Top Firewall Management Tools in 2024: Analysis & Comparison

Ensuring robust network security is vital for businesses of all sizes to reduce costs of data breaches, which on a global scale exceed $4 million on average according to cyber security statistics. Businesses need firewall management tools to ensure the security and integrity of their sensitive data.

Top 11 firewall management tools

Table 1. Top 11 Firewall management tools key features comparison

*Vulnerability and threat management

**Zero trust network access

Table 2. Top 11 Firewall management tools market presence

*Based on data from B2B review leading platforms

**Based on data from LinkedIn

***Calculated based on the minimum price provided by the vendor for 730 hours usage and 2,500 GB process storage per month

Disclaimer: ❌ means that the AIMultiple team couldn’t identify public evidence about a specific feature.

Inclusion criteria:

• The table is compiled using publicly available and verifiable data.
• All vendors featured in this list employ over 100 individuals.
• Every tool provides compliance and policy management services in addition to other cyber security solutions.

Key criteria for selecting the right tool

Key features

Firewall management provides features for maintaining a secure and efficient network environment. The features below are offered by a subset of vendors. Based on how businesses value these features, they can use them to choose some products over others.

1. Compliance management

This includes ensuring that your firewall rules and firewall configurations align with industry standards and regulatory requirements to protect sensitive data and prevent data breaches.

2. Change management

This feature allows you to track and audit changes to firewall rules and firewall configurations, ensuring that modifications are made securely and in line with industry standards and organizational policies.

3. Rule management

It includes the ability to create, modify, and delete rules as needed to enhance security posture and streamline network traffic management.

4. Performance management

This enables monitoring firewall performance metrics, optimizing rule sets for efficiency, and identifying and mitigating performance bottlenecks to ensure optimal network performance.

5. Audit management

Firewall audit includes maintaining audit logs, conducting periodic audits, and generating audit reports for compliance purposes to track and analyze firewall activities.

6. Virtual Traffic Management (VTM) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

Firewall management solutions that incorporate VTM and ZTNA capabilities for advanced network traffic management and secure access controls enhance network security, especially in remote locations and cloud environments.

Market presence

1. User ratings and reviews

Insights from existing users can provide valuable information about the software’s reliability, ease of use, customer support, and overall satisfaction.

2. Number of employees

A company’s workforce size is an indicator of its innovation potential, and customer service capabilities. In network security, a company’s size plays a role in providing the necessary support and expertise.

3. Pricing

Pricing is a critical factor in selecting the right firewall management tool as it directly impacts the total cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI), influencing the affordability and value proposition of the solution for the organization.

Analysis based on customer reviews

This section offers some relevant user reviews gathered from B2B review platforms like G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra. We analyzed the reviews and picked the ones relevant to the companies’ firewall management tools.

Tufin

Tufin, as one of the firewall security management software, encompasses critical features such as compliance management, change management, rule management, performance management, audit management, VTM, and ZTNA. These functionalities can be valuable as they ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, facilitate efficient policy changes, optimize network performance, provide comprehensive auditing capabilities, and enhance security posture by enabling secure access and traffic management.

Figure 1. Compliance monitoring with Tufin

User Reviews

Users appreciate Tufin’s holistic view of rulesets, routing tables, and network mapping, which aids in understanding the implications of policy changes, easing deployment, risk management, and audits/compliance.

The platform is regarded as enterprise-grade and best-in-class, offering automation for policy analysis and optimization across different firewalls¹.

Limitations are noted for EC2 Managed firewalls, with suggestions for enhancements in future versions².

Figure 2. A user review on Tufin Orchestration Suite

Palo Alto Network

Palo Alto Networks’ secure firewall management center primarily focuses on change and rule management, which is essential for maintaining network security and controlling access. While lacking features like compliance, performance, and audit management, VTM and ZTNA are crucial for regulatory compliance, optimizing network performance, comprehensive auditing, and secure access management, respectively.

User Reviews

Reviews state that Palo Alto Network Panorama simplifies firewall management by allowing administrators to manage multiple firewalls from a single interface.

Users noted that setting up and configuring Panorama can be challenging and may require additional training and a learning curve³.

Figure 3. A user review on Palo Alto Network Panorama

Barracuda

Barracuda’s managed firewall service offers change management and audit management for firewall configurations and auditing but falls short in comprehensive tools like compliance management, performance management, rule management, VTM, and ZTNA, which are vital for regulatory adherence, network optimization, policy enforcement, and secure remote access.

User Reviews

Barracuda’s support services, including phone and remote support, are highly rated and considered among the best in the industry, providing reassurance and assistance when needed⁴.

The user interface of Barracuda CloudGen firewall is mentioned as being outdated, which may affect user experience and perception of the product’s modernity despite its functional capabilities.

Figure 4. A user review on Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Control Center

ManageEngine

ManageEngine’s firewall management service offers essential functionalities such as change management, audit management, compliance management, and rule management, which are crucial for maintaining security standards, tracking modifications, and ensuring regulatory compliance. However, it lacks tools for performance management, VTM, and ZTNA, which are crucial for optimizing network performance, enhancing secure remote access capabilities, and ensuring advanced threat protection.

User Reviews

The examining capabilities of ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer, which aid in identifying weaknesses in network security posture and suggesting necessary policy changes, are praised by users.

Users appreciate the decent technical support provided by ManageEngine for implementation and troubleshooting.

