This post is part of a blog series where we dive into the five critical mistakes to avoid when evaluating a next-generation firewall. Avoid these, and you’ll be well on your way to picking the right next-generation firewall.
How will you know if the NGFW you’re considering is the right one for your organization? The safest bet is to test it. But when evaluating and selecting a new NGFW, there are some common mistakes security professionals often make. One of these critical mistakes is highlighted in detail below, along with insight and recommendations to help you avoid the blunder.
Mistake #4: Not Accounting for Ease of Integration and Scalability When Evaluating an NGFW
A new firewall should enhance your current IT infrastructure without complex integration. It should easily integrate into your current ecosystem without the need to replace additional infrastructure components with products from the same vendor, particularly in cases where integration is still relatively complex even after replacements are made. Often, once you’ve successfully migrated to a single vendor, management issues and complexities persist between individual networking and security devices. You should avoid the age-old vendor lock-in hook by choosing a firewall vendor with a strong community of technology partners to ensure seamless integration into your ecosystem from both networking and security perspectives. In addition, you should not be forced to manage the integration efforts of a new security platform – that should be the vendor’s responsibility.
Scalability as business requirements change is also a key factor when choosing a new firewall. A vendor that uses cloud architecture for innovation and design can scale much more quickly, without the need to frequently update hardware or the network edge. In addition, the on-demand nature of the cloud inherently provides your business with greater agility, higher performance and faster access to innovative technologies. This results in a higher likelihood of compatibility with future technology and new applications, better overall support and easier integration into your network.
To maximum performance, security and ROI while accounting for ease of integration and scalability, run a proof of concept (POC) in your organization. A POC allows you to accurately test next-generation firewalls, their affiliated services and subscriptions – either on their own or against one another – in your actual, operational IT environment, whether it is physical, virtual or a hybrid.
For more critical mistakes to avoid when evaluating a next-generation firewall, download the white paper: 5 Critical Mistakes When Evaluating a Next-Generation Firewall.