Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) Reviews

One use case of SASE is for a partner customer who needs a secure and fast connection for their employees to access the final customer's data center and cloud. Green protection and security measures enable access to all information, including the data center's applications and networks.

Harmony SASE can prevent threats, provide global network protection, and manage API evaluations of user posture. Its software solution also ensures connectivity and protects against NSF filtering.

Check Point complements our more robust solution with Harmony SASE. This solution allows me to see Harmony SASE as an additional layer of security. It profiles security for users connecting remotely, whether working from another branch, a hotel, or an airport. In this case, we needed to protect these connections quickly, so we deployed it as the fastest solution for this customer.

There is a hefty cost, but it has excellent coverage. We need SASE management for five websites, including streamlining, logging, and monitoring. The solution offers the final customer three cloud coverage options and an excellent price point. Our competitors are Palo Alto, Cisco, Symantec, and Solar.

If the dashboard allows the PMS administrator to easily and quickly deploy configurations, it will facilitate the solution's faster deployment.

It is stable. It brings strong stability to the program, including updates to protect against new ransomware attacks.

Check Point's support is on par with the best in the market. Check Point Harmony SASE is a leading solution in both the local and global markets.

Positive

Unlike Cisco, Microsoft Azure, and similar solutions, SASE Insight offers limited visibility. It is slow in detecting and reacting to threats at the point of entry in real-time. Microsoft’s solution is focused on protection but doesn’t provide comprehensive security management. Although it deploys easily, Microsoft’s approach to security isn’t sufficient for robust threat prevention, especially against ransomware. Check Point's Harmony SASE is a more effective solution as it includes several advanced tools and sandboxing capabilities for thorough threat prevention and management.

The deployment is easy, but financial customers must have a comprehensive protection solution. Check Point's Harmony provides complex protection with its firewalls and other features.

The return of the SASE web addresses the void in the quality of information protection clients have in their employment. We can check the information, ensuring higher value and effective deployment, ultimately benefiting us. It is crucial to verify the quantum of protection provided and the conditions and access to private information. 

Harmony SASE may not be the cheapest solution but offers more value. It provides enhanced capabilities and features that justify its cost. We are conducting several trials with the new rigs in the silver packs to evaluate their effectiveness.

I recommend Check Point's solution, including various verticals like Quantum, CloudGuard, and Harmony. Harmony SASE, in particular, covers mobile endpoints, email, and collaboration. It's known for easy and fast deployment, as well as efficient administration through the portal. This solution provides organizations with real-time protection and is considered one of the best in the market.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We primarily use Perimeter 81 for VPN purposes.

The customer support was excellent. They were very helpful whenever we needed assistance. Also, the gateway they provided worked well. The availability of support programs made it easy for us to resolve any issues promptly. The solution itself was quite similar to others we have used, so the strong support was a distinguishing factor.

There are a few areas where the solution could be improved. For instance, we sometimes encounter connectivity issues, which can be problematic. Recently, I experienced a connectivity issue while trying to move to Azure. Connectivity issues can be quite frustrating.

Moreover, in the past, they may have charged differently for their services, which could have impacted the current performance or connectivity. However, I am not entirely sure about the specifics of their previous service offerings. But overall, connectivity issues are a common occurrence when using VPNs.

We've been using Perimeter 81 for almost three months now.

Scaling Perimeter 81 was easy to do. Around 20+ users were using it.

I had a moderate level of experience with the support. During the installation phase, I found it very easy and supportive. However, after that, when I faced an issue, the support person themselves became part of the problem. We went back and forth trying to resolve the issue, but unfortunately, nothing worked out, and we had to find a solution on our own. So, that's been my experience with their support.

The installation on Azure was actually quite easy. I had to provide a couple of personal details for data installations, and then I was able to set it up. 

In Azure, there were multiple instances available for the installation, which was helpful. It was a good experience, and I was able to get it up and running smoothly.

