Meraki MX and Check Point NGFW are competitors in the networking and security industry, with Meraki focusing on ease of management and deployment and Check Point emphasizing comprehensive security features. Meraki MX has an advantage in environments needing simplicity and centralized cloud management, while Check Point NGFW is better suited for situations requiring in-depth security and detailed control.
Features: Meraki MX offers features like cloud-based management, auto-configuration, and site-to-site VPN which streamline network setup and management, making it ideal for businesses looking for easy deployment and minimal maintenance. Check Point NGFW is recognized for its robust security capabilities including intrusion prevention, threat emulation, and comprehensive management systems that ensure high-level security and customization opportunities.
Room for Improvement: Meraki MX users indicate that there is room for improvement in advanced features such as load balancing and SSL inspection. Users have also mentioned the need for better logging and control capabilities. Check Point NGFW may improve its technical support and simplify its extensive feature set while enhancing its integration with third-party solutions. The complexity of its support system also needs refinement for more efficient issue resolution.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Meraki MX is commended for its easy and rapid deployment, courtesy of its cloud-based configuration management that allows network access and management from any location. The technical support provided is seen as highly responsive and helpful. Conversely, Check Point NGFW, though praised for comprehensive security features, is perceived as having a more intricate initial deployment process. While customer service is generally adequate, improvements can be made in response time and support effectiveness.
Pricing and ROI: Meraki MX, while carrying a higher price tag due to its cloud-managed features, is seen as offering good long-term value through savings on IT training and management overhead. It also comes with a limited lifetime warranty. On the other hand, Check Point NGFW is described as being on the more expensive side, particularly for smaller businesses, but justifies the cost with its extensive security features. Prospective buyers are encouraged to negotiate pricing given its complex licensing model. Both solutions promise strong ROI, each offering distinct benefits tailored to their specific focus areas.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
there is a prominent ROI
This is a time-saving measure because we don't need to deploy a cluster or a firewall each time; we just create a virtual system on the management server using the same appliance.
Incident response time has reduced significantly, and downtime due to network issues has been minimized, leading to an improved return on investment.
I have seen a return on investment with Check Point NGFW in terms of time saved and fewer people needed for operations.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
The support team we engaged was knowledgeable and well-versed with the application.
We have escalated issues to Check Point technical support multiple times and have received timely and very good responses.
Even challenging issues like those with VPNs have been resolved efficiently with their help.
When we raise a ticket with Meraki MX, they instantly become available to support us for configurations or troubleshooting.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
If specified correctly, even the smaller boxes offer high session and bandwidth rates, making the solution highly scalable, even up to telco-level requirements.
Scalability must be carefully planned for, considering future growth and user base increases.
They offer multiple solutions from SMBs to enterprise data centers, making it an easily scalable solution with no issues in scalability.
When you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki.
We have Juniper solutions, and I would say the Juniper solutions can scale better, however, this solution is still very scalable.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
The solution is very stable.
We have observed that the device is significantly more stable than before.
While the solution is generally stable, there are complications, such as requiring SmartConsole for deployment and upgrades, which can be time-consuming.
I have worked with Check Point products for 15 years and haven't found any stability or performance issues.
The use of Check Point firewalls has helped improve our security posture without any downtime.
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
Other products, like FortiGate, are perceived as more intuitive because they are easier to configure from the start.
More granularity and control for threat prevention, especially on the OT side, would be beneficial.
I believe Check Point NGFW can be improved by making its initial configuration and deployment easier in the future because the first-time setup is really hard.
It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.
Data is the only path, so optimization is essential.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
In comparison to Fortinet and other products, the pricing may be considered high.
Compared to other solutions, the pricing of Check Point NGFW is high.
The perception is that Check Point NGFW is expensive, especially when all software modules are included.
I get it for $25,000, a device that can connect up to 75-100 users, whereas in Meraki MX, it goes to 75,000-80,000 per access point.
In terms of pricing, I would say it is not the cheapest, but it was comparable to the others.
It is neither expensive nor cheap.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
Within the same dashboard, you get to see the security profiles, the type of traffic that's passing through, the top applications that are being consumed, etc.
