WatchGuard
WatchGuard
WatchGuard provides unified threat management through a single platform. It offers centralized visibility and policy control for distributed environments.
WatchGuard provides unified threat management through a single platform. It offers centralized visibility and policy control for distributed environments.
Cost considerations
Functionality
Compatibility
User experience
Customer support
Why these ratings?
Cyberse perspective
Solution details
Services support
Integrations
Key features
Cloud ecosystem partners
Product features
Market segment
Subcategory
Deployment
Target industry
Pricing
We use the following criteria to evaluate this product:
Cost considerations
WatchGuard asks relatively low upfront fees for hardware and core security, which fits small-business budgets. Advanced defences like sandboxing or deep malware analysis come only in higher-priced bundles, so renewals and scaling push costs upward. Once those extras are added, the overall price per Gbps sits about in the middle of the firewall market.
Cost considerations
WatchGuard asks relatively low upfront fees for hardware and core security, which fits small-business budgets. Advanced defences like sandboxing or deep malware analysis come only in higher-priced bundles, so renewals and scaling push costs upward. Once those extras are added, the overall price per Gbps sits about in the middle of the firewall market.
Functionality
WatchGuard Firebox delivers firewalling, intrusion prevention, application control, HTTPS decryption, cloud sandboxing and built-in SD-WAN, covering the key layers of modern perimeter defence. Those functions meet mainstream enterprise needs for blocking known and unknown threats. Lack of machine-learning threat analytics and zero-trust segmentation keeps the overall feature breadth a step behind the most advanced next-gen firewalls.
Functionality
WatchGuard Firebox delivers firewalling, intrusion prevention, application control, HTTPS decryption, cloud sandboxing and built-in SD-WAN, covering the key layers of modern perimeter defence. Those functions meet mainstream enterprise needs for blocking known and unknown threats. Lack of machine-learning threat analytics and zero-trust segmentation keeps the overall feature breadth a step behind the most advanced next-gen firewalls.
Compatibility
WatchGuard delivers physical Firebox boxes, FireboxV virtual machines for VMware/Hyper-V, and Firebox Cloud offerings in AWS and Azure marketplaces, so deployments cover on-prem and public cloud. Connectivity via syslog, SNMP and SIEMFeeder lets security logs flow into QRadar and similar systems with light configuration. Because WatchGuard does not publish a containerized firewall image, Compatibility falls just short of the top tier.
Compatibility
WatchGuard delivers physical Firebox boxes, FireboxV virtual machines for VMware/Hyper-V, and Firebox Cloud offerings in AWS and Azure marketplaces, so deployments cover on-prem and public cloud. Connectivity via syslog, SNMP and SIEMFeeder lets security logs flow into QRadar and similar systems with light configuration. Because WatchGuard does not publish a containerized firewall image, Compatibility falls just short of the top tier.
User experience
WatchGuard’s web dashboard is laid out cleanly and administrators in reviews say they can navigate and configure policies without resorting to the command line. The interface offers built-in reports and monitoring, but some users wish certain settings were consolidated rather than spread across separate screens. Comprehensive online manuals and knowledge-base articles are available, though they fall short of the “stellar” depth set by market leaders.
User experience
WatchGuard’s web dashboard is laid out cleanly and administrators in reviews say they can navigate and configure policies without resorting to the command line. The interface offers built-in reports and monitoring, but some users wish certain settings were consolidated rather than spread across separate screens. Comprehensive online manuals and knowledge-base articles are available, though they fall short of the “stellar” depth set by market leaders.
Customer support
WatchGuard offers 24×7 phone and web help, and Gold or Platinum support tiers promise a one-hour response for critical tickets. Customers receive advance next-business-day hardware replacement, or an optional four-hour onsite swap for urgent failures. Signature updates arrive several times daily and a broad online knowledge base is available, yet the response target is slower than the sub-15-minute benchmark that defines the very highest tier.
Customer support
WatchGuard offers 24×7 phone and web help, and Gold or Platinum support tiers promise a one-hour response for critical tickets. Customers receive advance next-business-day hardware replacement, or an optional four-hour onsite swap for urgent failures. Signature updates arrive several times daily and a broad online knowledge base is available, yet the response target is slower than the sub-15-minute benchmark that defines the very highest tier.