Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Astound Managed SD-WAN vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Astound Managed SD-WAN
Ranking in Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP)
28th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Managed SD-WAN Services (4th)
Check Point CloudGuard Netw...
Ranking in Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
152
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (8th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (4th), Cloud and Data Center Security (4th), WAN Edge (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) category, the mindshare of Astound Managed SD-WAN is 0.8%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is 1.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP)
 

Featured Reviews

JP
Helps us increase network performance, provides speed for streaming audio and video, and gives us room to grow
I told Astound and Mark III about our needs and desires. We needed a Meraki firewall and speed on the fiber optic side. Based on our needs, Astound set up our desired solution and designed a system that gives us room to grow. We have no limitations based on what Astound or Mark III have provided. The setup was straightforward. Astound was very thorough about what would occur and what we needed to provide. On the day of installation, a Mark III representative and Astound made sure that everything we needed was taken care of. The initial setup took two hours. On the network side, it took two or three days just to define IP addresses and get through the firewall. Astound connected us with Cisco immediately to work on the Meraki unit. That was resolved that day. The router and equipment came from Astound. Then Mark III came in, designed it, laid it out, connected it, and configured it. When the network was installed, they worked with the sound team to make sure that our office, audio, and video needs were being met. Our primary need is WiFi because we need to meet the needs of our members and teams in various ministries on Sunday mornings. We have met that goal. We pay a company to manage our network, so we haven't had any issues. Everything is done remotely. We don't have an IT person in-house.
Martin Raška - PeerSpot reviewer
Unification of security features strengthens network protection
The overall network security is good. It's big-picture, all in one bundle. It's valuable to have everything in one place instead of spreading across different products. Unified security management positively affects a company's security operations. They have one unified view of the security. I can connect multiple gateways to the management and have it in one place. I can have reporting and views in a single pane of glass on the consolidated platform. It's easy to use. The management is the best on the market. It's very easy to work with, read, understand, and navigate. It helps increase our customer's security posture. We can see in some cases CloudGuard improves our customers' posture overall.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Astound is adequate, sufficient, and gives us room to grow."
"It's just a huge improvement compared to where we came from. I can get in, configure, identify, and reconfigure, and I don't have to troubleshoot anything. It's all very easy and flows really well."
"Check Point management is way easier."
"It gives us more confidence in secure cloud deployments."
"I think it is secure and user-friendly."
"The Identity Awareness blade and dynamic tagging in Azure are valuable because they make access management automatic. Instead of manually setting up access for each new resource, it happens automatically based on the same access policy. This dynamic setup is scalable."
"The most valuable feature of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is the increased mail protection including spam."
"Identity awareness, URL filtering, IDS, DLP, Content Filtering, VPN, and Application Control are all excellent."
"Network Security provides us with unified security management across hybrid and cloud as well as on-prem."
"The advantage lies in the integration within our existing ecosystem, which is amazing."
 

Cons

"As a new customer opening our first worship center, I would have liked for Astound to provide examples of products other churches use."
"As a church, we don't employ a typical IT person, so it would help if they could set up a more user-friendly layman's type of profile and settings, where everything is simplified into layman's terms. For example, it could say, "Turn internet speed up for guest use," or "Turn it down," or "Turn it off," or "Reset it.""
"The API integration is complex, which is an area that should be improved."
"Its architecture and user interface need improvement. The user experience for this solution also needs to be improved, particularly in implementation, management, and operations."
"In the next release, including VRF support would be highly beneficial."
"I haven't used CloudGuard Network Security in the past couple of years as I moved out of the network security role. However, based on my previous experience, there were improvements, especially in in-place upgrades. Regarding cost, it might be potentially cheaper considering resource utilization in Azure and VM costs, but licensing could be improved, possibly moving towards a simpler model."
"The licensing structure is unclear, so a transparent and flexible licensing structure would be preferable."
"It should be more agile, as it seems to me that they took their on-prem devices and uploaded them to the cloud. Every time we need a new interface or something like that, we need to make major changes. This is a problem."
"There is room for improvement in how it handles deployment itself, but I am not sure. It could be due to Azure's limitations, not Check Point's. Deploying a new firewall is quite bulky and not straightforward, especially in managing the resource group and networks. These issues seem to come more from the Azure part."
"I would focus on the implementation in the cloud, as it relies on third-party vendors like Azure and AWS. It's not seamless; the solution should be more straightforward for complicated environments."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Financially, it was a big jump. We went from just shy of a couple of hundred bucks a month to close to $1,200. It's an expense that, although it's significantly higher than what we were paying, is worth it."
"There is flexibility in the different licensing models that are offered."
"We are using our BYOL. We are using our existing Check Point discounts to work with licensing. Overall, it is very competitive. Its pricing is reasonable to me."
"They're a little high in price. The price could be lower."
"On average, it is normally on the lower end, being less expensive than Palo Alto or Cisco."
"It is the most expensive part of the product. There is a lot of room for improvement. Security comes with a price, but it is still a big chunk just for the service."
"The product is too expensive."
"Every project needs different pricing. I believe that when we talk with the particular guys, we will find a price for the customer. They are flexible in terms of that because we need to be flexible, and we have many companies who are aggressive with discounts."
"We have a pretty good partnership with Check Point. We have a global subscription and agreement. They give us a pretty good corporate discount."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
The tool's most valuable feature is its management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Pricing in Jamaica is a major issue, with users often citing it as a reason for not using Check Point.
What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
They could improve the documentation. The interface is fine for me since I have been using it for some time.
 

Also Known As

RCN Business Managed Security
CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point vSEC, CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point Virtual Systems, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, Helvetica Insurance
Find out what your peers are saying about Astound Managed SD-WAN vs. Check Point CloudGuard Network Security and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.