Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Symantec Web Isolation comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Fortinet Logo
120,425 views|88,209 comparisons
90% willing to recommend
Palo Alto Networks Logo
7,117 views|4,612 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Broadcom Logo
111 views|82 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and Symantec Web Isolation based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls.
To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: April 2024).
769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well.""The payment function for applications is good.""We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features.""The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable.""This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI.""Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal.""Valuable features include the Web Application Firewall, and it even has DLP (data leak prevention).""The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"We use the product on our Azure network firewalls.""The solution enables organizations to enforce policies.""In terms of security breaches, the product aids in categorizing and monitoring traffic, allowing for the identification of potentially malicisous or incorrectly formatted applications.""Centralized management is valuable because it allows us to configure settings in one location and apply them across all three locations.""It has a good performance which helps you with the stability of your virtual environment.""It allows us to see all our traffic to properly secure it and only allow what is needed through the firewall.""In Palo Alto the most important feature is the App-ID.""The most effective features of the solution for threat prevention are Layer 7 inspection, SSL decryption, IPS, and the web filtering profile."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pros →

"The most valuable feature of Symantec Web Isolation is the user-friendliness of the solution."

More Symantec Web Isolation Pros →

Cons
"The firmware needs improvement because there are bugs when a new release comes through. Sometimes, the configuration changes, and it's a bit harder to see where the fail is. The first time that you have the firmware, it tends to have some issues, and it's better to wait a bit to update the equipment.""Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution.""The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall.""Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure.""Lacks sufficient security options.""It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can.""The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper.""The improvement is related to logs. Instead of the CLI, we should be able to have more insights into the logs of the firewall in the GUI."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"It has to be more scalable for the deployment of VMs on the cloud.""I would like a way to do everything programmatically, or be able to copy the configs from different prices at different levels.""The product's AIOps process needs improvement.""The command-line interface is something that some people struggle with and I think that they should have an option to go straight to the GUI.""From time to time, they have released some content updates that have some issues, maybe twice a year.""There's room for improvement in terms of integration with the load balancer. It isn't like Fortinet, which has a load balancer built into its firewall. It is effortless to integrate within the load balancer-plus-firewall solution.""The solution's licensing could be improved, and training should be included before installation.""There is no proper support channel to follow up on cases."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Cons →

"Symantec Web Isolation could improve by reducing licensing costs."

More Symantec Web Isolation Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
  • "These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
  • "Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."
  • "Work through partners for the best pricing."
  • "The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
  • "Easy to understand licensing requirements."
  • "​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
  • "The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "For what you get, it does do what it says. It is a good value for an enterprise firewall.​"
  • "​The licensing is pretty much like everyone else."
  • "When you have a client compare box against box, a lot of times Palo Alto is a bit more expensive, but its network firewalls have a very rich ratio."
  • "Do not buy larges box if you do not need them. Rightsizing is a great task to do before​hand."
  • "I know Palo Alto is not cheap. They have been telling me, the members of the finance team, it is not a cheap solution. It is a solution whose target is that no matter how big your organization is, small, medium, or large, it is about the maturity of your security team or infrastructure team whom you want to work with."
  • "It is a little bit of crazy if you compare it to Vanguard, Sophos, or even Cisco. The newest version of Cisco, the Next-Generation Firewall of Cisco, is less expensive than Palo Alto. It is more comparable to Check Point."
  • "For licensing, It depends how they want to use the firewall. The firewall can be used only for IPS purposes. If you only want that firewall IPSs, you will only need a license that is called threat prevention. That license, threat prevention, includes vulnerabilities, antivirus signatures and one additional measure (that I can't remember), but it includes three measures and security updates."
  • "The box, if you do not want to buy the threat prevention license in the box, you can buy it only with the support license. It is for the support of the hardware. It works like a simple firewall. It integrates what it calls user IDs and application IDs. If you do not buy any other license, only the firewall, Palo Alto will also help you improve a lot of your security."
  • More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The licensing cost of Symantec Web Isolation is high."
  • More Symantec Web Isolation Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
    769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at… more »
    Top Answer:From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know… more »
    Top Answer:As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite… more »
    Top Answer:In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it… more »
    Top Answer:Both products are very stable and easily scalable The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the… more »
    Top Answer:The VM-Series scalability is fast and easy to implement, improving our security posture as our Azure network grows.
    Top Answer:The most valuable feature of Symantec Web Isolation is the user-friendliness of the solution.
    Top Answer:The licensing cost of Symantec Web Isolation is high.
    Top Answer:Symantec Web Isolation could improve by reducing licensing costs.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Fireglass
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a highly effective advanced threat protection (ATP) solution and firewall that can be hosted on cloud computing technologies designed by many different companies. It decreases the amount of time that it will take administrators to respond to threats. Users that deploy VM-series have 70% less downtime than those who use similar firewalls. Neither protection nor efficiency are concerns when this next-generation firewall is in play.

