I am dealing with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall from the business perspective, specifically from the pre-sales perspective and solution architecture. My company is not using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, but my customers are.
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Advanced traffic controls have supported complex security needs but have highlighted interface and reliability gaps
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's IPS feature has four operational modes, including IPS, Layer 2 and Layer 3 Firewalls. The IPS mode offers many controls, profiles, and signatures for inspecting traffic. It allows for applying firewall rules followed by IPS engine inspection. With Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, many decisions including blocking and controlling traffic actions are possible. They also offer a CASB cloud access security broker and a cloud-based firewall, promoting cloud-native capabilities.
What needs improvement?
I am not certain if they could simplify their interface, because Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is already built software. It could be compared with some well-known vendors such as Palo Alto. Palo Alto does not have an easy interface to be managed, especially if you are applying many profiles and many controls.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall should make some improvements because there is some instability with their software. Sometimes it could lag or become over-utilized. You need to clear some caches and do some restarts. This instability is problematic. Sometimes some traffic is being blocked, and the reason is not entirely clear.
When you apply some traffic rules with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, sometimes you feel you have to do more improvements. For example, if I want to block the Facebook application, several things should be in place so that you can consider this part. This is not easy to be implemented as a rule.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for around nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall should make some improvements because there is some instability with their software. Sometimes it could lag or become over-utilized. You need to clear some caches and do some restarts. This instability is problematic. Sometimes some traffic is being blocked, and the reason is not entirely clear. This is why we sometimes suffer with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
What other advice do I have?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is for people who have skills. The customer should have a good skilled team to operate this solution because it is not that easy. It could be compared with Palo Alto in terms of difficulty. The technical team should be skilled to manage it. The customer scale differs from industry to industry, but they are dealing with medium businesses and have a competitive cost, so it is an affordable technology.
For non-experienced people, skilled people are required to manage Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall because it has many dashboards, many customizations, fine-tuning, and principles, so it requires skilled management.
I have not used secure SD-WAN for remote workforces before, but this feature is already in place and is used extensively.
I would rate this product a 6 out of 10.
Centralized control has simplified secure branch connectivity and improved remote access
What is our primary use case?
The main use case for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not just the installation but to offer or suggest an architecture, showing how to use it basically on the edge of the customer's network.
What is most valuable?
I appreciate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for its capability to use VPN tunnels between branches, especially if they are under the same management center of Forcepoint. It is really easy and nice to use. You can do a route-based VPN tunnel as well as policy-based VPN tunnels between branches and some central point.
I have some experience with the IPS feature of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. It is a feature you can use to observe the traffic and identify bad behavior on the network. This is a passive function that allows you to identify traffic, and in the next step, you can cancel or discard this traffic.
The centralized management console of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is really helpful. You can manage all the firewalls in just one control center, and you can use around twenty firewalls and have them under one. It is really nice to have this feature, far better than having to connect to all the firewalls separately.
I am using the Secure SD-WAN feature for remote workforces, and it is a really good feature. You can have more than one tunnel to other branches and use those tunnels. One of them could be standby while the other is active, and they can both be active as well to split the traffic and use more speed.
URL filtering is very helpful in blocking malicious sites in Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, especially when you have end-users who browse dangerous or improper sites from work or office computers. You can monitor and block this traffic.
What needs improvement?
I found one problem with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. They still do not have any VPN clients for Windows computers with ARM processors. This has started to become a problem because we have some clients who have notebooks with ARM processors, and we do not have the VPN client for them. There is a VPN client, a Forcepoint VPN client for the Windows platform, but in these days, you can have a Windows notebook with an ARM processor.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for almost five or six years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is really good and scalable because there is one really good aspect. Even if you have some firewalls in the cluster, it is not necessary to have them on the same version. This is really nice if you are doing upgrades because you can do it step by step. Every time if you need more capability for traffic, you can also put another firewall to the cluster. It is really scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Generally, for Forcepoint, the customer support and customer service might be better, but especially for the firewalls, it is quite good. It is better than other technologies of Forcepoint.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I started with firewalls with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
How was the initial setup?
