March 22, 2022

A majority of companies have some sort of firewall. They are required for compliance to mandates like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR. A firewall’s purpose is to block unauthorized traffic from penetrating the network and is the first required building block for overall network security. But, having a firewall alone is not enough. A firewall does not prevent viruses or malware from entering the network, it cannot detect intruders nor can it monitor network traffic. Plus, maintaining a firewall can stretch far beyond a full-time job that ties up a lot of IT resources.

Managed Firewall Solution

With so many cyber security risks, it makes sense to invest in a managed firewall solution.

Traditional firewalls include:

  • Packet Filtering
  • Network Address Translation
  • URL Blocking
  • Virtual Private Networks (VPN)

A managed firewall solution takes on management, maintenance and reporting that gives you resiliency and insight when it comes to your actual network and how it is performing. It includes:

  • Real Time Alerts – Real time status alerts notify your customer of network activity and any items that need to be remediated.
  • Performance Analysis – Customers receive ‘scores’ on their network and details on its performance.
  • Active or Passive Remediation – Customer can decide if they prefer to have the provider take immediate action or request for the provider to handle remediations.
  • Agents on Managed Machines – Provider gives customer the option to have agents installed on their machines for remote login purposes.
  • Real Time and Historical Reports – Allows customer to make data-driven decisions based on past and real time activity.
  • Automated Discovery of IP Devices – When adding new devices to a network, this management platform will automatically discover devices and what needs to be done in terms of setup.

Do You Need A Managed Firewall?

A managed firewall service can add significant security to a network and help you stay on top of regulatory compliance while meeting the demands of a highly instrumented world. A managed firewall is ideal for:

  • Business that don’t have the personnel resources available to manage their firewall or other security devices so they can better focus on their core business objectives.
  • Call centers (sales or customer service focused) require advanced routing, mutli-channel options, etc. thus network management is critical to all call centers.
  • End users with a lot of network events
  • A business that does a lot of toll-free calling

Below are a few discovery questions to think about as you explore hiring a managed firewall solutions provider.

  • What do you want to manage on your network and what is most critical to you?
  • Who manages the thresholds and monitors the system logs on new endpoints?
  • When you have a need for a service change, what do you do?
  • What are your future network plans? Real-time remediation? Historical reporting?
  • Do you have a security policy? Does it address all security risks?
  • What are your security challenges?
  • Do you run security audits?
  • Do you have a disaster recovery or business continuity plan?

As your telecom and IT solutions expert, REACH takes pride in keeping you connected. Learn more about how REACH can help strengthen your network security and handle the day-to-day management for your firewall infrastructure so your team can focus on your strategic initiatives. Connect with us today by calling Valerie at 715-330-4200 or filling out our contact form.