What Features Should a Small Business Firewall Include?

The onslaught of malicious hackers and viruses can be devastating and confusing. Small businesses that don’t want to be bitten hard by IT security threats have realized the importance of choosing a firewall with all the features they need to combat cyber-attacks.

Choosing a firewall depends on the organization’s scale, scope and size. There are different types of firewalls. However, choosing the best small business firewall is not the easiest thing to do. To help make your decision easier, we’ll describe some of the essential features you should look out for to make the right decision.

5 Key Points to Consider Before Choosing a Firewall

Choosing the right firewall is critical for safeguarding your network and data. Here are five key points to consider before making a decision:

Cyber Threat Prevention

A cyber attack can cause severe damage to an organization’s network. The more access it has to the network, the more difficult it will be to remediate. Adequate threat prevention is one of the best ways to minimize the damage of cyber attacks and nullify the threat it poses to the network.

Therefore, a network firewall with integrated threat prevention functionality and intelligence feeds should be prioritized when choosing a cyber security strategy for a small business.

Cost

Cost is one of the crucial factors to consider before purchasing any firewall. Therefore, it’s essential to consider how much it costs and how well it fits into your organization’s budget for such expenditure.

Nowadays, firewalls are more affordable than the cost of a significant security breach or the decreased inefficiency that may result from an outdated firewall. Therefore, small businesses that wish to invest in a firewall should understand that an efficient firewall usually pays for itself soon after installation.

VPN

It’s essential to purchase a firewall that includes a virtual private network (VPN) while trying to create a secure and safe infrastructure for your business. A VPN extends a private network across a public network so that users can send and receive data across many networks. As a result, it increases functionality, private network management, and security of an organization’s IT system.

One of the primary reasons to include a VPN in your firewall is to anonymize your IP address and enable site-to-site encryption. As a result, hackers can only see your connection to the VPN but cannot monitor your online activities.

Hybrid Cloud Support

Many organizations have switched to cloud computing and hybrid cloud deployment, which require different security measures. That is why it’s necessary for businesses with a cloud-based environment to enforce efficient security policies vital to such an environment with a next-gen firewall that incorporates hybrid cloud support.

More importantly, the firewall should be easily scalable and deployable in any cloud environment so that the organization’s security team can manage the IT infrastructure from a single console.

Unified Security Management

As network security increased, cyber threats become more sophisticated, with hackers devising new strategies to derail even the most secured IT infrastructure. That is why small businesses must deploy, maintain and monitor their cyber risk using a wide range of security solutions.

When choosing a firewall, consider how well it alleviates security complexity. One of the key features you should look out for in your proposed firewall is the integrated Unified Security Management (USM) functionality. This could help your organization’s security team create and enforce adequate security policies across the network.

How to Choose a Firewall That has Everything You Need

The proper firewall for your business is the one that can handle your future IT security needs and fit into your current requirement. But do you know that choosing the proper firewall is only half the battle? If you desire top-notch and state-of-the-art security, you need the right team of seasoned IT professionals.

These professionals could be outsourced as part of your in-house team and help implement your firewall and other security measures to protect your data optimally.