Installation of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall on-premise is quite straightforward.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is quite affordable. I would say that it is cheaper than other brands like Palo Alto or Check Point. It has a lot of capabilities and is very stable. It is also very well-made. For its price, I suppose that it is still good, even though I know that their prices are rising a little bit, but still it is better than Palo Alto, for example.
For its price, Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is a really good product when compared to other vendors.
What other advice do I have?
Improved network segmentation has reduced lateral movement while the interface still needs modernization
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has been network security and segmentation, relying on it most for remote access and threat prevention as a strong secondary role. The primary use case is perimeter and internal network security, and secondary use cases include site-to-site and branch connectivity using IPsec VPN tunnels, remote access using SSL remote access, and threat prevention by using it as an IPS, malware inspection, and reputation filtering.
I worked with a customer at a large enterprise where they had a core data center, a DMZ network, and internal business apps, with a sensitive finance system. With Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, I designed a strict zone-based segmentation model, from internet to DMZ, then from DMZ to application tier, from application tier to database tier, and from user LAN into internal services. I used granular firewall policies so that only specific protocols, specific ports, and destinations were allowed, with explicit deny by default between the zones unless enabled by the granular firewall policies. I enabled application identification, blocking non-business traffic even if it was using allowed ports, and tagged each application on every policy. Lateral movement risk was massively reduced, and the organization passed internal security audits with zero critical findings, so the policies were very clean and readable. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's policy engine is very strong here and very user-friendly.
What is most valuable?
For threat prevention, I noticed on another customer that there were repeated scanning and exploit attempts against some public-facing service running on HTTPS. I configured Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to handle IPS by enabling it with critical and high severity signatures only to reduce false positives. I turned on IP reputation filtering to filter out known malicious networks, applied rate limiting on specific services in the DMZ, and logged events centrally for correlation. As a result, exploit attempts were much less than before, being blocked before reaching the back-end servers from the firewall itself, with no performance degradation on the applications. The security team received clear and actionable logs that were centralized, so they knew what was happening all the time.
Strong network segmentation is my favorite feature that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers. The policies are very deterministic and readable, and it has excellent east-west blocking and least privilege architecture. Application awareness identifies traffic beyond just the port itself; I can identify the application using a specific port and block risky applications even if they use allowed ports, which is great for environments with shadow IT. The integrated threat prevention is also very good, with IPS featuring well-tuned signatures and reputation-based filtering that blocks known bad actors before they can touch any applications. It supports both IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels, along with site-to-site, client-to-site, and hybrid cloud links, integrating well with Active Directory and LDAP. Additionally, centralized log management and reporting are very actionable and structured, with clarity in the policies for auditing. Overall, its stability and reliability are commendable.
A real example of how Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's readable policies and application awareness features made my work easier was fixing a flat network problem without breaking actual applications. I inherited an environment where users, application servers, and databases were loosely segmented, with port-based and messy firewall rules. Security audits flagged lateral movement risks, and application owners were scared of outages if I tightened security too much. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall made it easy by providing very easy-to-read and logical policies. I built policies that are clear, showing communications from the user zone to the application zone to specific applications, or from the app zone to the database zone, using only required database protocols. By default, I applied a deny rule between zones unless explicitly allowed by the readable rules I implemented. The policy view clarified who talks to whom, which rules exist, why they exist, and the business function they support, effectively stopping port abuse.
Security posture has definitely improved greatly since using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. From a flat or semi-flat network, I now have clear zone-based segmentation, with increased operational efficiency. The admins using the firewall have rules that are easy to read and intent-based, making changes easier to review and approve. There is less fear that one wrong rule could break production and fewer outages caused by security changes, without hidden matches or rule shadowing surprises. Clear hit count visibility helps me clean unused rules, leading to much fewer outages caused by changes on the firewalls. The centralized log management with supported log types provides better visibility for the SOC team and the SIEM team, as Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall sends very easy-to-parse and search clear logs to the SOC team.
