What is our primary use case?
We're an international research laboratory, focused on thermonuclear energy experiments. Due to strong remote collaboration, and to control network communication, we choose the Check Point NG Firewall solution.
Most of the personnel are researchers. We also have a strong collaboration with a University and take care of a European Ph.D. on thermonuclear fusion, as the future clean energy.
How has it helped my organization?
We aim to constantly improve firewall technology, which is a key strategy nowadays. We've chosen Check Point in 2007 and step-by-step upgrade and expand cyber security deployment using their solution.
We appreciate the support and escalation when issues are in place. We really appreciate the solidity of the solution, the redundancy, we own a couple of appliances in failover.
We use Check Point to grant VPN access both for clients and also in specific site-to-site IPSec remote connections.
What is most valuable?
I like the dashboard, redundancy, log analysis, threat prevention and ISP, and VPN.
The dashboard has clean and focused menus and tabs, that offer immediate access to important information and configuration.
Log analysis is really powerful considering the enormous amount of logged data.
We use a specific function to control bandwidth occupation based on protocols and IP subnetworks.
Fundamental is the interoperability with RSA SecurID, Windows AD/Azure.
We're in the process of moving to the MS O365 cloud, and Check Point helps us with this.
What needs improvement?
Maybe the VPN clients could be improved, however, only from a cosmetic point of view. They use a very old GUI and should help remote assistance in case of problems to make it more accessible in terms of getting log/debug information. On this, I suggest an approach like ZOOM US, where is clearly defined the application life cycle, and users warned over time.
We're in the process of moving to a cloud hybrid solution based on MS Azure, and on that field, quite common nowadays, it seems that more has to be done, moving from on-premise historical deployment.
IoT should be considered in future development.
Buyer's Guide
Check Point NGFW
December 2023
Learn what your peers think about Check Point NGFW. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2023.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution since 2007.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is an absolutely stable solution. It is easy to put maintenance on an appliance without losing any connectivity.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The last release, R81, is impressive, at least in these first months, having recently upgraded from R80.
How are customer service and support?
My experience is good, both on technical issues, and commercial support during renewal.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used a Cisco PIX firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is somewhat complex, however, technical documents are clear, and the most common solutions are well described.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it with a third party and in-house. The support company that helped in Italy is fantastic.
What was our ROI?
We may need more time to measure ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Check Point is not a cheap solution, however, on cyber security, we prefer to stay with a key player.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We constantly verify other vendor solutions, such as Palo Alto, Fortinet, and Sophos.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
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.