Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs VMware SD-WAN comparison

CloudGuard Network Security is a firewall solution that provides network security for cloud environments. It protects against cyber threats with multi-layered security for public, private, and hybrid clouds. 

CloudGuard Network Security offers advanced threat prevention, firewall, VPN, and application security services, designed to secure cloud infrastructure, virtual networks, and cloud-based applications and workloads.

CloudGuard Network Security Features

CloudGuard Network Security has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Advanced threat prevention: The solution Includes anti-virus, anti-bot, and intrusion prevention to defend against known and unknown threats.

• Firewall: It has a stateful inspection firewall and network address translation (NAT) to secure traffic flow between cloud resources and the internet.

• VPN: CloudGuard Network Security offers secure and encrypted connectivity for remote users and between cloud resources.

• Application security: It includes a web application firewall (WAF) and SSL inspection to secure web applications and protect against cyber attacks.

• Cloud-native architecture: The solution is designed specifically for cloud environments and integrates with cloud-native services like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

• Compliance and governance: It helps organizations comply with regulations such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR by providing detailed reporting and auditing capabilities.

• Multi-layered security: CloudGuard Network Security provides a comprehensive security solution with multiple layers of defense for maximum protection.

CloudGuard Network Security Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing CloudGuard Network Security. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Scalability and flexibility: The solution supports dynamic scaling and flexible deployment options to meet the changing needs of cloud environments.

• Automated deployment and management: CloudGuard Network Security enables fast and efficient deployment and management of security services through a centralized, cloud-based management console.

• Future-proof: Designed for the cloud and integrated with cloud-native services, CloudGuard Network Security helps organizations prepare for future cloud requirements and advancements.

Reviews from Real Users

CloudGuard Network Security is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it has good cloud security, is cost-effective, has no false positives, improves productivity, and much more.

Bernard O., Technical Engineer at Harnssen Group Limited, says, "Check Point is one of the few solutions that pay attention to cloud security. Many others mostly focus on providing on-premises solutions."

Another PeerSpot reviewer, Shrinkhala S., Senior Manager at Agriculture Skill Council of India appreciates the solution for many reasons: “There are no security lapses and 100% restriction of threat entrants in the system or server. It's a cost-effective solution with no false positive cases. The product helps in bringing productivity and enhanced customer experience for users.

We have a happy workforce and more workforce retention and increased IT environment sustainability. There is 100% proactive detection of root causes and root sources. It is dynamic and agile, and its features and utilities continuously improve and evolve. It's the best-unified endpoint management solution for IT systems globally. The product is available for all kinds of business users.”

"One of the main characteristics that CloudGuard Network Security has given us isgranularity and visibility,” explains Adriamcam, Consultant at ITQS.

VMware Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a secure access service edge (SASE) platform that combines many types of software-based network technologies in an attempt to enable users to virtualize their wide area networks and reduce their reliance on hardware. In essence, this solution makes it possible for users to reliably access their applications from anywhere in the world by leveraging cloud technologies. Users can simply, efficiently, and completely control their network devices and traffic. It ensures that organizations are always able to use the best possible connection to their data centers. VMware SD-WAN steers traffic so that it is always using the most reliable connections and at the same time takes steps to remediate any problems that it detects in other network links. This guarantees that organizations can access high-priority applications at all times. 

VMware SD-WAN Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by deploying VMware SD-WAN include:

• Reduced cost of network management. Organizations that choose to employ VMware SD-WAN can manage their network at a cost that is 2.5 times less expensive than what it costs to use traditional WAN architectures. Its ability to both augment existing hardware and replace said hardware if the user chooses to do so is part of what enables users to reduce their overhead costs. 

• Ease of deployment. VMware SD-WAN makes it possible for organizations to deploy it without having to rely on the assistance of technical experts. When the device - whether virtual or otherwise - is connected to the internet, it integrates with a central orchestrator that pushes the correct integrations to the device in question. This automates the installation process and makes it so that anybody can initiate and follow the deployment through to the end of the process. 

• Easily segment networks to improve environmental performance. Users can divide their networks into multiple segments that share a single IP address. These networks can be incorporated into an organization’s IT infrastructure and enable it to run more reliably. One way it does this is by providing multiple potential channels for data to use to travel in the event that one of the data pathways is suffering from some kind of issue. 

VMware SD-WAN Features

• Centralized monitoring. VMware SD-WAN is monitored at all times by a centralized orchestrator. From one place, an organization can watch every part of its network. Instead of having to search for the data they need, it can all be found in one location.

• Integration capabilities. VMware SD-WAN offers users the capability to integrate their network with the environment of their choosing. This enables them to connect their network to the IT environment that best meets their needs. It makes it easy for them to work with multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

• Real-time data analytics. VMware SD-WAN can analyze network data in real time. This makes it easy for users to monitor their network’s performance. It also allows them to take steps to quickly remediate any issues that arise before they can become worse.

Reviews from Real Users

VMware SD-WAN is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its ability to automate the process of creating and maintaining a virtual local area network and its intuitive user dashboard.

Sami I., principal cloud architect at Loihe, writes, “One of the solution's most valuable features is the VMware core automation stack at an SDDC. It includes NSX, the VMware virtualization layer for the networks (the LAN virtualization), which works extremely well with the VMware SD-WAN solution and is the primary advantage over all the others. None of the other vendors could integrate with the virtual LAN, making it quite complicated and virtualized to be fully automated.”

Chih S., senior technical consultant at a tech services company,  says, “The product has a very good user dashboard that is simple to navigate.”