I did see measurable, defensible results after using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, including fewer security incidents reaching the back-end servers. This reduction is due to strong segmentation, application awareness, and IPS features, leading to a 60 to 70 percent reduction in security alerts that actually reach the servers. DMZ exploit attempts dropped to near zero, and no lateral movement incidents were detected post network segmentation. Additionally, overall SOC efficiency improved due to well-structured and contextual logs reflecting clear policy intent, resulting in a 35 to 40 percent reduction in mean time to triage. SOC analysts stopped chasing noise and false positives, as they had much clearer logs to use confidently.
What needs improvement?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall can be improved, perhaps in the user interface and policy management. While the policies are easy to read, the UI feels a bit dated and sometimes clunky on certain pages. Editing rules can feel complex due to the need for multiple clicks and screens. To improve, I suggest modernizing the policy UI with drag-and-drop capabilities for rules, a policy diff impact preview before committing changes, and offering more intuitive rule tagging and labeling.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is stable in my experience.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's scalability is very good; I can have one management node similar to Palo Alto Panorama, with multiple nodes covering different sites, data centers, or zones, enabling extensive deployment in different environments.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is standard support: I open a ticket, wait a bit, and an agent connects with me. It is level one support, and if there is a complex incident or issue, I wait for escalation to level two and so on. I would give it a three out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
I had multiple options concerning the licensing model for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. One option is perpetual plus support, which feels like a classic enterprise licensing model with predictable upfront costs. Another is the subscription model offering feature or security bundles, which feels flexible but requires discipline to manage costs. There is also the option in the AWS Marketplace to deploy as pay-as-you-go, leading to hourly billing with licenses included, or bring your own license to AWS and attach it. Pay-as-you-go is simple for temporary use or proof of concept, while bring your own license typically saves money long-term.
What was our ROI?
I did see a return on investment with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, as mentioned by the efficiency improvements and the metrics related to how much I cut investigation time, the number of incidents, and the ease of making changes or pushing new configurations. I overall save on costs by needing fewer people to manage it and fewer decision-makers involved.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated other options prior to choosing Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, including Palo Alto, Fortinet, and Check Point Firewall.
What other advice do I have?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is very solid and strong at the fundamentals that enterprises rely on, but it lags behind market leaders in a few modern areas. The policy clarity and segmentation are noteworthy strengths of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, along with stability, predictability, and effective threat prevention without noise, making it enterprise-friendly. However, the UI and UX feel a little dated, while cloud-native capabilities are somewhat limited. It works on AWS, for example, but is not cloud-first based, lacking deep integration with cloud constructs such as security group tags and automated automation tooling, which are stronger in other competitors. Additionally, while user identity and analytics depth is good, user-centric visibility is somewhat weak, and the ecosystem and innovation pace are smaller compared to competitors such as Fortinet or Palo Alto.
I advise those looking into using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to deploy it as a pay-as-you-go option for a few days, using it for proof of concept to explore the GUI, features, and capabilities to get accustomed to it. If they are comfortable with a classic GUI that is not as modern as other options such as Palo Alto, they should remember that the core features are very strong. It is a very stable product, so I suggest they seek out other customers with existing deployments of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall and ask about their experiences before making the decision to use it themselves. Overall, it is an excellent product, highly reliable, and among the top contenders; Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is well known. I gave Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall a 7.5 out of 10.
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?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Centralized management has strengthened our perimeter security and consistently reduced downtime
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is to manage the security perimeter.
A quick, specific example of how I use Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to manage my security perimeter involves making inspection, NAT, and ACL.
In addition to managing the security perimeter with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, we also need to manage the SD-WAN functionality and VPN intra-site.
What is most valuable?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers excellent features including a centralized management console and log feature.
I appreciate the centralized management console and the log feature because the logs are clear and easy to use, which helps my daily work.
I would also add that the load balancing feature and the active-active functionality are notable aspects of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has positively impacted my organization by providing always-on perimeter security.
Always-on functionality for my organization means it has reduced the downtime.
What needs improvement?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall can be improved with better response from support.
I do not have anything more to add about the needed improvements, especially regarding the interface or other technical aspects.
For how long have I used the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is deployed in my organization on-premises.
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?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has good scalability.
How are customer service and support?
Regarding customer support, last year it was not as good or quick, but the last call and ticket raised seemed to be better.
I would rate the customer support a seven.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I used a Cisco Firewall, and I switched to Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall because of the central management and the deep log information.
