PRO+ Premium Content/Network Evolution

Some tech buzzwords just won't go away. Despite their forward-looking moniker, next-generation firewalls have been around for at least a decade, debuting with revolutionary capabilities like stateful packet filtering, user identity aware controls, intrusion detection/prevention and application visibility/control. Integrating all those features into one product was important, but the application control was a major step forward because, for the first time, these types of firewalls could detect and block Web application traffic traversing through an enterprise network. Those early next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) were built for a different era. Eight to 10 years ago, companies still relied largely on building a perimeter around the network to block malware. Chris Rodriguez, a senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan who covers the NGFW market, contends that isn't a comprehensive strategy anymore. "A firewall is just one of many sensors companies can put out there today," he says. "A firewall is not an end-all and be-all. It ...