For the installation of Perimeter 81, it didn't take long at all. Setting up the backend and connecting with the users only took about ten minutes. It was a quick process, and I didn't spend more than that time on it. However, I didn't handle the filling up of all the details myself, as that part was handled by a third person.

We only had a single point of contact for the deployment. There was one person available to assist with the installation and configuration.

When it came to maintenance, we faced some connectivity issues, and whenever that happened, we contacted their support for assistance. There were some technical workarounds provided, but sometimes the response and resolution were not satisfactory, which became frustrating. Due to this, I had to get in touch with the solution team often. Eventually, I decided to move away from their service.

Perimeter 81 charges separately for gateways and VPN connectivity, but compared to Azure, it seemed more reasonable. Azure's pricing details were not as clear as Perimeter 81's. While Azure team mentioned certain areas, Perimeter 81 provided a clearer breakdown of the pricing, making it more understandable. So, I would say it was moderate in terms of cost.

Perimeter 81 offers both monthly and yearly licensing options. Users can choose whichever option they prefer based on their needs and preferences.

For those planning to use Perimeter 81, I would recommend going ahead with it. However, I suggest ensuring that there is a reliable tech support process in place. It's essential to know which person would be available for assistance so that you can connect with them anytime you face any issues. Also, it's important to avoid any support connectivity issues during usage. In my experience, they were in a good space when it came to using the solution.

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

We use the solution for secure remote access and access policy governance.

As part of our SOC2 Type 2 audit preparation, we wanted a solution that will be able to enforce secure passwords and two-factor authentication on our remote access to company development and production environments (hosted in GCP).

We were using a different VPN provider yet struggled with getting those policies in place. As timelines were very aggressive, we decided to look for a managed service or a SaaS offering, and Perimeter 81 was very quick to respond and provide a test account.

We were finalizing our SOC2 Type 2 audit and decided to move to a different remote access vendor.

We were able to implement Perimeter 81 within an hour with all the required services (SSO) and infrastructure (GCP and SaaS applications).

Distributing the agent was very simple, allowing us to enforce security posture on our devices (i.e. S1, Disk-encryption, etc.).

The team is now evaluating the Firewall-as-a-Service capabilities as well as the Secure Web Gateways to see if we require any additional policies in place as we're rapidly growing.

The multiple geographical access points with dedicated IP addresses allow the team to deploy site-2-site tunnels with specific IP restrictions as well as configure IP whitelisting on many of our SaaS applications. 

The plug-and-play Wireguard site-2-site connector was a great add-on as it allowed the team to just run a script and have our entire GCP network get connected to Perimeter 81 without any manual configuration. 

SAML and SCIM support made our life much easier as every new user just logs into the account, gets the correct permissions based on their SSO group enrolment, and is immediately able to access relevant resources, SaaS applications, and environments.

The platform still lacks relevant dashboards and the ability to customize them based on our needs. 

We would love to also see real-time usage and traffic data as well as be able to build reports. 

Adding better QoS and traffic shaping to the product will be a nice add-on as it'll allow our admins to prioritize some traffic over others and identify users that are heavy traffic users in the platform.

We need the ability to connect the agent prior to computer login. The ability to allow a silent connection (i.e. the agent is completely invisible to the user) could be cool for bigger organizations.

I've used the solution for over a month.

So far, the solution looks good and stable. There are no downtimes or disconnections.

They offer great chat support. Technical support is responding within minutes with helpful answers.

Positive

I've used NordVPN, Cisco AnyConnect, OpenVPN, and FortiClient.

The initial setup is very easy to set up thanks to a helpful and intuitive UI as well as plug-and-play connectors for the site-2-site deployment.

The ROI is very good, as we were able to do a cut-off within a week and using it since.

It was great to be able to implement everything without any assistance and within an hour.

We evaluated FortiClient, NordVPN, and OpenVPN.

The solution has great UI/UX and a super helpful support and documentation center.