How was the initial setup?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been in line with the market.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment with time saved and also fewer employees needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been in line with the market.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, I also evaluated the Check Point solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall a nine on a scale of one to ten.
I give it a nine because support is not always very speedy, which stops me from giving it a ten.
My overall review rating for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is nine.
Manages over 1,500 locations from a central console and simplifies policy deployment
What is our primary use case?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall was implemented for SD-WAN solutions across all 1,500 plus locations. The deployment includes routing and BGP routing, L3 switching, L2 switching, and site-to-site VPN and SSL VPNs. IPS enabled antivirus applications, IPS, IDS, application control, and quality of service are also included. All firewalls are managed through the SMC, which is the Security Management server center. Overall, no issues have been encountered, but there are some dependencies on the SMC components. Occasionally, connectivity challenges between Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall and SMC have been observed. It is important to ensure that licenses are renewed before expiring, as no modifications are allowed after the license expires.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall policies are created with source IP and applications policy configurations. Some routing and BGP routing have been added, and new locations have been added. All firewalls are synced with the SMC.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall provides excellent SD-WAN solutions. It is very easy to connect Wi-Fi solutions and any other interface solutions. Both on-premise solutions and hybrid solutions are available. It can be easily integrated with different solutions.
What is most valuable?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall provides excellent SD-WAN solutions that make it very easy to connect Wi-Fi solutions and any other interface solutions. Both on-premise solutions and hybrid solutions are available, and it can be easily integrated with different solutions.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has positively impacted the organization. Previously, it was very difficult to handle all traffic because multiple locations experienced downtime, firewalls went down, and internet connectivity issues occurred. There was a lease line option previously, which was very critical for connectivity. After Forcepoint SD-WAN solutions were deployed across different locations, all traffic goes through Wi-Fi solutions, which are directly connected to Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. This is very easy, time-saving, and has improved security. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has many security solutions available. There is no doubt that it is a good firewall. All types of policies can be created, and all GFW features are available. All those security solutions can be utilized.
What needs improvement?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is overall good, but AI enabled features are not available. Many templates and AI security features are needed and are currently missing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for the last four years. I have worked with all types of Forcepoint products, including Forcepoint DLP, Forcepoint endpoint solutions, Forcepoint web security, and Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. There is a deep understanding of all Forcepoint products.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is stable based on this experience.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's scalability is good and can handle growth or increased demand easily.
How are customer service and support?
The experience with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall customer service has been very good. TAC engineers are very experienced and troubleshoot issues within the expected timeframe with no problems.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has a boot option and is very easy to deploy, taking very little time. Only one boot is required, or a pen drive can be inserted and booted, then rebooted, and it will automatically connect the firewall with the SMC. Policies can be easily published through SMC. The firewall can be deployed within 20 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
In this organization, five people manage 1,500 plus locations with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. This reduces the number of employees, saves time, and reduces costs. This is a good consideration.
What was our ROI?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall provides cost savings with minimal costs. It does not have high pricing for on-premise solutions and on-cloud solutions. It is easy and offers different solutions for each solution type with small, mid, and large scale options available. This makes it easy to choose the appropriate firewall and minimize costs and save money.
What other advice do I have?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is an excellent firewall with many next-generation features, including IPS, IDS, application console, UTM, quality of service, DDoS protections, and deep packet inspections. All types of VPN connectivity and routing are available. It is very easy to understand and deploy. The only issue that has been observed is related to licensing. It is important to ensure that licenses are renewed before expiration, as no modifications are allowed after the license expires. This would be helpful for users and clients. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has only two components: SMC and Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. Overall, the rating for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is 10 out of 10.
Improves user access control through visual rule creation but frequently struggles with unexplained performance issues
What is our primary use case?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall protects my internal network and customer VPN usage with various rules. I use Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to protect my internal network and manage customer VPNs by creating filters and rules to protect the network and user access.
We create a VPN with details such as which application, which port, and what users can access when they are connected to Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
What is most valuable?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers an amazing graphical interface that is very easy to use, although sometimes slowness appears and it does not respond in real time. Overall, the graphical interface is amazing.
