved it all by himself, but he did not share with us what the solution was. Deleting things and opening them again is not good enough because there is no reassurance that the glitch will not happen again.

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

We did not use any other solution before this.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is simple. We just had to put it in two centers and deploy it. It was easy. 

During the process, we had to wipe a machine. Microsoft gave us some addresses to work with. We used those addresses because we needed public addresses to work with. At first, we were not able to do something properly, so we deleted the machine. When we came back to set up the machine, we had to take new addresses from Microsoft all over again. I do not know whether it was because of Azure or whether it was Check Point´s fault. 

What was our ROI?

I do not know if I have seen a return on investment because we are at the beginning of establishing the cloud. It is not entirely working yet. At the moment, it is not in production, but I assume that there will be an ROI.

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

It is not expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I wanted to try Palo Alto at first, but because my entire setup was already in Check Point, I did not go in that direction. I wanted unified management. I also consulted my team, and they said that they do not want to come and manage another firewall because of the management and knowledge it requires. The advantage of this solution was unified management.

What other advice do I have?

My recommendation for those who are thinking of installing the product is to check its survivability at the level of downloading a machine and uploading it. Do not upload all the applications straight away to run tests. Research first.

Based on my experience, I would rate it a seven out of ten. There were some malfunctions. There were also issues at the beginning due to the lack of a dependency needed for it to function. The experience is not yet perfect, but like any product, it will improve over time. In the end, I need stability in the cloud, but right now, that feeling is not there. I do not have the feeling of stability where I can say that the production and the service will not drop again. That is the concern. I want to start uploading some kind of application to production soon.

Foreign Language:(Hebrew)

המוצר מספק ניהול מאוחד, אבל נראה שלשדרוג הגרסה יש מגבלה

מהו השימוש העיקרי שלנו במוצר?

אנחנו משתמשים בו לאבטחת רשת.

בחרנו אותו כדי להתרחב ולעשות הרחבה ל-Azure Cloud כדי שנוכל להקים שירותים שיעשו קישור בין On-Prem לענן. זו הייתה המטרה.

איך זה עזר לארגון שלי?

יש לנו ניהול מאוחד. זה אחד היתרונות של המוצר הזה.

מבחינת הגנה, עדיין לא עשינו שום סוג של בדיקות חדירה. נבדוק זאת בהמשך. בעתיד, נרצה גם להשתמש בכל מיני תכונות כמו IPS, IPSec וכו'.

מה התכונה הכי משמעותית של המוצר?

היתרון שלו הוא הפריסה שלו. אתה לא צריך להשיג מכשירים ייחודיים ולהתקין אותם. ההתקנה קלה. ההטמעה פחות קלה כי צריך לעבוד עם מנהל ב-Azure ולהעלות ולהגדיר כל מיני כתובות.

בעצם, אתה עושה בדיוק את מה שאתה עושה מ- On Prem. זו אותה פעולה. אתה יכול לנהל אותו באותו אופן כמו ב-On-Prem, וזה יתרון. אתה יכול לנהל את הפיירוול בענן מ-on-prem, ולא צריך יותר התערבויות.

מה טעון שיפור?

ישנה מגבלה בשדרוג הגרסה. אנחנו משתמשים בגרסה 81.10 ולפי מה שהבנתי זה בעייתי לשדרג את הגרסה הזו. אני לא יודע אם זה נכון. אני מנסה להבין את זה. אם אני רוצה לשדרג לגרסה חדשה יותר, אני צריך ליצור מכונות חדשות. אם זה נכון, זה ישפיע לרעה על המחשבות שלי לגבי המוצר.

מה אני חושב על יציבות המוצר?

המוצר פועל תמיד. הזמינות שלו גבוהה מכיוון שהוא ממוקם בשני מרכזי נתונים שונים. זו מטרת הענן. הוא ממוקם בשני מרכזי נתונים בשתי מדינות שונות. הקמנו אחד בפרנקפורט והשני באמסטרדם או בלונדון. זה היתרון. מכיוון שלא מדובר באותה מדינה או עיר, הזמינות גדולה.

