Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Symantec Edge Secure Gateway

The firewalls management is made easy through its very good management software. It has a lot of features such as VPN, ATP, IPS, Real-time log views, Active Directory integration, Virus Scanning of traffic / file downloads, High Availability Failover, Qos / Traffic Shaping, and a nice quick glance dashboard.

Incentivized

• In our organization, Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) is our primary and second line of defense facing the internet
• It is positioned behind in conjunction with an intrusion protection service.
• Before using this concept of defense, our Internet firewalls were continuously being overworked and saturated, slowing down traffic as a result.
• It is not an option any more not to have Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) in our infrastructure.

• Increased level of network protection against threats.
• Visibility and control of applications that users access.
• URL Filtering to block unauthorized or prohibited websites on the internal corporate network.
• Protection against diverse malware at the edge of the network.
• Firewall redundancy with another backup appliance.

Incentivized

• In conjunction with Active Directory, we can allow or deny access to the internet very quickly. We can also determine the level of access to the internet.
• To satisfy our executive requirements, we can provide regular reports on internet usage.
• Malicious protection Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) provides beyond our expectations.
• It is our first level of defense, thus allowing us to reduce our investment in internal security systems.

• Very complex and steep learning curve to get up to speed.
• Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature. Takes time to determine "your" customized build.
• Interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it's organized or arranged. Again, steep learning curve.

• On occasion, content analysis needs some tweaking. Specifically, when huge files our downloaded.
• For our organization using cloud-based applications and services is very discouraged.
• However, the universe seems to be trending towards cloud-based offerings.
• It may be reassuring if Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) could enhance protection in dealing with cloud services, particularly in protecting data.

Easy enough to use and configure using the management UI. Reporting from the web filter is a little clunky, and not very user friendly. To be perfectly honest, once it's set up and running, there isn't a lot to do from the day-to-day side of things, which is not a bad thing.

They are very quick to answer the phone and I think I haven’t waited more than 5 minutes in the queue and if you have to hang up they actually call you back when it’s your turn in line. They have a secure tunnel that you can open for them to get into your device and help you with basically anything. It’s pretty magical if you ask me.

Incentivized

• We have submitted support request to Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG). In all cases, responses have been timely, and very comprehensive.
• The support staff is very knowledgeable and does not hesitate to involve expert resources as required.
• We have never had an unsolved case with Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG).

We used a much alder Cisco ASA router that was chocking our bandwidth and it couldn’t really be compared. It was clunky and horrible at best. Our WatchGuard was overly complicated and difficult to manage and required a version matching thick client installed locally to manage the firewall. The Barracuda solved a bunch of issues from both of these devices and allows me to really save time and money with its easy to configure the interface and inexpensive yet quality device and interface allow me to feel like I am getting a great value for my security.

Incentivized

• Trend Micro IPS combined with Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG) is a winning formula for our organization
• Palo Alto next-generation Firewall. Could not handle the load and protection level that we have today.

• Really neutral given we came from the x series. The move to the x series was a huge positive in terms of time spent managing and the ability to get what needed to be done, well done. The move to the NG was just the next step.
• I will say the one thing, in terms of value, that is given is the firewall admin application. This one program saves a ton of time in configuration versus using the web-based configuration. You can only pick one, and for me, it's a no brainer - turn the web-based config off and use the app.

Incentivized

• With the advent of the Symantec ProxySG and Advanced Secure Gateway (ASG), we have reduced by 95% the number of internal security incidents and events.
• As a result, we have reduced the effort and cost of investigating security incidents.
• Knock on wood, as a result, and we have never had any data or security breaches.