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Mohamed Abdel Hassanein - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Reseller
Dec 28, 2020
Stable, scalable, and great support
Pros and Cons
  • "It is stable and scalable. In addition, their support is great. When you ask them for something, they provide support, and if required, they also involve the R&D team to help you to resolve the issues in your configuration."
  • "They need to increase the local support here. There are also some bugs or fixes on which they need to work. They very well know about these bugs. In terms of licensing, I would like them to either increase the number of features in a single license or make licensing more flexible."

What is most valuable?

It is stable and scalable. In addition, their support is great. When you ask them for something, they provide support, and if required, they also involve the R&D team to help you to resolve the issues in your configuration.

What needs improvement?

They need to increase the local support here. There are also some bugs or fixes on which they need to work. They very well know about these bugs.

In terms of licensing, I would like them to either increase the number of features in a single license or make licensing more flexible.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

Buyer's Guide
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
879,927 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We have many customers, and some of them have from 500 to 1,000 users.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is great.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is easy, but it also depends on the size of the implementation. 

The implementation of email security and web security is also easy, but the implementation of DLP is very complicated and can take six to eight months. You can install the software in an hour, but there are a lot of configuration changes, and some critical information must be gathered from the customer for implementation and configuration, which takes time.

What about the implementation team?

The number of people required to deploy and implement this solution varies. We have four or five technical staff members who can do the implementation. We have the same number of people for its support after the implementation. From the customer side, a local team is required to work with and manage this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Everything in Forcepoint comes with an individual license, which is kind of a problem. In our last meeting, they said that it may change at the beginning of 2021, and they will try to merge some licenses together. Customers will get more features than what they got previously. We will wait and see.

What other advice do I have?

Forcepoint is a very big company with a very good product line. It fulfills most of the needs of the customers, especially enterprise customers in the financial sector. I use Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall as well as the DLP, web, and email solutions from Forcepoint. No other solution can compete with Forcepoint's DLP solution. We are going to keep using Forcepoint products. Some of our customers are only interested in Forcepoint. 

I would rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1322226 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure & Cloud Section at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Sep 14, 2020
It comes with functionalities to simplify operations and management
Pros and Cons
  • "The feature that we like the most about Forcepoint is that we know the technology and have confidence in it. We can have several functionalities to simplify operations and management. We can combine functionalities like log ownership to review the number of devices in the infrastructure."
  • "Its interface is complex when compared with a firewall like FortiGate. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall needs a management console, whereas FortiGate doesn't need any console. When you have a few devices, a console is not really necessary. It's good to have a private console only when you have a lot of devices."

What is our primary use case?

We give consultancy and propose technology based on the customer's design. We also do long-term deployments. Normally, our solutions are deployed on-premises. We have some key projects where almost everything is deployed on-premises. We also manage the solutions and infrastructures with firewalls, network devices, etc. We have a great experience with different technologies, and Forcepoint is one of them.

What is most valuable?

The feature that we like the most about Forcepoint is that we know the technology and have confidence in it. 

We can have several functionalities to simplify operations and management. We can combine functionalities like log ownership to review the number of devices in the infrastructure. 

What needs improvement?

Its interface is complex when compared with a firewall like FortiGate. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall needs a management console, whereas FortiGate doesn't need any console. When you have a few devices, a console is not really necessary. It's good to have a private console only when you have a lot of devices.

For how long have I used the solution?

We began to work with Forcepoint when they got Stonesoft several years ago.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our projects are not very demanding in terms of performance. Therefore, we don't have any special requirements for scalability. We have some customers for whom we manage this kind of technology, and the scalability or performance is achieved by deploying a greater data appliance.

How are customer service and technical support?

I might have contacted them for some questions related to managing instances. We sometimes had problems with registering or activating licenses on the manufacturer portal. I haven't opened any ticket personally. My colleagues have contacted them for technical support, that is, for problems that go beyond the basics of the Forcepoint configuration, such as for replacing some faulty components. Their experience was good in general.

How was the initial setup?

I'm not in the technical part right now, but based on what I have learned from my technical colleagues, the initial setup is not very difficult. When you have experience in setting up or working with these technologies, it's not difficult to set up a firewall. 

