WatchGuard Unveils FireCloud Internet Access in SASE Portfolio

Unified cybersecurity vendor WatchGuard Technologies today announced FireCloud Internet Access, the first of several new hybrid secure access service edge (SASE) products.

New solution adds option for MSPs in SASE market

FireCloud Internet Access integrates with WatchGuard Cloud and shares unified policy management with Firebox. It combines firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) and secure web gateway (SWG) to deliver robust protection without complexity.

Further, WatchGuard enables MSPs to deliver a valuable SASE solution to their clients with an adoption model that fits their hybrid environments. FireCloud Internet Access is part of the WatchGuard Unified Security Platform architecture, which also includes Identity, Network, and Endpoint security components, unified management in the WatchGuard Cloud, and a common installation framework for WatchGuard endpoints.

“FireCloud Internet Access provides real security for real-world challenges that today’s businesses face. As remote and distributed work environments evolve and companies transition to the cloud, the range of threat surfaces and location of endpoints that need protection has expanded,” said Andrew Young, the chief product officer at WatchGuard. “Existing solutions don’t allow security teams to seamlessly manage their network security in concert with their SASE deployments, creating security gaps and management complexities. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a new hybrid SASE approach which begins with FireCloud Internet Access.”

FireCloud Internet Access also “promises ease of deployment, flexible and scalable licensing and pricing, and integration into WatchGuard’s threat detection and response platform.”

Other features of FireCloud include:

• It is designed for hybrid environments, as WatchGuard’s SASE architecture is designed to deliver value and benefits in such environments. For leaner IT teams or MSPs, this makes it easier to maintain security controls and lowers costs compared to other SASE offerings.
• Administrators can configure and enforce security policies through a single interface, simplifying management using consistent policy structures and terminology. The security settings are then automatically deployed to all WatchGuard-hosted points of presence (PoPs) worldwide, ensuring consistent policy enforcement no matter where the user is located. Further, FireCloud clients are delivered from WatchGuard Cloud, allowing for easier deployment or management.
• FireCloud is flexible in terms of pricing and is available with WatchGuard’s FlexPay, helping to grow and build managed security service provider businesses. The number of users also doesn’t impact performance and additional licenses can be easily added with customer growth.

WatchGuard’s SASE plans

“SASE is the future of secure connectivity, merging network and security functions into a cloud-native service. With FireCloud Internet Access and its overall approach to hybrid SASE architecture, WatchGuard’s focus on delivering powerful cybersecurity solutions specially designed for MSPs is on full display,” said Kevin Willette, president of IT services provider Verus. “This is an affordable and effective solution to protect our clients’ networks and users while still using the same enterprise security found in our Firebox, which makes my business more efficient and improves our bottom line.”

WatchGuard says that the FireCloud family of solutions, including private access, SD-WAN, ZTNA, and CASB, will be built out and deployed over time.

FireCloud customers will also soon benefit from integrations with ThreatSync+ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for threat detection and response. Additionally, the client will be integrated with WatchGuard Universal Agent, which will be released soon to simplify device management.

The new product comes on the heels of WatchGuard’s joining the AWS ISV Accelerate Program. Read more about how partners can benefit from WatchGuard being on the AWS Marketplace and what it means for cybersecurity innovation.