Is a "Managed" Firewall Right for You?

Other companies have a firewall which was purchased at some point in the past, but which no one is currently managing. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What type of firewall do you have?
• How old is your current firewall?
• What type of regular reporting are you getting?
• Who makes sure the firewall is up to date?
• Is your firewall properly sized for your current bandwidth?
• Does your firewall help to optimize bandwidth usage?

A firewall should be the core of your network defense. However, a firewall will only provide proper protection if it is sized adequately, upgraded regularly, and managed properly.

The system should be properly sized to handle the bandwidth of today's internet services. We regularly see companies installing fiber internet services with 100 Mbps, 250 Mbps services, and up. Even some of the lower cost, non-guaranteed services such as cable-modem, are now approaching 100 Mbps. A firewall just a few years old may not be able to pass the traffic at the speeds required. This can even be more of an issue if you have site-to-site VPNs set up between your firewall and other locations.

To provide the necessary network protection and optimization, a next-generation firewall needs to have multiple services available to monitor and manage network traffic. Some of these would include:

• Application Control – The system should allow you to control, schedule, and prioritize business applications. Are your users watching Netflix? Do you only want to allow Facebook during the lunch period? Are Apple iOS updates choking your network and need to be limited?
• Gateway Antivirus – The system should scan the traffic for known threats.
• spamBlocker – The system should scan emails, especially personal accounts, for unwanted emails.
• WebBlocker – The system should manage access to websites and block malicious sites.
• Reputation Enabled Defense – The system should scan traffic for access to sites that are a known threat.
• Data Loss Prevention – The system should scan traffic and enforce policies on the transmission of personal identifiable data such as financial and health information. This is particularly important for companies who must meet PCI DSS or HIPAA compliance mandates.
• Advanced Malware Detection and Prevention – The system should put a stop to fast moving and persistent threats which evade traditional signature-based defenses by analyzing a wide range of executables and document file types.

These services require the system to be up to date and have multiple subscriptions to cloud-based security services. It is extremely important that someone manages the subscriptions and ensures the system is updated to the latest software versions.

It is also important to have someone responsible for managing the current configuration and running regular reports showing the bandwidth usage and potential threats. The needs of each organization, as well as the threats to the network, as constantly changing and evolving. Only with constant monitoring can you make sure the system is optimized for the needs and threats of your organization.

In most small and medium-sized businesses, it can be cost prohibitive to purchase the next-generation firewall the customer really needs to protect and optimize their internet service. Further, it can be completely out of the realm of possibility to hire someone with the proper training and experience to manage the device and required subscriptions.

With the BTS Technologies' Managed Firewall Service, you can take these issues off your plate, freeing your employees to focus on what makes your business run. In most cases, the firewall hardware can be provided using our Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) plan, which will remove the need for a large capital expenditure and move the cost into the expense category.

If you would like to speak to someone about the Managed Firewall Service, or any of our services, please contact us (205-942-6532 or Sales@askBTS.com) and we will have one of our technical specialists assist you.