What about the implementation team?

We have certified people to manage this technology. We manage the infrastructure for our clients.

What other advice do I have?

We are managing a customer's infrastructure where we have two pairs of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall working without any major problem. 

I would recommend Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall based on your needs. It's very useful for us to mix several technologies on the same platform to increase its security level. We have experience with Check Point, FortiGate, Palo Alto, and StrongGate (which became McAfee and then Forcepoint). Many times, we combine two or three technologies into the same platform without any problem. However, we did have a horrible experience with Forcepoint in the past. Some of the project deployments were not very great, specifically for applications offering very specific services to users. 

I would rate Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
879,927 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer826335 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Support Specialist Networks at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Aug 12, 2020
Fully-featured and comes with everything required
Pros and Cons
  • "I don't have anything bad to say about the product. I absolutely love it."
  • "Something that I've noticed that Forcepoint lacks, is the training that they offer to their end-customers"

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are mainly the Management and the Active capabilities.

What needs improvement?

From a managerial point of view, as long as you have proper training, it's very easy to manage this firewall. Something that I've noticed that Forcepoint lacks, is the training that they offer to their customers. It's quite expensive, I believe it costs roughly $11,000. Because of this, we haven't been fully trained in this solution; to get the most out of this product, you need proper training. That is the only negative comment I have surrounding Forcepoint.

Aside from the expensive training, I honestly can't think of another issue. It's a fully-featured firewall that comes with everything required. The version that we are using has a single power supply, whereas we would prefer having dual power supplies on or firewalls.  

For how long have I used the solution?

Our company has been using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for roughly two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I have never had any major issues with it. No matter the situation, it has always served its purpose.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I cannot comment because we have not increased the number of firewalls or the number of nodes on our existing firewall. Although we have not implemented these changes, I know that it's very easy to increase the number of nodes and bandwidth, which means that it is very scalable, but from an on-premise point of view, we haven't done that. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never had a negative experience with customer support. They have always been quickly available. I can't complain, I think they have a pretty good team. 

What other advice do I have?

I don't have anything bad to say about the product. I absolutely love it.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1378020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jul 6, 2020
Good blocking and very stable but needs better network functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "The blocking, based on the signal provided, is the solution's most valuable aspect."
  • "The solution needs to build upon its network functionality. It needs to be a bit smarter."

What is our primary use case?

I provide Forcepoint services to my clients.

What is most valuable?

The blocking, based on the signal provided, is the solution's most valuable aspect.

From my perspective, the user interface is decent.

What needs improvement?

Decryption needs improvement. It could be better in terms of the bandwidth and in terms of the speed of the tasks.

The solution needs to build upon its network functionality. It needs to be a bit smarter.

Communication with the cloud will be integral to the future of this solution. It needs to be easily deployed with the cloud going forward. 

The solution would also benefit from working within a multi-cloud environment. It should work with everything from Google to Azure to Salesforce. They need to have a more complex API to be able to successfully connect with other clouds and stations.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about one year now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. It's reliable. We have no issues there. We don't see any bugs or glitches. The solution doesn't crash.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

A company would have absolutely no problem scaling this solution. If a team needs to build it out, they can do so quite easily.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've contacted technical support in the past. They are decent. They provide enough support services to cover our needs. We are satisfied with the level of service they've provided us so far.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy to get started and the deployment itself is pretty simple.

The customer's infrastructure can really be diverse, however, and that will affect deployment. There are different complexities involved in the setup from the client's side. That's where complexity can really come in. The infrastructure, routines, and network traffic all vary and bring in their own unique challenges.

Typically, deployment takes about a week to complete.

What other advice do I have?

We're a developing company that works with a lot of legacy suppliers that offer clients security solutions. From my perspective, such legacy supplier companies such as McAfee, Checkpoint, and Forcepoint. We help our clients implement certain solutions.

I would absolutely recommend the solution. When it comes to the ease of deployment of the functionality, I would strongly recommend it. Forcepoint has great security functionality. 

However, one downside that is I see is that they need to improve some network functionality. This is very important due to the fact that network functionality is very crucial when it comes to deploying the solution.