איך שירות הלקוחות והתמיכה?

אני מקבל בעיקר תמיכה מאינטגרטור. צ'ק פוינט לא ליוותה אותי כספק מההתחלה. אני מרוצה מהאינטגרטור כרגע. הוא נותן לי את התשובות.

היו לנו כמה תקלות לאחרונה והוא סיפק לי את כל התשובות. הוא גם עזר מאוד במהלך ההתקנה. עם היצרן הייתה לי פחות תקשורת. לבעיות מורכבות יותר, אני יכול לתקשר עם התמיכה של צ'ק פוינט.

הייתי מדרג את תמיכת האינטגרטור תשע מתוך עשר, כי לפעמים לוקח הרבה זמן עד שהאינטגרטור מוצא את הפתרון לתקלות. התקלה הקשורה למכונות שנמחקו הייתה קריטית מאוד עבור הארגון שלנו. דברים עבדו כרגיל ברשת ופתאום כל הפרויקט פשוט נחסם לכמה ימים. ציפיתי שהאינטגרטור יפתח טיקט בצורה מהירה יותר, אבל הוא לא פתח טיקט בכלל. הוא פתר את הכל לבד, הוא גם לא שיתף אותנו לגבי מה היה הפתרון לתקלה. למחוק דברים ולפתוח אותם שוב זה לא מספיק טוב כי זה לא מבטיח לנו שהתקלה לא תחזור על עצמה.

באיזה מוצר השתמשתי בעבר ומדוע החלפתי אותו?

לא השתמשנו בשום מוצר אחר לפניו.

איך הייתה ההתקנה הראשונית?

ההתקנה הייתה פשוטה. היינו צריכים לשים אותו בשני מרכזים ולפרוס אותו. זה היה קל.

במהלך התהליך, היינו צריכים למחוק מכונה. מיקרוסופט נתנה לנו כמה כתובות לעבוד איתן. השתמשנו בכתובות האלה כי היינו צריכים כתובות ציבוריות לעבוד איתן. בהתחלה לא הצלחנו לעשות משהו כמו שצריך, אז מחקנו את המכונה. כשחזרנו להגדיר את המכונה, היינו צריכים לקחת מחדש כתובות חדשות ממיקרוסופט. אני לא יודע אם זה היה בגלל Azure או אם זו הייתה אשמתו של צ'ק פוינט.

מה היה החזר ההשקעה שלנו?

אני לא יודע אם ראיתי את ההחזר על ההשקעה, כי אנחנו בתחילת הקמת הענן וזה עדיין לא לגמרי עובד. כרגע הוא לא בייצור, אבל אני מניח שיהיה החזר של ההשקעה.

מה דעתי על התמחור, עלות התקנה ורישוי?

זה לא יקר.

אילו מוצרים נוספים שקלתי?

רציתי לנסות את פאלו אלטו בהתחלה, אבל בגלל שכל ההתקנה שלי כבר הייתה בצ'ק פוינט, לא הלכתי לכיוון הזה. רציתי ניהול מאוחד. התייעצתי גם עם הצוות שלי והם אמרו שהם לא רוצים לנהל פיירוול נוסף בגלל הניהול והידע שזה דורש. היתרון של המוצר הזה הוא הניהול המאוחד.

איזה עוד עצה יש לי?

ההמלצה שלי למי שחושב להתקין את המוצר היא לבדוק את השרידות שלו ברמת הורדת מכונה והעלאתה. לא להעלות את כל האפליקציות מיד, כדאי להריץ בדיקות ולחקור קודם.

