it_user972015 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Excellent for clustering but not a user-friendly solution with very bad GUI
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the most valuable features is having the ability to cluster multiple firewalls even if they are different versions."
  • "It's a complicated firewall. Until you come to know the firewall inducers, most people don't like the firewall because the components for the firewall are a little bit complex. User-friendliness is a little bit tough. It needs to be user-friendly when creating policies, and pushing policies. Committing takes more time compared to Palo Alto."

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features is having the ability to cluster multiple firewalls even if they are different versions.

What needs improvement?

It's a complicated firewall. Until you come to know the firewall inducers, most people don't like the firewall because the components for it are a little bit complex. User-friendliness is a little bit tough. It needs to be more user-friendly when creating policies, and pushing policies. Committing takes more time compared to Palo Alto.

The solution needs to invest in its GUI. The interface is very bad and not user-friendly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable firewall. There's no issue on the stability. When it comes to the detection rate of the IP, it is the most powerful solution for detection-ready tests, like evasion techniques etc. Forcepoint is a leader on the market.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very simple to scale. You just need to keep on adding devices. The firewall can cluster with multiple different models. Scalability-wise, this firewall will be the best firewall for an organization who is operating with a low budget. We typically implement for medium-sized to enterprise-level organizations.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is okay. It takes too long to get a response because the support comes directly from the Netherlands, and they may have very limited employees. The engineers are quite technical, but the response is very slow.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex.

What about the implementation team?

We are an integrator that helps with the installation.

The initial installation needs a high level of knowledge because it's not like other firewalls where you have one single appliance. You need to have a separate machine to manage the firewall. The firewall is just a dummy device and all the configurations are done on a Windows machine. Sometimes, in the case of the unavailability of a Windows machine, you cannot do much with the firewall.

What other advice do I have?

What others need to know is that they need to have a clear idea of why they're going for this particular firewall. They need to know if are they looking for clustering or if are they looking for link load balancing. If they're not going for clustering, I would suggest they go with the most moderate firewalls like Palo Alto or Fortinet.

A certain type of attack, such as evasion techniques, isn't something that other firewalls really protect against. According to NSS Labs, Forcepoint firewall has been on top for the last consecutive four or so years because of the detection rate of evasion techniques that other firewalls failed to detect.  

The clustering of our ISP links is a nice feature that other firewalls also should have. It is a helpful feature, but it is not a user-friendly solution as a whole.

I would rate the solution five out of ten. User-friendliness is the most important reason I've rated it so low. After Cisco firewalls, no next-gen firewalls have come to the market. So if they want to compete with these firewalls, they need to enhance the overall user-friendliness of the solution.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
System Engineer at Jeraisy computers and communications services
Real User
A cost-effective solution for firewall but needs a better interface and support

What needs improvement?

Forcepoint could make the interface more reasonable and easier to navigate. If you are not good at Forcepoint, you cannot easily manage it. Fortinet is easy to navigate and reach.

Forcepoint should focus on upgrades. Sometimes, service is impacted or disrupted after an upgrade. You have to read the release notes carefully before doing anything.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for three years.

How are customer service and support?

Four years ago, I called support. Their response was very bad, but the antivirus was good.

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

Fortinet is better because it is very easy to manage. For Forcepoint, you need someone to dive into GUI or make some changes in the configuration, navigate, etc.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex with the NG firewall compared to Fortinet. You can manage it easily by doing some virtual context and trying to divide the solution. You need experience for that. You have to do some lab to do something to prepare.

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

The product is not expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Fortinet. Fortinet is booming now, but it is expensive. Both have pros and cons. You can compare both with Palo Alto. Palo Alto is more stable and more scalable. Forcepoint has many more features than Fortinet.

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

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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May 2024
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Dino R - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Has good stability, but its initial setup process needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable solution."
  • "They should provide more details on potential cyber threats."

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features are reporting, support, and classification of cyber attacks.

What needs improvement?

They should provide more details on potential cyber-attacks over a dashboard or email for the solution. Also, they should include centralized dashboard configuration and management.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution's stability an eight or nine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support team is quite responsive and provides consistent support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup process is complex. It is challenging to identify new and existing systems.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution with the help of a system integrator.

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

The solution is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a seven 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
Real User
Top 20
Affords us better centralized management over its competitors with simplicity and flexibility of use
Pros and Cons
  • "Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is very simple, easy to use, and flexible."
  • "We feel the product's technical support could be better, as this relates to the solution itself, to the installation of the product, and to having a proper understanding of the case."

What is most valuable?

It is very simple, easy to use, and flexible. It is a top solution with a complete feature set. Its most valuable feature involves its environment. 

What needs improvement?

A pain point worth mentioning is the need of the customer or client to properly know the environment as it relates to the presentation of Forcepoint and to have a better knowledge of the product's implementation. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for six years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable product. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We feel Forcepoint's scalability to be pretty easy and good. It works very well. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We feel the product's technical support could be better, as this relates to the solution itself, to the installation of the product, and to having a proper understanding of the case. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not terribly complex. We are talking about three months at the intermediate level. 

