This content is currently locked.

Your current McLean & Company subscription does not include access to this content. Contact your account representative to gain access to Premium SoftwareReviews.

Contact Your Representative

Or Call Us:
+1-877-281-0480 (US/CAN) or
+1-703-544-9513 (International)

WatchGuard Technologies

WatchGuard Network Security

Composite Score

7.3 /10

CX Score

7.6 /10

55 Reviews Write a Review

What is WatchGuard Network Security?

WatchGuard offers the most comprehensive portfolio of security services, from traditional intrusion prevention, gateway antivirus, application control, spam prevention, and URL filtering, to more advanced services for protecting against evolving malware, ransomware, and data breaches. Each security service is delivered as an integrated solution within an easy-to-manage and cost-effective Firebox appliance.

Company Details

Need Assistance?

We're here to help you with understanding our reports and the data inside to help you make decisions.

Get Assistance

Awards & Recognition

WatchGuard Network Security won the following awards in the Next Generation Firewall category

Filter By

0 Top Rated Capabilities

3 Top Rated Features

2025

0 Top Rated Capabilities

1 Top Rated Features

2024

WatchGuard Network Security Ratings

Real user data aggregated to summarize the product performance and customer experience.
Download the entire Product Scorecard to access more information on WatchGuard Network Security.

Product scores listed below represent current data. This may be different from data contained in reports and awards, which express data as of their publication date.

83 Likeliness to Recommend

2
Since last award

96 Plan to Renew

3
Since last award

69 Satisfaction of Cost Relative to Value

2
Since last award

{y}

{name}

Emotional Footprint Overview

Product scores listed below represent current data. This may be different from data contained in reports and awards, which express data as of their publication date.

+87 Net Emotional Footprint

The emotional sentiment held by end users of the software based on their experience with the vendor. Responses are captured on an eight-point scale.

How much do users love WatchGuard Network Security?

1% Negative

9% Neutral

90% Positive

Pros

Respectful
Saves Time
Fair
Security Protects

Feature Ratings

Average 75

Application Control

Advanced Threat Protection

Network Access Control

Web Content Filtering

Encrypted Data Control

DLP Functionality

Identity Based Control

Virtual Firewall

Virtual Private Network

Sandboxing

Off Premise Cloud Firewalls

Vendor Capability Ratings

Average 75

Business Value Created

Vendor Support

Breadth of Features

Ease of IT Administration

Ease of Data Integration

Usability and Intuitiveness

Quality of Features

Product Strategy and Rate of Improvement

Availability and Quality of Training

Ease of Customization

Ease of Implementation

WatchGuard Network Security Reviews

Audi G.

Role: Public Sector
Industry: Government
Involvement: IT Leader or Manager

Validated Review

Verified Reviewer

Submitted Jul 2022

difficult to use, unfriendly user interface

Likeliness to Recommend

7 /10

What differentiates WatchGuard Network Security from other similar products?

its unfriendly user interface

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

None for the moment

What do you dislike most about this product?

its unfriendly user interface and how difficult it is to administer

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

I would not recommend it unless it is someone specialized in the equipment

Pros

Continually Improving Product
Reliable
Performance Enhancing
Trustworthy

Andrea A.

Role: Information Technology
Industry: Manufacturing
Involvement: IT Leader or Manager

Validated Review

Verified Reviewer

Submitted Mar 2022

Watchguard is for us the most important tool!

Likeliness to Recommend

9 /10

What differentiates WatchGuard Network Security from other similar products?

Cost price is competitive and installed futures are very powerfull.

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

Usability and stability is the strenght of watchguard.

What do you dislike most about this product?

Nothing...

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

Watchguard firewall is very stable and strong in terms of futures and availability. we never had a problem in 3 years of 7/7 24/24 usage.

Pros

Performance Enhancing
Trustworthy
Efficient Service
Saves Time

Kelly Speers, Author and I.

Role: C-Level
Industry: Technology
Involvement: IT Development, Integration, and Administration

Validated Review

Verified Reviewer

Submitted Feb 2022

Exceptional product very feature rich

Likeliness to Recommend

10 /10

What differentiates WatchGuard Network Security from other similar products?

WatchGuard is a leader in the space and has continued to supply products and services critical to securing your network.

What is your favorite aspect of this product?

DNS Filtering and Packet inspection with protection

What do you dislike most about this product?

As of late it seems like the cost of these devices has more than doubled in cost. With SSL inspection needed due to the internet being almost all on SSL you have to buy a much bigger box to be able to keep your bandwidth and do the inspection.

What recommendations would you give to someone considering this product?

