Gartner has announced its 2018 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls).
Analysts placed three vendors, Fortinet, Sophos and Check Point Technologies, in the ‘leaders’ quadrant.
Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security, is positioned furthest for completeness of vision and ability to execute.
It is the only IT security company to be consistently positioned as a leader by Gartner in both the January 2018 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms and the Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management.
“Introducing innovative technologies such as deep learning in the sandbox and synchronised security enables Sophos to stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape,” said Dan Schiappa, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Products at Sophos.
“We develop our cybersecurity products to work better together as a system, enabling our defences to be as coordinated as sophisticated attacks such as the persistent SamSam ransomware.
“We believe that the continued placement of Sophos in the leader quadrant in both the Endpoint Protection Platform and UTM Magic Quadrant reports, allows our customers to be confident that they are getting best of breed protection and a predictive, integrated solution that can detect, analyse and automatically respond to even unknown threats.”
One of the most significant advantages of network and endpoint synchronised security is the level of visibility it can provide for network traffic.
In a recent survey from Sophos, The Dirty Secrets of Network Firewalls, IT managers admitted that they could not identify about 45% of the traffic on their network, which presents a serious security concern. By enabling the firewall to receive information directly from the endpoint, XG Firewall can now positively identify all applications – even obscure or custom applications.
In an average network, XG Firewall Sync App Control is able to identify 100 to 200 previously unknown apps, revealing hidden risks to network security. Sophos is the first vendor to deliver this level of visibility with the XG Firewall and Sophos Endpoint Protection or Intercept X.
Sophos’ portfolio of network protection includes the next-generation XG Firewall series and the SG UTM series.
Meanwhile, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd was positioned in the leader quadrant for the seventh consecutive year.
Check Point’s Next Generation Firewall (Check Point Security Gateways) continues to have one of the largest UTM market share and continues to focus on enhancing threat prevention technologies, including anti-ransomware and CPU level emulation capabilities. Its solutions assist companies in protecting their data from advanced fifth-generation threats and attacks.
With a comprehensive suite of solutions for SMB and enterprises, Check Point Infinity architecture delivers the most innovative and effective security across all network segmentations, keeping customers protected against large-scale fifth-generation cyberthreats.
Check Point’s Infinity architecture offers:
- Advanced threat prevention: SandBlast continues to innovate and enhance anti-ransomware and CPU-level emulation capabilities, improving performance, prevention and protection against zero-day exploits
- Wholeness of security vision: Protecting small-to-midsize enterprises against even the most sophisticated attacks with a comprehensive product portfolio, including next generation firewalls (NGFW) and a focused SMB strategy providing multiple UTM models supporting Internet, VDSL and 4G/LTE interfaces with built-in routing capabilities to the enterprise
- Largest offering of security solutions: Covering network security, cloud security, mobile and endpoint security, Check Point security gateways features include granular, network-based DLP with more than 700 pre-made data types for Web, FTP and email traffic
- Top-tier security management, R80.10: Featuring centralised management control across all networks and cloud environments, increasing operational efficiency and lowering the complexity of managing your security
Peter Alexander, Chief Marketing Officer at Check Point, said: “Check Point is proud to be recognised as a Leader for the seventh consecutive year in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunctional Firewalls).
“In today’s fifth-generation cyberattack environment, it’s crucial to take the necessary measures toward a better secured architecture. Businesses must fortify themselves with threat prevention – not just detection – technology that will combat large scale, multi-vector attacks before they happen.”
Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, was positioned highest overall in the quadrant for its ability to execute in the UTM market.
- Fortinet continues to deliver consistently top-rated security: In the past year, FortiGate solutions have earned six NSS Labs recommendations in group testing
- Fortinet ensures an easy-to-deploy and manage solution: Fortinet tightly integrates wireless access, switches and more with the FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall for single-pane-of-glass management
- Fortinet partners remain a huge asset: Fortinet displays strong market execution by focusing on partnership ties and has a product strategy with a strong focus on MSSP-favourable features
Continuous UTM innovation
Securing the expanding digital business requires addressing the connectivity and productivity requirements of employees, as well as the information resources needed by customers, in a safe manner.
To do this, SMB organisations need effective UTM devices that meet their real-world network requirements without overwhelming their limited IT staff and resources. This includes support for encrypted network traffic, given the growth in secure website communications.
As reported in the most recent Threat Landscape Report, https comprised more than 60% of customer traffic again this past quarter, making Fortinet’s ability to deliver the highest SSL performance in the industry a critical component for UTM today.
Many SMBs use multiple security vendors and many are seeking to consolidate their security technology stacks for reduced complexity and lower cost. Fortinet offers a unified solution that includes next-gen firewall, switching and wireless in either one appliance or multiple devices managed through one interface, a great choice for smaller organisations. Further, the solution can be fully managed by FortiCloud, providing seamless, consolidated management with nothing to deploy on-premises.
Fortinet delivers the most independently certified UTM solution in the industry. With simple-to-use and easy-to-integrate components, Fortinet’s unified threat management solution is the right choice for smaller businesses and the trusted partners that support them. Fortinet has been named a leader nine times in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls).
John Maddison, SVP of Products and Solutions at Fortinet, said: “Fortinet continues to lead the UTM market with over four million network security appliances shipped to-date. Our UTM solution is very well suited to small business customers and larger distributed enterprises who have recently been taking advantage of our industry-leading secure SD-WAN functionality. The offering is very compelling when packaged within the Fortinet Security Fabric.”