    VM-Series is being deployed to protect both public and private cloud environments. This level of flexibility empowers organizations to run the environment or environments that best meet their needs without worrying that they are going to be exposed to digital threats due to the environment that they choose.

    In the public cloud, users of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series can automate their deployment and dynamically scale up their environment while experiencing a consistent level of protection. This dynamic scalability means that they also integrate their security into their DevOps workflows so that their security can keep up with their activities and requirements. Users of private cloud environments can set up security policies that can be automated to be provisioned as the need arises. Organizations don’t need to slow down when they deploy VM-Series because it makes the task of defending them so simple that they can set their defenses and forget that they are even there.

    Users gain a deep level of visibility when they deploy Palo Alto Networks VM-Series. App-ID technology enables organizations to see their network traffic on the application level and spot threats that might be trying to sneak in through vulnerable points in their defenses. It also leverages Palo Alto Networks WildFire and advanced threat protection to block the threats before they can escalate.

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Features:

      • Central management system - It has a central management system that enables users to set up and control their security operations from one location. Users don’t need to search for the tools that they need. This system allows for security consistency and complete control without requiring businesses to spend large periods of time to do so.
      • Blacklisting and whitelisting - Organizations can utilize blacklisting and whitelisting tools to ensure that their network traffic only contains the type of traffic that they want to be present. These tools make it possible for them to set specific web traffic sources as being either undesirable and thus blocked from entering their network or desirable and thus allowed to enter. 
      • Automation feature - The product’s automation feature can automate many critical functions that users would otherwise have to handle manually. Security policy updates are an example of a function that users can automate.

      Reviews from Real Users:

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a solution that stands out when compared to other similar solutions. Two major advantages that it offers are its ability to protect users without degrading the efficiency with which their networks perform and its centralized management system. 

      Jason H., the director of information technology at Tavoca Inc, writes, “There is no noticeable trade-off between security and network performance. In fact, so far, we've not seen any negative network performance with it. We're very impressed in that regard.”

      An information technology manager at a tech services company says, “We use Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system. We have an on-prem firewall where Panorama is very good for pulling logs in from the cloud so we can see what is going on. It gives us visibility into that as well as shows us what attacks are coming in. Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system simplifies our security posture based on our requirements. Instead of manually pulling logs, then generating them into readable formats, it gives us the console in a readable format to view.”

      Symantec Web Isolation executes web sessions away from endpoints, sending only safe rendering information to users’ browsers thereby preventing any website delivered zero-day malware from reaching your devices. When combined with Symantec Secure Web Gateways, policies allow isolating traffic from uncategorized sites or URLs with suspicious or potentially unsafe risk profiles. By integrating with Symantec messaging solutions, Web Isolation allows to isolate links in email to prevent phishing threats and credential attacks.

      Sample Customers
      1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
      Warren Rogers Associates
      Jefferies
      Top Industries
      REVIEWERS
      Comms Service Provider16%
      Computer Software Company9%
      Financial Services Firm8%
      Manufacturing Company7%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Educational Organization20%
      Computer Software Company15%
      Comms Service Provider8%
      Manufacturing Company6%
      REVIEWERS
      Computer Software Company26%
      Manufacturing Company16%
      Financial Services Firm13%
      Government10%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company15%
      Financial Services Firm11%
      Manufacturing Company7%
      Government6%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Manufacturing Company17%
      Computer Software Company11%
      Financial Services Firm9%
      Government9%
      Company Size
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business48%
      Midsize Enterprise23%
      Large Enterprise30%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business27%
      Midsize Enterprise32%
      Large Enterprise41%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business41%
      Midsize Enterprise26%
      Large Enterprise33%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business23%
      Midsize Enterprise15%
      Large Enterprise61%
      No Data Available
      Buyer's Guide
      Firewalls
      April 2024
      Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2024.
      769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is ranked 10th in Firewalls with 52 reviews while Symantec Web Isolation is ranked 24th in Anti-Malware Tools with 1 review. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is rated 8.6, while Symantec Web Isolation is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series writes "Many features are optimized for troubleshooting real-time scenarios, saving a lot of time". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Web Isolation writes "User-friendly, reliable, and good support". Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate-VM, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Juniper SRX Series Firewall, whereas Symantec Web Isolation is most compared with Menlo Security Secure Web Gateway.

      We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.