GFI KerioControl vs. WatchGuard XTM - Discontinued Product

IT works very well in the non-profit and small business space when there is a need for remote access or connecting several sites in a point to point VPN, user management and rule creation are very easy. The use of the MyKerio website for remote management also makes it easy to troubleshoot problems and make changes if technical staff are not onsite.

Incentivized

The web filter is complicated when you don't have a server to log in users.
Companies using static IPs.
They have to be clear about the number of users that the company has in order to obtain the correct model since each one has its resources according to the number of users.

• VPN for Remote Employees
• Point to point VPNs
• Scanning of traffic
• Ease of management
• Website filtering by both sites and key words

Incentivized

• They are simple to set up and configure. With just a few months of experience you can easily deploy any series of XTM in mid to small environments in minutes. I can deploy clustered M5600 in an enterprise within 30 minutes straight from the box, that's easy.
• They are very reasonably priced and competitive in the market. For small and mid-sized businesses it's hard to beat the bang for the buck.
• After setting them up, it's also very easy to fine tune and manage them. The packet monitor is very useful in troubleshooting and I use it to tighten down rule sets.
• Dimension is a great packet analyzer and I think they still offer it as a free tool.

Incentivized

• Support can take longer to respond that it should
• Could work better with resellers
• Spend more effort on adding new features

Incentivized

• Obviously discontinued
• Difficult to replace without upgrading
• Security bundle is a yearly commitment

Very easy to use and manage, user training takes less then 10 minutes. Technicians can perform basic tasks with less then an hour of training and can master it in under a year.

Incentivized

Support is very slow to respond and it takes a long time to convince level 1 techs that you need to be moved up to someone more senior. I believe support is outsourced and they are graded on how few tickets they need to escalate to higher tiers so they will try to figure out a solution even if it is detrimental to the overall support experience.

Incentivized

We found Kerio Control to provide the most features and easiest management of all the solutions we looked at, while cost was not the lowest the value was by far the best when you considered all the factors, costs, and manhours involved in deployment and management.

Incentivized

WatchGuard XTM is easier to use, has more features in one device, can have better and more specific policies, has a much lower cost, and is stable.

Incentivized

• Easy to use makes it easy to train, reducing employee time and IT staff costs.
• Statefull inspection and web filtering greatly reduce malware incursions.
• Fact it can run on standard PC hardware greatly reduces cost to implement and makes scaling much less expensive.

Incentivized

• Great value per dollar
• Easy rule management
• Simplifies management of remote boxes

Incentivized