SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Palo Alto Networks, a leading provider of Enterprise Network Firewall solutions, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders Quadrant of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls. 

In its analysis, Gartner evaluated the Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewall (NGFW), based on its "ability to execute" and "completeness of vision." According to Gartner, the Leaders Quadrant "contains a mix of large and midsize vendors, with the common element of making products that are built for enterprise requirements. These requirements include a wide range of models, support for virtualization and virtual LANs, and a management and reporting capability that is designed for complex and high-volume environments, such as multitier administration and rules/policy minimization. A NGFW capability is an important element as enterprises move away from having dedicated IPS appliances at their perimeter and remote locations. Vendors in this quadrant lead the market in offering new safeguarding features, providing expert capability, rather than treating the firewall as a commodity, and having a good track record of avoiding vulnerabilities in their security products. Common characteristics include handling the highest throughput with minimal performance loss and options for hardware acceleration."

Within the report, Gartner states "the enterprise network firewall market is undergoing a period of dynamic evolution, as effective next-generation firewalls are now increasingly necessary."

"We believe Gartner's report confirms that Palo Alto Networks is the innovator in network security at a time when changing threat conditions and changing business and IT processes are driving network security managers to demand more of their enterprise network firewalls," said Rene Bonvanie, vice president of worldwide marketing at Palo Alto Networks. "For the last four years, enterprises have successfully deployed our next-generation firewalls to safely enable applications that are essential to their business."

Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls enable policy-based visibility and control over applications, users, and content. With this technology, enterprises can accurately identify and control applications, scan content to stop known and unknown threats, and prevent data leakage – all with a single network device. By reducing the number of security devices in their networks, companies can save both capital expenditures and operational costs.

Disclaimer:
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner "Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls" by Greg Young, John Pescatore, [14 December 2011].

About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks™ is the network security company. Its next-generation firewalls enable unprecedented visibility and granular policy control of applications and content – by user, not just IP address – at up to 20Gbps with no performance degradation. Based on patent-pending App-ID™ technology, Palo Alto Networks firewalls accurately identify and control applications – regardless of port, protocol, evasive tactic or SSL encryption – and scan content to stop threats and prevent data leakage. Enterprises can for the first time embrace Web 2.0 and maintain complete visibility and control, while significantly reducing total cost of ownership through device consolidation. Most recently, Palo Alto Networks has enabled enterprises to extend this same network security to remote users with the release of GlobalProtect™ and to combat targeted malware with its WildFire™ service. For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks, "The Network Security Company," the Palo Alto Networks Logo, App-ID, GlobalProtect, and WildFire are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

SOURCE Palo Alto Networks