Our company uses the Watchguard UTM Firebox, and it is a beast of a firewall.

I feel very comfortable knowing our network and users are protected. Plus, I can easily modify the UTM with the help of Watchguard's support team should anything be needed.

Pros

Tons of features via its core offering but also through its additional subscription services like Gateway Antivirus, WebBlocker, Botnet Detection, and Intrusion Prevention Services. The traffic monitor is kind of intimidating but real-time and very searchable. I used a similar UTM before Watchguard and it did not have half the feature-set for tracking down issues with outside connectivity. We have had no attack issues since using the UTM. The support is very responsive and willing to take the time to address whatever the issue may be. I like this product a lot and feel very comfortable in its protection of our network.

Cons

I really don't have any cons for Watchguard other than it can be hard to configure all the features without their support team. There is a lot of information out there to do everything with this UTM but it is kind of tough to jump right in if you don't fully know what you're dealing with as far as firewall issues go.

Great overall product for many applications

I have experienced relatively trouble free use of all their devices in the small to mid range. They provide great degrees of administration, control, security, and customer service and support.

Pros

Full in depth functionality is excellent. you can get as granular as you like for very deep control or general network use. It has great ability to create any kind of policy you want, and a crazy amount of other features for security and protection.

Cons

Tool tips and basic explanations on settings within the software would be very nice. there are so many options that it can get very complicated without much study and learning on the subject. for anyone who gets paid by time, this can be problematic. I do not care for the web interface and always use the System Manager Application.

Excelente Firewall

Excelente experiencia se simplifico mucho la administración de los permisos a nivel de navegación, la administración de los aplicativos permitidos en la red así como la reducción de costos en la implementación de VPN site-to-site con las oficinas remotas.

Pros

Son equipos bastantes robustos y a la vez de fácil administración, el nivel de seguridad que brinda en la red es sorprendente, todos sus servicios son realmente buenos y fáciles de configurar. También su nivel de exposición a CVE es muy bajo con relación a otros dispositivos del mercado.

Cons

Hasta el momento no tengo nada negativo que pueda compartir, no he tenido ninguna complicación con los equipos, solo podría decir que se puede mejorar un poco el system manager y policy manager.

Basic UTM with Poor Manufacturers Support & Poor Reliability

WatchGuard is a leading vendor but lags behind its direct competitors, and it's reliability on the smaller range makes it questionable. However the pricing and basic feature set make it attractive to SMB's.

Pros

The GUI is user friendly and looks quite modern and slick. Generally the configuration is logical and easy to navigate. The pricing is generally cheap.

Cons

Reliability on hardware is poor, support isn't very helpful (e.g. they wont do a remote session to help), feature set is weak and generally the appliance lags behind its competitors.

Best Darn Firewall We Have Ever Used

Pros

We were introduced to Watchguard by a consultant after years with a Cisco PIX/ASA. We love the intuitive user interface and the level of security that has been provided by the appliance. The proof is in the traffic monitor!

Cons

The interface may be a bit scary for a first time user of the appliance, however the Wizards can be extremely helpful.