Top 10 Network Security Policy Management Solutions
I have identified the top 10 NSPM solutions based on my & other users’ experiences and vendor features. Follow the links to see the reasoning behind these selections:
Feature comparison
Security executives typically search for the following features in a (network security policy management (NSPM) solution:
- Microsegmentation to divide a network into granular segments, and apply segment-based policy controls.
- Intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS) to monitor network traffic and block suspicious activity.
Market presence
*Based on the total number of reviews and average ratings on B2B review platforms.
Vendor selection:
- Number of reviews: 100+ reviews on B2B review platforms such as Gartner, G2, PeerSpot, and TrustRadius.
- Average rating: Above 4.0/5 on B2B review platforms.
Top 10 NSPM solutions deep-dive
Digital companies should utilize network security policy management solutions (NSPM) to govern, monitor, and enforce policies across their entire network. See a review-based analysis for leading solutions:
FireMon Policy Manager
FireMon is a real-time network security policy management (NSPM) system, designed for firewall and policy enforcement technologies across on-premises networks to the cloud.
FireMon offers integrations that enable users to expand and integrate policy management with technologies such as SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network), SASE (secure access service edge), XDR (extended detection and response), and SOAR (security orchestration, automation, and response).
Business impact: FireMon customers see up to a 40% improvement in rule complexity while reducing frequent malfunctions that lead to intrusions and compliance violations.1
Choose FireMon Policy Manager for proactive network security policy management
Visit WebsiteKey features
- Real-time visibility: Monitors network activity continuously to detect risks, policy violations, and unauthorized changes across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
- Automated compliance: Runs automatic checks against major regulatory standards and generates real-time compliance reports to simplify audits.
- Risk analysis: Assesses every network change for potential impact, helping teams identify and fix vulnerabilities before they become threats.
- Policy management automation: Reduces manual work by automating rule management and enforcement, ensuring consistent security policies across all devices.
- Scalability: Supports large, distributed networks and adapts to the growing needs of enterprises without reducing performance.
Tufin
Tufin serves 50+% of the Forbes Global 2000 by leveraging its network security policy management technologies.2
Choose Tufin for firewall policy management orchestration
Visit WebsiteKey features
- Automated security policy management: Manage network enforcement points on internal networks and in the cloud.
- Firewall management: Streamline rule assessment for firewalls.
- Network segmentation: Leverage granular zones with microsegmentation and zero trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities.
- Network audit: Maintain control over AI audit activities to ensure compliance.
- Vulnerability-based change automation: Use vulnerability-based change automation (VCA) to integrate with vulnerability scanners, and automatically test vulnerabilities.
- Network visibility: Tufin provides efficient visibility on configuration modifications in multi-vendor settings containing numerous firewalls.
- Setting firewall rules: Setting firewall rules based on traffic monitoring is straightforward and requires no specialized expertise to utilize firewall tools.
- Security auditing: Tufin’s security auditing feature enables users to examine and set rules over numerous gateways and firewalls.
Figure: Tufin’s products and services
Source: Tufin3
Read more: Network security audit tools, SDP software.
Microsoft System Center
Microsoft System Center is a collection of IT management applications that includes network monitoring, updating and patching, endpoint security with anti-malware, data protection, and backup.
The product is offered in two editions: standard and datacenter. The datacenter plan offers data virtualization for high-density private clouds, whereas the standard plan is designed for slightly or non-virtualized private cloud applications.
Key features
- ITIL framework modules: All ITIL framework modules (incident response, service request, problem management, release management, and change management) are effective and incur no additional costs.
- Ticket management via emails: The exchange mail connector feature works effectively by adding the “mails to tickets” and allows users to create and handle tickets from one email platform.
AlgoSec
AlgoSec is a network security policy management (NSPM) platform that helps organizations implement network security rules and facilitates application connectivity throughout their network (on-premises, cloud, or hybrid).
AlgoSec leverages security visibility by tracking the network, integrating firewall rules into company applications, and identifying compliance discrepancies.
Key features
- Granular visibility: Algosec’s granular visibility enables users to have a comprehensive view of security rules throughout the entire network.
- Firewall analyzer: AlgoSec’s firewall analyzer enables users to effectively examine the connectivity between two separate location devices (source and destination).
- Network security management: AlgoSec effectively enables users to integrate firewalls, datacenter switches, web proxy servers, and load balancers.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
SolarWinds’s Network Configuration Manager (NCM) allows users to inventory their network devices by utilizing network scanning and identification to collect current data on all network devices.
Key features
- Real-time fault detection: This feature is useful because it identifies changes made to a device’s configuration, making it easy to determine which settings were added or removed.
- Topology mapper: The “topology mapper” feature shows the connection of users’ network devices effectively (e.g. detects when a cable is unplugged).
- Scalability: The product is scalable; it can be leveraged on several projects with 1,000+ users.
Trend Micro TippingPoint
Trend Micro TippingPoint is a network security platform that provides threat and intrusion prevention (including advanced threats such as malware and phishing), against known and unknown vulnerabilities.
The TippingPoint detects and prevents network attacks by combining technologies such as deep packet inspection, threat reputation, URL reputation, and malware analysis.
Key feature
- Intrusion prevention system (IPS): Tipping Point’s network intrusion prevention system (IPS) can defeat the basic firewall effectively in multilayer security settings.
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
Panorama is a network security policy management platform that allows users to control firewalls across the perimeter, datacenter, and cloud.
With Panorama APIs users automate policy operations that respond to changes, such as server modifications, transfers, or removals. Panorama can be deployed as a logical or physical technology, or both.
CloudGuard Network Security
CloudGuard Cloud Network Security, an integral part of the CloudGuard Cloud Native Security platform, delivers threat prevention and automated cloud network security.
CloudGuard Cloud Network Security leverages these risk assessments through a virtual security gateway, with unified security administration across multi-cloud and on-premises environments in an organization.
Key features
- Network security features: The platform’s s features are powerful (e.g. identity awareness, URL filtering, intrusion detection system (IDS), content filtering, VPN, and application security controls). They protect against malware, ransomware, and DDoS attacks.
- Scalability: The software is flexible enough to scale from large centralized data centers to IoT/OT devices and local branches.
- Integrations: The software integrates effectively with the cloud we use (Azure) and performs satisfactorily in local branches.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a network security policy management platform that allows users to identify cyber-attacks by analyzing, controlling, and preventing current network data to maintain privacy and data integrity.
Key features
- Policy management: Evaluate the efficacy of policies, and implement the ones for the user’s environment to support policy violation procedures.
- Dynamic network security notifications: Detects attacks in real-time throughout the dynamic network using high-fidelity notifications filled with historical data such as user, device, location, date and time, and application information.
- Network security analytics: Use analytics to discover unknown malware and insider threats such as data exfiltration and policy breaches.
AWS Firewall Manager
AWS Firewall Manager is a security management tool that enables users to centrally set up and administer firewall rules across all accounts and apps in a network.
With AWS Firewall Manager users can delegate application-specific rules inside an account and may be alerted of potential risks to the company, allowing them to respond quickly to an attack.
Different types of network security policy management (NSPM) features
NSPM software offers various network security features:
- Intrusion detection and prevention
- Firewall management
- Zero trust access
- VPN
- Role-based-access control (RBAC)
For guidance on choosing the right tool or service for your project, check out our data-driven lists of software-defined perimeter (SDP) software and zero trust networking software.
Further reading
Reference Links
Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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