The firewall's default behavior of blocking all traffic, including a cleanup rule that blocks everything from external to internal sources, is highly valuable for protecting our network.
The most valuable features in my experience include perimeter firewalling, cloud and mobile security, application control, URL filtering, DLP, threat prevention, intrusion protection, and safeguarding against malware, botnets, and zero-day attacks.
Since implementing it, we have noticed a lot less getting through that maybe other antivirus within firewalls had failed to catch.
Meraki MX is among those top solutions in their exceptional approach towards VPN-less, Zero Trust client access to office private networks.
We understand that Cisco solutions are very reliable, and we really like the simple management.
Since cybersecurity is my main concern, this type of miscommunication relating to vulnerability blocking is crucial.
Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.
Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.
What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?
What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?
Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.
Check Point NGFW provides comprehensive firewall protection, managing VPNs, and securing network perimeters with advanced threat prevention techniques. It's widely used to protect businesses, data centers, and ensure secure traffic management.
Check Point NGFW offers robust security for companies, delivering security features like threat prevention, URL filtering, and intrusion prevention across both layer 3 and layer 7. It supports remote access, web filtering, application control, and safeguards against malware, botnets, and zero-day attacks. With its intuitive management console, deep packet inspection, centralized management capabilities, and sophisticated threat detection, Check Point NGFW enhances network security and productivity. The system integrates seamlessly with other technologies and provides real-time monitoring, detailed reporting, and automated policy management. Additionally, its setup is straightforward, it scales well, and offers comprehensive logging.
What are the key features?
What are the benefits?
Check Point NGFW is implemented in industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, where protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance are critical. Its advanced security features and ease of management make it suitable for large enterprises and data centers, ensuring reliable and secure network operations.
Cisco Meraki MX appliances are next-generation firewalls with all the advanced security services needed for today’s IT security. The appliances are ideal for organizations considering a unified threat management (UTM) solution for branch offices, data centers, distributed sites, or campuses. Since Meraki MX is 100% cloud-managed, installation and remote management are simple and zero-touch.
Meraki MX’s hardware and virtual appliances are configurable in Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Platform, and private cloud support is offered through Cisco NFVIS and Alibaba Cloud.
Organizations of all sizes and across all industries rely on Meraki MX to deliver secure connectivity to hub locations or multi-cloud environments, as well as application quality of experience (QoE) through advanced analytics with machine learning.
Cisco Meraki’s advanced QoE analytics offers:
Cisco Meraki’s SD-WAN offers:
The Meraki MX’s SD-WAN is unique in that it can be easily extended to deliver optimized access to resources in public and private cloud environments with virtual MX appliances. Its SD-WAN lowers operational costs and improves the performance of remotely-accessed resources. Users can ensure the availability of the apps and services their employees use most through dynamic path selection, policy-based routing, support for application-layer profiles, and VPN.
Meraki MX offers industry-leading cloud management that has template-based settings which can scale easily from small deployments to tens of thousands of devices. It features an intuitive web-based dashboard for managing mobile devices, united firewalls, switching, and wireless LAN. Users can also benefit from role-based administration, configurable email alerts for a variety of important events, and easily auditable change logs. Meraki MX is capable of producing summary reports with device, user, and application details archived in the cloud.
Meraki MX Key Features
MX has a robust suite of network services in an all-in-one device, which saves you money by eliminating the need for multiple appliances. These services include:
Reviews from Real Users
Meraki MX stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its easy management and its ability to be accessed remotely. Below is some feedback from PeerSpot users who are currently using Meraki MX as their firewall security solution.
Craig B., a central services engineer at Liberty Technology, writes, “The web console for managing everything keeps everything on Meraki and keeps us from going somewhere else. It is why I think a lot of people like Meraki. Comparing it to SonicWall or even a different Cisco firewall, like traditional ASAs, managing Meraki is a thousand times easier because of fluidity. You don't have to rebuild a table just to change one rule. It's much more readable for a human.”
Edgardo C., an IT director, notes,”By using the VPN, we can connect remotely. We have two offices, and we could connect them through the VPN. We could establish a network between two sites, and that has improved and increased communication and productivity. Our remote site is able to access the server remotely.”
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