In today’s highly digital world, cyber threats have become a major issue. Simply filtering data packets is not sufficient; the businesses require an intelligent and combined one-stop protection system. That is exactly where Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewall excels over a traditional firewall. So why is it smarter to choose a UTM nowadays when it comes to small to midsize enterprises and even more organizations? This article will answer this question in detail.
What is a Traditional Firewall, and why is it Limited?
A traditional firewall is usually hardware or software based, and primarily functions as a packet filter and stateful inspection device. It observes traffic based on the source/ destination IP addresses, ports and protocols and enforces rules on them. This addresses OSI layers 3 and 4 but provides little information with regard to what is actually being done by applications or users.
Nonetheless, the use of traditional firewalls has serious limitations. They are not designed to inspect traffic at the application layer, detect malware files, prevent phishing or filter content. To counter such threats, organizations will generally require deploying and maintaining a number of other security tools, each with its own complexity and costs to undertake.
What Is a UTM Firewall?
A Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewall is a comprehensive security appliance that integrates additional security capabilities on a single platform. These capabilities usually involve traditional firewall, Intrusion prevention system (IPS), Antivirus and anti-malware, Web filtering and URL blocking, Email filtering, anti-spam, Virtual private network (VPN) support, Application control and Data loss prevention (DLP).
A UTM is designed to make security management much easier and support extensive security protection against various threats inclusively, without needing numerous systems.
Why Are UTM Firewalls a Better Choice for Today’s Businesses?
Comprehensive Protection
UTM offers multi-layered security covering many different threats. Instead of focusing on traffic filtering alone, a UTM scans files to remove malware before it can infect your system, blocks sites that are harmful to you or your business, prevents the efforts of intruders and also filters out phishing emails, all at the gateway. This provides protection against the most abundant attack vectors.
Simplified Management
By using a UTM, all flexible and scalable security tools can be controlled through one dashboard. This eliminates administrative loads, makes implementing policies an easier task, and makes it easier to act promptly on incidents. Top firewalls usually involve IT teams in integrating several tools and interfaces, which makes them predisposed to mistakes and reporting.
Faster Deployment
UTM solutions usually feature a plug-and-play solution with preconfigured templates for common uses. This enables small IT teams to establish strong security in short periods of time. Conversely, Traditional firewall deployments are usually complicated with multiple sets of rules, and dependency on other systems to provide end to end coverage.
Better for SMBs and Branch Offices
A UTM provides a cost effective and manageable solution to enterprise-scale security in business and branch offices that are too small to employ in-house security administration teams. It saves on the requirement of the provision of special security personnel and protracted third-party tools.
Cost Savings Over Time
Although using a traditional firewall appears less costly initially, the expense of buying, installing, and updating different solutions such as antivirus, IPS, VPN, and web filtering software can accumulate rapidly. A UTM brings together all these functions on one license and appliance and decreases the total cost of ownership.
Some popular UTM Firewalls available in the market are Sophos Firewall (XGS Series), Fortinet FortiGate, and SonicWALL. Businesses usually buy them from either the official distributor or Authorized resellers who offer customized solutions.
UTM Firewalls vs Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW)
Among businesses, there is frequent confusion between UTMs and next-generation firewalls. While both extend beyond traditional firewalls, their focus varies:
UTM firewalls: Focused on ease of use and combine many security capabilities in a single device, which are appropriate for small to medium sized businesses.
NGFWs: Centered around more advanced traffic inspection and granular control, which are typically deployed in larger enterprise settings.
The line between NGFW and UTM solutions is blurred further today as NGFW capabilities are being integrated into many UTM solutions with deep packet inspection, application awareness, and threat intelligence integration.
Conclusion
In an environment where threats are becoming more sophisticated and resource limitations are always an active factor, the adoption of a UTM firewall is a good idea in the majority of modern businesses. It provides an extensive shield, ease of management, cost reduction, and protection to enable organizations to foresee changing threats.
Although there are still certain cases where a traditional firewall may be preferred, modern UTM appliances work as a completely integrated and convenient-to-manage function that makes them a more intelligent and future-proof option in most organizations.