בהתבסס על הניסיון שלי, הייתי מדרג את המוצר שבע מתוך עשר. היו כמה תקלות. היו בעיות גם בהתחלה בגלל חוסר העצמאות הדרושה לתפקוד. החוויה עדיין לא מושלמת, אבל כמו כל מוצר, היא תשתפר עם הזמן. בסופו של דבר, אני צריך יציבות בענן, אבל כרגע, התחושה הזו לא שם. אין לי תחושת יציבות שבה אני יכול להגיד שהייצור והשירות לא יירדו שוב. זו הדאגה. אני רוצה להתחיל להעלות איזושהי אפליקציה לייצור בקרוב.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Senior IT Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Offers straightforward licensing and excellent technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature I have found in CloudGuard Network Security is the flexibility to rebuild the firewall as needed."
  • "CloudGuard Network Security could be improved in the area of upgrading in place."

What is our primary use case?

My main use cases for CloudGuard Network Security are to scale the technology for protecting and filtering traffic within AWS and Azure environments.

The main challenge I was looking to address by implementing CloudGuard Network Security was the need to establish a firewall on our cloud perimeter for enhanced security.

How has it helped my organization?

The flexibility to rebuild the firewall in CloudGuard Network Security has helped our organization eliminate downtime.

CloudGuard Network Security has improved our organization by allowing us to easily deploy firewalls from the cloud wherever we might need them.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature I have found in CloudGuard Network Security is the flexibility to rebuild the firewall as needed.

What needs improvement?

CloudGuard Network Security could be improved in the area of upgrading in place.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with CloudGuard Network Security for five years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of CloudGuard Network Security is very good and we can scale it as needed.

How are customer service and support?

Check Point's service and tech support are very good, especially since we have access to their Diamond-level support. I would rate the support as a ten out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I find the pricing and licensing of CloudGuard Network Security to be pretty straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

The main benefit we have seen from using CloudGuard Network Security is the ability to filter traffic by URL. We realized these benefits approximately six months after deployment.

Unified management of the firewall has positively affected our security operations by making it easy to manage from one place.

My advice for those evaluating CloudGuard Network Security is to remember that licensing is critical, so ensure that central licensing is configured properly.

Overall, I would rate CloudGuard Network Security as a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid 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.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Allan Vasquez - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Development and Information Security Manager at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 10
Makes policy management easy and helps to improve security score and uptime
Pros and Cons
  • "The easy management of the policies is great for us because we are a small team and having easy management is great and useful for us."
  • "At CPX, we heard that we can see all the things on the same platform. That is what we have been asking for, and hopefully, we are going to start seeing it this year."

What is our primary use case?

We use it to analyze all the traffic in our network. It is the main tool for security services and networking in our company.

How has it helped my organization?

We increased our security score by introducing the tool. We are continuing to grow and improve. In terms of policies, we have a lot of benefits in terms of the security cluster and how it works.

CloudGuard Network Security provides unified security management across hybrid-clouds as well as on-prem. We have a hybrid scenario in the company. We have 3% of services in the cloud, and we can use the same clusters and the same policies that we have on the on-premise side for our cloud services. We have the same benefits for both.

We are pretty confident in our cloud network security using CloudGuard Network Security. We are not exactly an Internet-exposure company, but we have a cloud setup. We are pretty confident with its configuration assessment. With Check Point as our partners, we are protected, and we can be confident in our security.

What is most valuable?

Microsegmentation is very useful for us because we minimize the surface attack. The easy management of the policies is great for us because we are a small team and having easy management is great and useful for us.

What needs improvement?

At this point, we are very happy with what is happening with their horizon. At CPX, we heard that we can see all the things on the same platform. That is what we have been asking for, and hopefully, we are going to start seeing it this year.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using CloudGuard Network Security since 2020.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable. I cannot remember a time when we had any issues with it. Our operations are 24/7.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We do not have any problems with it.

How are customer service and support?

We have had a good experience with the support and customer service, and we are happy with them.

I would rate them a nine out of ten. A unique issue that we have is related to the language. When the first level of support cannot resolve an issue and the issue needs to be escalated, we have a language challenge because the team is based in India. There are some limitations on both ends.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We used our cloud vendor's security but did not get as many details when we had any issues. We immediately moved to Check Point, and we are more confident of Check Point.