While the deployment of a single firewall depends on the environment, this took us between two to five days. 

We employ more than 16 people on our staff for the deployment and maintenance of the solution.

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

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has a good price. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In addition to Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, we evaluated the concurrency of Palo Alto's features. We feel that Forcepoint affords better centralized management than its competitors.

What other advice do I have?

Our company makes use of every current version of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. 

Our clients who use Forcepoint run the gamut from small, medium to large businesses. 

I would rate this solution a nine 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: Implementer
PeerSpot user
Ashish Choudhary - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-founder | Product Manager | CEO @ ReDi at TRIAD Technologies
Real User
Top 10
Good connectivity and integration capabilities with the ability to expand easily
Pros and Cons
  • "I have two offices, and I can route the internet of both offices using the same product. The connectivity is great."
  • "They need to improve their alerts."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for perimeter security. We use it across the entire office.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the fact that I can connect both offices together under the solution. I have two offices, and I can route the internet of both offices using the same product. The connectivity is great.

The integration capabilities are good. 

What needs improvement?

They need to improve their alerts. If I could integrate some of the alerts on WhatsApp, that would be nice. I should have the option to get my alerts, not just by email. I'd like to also see them, for example, on WhatsApp. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable and reliable. I'd rate it eight or nine out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good. I would rate it eight or nine out of ten in terms of the ability to expand.

We have about 200 people using the solution at this time.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is okay.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup has a moderate amount of difficulty. I'd rate it five out of ten in terms of ease of deployment. The user interface was not something I was very familiar with. There was a little bit of complexity that I had to deal with. IN the end, it took a few days to get everything up and running. 

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

The pricing is okay. I'd rate it five or six out of ten in terms of affordability.

What other advice do I have?

We are partners. 

We are using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd recommend the solution to others. Overall, I would rate the product 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
Vijay Bhaskara Maram - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Pyramid IT Solutions Pvt Ltd
Reseller
Top 5
Highly secure, scalable, but support could improve
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is easy to use, highly secure, and the main VPN tunnel is created automatically which is a benefit."
  • "The initial setup of the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has areas that are difficult."

What is our primary use case?

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is mainly used for obligation redundancy, such as for latency distal and packet loss.

What is most valuable?

I have found that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is easy to use, highly secure, and the main VPN tunnel is created automatically which is a benefit. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The salability of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is great.

We have three clients that are using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

The support from Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not good, their response is not quick, We have had to wait a while.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has areas that are difficult.

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

There is a license required to use this solution and we can purchase it for one, two, three, or five years.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise others to check compatibility before implementing this solution.

I rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall a six 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:
PeerSpot user
Technical Support Specialist Networks at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Fully-featured and comes with everything required
Pros and Cons
  • "I don't have anything bad to say about the product. I absolutely love it."
  • "Something that I've noticed that Forcepoint lacks, is the training that they offer to their end-customers"

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are mainly the Management and the Active capabilities.

What needs improvement?

From a managerial point of view, as long as you have proper training, it's very easy to manage this firewall. Something that I've noticed that Forcepoint lacks, is the training that they offer to their customers. It's quite expensive, I believe it costs roughly $11,000. Because of this, we haven't been fully trained in this solution; to get the most out of this product, you need proper training. That is the only negative comment I have surrounding Forcepoint.

Aside from the expensive training, I honestly can't think of another issue. It's a fully-featured firewall that comes with everything required. The version that we are using has a single power supply, whereas we would prefer having dual power supplies on or firewalls.  

For how long have I used the solution?

Our company has been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for roughly two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I have never had any major issues with it. No matter the situation, it has always served its purpose.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I cannot comment because we have not increased the number of firewalls or the number of nodes on our existing firewall. Although we have not implemented these changes, I know that it's very easy to increase the number of nodes and bandwidth, which means that it is very scalable, but from an on-premise point of view, we haven't done that. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never had a negative experience with customer support. They have always been quickly available. I can't complain, I think they have a pretty good team. 

What other advice do I have?

I don't have anything bad to say about the product. I absolutely love it.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine. 

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
Ahmad Abdullah - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Click ITS
Real User
Top 10
Offers ease of setting up security capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The product's initial setup phase is easy."
  • "The endpoint protection capabilities of the product are an area of concern where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall in my company for the protection of the Layer-2 networking area, which consists of Wi-Fi connections used in the enterprise.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution I like stems from the fact that the installation and configuration can be done locally. It is also easy to set up security capabilities. Forcepoint acts as a multi-service provider.

What needs improvement?

The endpoint protection capabilities of the product are an area of concern where improvements are required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have experience with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Around 100 people in my company use the tool.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

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

There is a need to make payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product is not expensive.

What other advice do I have?

The tool's SD-WAN capabilities are supported by the tool.

It is a nice product to use. The product can be used in the data center as a firewall.

The product does provide reporting and visibility features. There are many features provided by the product, especially the area of availability.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.