The interface helps me in my daily tasks because it is easy to understand, although its response is slow. Sometimes Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall cannot process the traffic, and the graphical interface and CPU often show very high usage.
I appreciate the user access details and graphics that the interface can report for me, and the feature that allows us to create rules through dragging and dropping.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has impacted my organization positively by making it very easy to work and offering a more competitive price compared to other vendors. The only issue I perceive is that sometimes it gets a very slow response for no reason, which we have been facing frequently when using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
It is saving money, it is easy to use, and it has a very nice graphical interface.
What needs improvement?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall can be improved by addressing the slowness that occurs for no reason. It has high availability and two cores that can work together, and it offers many features like other vendors, but the graphical interface sometimes freezes when we are troubleshooting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working in my current field for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sometimes Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not really stable at all. It has many freezes for no reason, and local support needs to reboot it physically by unplugging the power cable and plugging it back in.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is scalable and can grow with my organization's needs, although it is not the principal firewall but works for specific scenarios.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with customer support has been good, and I find it to be good overall.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used different solutions, specifically Palo Alto, Forcepoint, and Cisco ASA and Firepower.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is limited because I do not work with pricing, but I have experience with support, setup, and some licensing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, we evaluated other options, including Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others looking into using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall that it has a competitive price compared to other vendors, and it is easy to use with a good graphical interface and attentive technical support. My review rating for this product is 6.
Clients have benefited from responsive support and consistent performance
What is our primary use case?
I might not be the right person to discuss the main use cases for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for these clients. I can send an email and reply with what we can in broad strokes without identifying any specific customers. I would have to ask my teams that handle these solutions.
What is most valuable?
I can share what we appreciate about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall and what clients generally choose it for. We have had good experience with their responsiveness, which exceeds other products sometimes. Their customer service and price point are competitive for the US market primarily.
The centralized management console of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is something we have been struggling with because everybody has their own approach, but most customers have mixed solutions. We end up having customers that are either running two consoles or requiring a third-party solution to monitor everything. From a configuration standpoint, it has been easy to manage.
Regarding security, these are security solutions, and when referring to performance, it works effectively. Features are very similar across products. Each vendor has their own distinctive elements, but in general, for the most concerning and most sought-after features, it is very complete.
What needs improvement?
At this moment, nothing specific comes to mind regarding improvements for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
The main feedback we receive concerns pricing. If I only have a chance to give one suggestion, it would be to keep pricing competitive. AI improvements could be beneficial, as having AI capabilities has become an important checkmark feature.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been stable.
How are customer service and support?
On a scale of 1 to 10 for customer service for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, I would rate it at least 9, 9.5.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is usually straightforward from a professional use and expert perspective - it is normal and not difficult. However, these are products that require expert knowledge to some degree in my experience.
What about the implementation team?
For deploying Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall into client environments, the approach depends on the implementation. For deployment of individual components, we would typically deploy an engineer or technician for individual boxes. If it is going into an existing system, an engineer must be involved. For a full deployment, we need a solutions architect to examine it, and we involve different vendors for their guidance as they are the true experts in each of their components.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In terms of comparing Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall on a general level, they are very similar regarding features and quality of performance compared to Palo Alto or Cisco or some of the other major players for next generation.
What other advice do I have?
Our team has experience with multiple solutions including Palo Alto and Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall.
We have a mix of clients, primarily focusing on finance and telecom. As the CEO of the company, I lead the teams, negotiate the brands, and secure them. I am sometimes involved in purchasing products or quoting for bigger projects.
Regarding integration with third parties, we work as an MSSP and support MSPs with their solutions. The integration has been very successful for monitoring and ongoing use of the solutions, particularly from an operational perspective for monitoring faults and issues.
Comparing pricing to other solutions on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest price, Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall ranks around seven within the US market. There are other products that are less expensive, but they are frequently ranked among the industry leaders.
We generally work with SMBs and medium to smaller companies given our addressable market, and the experience has been good.
I rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall 9 out of 10.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Advanced features secure our network and improvements in licensing could enhance cost-efficiency
What is our primary use case?