At first, we used Azure and Defender, and before we changed to CheckPoint, we used ESET. So, we had ESET and then we started rolling out Check Point. We had a mix with the cloud vendor solution, and then we went for Check Point.

How was the initial setup?

We have a mix of on-premises and cloud. We use the Infinity services.

My team deployed it. I have three security engineers on the team, and with the help of Check Point, we deployed it. We upgraded very recently in December, and it was a good experience. It has been running well.

What about the implementation team?

We used the services of a company based in Panama. With the Infinity contract, we had some professional time with Check Point, and they helped us set up some of the things. They reviewed some of the things that we deployed, so we have all the best practices.

What was our ROI?

I do not have a lot of details on that, but our uptime is pretty high. 

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

It is an expensive product, but when you realize that you need it, it does not feel so expensive.

We have had a good experience with them as partners. They have helped us with designing and having good architecture and the best equipment at the best prices. We find it a good deal. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Microsoft's security suite. The thing that made us decide on Check Point was that Check Point had the least zero-day attack score. We have a lot of solutions from Check Point, and we stayed with Check Point.

We are now not evaluating other solutions because, since 2020, we have chosen Check Point as our partner. It continues to be the best solution for us to improve our score. We are not looking for software solutions from other vendors.

We always keep track of the service and the score, and with Check Point, there has always been the highest score.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate CloudGuard Network Security a ten out of ten. We are happy with the uptime and management. It is a good tool, and it provides a lot of value for us. We are happy.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
IT Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Provides comprehensive threat prevention and security for cloud environments
Pros and Cons
  • "We find all the features valuable, particularly the firewall, application control, URL filtering, and HTTPS detection."
  • "Improvements needed include better integration with Azure features to match on-premises capabilities."

What is our primary use case?

In our Azure deployment, CloudGuard Network Security serves as our cloud firewall.

How has it helped my organization?

Using CloudGuard Network Security has streamlined our transition to Azure by providing continuity with our on-premises setup, ensuring seamless management, and allowing us to maintain our existing security protocols without disruption.

What is most valuable?

We find all the features valuable, particularly the firewall, application control, URL filtering, and HTTPS detection, as they cover our primary security needs effectively. We realized the benefits right away upon deployment.

What needs improvement?

Improvements needed include better integration with Azure features to match on-premises capabilities, particularly in areas like identity awareness, to ensure seamless functionality across both environments.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with CloudGuard Network Security for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any stability issues with the product so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't had to scale much yet, but we are confident CloudGuard Network Security can meet our needs effectively if required in the future. I would rate the scalability as a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Overall, Check Point's service and technical support are good, with an effective resolution of issues, although there is currently one open ticket, they typically address root causes efficiently. I would rate the support as an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

What was our ROI?

We have seen ROI in time saved due to our familiarity with deployment, integration, and policy creation, avoiding the need for extensive learning or adjustments.

What other advice do I have?

We wanted to maintain familiarity with Check Point while transitioning to the cloud, opting for CloudGuard Network Security in Azure over Azure's native firewall for its effectiveness and seamless integration with our existing network infrastructure.

CloudGuard Network Security offers unified security management across hybrid clouds and on-premises environments, ensuring comprehensive protection across all assets.

Unified security management simplifies our security operations by consolidating all aspects, like web filtering, application control, and firewall management, into a single, easy-to-use platform, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.

I have high confidence in CloudGuard Network Security because it runs seamlessly like our previous setup and offers robust protection. I chose it over Azure's firewall because Check Point focuses solely on security, providing more features, logs, and insights.

CloudGuard Network Security is deployed across multiple departments and business units, with various consultants connecting in, although the user count isn't high yet, it is set to expand across multiple businesses.

I would advise evaluating CloudGuard Network Security based on what is most effective and familiar, rather than just what's convenient or included, prioritizing what suits your needs best.

Overall, I would rate CloudGuard Network Security as a nine 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?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Check Point CloudGuard Network Security Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Check Point CloudGuard Network Security Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.