This tool was acquired when the organization made the decision to move the entire infrastructure to the cloud. It was going to handle different types of schemes such as IaaS and SaaS up to Office 365, so all these schemes were going to meet the need for accessibility by users. We needed a tool with complex, centralized management that would help us prevent all types of malicious attacks both from inside and outside in order to guarantee security and reliability for all our clients.

Since the implementation of Harmony, we managed to establish excellent communication in all environments. It has helped us a lot in preventing cyber attacks from anywhere, such as remote users, internet SaaS, and IaaS. In addition, it provides us with real-time information so we can make decisions immediately and achieve complete analysis to be able to carry out compliance management for the corresponding audits.

The tool has many valuable features - such as protection against threats. It also has centralized management that allows administrators to supervise and control the security of the entire network. The VPN and authentication functions guarantee secure and efficient connections from anywhere in the country, device, or network. Due to these characteristics, the tool is one of the best on the market.

They should improve certain features, although they have a modern graphical interface. They can centralize the options or have faster access to options, in addition to improving the authentication to the tool since sometimes it presents problems when entering. In a future version of the tool, they could add a space where information on common errors is shown so that there would not be much dependence on the support they offer.

I managed to use it for approximately two years.

It is a stable tool; I very rarely have problems.

Regarding scalability, it is very good. It behaves and integrates very well with other tools.

Support is one of the points of improvement. They should focus on this part as they are not complying with the SLAs.

Positive

There was no solution implemented previously. This was done when it was decided to implement a cloud implementation.

The implementation is a little complicated at first; its learning curve is intermediate.

The implementation was carried out with the vendor who demonstrated considerable skill in managing the solution.

It is an investment that must be considered and looked at very carefully. You need to understand what type of tool is needed since it is an important contribution to online safety.

The installation is simple once you know how to do it. At first, it is somewhat complicated- especially the configuration. Once you learn, it's very easy. The cost was one of the best quotes we found with the features we needed.

We explored several tools on the market, such as Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, Sophos XG Firewall, and Fortinet FortiGate.

It is a very complete and competitive tool in the marketplace.

Our company operates within the intricate and highly regulated insurance market. Here, the sanctity of data is paramount and any breach could result in significant consequences for our stakeholders. 

Given the sensitive nature of our data and the frequent exchange of confidential information with our clients and partners, having a secure connection at all times is non-negotiable. 

Perimeter 81 has emerged as a linchpin in our cybersecurity strategy. Whether our employees are working from the confines of our fortified office infrastructure or accessing systems remotely, Perimeter 81 ensures that our data remains secure. 

Its robust architecture dovetails seamlessly with our existing IT infrastructure, offering us peace of mind in an environment increasingly characterized by cyber threats. 

Adopting Perimeter 81 has yielded noticeable improvements in our organization, especially in the realm of user experience. It's no secret that some cybersecurity tools can be daunting for users, especially those who aren't inherently tech-savvy. 

However, Perimeter 81’s interface is intuitive, and its setup is straightforward. This has reduced the learning curve for our employees substantially. The ease of use not only translates to quick adoption rates - it also ensures that our employees remain compliant with our cybersecurity protocols, enhancing the overall security posture of our organization.

While the entirety of Perimeter 81's suite is commendable, the quick access LAN feature stands out as a particular favorite in our organization. The ability to swiftly and securely access our local area network without cumbersome processes or technical hitches is invaluable. 

This feature not only boosts productivity by ensuring uninterrupted access to essential resources; it also buttresses our cybersecurity measures by ensuring that this access is always secure. The competitors of Perimeter 81 can learn a thing or two. 

While Perimeter 81 has proven to be an invaluable asset, there's always room for improvement. A focus on catering to non-tech users even further would be beneficial. Offering in-app explanations detailing what each feature does, its benefits and potential use cases can help users better understand and utilize the tool to its full potential. 

Moreover, integrating interactive tutorials or walkthroughs for new features in future releases could provide users with hands-on guidance, further simplifying their experience.

I've used the solution for six to 12 months.

I've never had any issues whatsoever, so the stability is very strong. 

