Every Hero Has A Story
Superman has Metropolis. Batman has Gotham. WatchGuard has Seattle. Originally founded in 1996 as Seattle Software Labs, WatchGuard saw a meteoric rise in a budding cyber security environment which soon positioned them as an authority in Unified Threat Management. WatchGuard released their first prototype appliance, the Firebox T10, which is still available to this day. Over the last decade, the company has expanded their line of Firebox products to accommodate business needs ranging from SMBs to enterprise organizations. The company is headed by CEO Prakash Panjwani.
Notable in the company’s history is the introduction of a concept they call Extensible Threat Management, or XTM. XTM revolves around the promise of greater flexibility, powerful performance, and intelligent security layers.
What is XTM?
Extensible Threat Management is the next step in the evolution of UTM. The word extensible denotes an ability to be extended. This versatility is why WatchGuard promotes its products as “future proof.” XTM comprehensive security suites are designed to grow and adapt as rapidly as the cyber threats they stand against. As detailed in WatchGuard’s “An Overview of XTM” whitepaper, modern-day cyber scoundrels are no longer a motley crew of rabble-rousers screaming “Witness me!” while diving blindly into the fray. Cyber crime has become an expansive and sophisticated industry. Where there is money to be made, there are no longer games to be played. Cyber criminals are developing ways to move faster than sentries can repel them. WatchGuard writes in their whitepaper that “attackers have developed automated repackaging malware applications so that the malware changes every few minutes—effectively staying ahead of any anti-virus vendors’ ability to produce a signature.” XTM addresses this weakness by providing dynamic and adjustable security infrastructure.
This malleability of capabilities translates into other major strengths as well: “future proof” means that if protocols, compliance expectations, and regulations change over time, you can update your Firebox to meet those demands instead of scrapping your security plan and starting from scratch with a new appliance.
Profile of Superpowers
Cool Under Pressure: Gartner awarded WatchGuard the title of Visionaries in the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for UTMs. They were specifically shown praise from their customer base for their ability to perform at high throughputs even when a large number of security features are enabled. If your organization needs a real workhorse, WatchGuard can handle the load.
Gives You X-Ray Vision: WatchGuard users boast loudly and frequently about the depth of reporting provided by Dimension, a portal which visualizes data and generates convenient aggregates. Dimension comes standard with WatchGuard XTMs and next-generation firewall platforms.
Makes It Look Easy: Entrepreneurs and IT professionals that aren’t bleeding-edge security gurus can breathe a sigh of relief when they plug in their first Firebox. WatchGuard products, platforms, and tools are incredibly easy to use and modify. Setting up policies is a breeze and implementation is nearly a plug-and-play scenario.
Justice is Served
If you’ve put out a call for help, let us connect you with your new champion. Firewalls.com provides a wide array of WatchGuard Firebox appliances, XTM platforms, and service solutions. And since the WatchGuard XTM is future proof, you’ll watch your ROI go up, up, and away.