Double and triple check the needed bandwidth vs your future growth for the bandwidth needs. Make sure you size the device to allow all features enabled and not limit your connection speed.

Pros

Helps Innovate
Continually Improving Product
Reliable
Performance Enhancing

How We Deliver

Events

WatchGuard Network Security

What is WatchGuard Network Security?

Company Details

Need Assistance?

Awards & Recognition

WatchGuard Network Security Ratings

83 Likeliness to Recommend

2 Since last award

96 Plan to Renew

3 Since last award

69 Satisfaction of Cost Relative to Value

2 Since last award

Emotional Footprint Overview

+87 Net Emotional Footprint

How much do users love WatchGuard Network Security?

Pros

Feature Ratings Average rating of all product features, some of which may not be shown below

Application Control The solution provides ICAP support, anti-circumvention support, and an auto-record function of all traffic session details.

Advanced Threat Protection ATP refers to a category of security solutions that defend against sophisticated malware or hacking-based attacks targeting sensitive data.

Network Access Control Endpoint integration to ensure each connecting device has appropriate security.

Web Content Filtering Restrictive filtering of web surfing to limit exposure to harmful and inappropriate sites.

Encrypted Data Control Native decryption and re-encryption of SSL and SFTP traffic for thorough inspection.

DLP Functionality The solution provides DLP functionality consisting of sensitive data detection with multiple enforcement actions.

Identity Based Control Mapping of specific security policies to defined user groups and individuals.

Virtual Firewall A VF runs entirely within a virtual environment and provides packet filtering and monitoring provided by a physical firewalls

Virtual Private Network Offers IPSEC (for site-to-site tunnels) and SSL VPN (for remote access) options.

Sandboxing Sandboxing is a software management strategy that isolates applications from critical system resources and other programs and tests its contents

Off Premise Cloud Firewalls Firewall features offered as a service at lower cost and scalable infrastructure

Vendor Capability Ratings Average rating of all vendor capabilities, some of which may not be shown below

Business Value Created Software needs to create value for employees, customers, partners, and, ultimately, shareholders. This data expresses user satisfaction - or lack thereof - with the product's business value.

Vendor Support The importance of vendor support will vary for each organization depending on internal capabilities, but there will always be issues that only the vendor can resolve.

Breadth of Features Users prefer feature rich software that enables them to perform diverse series of tasks. This data expresses user satisfaction with the product's breadth of features.

Ease of IT Administration This data indicates whether IT personnel will be able to resolve issues and perform configurations efficiently and effectively.

Ease of Data Integration Use this data to determine whether the product will cause headaches or make data integration easy.

Usability and Intuitiveness End user learning curves cost the organization money. Pay attention to your end users' technical ability to determine how important UX is in your purchase.

Quality of Features Feature quality is just as important as quantity. Use this data to determine if this product will do what you're purchasing it to do, easily, intuitively, reliably, and effectively.

Product Strategy and Rate of Improvement Vendors who don't stay on top of emerging needs and trends won't enable you to meet your business goals. Use this data to separate innovators from imposters.

Availability and Quality of Training Effective and readily available training enables users to get the most out of the software you've chosen. Use this section to make sure your vendor's training programs and materials measure up.

Ease of Customization Don't get bogged down in a difficult customization; use this data to make sure you can easily achieve the functionality you need for your particular situation.

Ease of Implementation Successfully implementing new software is necessary to realize its full value and promote end user adoption. This data indicates whether or not the product is easy to implement.

WatchGuard Network Security Reviews

Audi G.

difficult to use, unfriendly user interface

Likeliness to Recommend

Pros

Andrea A.

Watchguard is for us the most important tool!

Likeliness to Recommend

Pros

Kelly Speers, Author and I.

Exceptional product very feature rich

Likeliness to Recommend

Pros

Most Popular WatchGuard Network Security Comparisons

Cisco Secure Firewall

Fortinet Fortigate NGFW

Palo Alto Network Security NGFW

Sophos Firewall

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Check Point Quantum

Schedule Your Call

2
Since last award

3
Since last award

2
Since last award

Feature Ratings

Application Control

Advanced Threat Protection

Network Access Control

Web Content Filtering

Encrypted Data Control

DLP Functionality

Identity Based Control

Virtual Firewall

Virtual Private Network

Sandboxing

Off Premise Cloud Firewalls

Vendor Capability Ratings

Business Value Created

Vendor Support

Breadth of Features

Ease of IT Administration

Ease of Data Integration

Usability and Intuitiveness

Quality of Features

Product Strategy and Rate of Improvement

Availability and Quality of Training

Ease of Customization

Ease of Implementation