The solution is easily scalable for both small and medium-sized organizations.

I haven't yet had to reach out to Perimeters' customer service and support. 

Neutral

No, we didn't use any similar solution before Perimeter 81.

The initial setup is very easy and straightforward, even for non-tech users.

We used a vendor team with a high level of expertise. They could help us quickly and answered all our questions. 

I wasn't personally part of the decision, however, I know that our choice was made after a thorough evaluation process comparing different competitors. 

Regarding use cases, I can say that the solution's user experience is very good. Also, the solution's UI is excellent. In general, we use it for SASE use cases, and to access VPN, ZTNA etcetera.

I am working on automation upstream for Harmony Connect Check Point. There are a bunch of integrations like RDP integrations and active directory integration. Also, its security policy management is seamless.

Automation and scalability are areas where the solution lacks and needs to improve.

I have been using Check Point Harmony ConnectCheck Point Harmony Connect for a year. My company has a partnership with Check Point. Also, I don't remember the version of the solution I am using.

The stability of the solution is not bad. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

There are a lot of hidden features, so I can't really give you a rating. We are working on it, so it is a work in progress.

The scalability of the tool is pretty good. However, we need to do some work on it to improve it. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six or seven out of ten.

In the next release of the solution, I would like to see more automation features.

The number of users using the solution depends and varies from client to client. It can scale from a small and simple number of 20 to 30 users to almost 10,000. It could be more than 10,000 users. However, it could be more from other partners.

Check Point provides high-quality technical support. The support was pretty quick. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

I have been out of Cisco domain for quite some time since I used it in my previous company. I am not using high-end Cisco technologies anymore. However, I may use it in the future.

I rate the setup phase an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult, and ten is an easy setup. Also, it's hard to generalize since it depends on what we have to do.

The solution is deployed on the cloud.

The initial deployment was done using Check Point's UI for us, so it was five hours.

Regarding the steps for deployment, I would say that there is a deployment software that you have to onboard. Then, you have to do the initial registration, and once you do the initial registration, you'll have to integrate Azure. After Azure is integrated, you have to deploy the users for the applications.

Regarding pricing, I can say that the more the number of users, the less they have to pay.

I would tell others planning to use the solution that the solution has simplicity and good UX. Also, people will have to wait for future automation rollouts.

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.

I have experience with Check Point Harmony Connect and Harmony Endpoint, mainly in an enterprise setting for the cloud-based access control and firewall functionality. It is a good, easy-to-deploy solution that is ideal when it comes to managing access to enterprise resources for those working in a home office type of scenario.

What I like about Harmony Connect is that every packet through the network is screened and filtered so that only clean packets can enter the PC. This is useful for a variety of security reasons because you no longer need to worry about things like DDoS attacks, etc.

Nowadays a lot of people are working from a home office, and Harmony Connect is an ideal solution when it comes to remote working. Let's say there is an organization of around 100-200 people — if they are working from home, they will have a strong need for enhanced firewall and UTM functionality. In this case, the organization can simply deploy Harmony Connect and the employees will have access to secure VPN connectivity.

Another point to mention is that Harmony Connect's real advantage over other solutions is that their support is excellent and they have really awesome technical staff.

The main problem with Harmony Connect is that, because it's in a new category of offerings by Check Point, there's very little marketing of the product so far, and this means that many potential users don't even know this kind of solution is available. There are also few testimonials or case studies talking about people who have used the product and fell in love with it, for example.

The second area in which they could improve is the performance of their management portal. For the end user of Harmony Connect, the performance is great and lightweight, but there is often some slowness when using the management portal as an administrator.

I have six months of experience with Harmony Connect.

Harmony Connect is very stable and its performance is good in the production environment. One of my customers has been using it for six months so far and no issues have been found.

It's a cloud offering so it scales nicely. I don't know about managing Harmony Connect beyond 1,000 users, but I'm not finding any difficulty with scaling because you just need to push the agent to the end user. I believe Check Point are using a major cloud provider such as Amazon, and I don't think scalability is an issue at all for them.