Improvement is suggested in providing more detailed information on monitoring employee internet usage⁵.

Sophos

Sophos, one of the firewall management tools, focuses on critical aspects like change management, compliance management, VTM (Virtual Traffic Management), and ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access), which are crucial for maintaining a secure and compliant firewall infrastructure. However, it lacks features for performance management, rule management, and audit management, which are vital for optimizing network efficiency, fine-tuning security rules, and maintaining comprehensive security audits.

User Reviews

Users appreciate the manageable licensing options, especially at an enterprise scale, which contributes to cost savings.

Sophos Central may face challenges in integrating with third-party tools and can be dependent on internet connectivity, limiting its functionality without online access⁶.

Users have noted inconsistencies and vagueness in alerting mechanisms, along with limited customization options, suggesting areas for refining alert systems and providing more customization flexibility.

Figure 5. A user review on Sophos Central

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS offers robust firewall management services focusing on compliance, rule management, audit management, and ZTNA, crucial for ensuring regulatory adherence, maintaining rule-based security policies, conducting audits, and enforcing strict access controls. However, AWS doesn’t directly provide features for change management, performance management, or VTM, which are essential for monitoring and optimizing operational changes, enhancing system performance, and managing network traffic routing efficiently.

User Reviews

Users appreciate the ability of AWS Firewall Manager to create custom firewall rules tailored to specific application needs, providing flexibility and control over security measuresefn_note]A User Review on AWS. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.[/efn_note].

Some users find the cost structure of AWS Firewall Manager to be high compared to other products, suggesting a need for better cost management options⁷.

Users have reported occasional issues with response times and support availability, indicating room for improvement in performance and customer service.

Fortinet

Fortinet’s firewall management tool focus on critical aspects like change management, performance management, compliance management, audit management, and ZTNA, prioritizing operational efficiency, security compliance, and network performance optimization, although it may not offer extensive rule management or VTM functionalities.

User Reviews

Users appreciate its capability to manage multiple cloud environments effectively, streamlining management processes and ensuring consistent security⁸.

Users report that they need to manage next-generation firewalls individually, adding complexity to contract management⁹.

Figure 6. A user review on FortiManager

Cisco

Cisco’s managed firewall service offers essential capabilities like change management, compliance management, and rule management, crucial for maintaining security policies and regulatory adherence, but lacks features such as performance management, audit management, VTM, and ZTNA, which are vital for optimizing network performance, conducting thorough audits, and enhancing secure remote access capabilities.

User Reviews

Users appreciate the centralized administration capability, making it easier to manage multiple firewall operations from a single interface.

Users have expressed the need for improvement in the initial setup and switching from existing firewalls, which can be complex and time-consuming¹⁰.

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure Firewall Manager, one of the firewall management software, focus in compliance and rule management, and VTM, ensuring regulatory adherence, enforcing security policies, and mitigating cyber threats, but lacks features for performance, audit and change management, and ZTNA, crucial for optimizing system performance, conducting thorough security audits, managing operational changes, and enhancing secure remote access capabilities.

User Reviews

Reviews appreciate the integration of the service with the platform’s other services and third-party security solutions, ensuring a robust security ecosystem.

Some users feel that the dashboard interface could be improved for better usability and functionality.

Limited network address translation (NAT) functionality, with only one-way NATing available, is seen as restrictive by some users¹¹.

Figure 7. A user review on Microsoft Azure Firewall Manager

FireMon

FireMon Security Manager, one of the firewall management tools, provides in compliance, rule, audit, and change management, crucial for ensuring regulatory adherence, maintaining security policies, conducting audits, and implementing controlled changes, but lacks features like performance management, VTM, and ZTNA, which are vital for optimizing system performance, advanced traffic routing, and secure remote access, respectively.

User Reviews

Some users appreciate personalized query capabilities for compliance and custom reports¹².

Improved documentation is desired for better understanding and usage.

Figure 8. A user review on FireMon Security Manager

Skybox Security

Skybox Security’s firewall security management offers compliance, rule, audit, change management, and VTM functionalities, crucial for maintaining security policies, ensuring regulatory adherence, and proper configuration management efficiently, yet it lacks specific features for performance management and ZTNA, which are vital for optimizing network performance and enforcing secure remote access policies.

User Reviews

Users appreciate Skybox’s ability to manage compliance for firewalls, ensuring adherence to security policies.

Some users report issues with identifying dynamic objects, which may affect accurate detection and management¹³.

Further reading

• Firewall Integration of Top Management Services in 2024
• Firewall Audit Logs: Analysis and 6 Steps for Improvement in 2024
• Top 7 Open Source Firewall Audit Tools in 2024: Analysis & Comparison

External Links

• 1. A User Review on Tufin. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 2. A User Review on Tufin. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 3. A User Review on Palo Alto Network. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 4. A User Review on Barracuda. TrustRadius. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 5. A User Review on ManageEngine. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 6. A User Review on Sophos. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 7. A User Review on AWS. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 8. A User Review on Fortinet. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 9. A User Review on Fortinet. TrustRadius. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 10. A User Review on Cisco. TrustRadius. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 11. A User Review on Microsoft. TrustRadius. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 12. A User Review on Firemon. G2. Accessed: 18/April/2024.
• 13. A User Review on Skybox Security. TrustRadius. Accessed: 18/April/2024.