I would rate the solution seven out of ten overall.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1220196 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Apr 26, 2020
Reliable and easy to deploy, covers both network and systems applications
Pros and Cons
  • "Forcepoint is a complete package because it has network and systems applications. Other firewalls are only for the network."
  • "They should have a local vendor who can provide support. Most of the support is overseas, so the time zones can be a problem."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for a government network, here in Fiji.

What is most valuable?

Forcepoint is a complete package because it has network and systems applications. Other firewalls are only for the network. 

For how long have I used the solution?

At the moment we are in a test phase. It's a demo for us. After the trial finishes, we may decide what packages to pay for. We haven't used all the packages.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very robust. It's very strong compared to every other firewall I've used.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It can handle a lot.

How are customer service and technical support?

They should have a local vendor who can provide support. Most of the support is overseas, so the time zones can be a problem.

When we do contact them they are very easy to work with and very helpful.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward because we did it with someone who came to us with the product. It took us a couple of days and then we tested it before we put it in production.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Forcepoint is easier to use than Fortinet. We are also looking at Cisco ASA. But Fortinet and Cisco don't have all the packages that Forcepoint has. It's not comparing like things.

What other advice do I have?

It's a nice product. I haven't come across anything that needs to be improved. It is very capable, very reliable, and easy to deploy. It covers all your networking needs for a big enterprise network. If you have a small business you should go with FortiGate or Cisco.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1220196 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Feb 4, 2020
Enhances security, facilitates file sharing, and has good SD-WAN capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is SD-WAN."
  • "Forcepoint would be improved if there were more training available."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary uses for Forcepoint are internet access, filtering, and intruder detection. We also use it for file sharing.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is SD-WAN.

What needs improvement?

There is no support available in Fiji, and it would make it easier to have local support and somebody that we can speak with.

The pricing for this solution should be more competitive.

Forcepoint would be improved if there were more training available.

The vendor should make loaner units available for test and evaluation in test environments.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three to four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With the SD-WAN capabilities, it is very scalable. We have about 6,000 users.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were previously using a combination of Fortinet and Cisco, but have now upgraded entirely to Forcepoint. Fortinet did not have the same package available as Forcepoint that includes end-point security.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is really easy. It is user-friendly and straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We had assistance from consultants when we deployed Forcepoint.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Forcepoint is very expensive but it's really secure.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to anybody who is researching this solution is to consider the company's budget. Forcepoint is a very expensive solution but it is also very secure. For smaller companies, I would recommend Fortinet and Cisco, but if you have the money then you can look at Forcepoint.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Manager at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Jan 30, 2020
Good support for a next-generation security solution
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of this solution is the support."
  • "Making this solution easier to use would be an improvement."

What is our primary use case?

Forcepoint makes up part of our security solution.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is the support.

What needs improvement?

Making this solution easier to use would be an improvement.

The implementation could be made easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall for one year.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling this solution is difficult. We have approximately 100 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

We are satisfied with technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I also have experience with FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

The installation and initial setup are difficult.

What about the implementation team?

We had a consultant assist us with the deployment.

What other advice do I have?

I like this product and it is one that I recommend.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Senior IT Operations Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 5, 2019
Characterization features captures a lot of threats and they have great support
Pros and Cons
  • "The support is great. They also have very good categorization. It's very good. It captures a lot of threats."

    What is our primary use case?

    We just use this firewall for security in terms of network access.

    What is most valuable?

    The support is great. They also have very good categorization. It's very good. It captures a lot of threats.

    What needs improvement?

    The first point to improve is just a matter of updates. We are moving to the cloud, so we want to use virtual licenses on the cloud. We need to move from on-premises to the cloud.

    We would love to take another solution from Forcepoint, but unfortunately, the price is too high. That's why we are not considering using Forcepoing for our proxy and DLB. They have a very good DLB, but the matter, in the end, is the cost.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for over five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is very stable, especially the front end.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Yes, this solution is scalable.

    What other advice do I have?

    I recommended Forcepoint to be implemented.

    I would rate this solution as nine out of ten. It would be a full ten if it had integration with endpoints.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: January 2026
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.