TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

WatchGuard Network Security

Score8.6 out of 10

892 Reviews and Ratings

Try It Now

What is WatchGuard Network Security?

WatchGuard Network Security is a network security and firewall software. WatchGuard includes secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services designed for SMB’s.

Categories & Use Cases

Media

WatchGuard Cloud Customizable Dashboard
Threat Monitoring Summary
Device Security Summary
Automated Reporting
User Authentication Summary
Endpoint Protection Summary

1 / 6

Key Features

Learn about the best (and worst!) features WatchGuard Network Security has to offer, as determined by TrustRadius' reviewers.
Based on 892 ratings of WatchGuard Network Security's features
View all features

Top Performing Features

  • VPN

    VPN's implement encryption and anonymize IP addresses

    Category average: 9.1

  • High Availability

    Built-in capacity to prevent exposure if primary firewall stops working

    Category average: 9.2

  • Policy-based Controls

    Firewall policy controls enable administrators to create firewall policies controlling what data is allowed to traverse the firewall

    Category average: 8.9

Areas for Improvement

  • Active Directory and LDAP

    Integration with Active Directory and LDAP directories

    Category average: 8.4

  • Firewall Management Console

    Either command-line or web-based interface for centralized control and management

    Category average: 8.1

  • Visualization Tools

    Visualization tools present administrators with data on applications traversing the network, who is using them, and the potential security impact.

    Category average: 8.1

Reviews

What users are saying about WatchGuard Network Security.
View all reviews

WatchGuard Network Security at a Small Business

Incentivized
Michael WilsonView profile
Systems Administrator in Information Technology at Sigma Relocation Group, LLC (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use this as our onsite firewall and for local network management as well as VPN for offsite employees.

Pros

  • Network setup and VLAN management.
  • Easy integration with other network equipment.
  • All the security features we need for access control and defense.

Cons

  • Better integration with VoIP services, such as templates for policies handling traffic for Bria or Asterisk endponts and servers.
  • Get webblocker to work without breaking secure websites.
  • Lower cost on endpoint agents for antivirus and include application control and webblocker with the agents.
  • Make the cost per endpoint with TDR and Netowrk access control lower than the cost of Antivirus licensing that is not integrated.
  • Make it easier to set up network access control and VLAN assignment by device, perhaps with templates.
  • Get webblocker and application control working with QUIC.

Return on Investment

  • This has saved money be preventing downtime from security issues.
  • It is far less expensive than farming out to an MSP. Easily in the lower 25% of costs and has all major features needed.

Alternatives Considered

Fortinet FortiGate

Other Software Used

Bitdefender GravityZone, ManageEngine Endpoint Central, Microsoft Defender for Business

Comprehensive Perimeter Security for Small Businesses.

Incentivized
Todd ReiblingView profile
CEO in Information Technology at TR Network Consulting, LLC (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use WatchGuard to provide perimeter security for our office network. Having a comprehensive advanced security solution in place allows us to have one place to manage our security and assist us in preventing/reducing spam, phishing, and Ransomware from entering our network. Our firewall is one of multiple layers that we trust to protect our organization and our data.

Pros

  • Intrusion Protection.
  • Monitoring of the traffic that is experienced on the specific interfaces (especially the WAN).
  • Scheduling of upgrades of the firmware.
  • Cloud Management of the Firewall.

Cons

  • Integration with MSP Tools (HaloPESA).
  • Integration into existing SIEM tools.

Return on Investment

  • WatchGuard is a well-established company in the industry, and we are confident in its security solutions.
  • This solution meets/exceeds our security objectives for CMMC and the DoD standards.
  • I wish their cloud management were much stronger and provided more features similar to those of Meraki. If it did, we would exclusively sell these devices.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Meraki Dashboard and Cisco Meraki MX

Other Software Used

ThreatLocker, Todyl

Great Products

Incentivized
Gary Sorrells
IT Director in Information Technology at Premier Radiology (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I utilize the WatchGuard Network Security Firewall to secure the network that my Radiologists use to read studies. It is easy to use, setup, and track any issues. The firewall secures the network allowing us to stay HIPAA compliant. It also gives me peace of mind knowing that that is one less thing to be concerned about regularly.

Pros

  • setup
  • updates
  • logging
  • dashboard evaluation of traffic flow

Cons

  • automatic updating at a specified time would be nice
  • add a wizard to setup VPN tunnels this would add all relevant configurations as well

Return on Investment

  • secured a separated business network
  • reliable operation
  • Neutral impact: This is a necessary component of doing work across the internet. I went with an option that was easy to use and wouldn't break the bank. I got a perfect product for my needs and great support to go along with it.

Best Firewall For MSPs

Incentivized
Geoff DavisView profile
IT Compliance Team Lead in Information Technology at CTS (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We needed a solution to help mitigate malicious URLs, have more oversight of software, and a much better solution for IPS. We have over 40 clients who have fireboxes that we manage. Each of our clients has a specific need. So we also needed something that would scale to the client's size, as well.

Pros

  • WebBlocker does an excellent job at blocking known-bad domains, and then when we need to add specific domains, WatchGuard has made it simple.
  • I love how easy and effective the setup and deployment of Site-to-Site VPNs and EKIv2 VPN are.
  • We have never had an issue with the gateway AV. IT does a great job at protecting the networks.

Cons

  • The log manager in WatchGuard Cloud is not great. I wish we could get logs for longer than 30 days without putting a ticket in.
  • I would like to see other options for system logs. Some of our tools do not play well with WatchGuard cloud.
  • I think the interface for locally managed fireboxes was way better than Cloud and would like to see more streamline functions. Such as to manage a firebox configuration you have to click 5 different times just to get to the config page.

Return on Investment

  • Becoming a Gold member, the return is much better.
  • We have been able to upsell clients due to them having few issues after an installation of the firewall and network gear. That is a testament to how easy it is to set up a Firebox.

Alternatives Considered

Sophos XG Firewall, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN and Fortinet FortiGate

Other Software Used

Blumira, Liongard, Huntress, CYRISMA

WatchGuard for SMB - A wise choice

Incentivized
Randal WarkView profile
Managing Partner in Information Technology at MTech Cyber (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use WatchGuard Network Security for our SMB clients as part of our standard security baseline. With LAW 25 in Quebec, CIS and NIST frameworks, we need to show due diligence in protecting the network infrastructure. WatchGuard addresses network perimeter security and allows for VPN access for the end-users. It's easy to setup and easy for the clients to use.

Pros

  • Intrusion Protection
  • VPN
  • IPS

Cons

  • The interface could be simplified but once you get used to it, it's not too bad. We've seen worse.
  • A free built in MFA solution for VPN would make this way better.
  • Extra features get expensive fast.

Return on Investment

  • Definitely a financial incentive to resell hardware. The margin is within an acceptable range for this type of product.
  • Financial benefit at renewals, which are easy to do. Again, margin is acceptable.
  • ROI is also in our reputation offering a 1st tier product, which can't be underestimated

Alternatives Considered

Sophos Firewall and Netgate TNSR

Other Software Used

Sophos Firewall, Blackpoint MDR, NinjaOne

Related Products

Products similar to WatchGuard Network Security that may also meet your needs.
All comparisons
Fortinet FortiGate
CompareLearn more
SonicWall TZ
CompareLearn more
Cisco Meraki MX
CompareLearn more
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
CompareLearn more