Five years ago, I was a Network Security Engineer with significant years of experience running enterprise class firewalls for businesses of all sizes. I had deployed and managed many dozens of Juniper       Netscreens, of all sizes, and I had other customers that had invested in Cisco Pix and ASAs, and a few SonicWalls that I was privileged to manage. Business was good, and I enjoyed working with these technologies. Then I learned about a truly “disruptive technology.” Marketers throw that term around like plastic beads at a Mardi Gras. Being a Network Security Engineer, and a technical realist, I always hated that term…but I found a “disruptive technology” that truly changed the effectiveness of my ability to provide deep and effective network security.

In 2009, a business partner invited me to a live hands-on demo of a Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Firewall (PAN NGFW). I had not previously heard of Palo Alto Networks, and was very skeptical that this new product would be worth my time. The regional Palo Alto Networks sales engineer showed a group of seasoned network engineers the product. We configured it with basic Internet Access and put it through some paces.

I left that demo thinking that it was the coolest firewall product I have ever seen…by far. When I say “cool”, I’m talking about the technical merits of the product. I had begun to envision the everyday security problems it would solve for my existing customers. I could easily see how Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Firewall (PA-4000) had won 2008 Interop’s “Best of Interop, Grand Prize Award”, granted by InformationWeek’s panel of expert judges. I immediately began studying the product, attending training, getting certifications, and selling Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Firewalls (PAN NGFW).

 

“As I learned more about this true Next Generation Firewall,
I continued to see the many advanced features that set it apart.”

 

 

• Application Identification
• User-Identification
• Threat Prevention
• Integrated SSL-VPN, etc.
• LDAP Connectors
• Unprecedented Logging and Meaningful
  Visibility into Real-Time Network Traffic
• Virus and Malware Prevention
• SSL Decryption, etc.

These advances in so many areas have helped Palo Alto Networks Firewall completely destroy the previous market leader’s products, on technical merits. I now had a tool that provided network security with teeth!

Even in the beginning it was easy to sell. Truthfully, no other product has as many well implemented features… so many in fact, that most customers collapse several products like expensive IPS systems, proxy servers, and VPN concentrators and traditional firewalls into a PAN NGFW.   In most cases hours and even minutes after installing a PAN NGFW, I have been able to point out critical network issues or stop security problems that my customers have previously not even known about.

Fast forward to the present. Palo Alto Networks Firewall owners have enjoyed thousands of application ID updates, have stopped millions of Intrusion attempts, malware, and viruses. The lethargic traditional port-blocking firewall vendors have still not come up with an answer. Palo Alto Networks nimble innovation has driven it to become a three time Gartner Group Magic Quadrant Leader, has made a very successful IPO, and amassed a market capitalization of $4.8 billion dollars, for little other reason than it is still the best enterprise firewall on the market.  

I have continued to sell and implement this innovative technology. My customers are happy with the new tools, visibility features, and the new protections they have to defend their networks, data, and people. In business circles, some say that “people” are the most valuable company asset. Some businesses say their “data” is the most valuable asset, and many say it’s their “product.” I think all three are worth defending with the best firewalls available, and in my experience Palo Alto Networks is by far the best choice.

 

Jon Barton, 
Founder and CTO
Soundmind Network Solutions, LLC

Palo Alto Networks Authorized Reseller
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer, 4.1 & 5.1