We use Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for security purposes in our financial institution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall are the advanced threat protection, including features like IPS and DDoS prevention, which help avoid internal DDoS attacks. The centralized management and smart policies are effective, providing enhanced network efficiency, connectivity, and improved security, resulting in fewer cyberattacks and data breaches.
What needs improvement?
The licensing model should be more flexible. I recommend that additional features be included in a single license to avoid the need for extra licensing costs. Additionally, there are performance limitations when storing logs, as a large number may overwhelm the log server.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for more than five to six years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Initially, deployment involved a few hurdles, requiring a couple of days. We had to customize it according to our organizational policies, which required involving a partner in the process for proper setup.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
From a stability perspective, I would rate the solution between seven and eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is somewhat limited. While I rate it at five to six, I note that there are restrictions in the firewall manager and limitations when deploying for cloud environments. Since we are using it on-premises, it is difficult to utilize for cloud solutions as well.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is sometimes slow to respond, and it takes longer to resolve issues. This has been true across all Forcepoint products. I rate customer service four to five out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We maintain a multi-environment with solutions like Palo Alto and Cisco.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was a bit complex, requiring us to customize Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall according to our organization’s standards, necessitating partner involvement.
What about the implementation team?
From our side, at least ten people were involved, and a partner was engaged for the deployment.
What was our ROI?
The centralized management and automated updates have lowered operational costs.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing model is dependent on negotiation skills, but there is room for improvement. The costs can be high since additional features require separate licenses.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We maintain solutions like Palo Alto and Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
My overall rating for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is seven out of ten. Recommendations depend on infrastructure and return on investment analysis, as there are other alternatives, such as Palo Alto and Cisco.
Cross setup simplifies implementation but support challenges persist
What is our primary use case?
We mostly work with finance, specifically with banks most of the time. We use Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for these applications.
What is most valuable?
Today, the Next Generation Firewall from all companies are pretty similar, but the difference lies in the accuracy of setting up the risks. Another valuable aspect is the features and how friendly they are for cross setup. Cross setup refers to using multiple features from the same firewall simultaneously within the same environment. With Forcepoint, this process is simplified compared to others like Fortinet.
What needs improvement?
There is a lot of technical stuff that could be improved. We've encountered scenarios that were really hard to set up and required support. It would be beneficial if the support and contact with the development team were enhanced. Fast response and efficient handling of issues, similar to how Fortinet responds, would be great.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Next Generation Firewall from Forcepoint for more than seven years and the Data Loss Prevention for just a couple of projects, no more than a year.
How are customer service and support?
It is really hard to work with their customer support. For example, unlike Fortinet where you can escalate an issue and quickly get responses from the development team, Forcepoint's process seems slow and challenging.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I moved from Oracle to use security vendors like Fortinet, Kaspersky, and Forcepoint.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup can be quite complex. When trying to apply content filters with different network setups in the same machine, even with good planning and reference manuals, issues can arise. Combining different functionalities on the same box often results in problems.
What was our ROI?
I don't believe in ROI when talking about cybersecurity because there's no real way to measure it. Cybersecurity ROI could be $1 or $100 million, depending on the risk of data behind it. I've seen ROI analyses from many cybersecurity companies, but I find it hard to trust the numbers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In terms of pricing, I would place Forcepoint in the middle when compared to other firewalls like Fortinet and Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall a seven. I believe a 6.5 would be more accurate though. Also, my name can be used for the review, but not my company name. I am no longer working with Consulting Services; I'm with a different company now.
Firewall for advanced threat protection with deep packet scanning capabilities
What do you like best about the product?
Forecepoint provides Advanced threat protection, intrusion preventation and secure web application scanning. Forecpoint Policies are flexible and rules can be created and modified as per business requirements. It has low latency and does not impact the network performance
What do you dislike about the product?
Limited customization
Advance configuration options are complex and requires subject matter expert to customize the rules.
Advance configuration options are complex and requires subject matter expert to customize the rules.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Forecepoint protects advanced level cyberattacks from external attackers and cyberthreats like ransomware , zero-day exploits and data exfiltration etc and helping business to secure our digital assets.It provides real-time network visibility and attack surface to improve company security posture , ensure compliance and reduce risk of unahuthroized access and data breaches
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