The real advantage of Harmony Connect is their support team. They are excellent, and their technical guys are really awesome. If there is any issue, you simply call them, and most of the time the issue will be resolved on the first call.

They are not very aggressive in their promotion of Harmony Connect, so you would expect that the support might be lacking but this is not the case. And when it comes to new feature requests, they are open to listening. If you can convince them to bring out a new feature, they will keep you updated and perhaps even connect you with their R&D team, no matter how small you might feel to them. Check Point's support team is truly one of the best.

Positive

Earlier, we used to deal with Symantec, but lately Symantec has not been operating well in India. It is very difficult to even get quotations for the pricing, so we don't deal with them much nowadays.

You hardly have to click more than three times and your Harmony Connect will be configured.

The implementation for about 1,000 users is not particularly difficult. It will need a system administrator for the data, managing the security features, and maintenance, but typically two or three staff members are more than enough to handle it.

The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period. On top of that, for those solutions you would also need to pay for the expertise to manage the solution, including 24/7 monitoring and so on.

We have considered another solution called Prisma Access from Palo Alto Networks, and it may turn out that we will need that solution instead of Harmony Connect to fulfill our future ambitions, but I don't have any personal experience with it yet.

I would rate Harmony Connect a nine out of ten.

In our company, Quantum SASE is available for namesake in our environment since we rely on Check Point Secure Web Gateway for its firewall functionalities. Most of our company's customers use firewalls from Check Point Software, Palo Alto, or Fortinet. The simple use case of the tool for our company's customers stems from the fact that they have a general internal network or many users for which a firewall is required to secure the network traffic flow and communications that happen from outside to inside the company.

When it comes to Check Point Quantum SASE, though the OEM provides security, it is not 100 percent full-fledged to meet the requirements from the customers' end. There are no OEMs in the market that provide 100 percent security. The security of the product has to be improved.

I have been using Check Point Quantum SASE for seven years.

The product's stability is very good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

In firewall products, scalability is not required. If you set up the two firewall tools, no scalability is required. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

My company deals with 20 or 30 customers of the tool.

My company's customers extensively use the product.

The support from Check Point Quantum SASE is very good, and the response from the support team is fast. The support from Check Point Quantum SASE is customer-friendly and knowledgeable about troubleshooting issues.

The product's initial setup phase is very simple.

The product's installation process consists of racking, stacking, and mounting, after which a user can directly start the appliance and configure the HA status and policies.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in two or three days.

One engineer is required to take care of one single deployment process.

The ROI of the tool can be calculated depending on the tool's ability to be used for multiple use cases and protect the confidential data of users. It is very simple to calculate the product's ROI. If you use Check Point Quantum SASE, then your internal users are protected from outside attackers.

Check Point Quantum SASE provides SASE functionalities with all the required features. Check Point Quantum SASE's price is higher than what its competitors offer. The price of the product is something that depends on the requirements, and the purchase or order value of the customers.

The price of the tool depends on whether customers need SMTP, NGTP, or Check Point NG licenses.

I consider the product to be a medium-priced solution. There are no additional costs attached to the tool.

The solution enhances the ability of our company's remote workforce to secure access to corporate resources since we use VPN to secure work-from-home users and domain users.

Check Point Quantum SASE offers all the features essential for threat prevention, threat emulation, threat extraction, anti-spam, and anti-malware.

In relation to Check Point Quantum SASE, I haven't worked with the part involving WAN architecture. I only handle cybersecurity for a portfolio with respect to the LAN segment, and not WAN segment.

I rate the tool's performance a ten out of ten.

Check Point Quantum SASE can be described as the world's best security product without a doubt since it is a market leader in its segment.

The performance and reliability offered by the tool depend on the customer environment, and after considering aspects like throughput, how many users, and how many concurrent connections, my company plans the sizing part of the tool.

The value of working with the tool is good, as it can secure users, environments, and applications.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.