A “ Managed Firewall ” is the service around the firewall that ensures:
01. There are clear, well-maintained firewall rules that are modified when required
02. Policies, patches, and updates are managed and applied at the optimal time
03. Proactive monitoring is in place with regular feedback, reports, and analysis into network traffic patterns and potential threats
Firewalls, especially advanced models like feature-rich Next Generation Firewalls, are complicated pieces of business technology. They require a very specific skill set to install, maintain, and administer. Firewalls have multiple updates and files for threat protection. A managed firewall service is a proactive approach to having these updates applied, including manual firmware updates and monitoring to remain current.
With a managed firewall, on the reactive side, organizations get much faster intrusion protection which requires a specialist to monitor and potentially respond to activity from the firewall. Whereas with an unmanaged firewall, businesses wouldn’t necessarily have the same level of monitoring, reporting, or a resource available to address concerns as they happen.