Palo Alto Networks unveils Cloud Next-Generation Firewall for Microsoft Azure

Palo Alto Networks is bringing its industry-leadingML-Powered Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) to Microsoft Azure as a fully managed Azure-native ISV service. Cloud NGFW for Azure offers a comprehensive security solution with industry-leading capabilities such as Advanced Threat Prevention, Advanced URL Filtering, WildFire and DNS Security. Powered by AI and ML, it can stop known, unknown and zero-day threats, enabling customers to safely and more quickly migrate their applications to Azure. 

As an Azure-native ISV Service by Palo Alto Networks, Cloud NGFW for Azure is fast andpainless to procure and deploy from the Azure portal. Additionally, the service is fully managedby Palo Alto Networks, so customers don’t need to worry about scaling, resilience and software updates. Cloud NGFW for Azure also integrates with Azure Virtual WAN deployments, enabling customers to protect traffic across their entire network. 

“Enterprises are keen to move to the cloud quickly without compromising their on-prem security standards,” said Anand Oswal, senior vice president of Network Security at Palo Alto Networks. “With Cloud NGFW for Azure, an ML-powered NGFW delivered as an Azure-native ISV service, organizations can confidently migrate to the cloud and run applications at cloud speed and scale 

while maintaining robust security. This solution provides enterprises with the agility they need to compete in today’s fast-paced business environment, while ensuring that their cloud applications are secure and protected by industry-leading technology.“ 

“At Microsoft, we are dedicated to ensuring that Microsoft Azure is the most trusted and secure cloud platform. With the preview release of the Palo Alto Networks Cloud NGFW (Next-Generation Firewall) for Azure, we are pleased to expand our ecosystem of native ISV solutions and provide customers and developers with more options to meet their security needs. This collaboration between Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft combines the scalability and reliability of Azure with Palo Alto Networks expertise to help safeguard our customers against the latest threats,” said Julia Liuson, president, Microsoft Developer Division at Microsoft.

With Cloud NGFW for Azure, customers benefit from: 

Palo Alto Networks Best-in-Class Security: Unparalleled security features thanks to its industry-leading machine learning (ML) powered NGFW. Cloud NGFW for Azure uses AI and ML to detect and stop known, unknown and zero-day threats, enabling customers to stay a step ahead of sophisticated adversaries. This advanced technology has allowed Palo Alto Networks to block nearly 5 billion events each day, demonstrating the effectiveness of this solution in providing robust security to customers. 

Ease of Use: Cloud NGFW for Azure is designed to be incredibly easy to use, thanks to its Azure-native ISV Service architecture. This enables customers to procure and deploy the solution directly from the Azure portal in just a few minutes, providing instant protections against cyberthreats. The solution is also painless to operate as Palo Alto Networks takes care of scaling, resilience and software updates. Furthermore, Cloud NGFW for Azure integrates seamlessly with Azure Virtual WAN deployments, enabling customers to protect traffic across their entire network. This integration provides customers with the agility and flexibility they need to manage their cloud security while focusing on their core business objectives. 

Consistent Security and Management from On-Prem to Cloud: The integration of Panorama with Cloud NGFW for Azure offers a host of benefits to customers. Firstly, it enables seamless security policy extension from on-premises to Azure, simplifying operations and reducing administrative workload and total cost of ownership. More importantly, this integration enforces the same high standards of security in the cloud, ensuring that customers’ cloud environments are secure and protected against cyberthreats. Additionally, the integration provides centralized visibility, providing valuable insights into the threats on their network from on-premises environments to any cloud. This enables customers to manage their security policies through their existing Panorama console, streamlining management and allowing their cloud teams to focus on application migration and new application development. 

“We’ve set up network security for hundreds of customers over the years and deploying and managing in the cloud can be a complex process. Palo Alto Networks Cloud NGFW for Azure takes away that complexity,” said Rob Maas, lead architect, ON2IT. “The simplicity of the deployment process and management gives our managed SOC the ability to focus on security for our customers instead of the infrastructure. All while maintaining Palo Alto Networks world-class security.” 

“We continue to see enterprises rapidly moving their applications to the cloud, with many choosing Microsoft Azure as their primary cloud provider. We also see organizations making good use of their existing in-house network security expertise, maintaining consistency between security policies for cloud and on-premises, and optimizing management activities. Palo Alto Networks’ release of Cloud NGFW for Azure touches on all of these points by offering a cloud-native managed version of their well-known firewalling capabilities, with the benefit of integration into the Panorama management framework,” said Fernando Montenegro, senior principal analyst at Omdia.