Choosing a firewall is not about buying a box — it is about picking a platform that will protect your business for years. The market offers strong options, from Onyx Firewall to Fortinet, Palo Alto, Checkpoint and Huawei, and they are all good. The question is not which one is "the best" — it is which one is right for your company. ONYX supplies, installs and configures all of these, so this guide is built to help you choose the right decision, not a specific model.
Define the need before the device
The right firewall choice starts with a few simple questions, not with the numbers on a datasheet. Clarify the factors below and the rest gets much easier:
Company size and number of users
A five-person office and an enterprise with hundreds of users do not have the same needs. Size is the starting point for both performance and management model.
Number of sites and branches
A single office, or dozens of branches? Across multiple sites, central management and site-to-site VPN capability become decisive.
High availability (HA) requirement
If a firewall outage stops the business, clustering and failover are not optional — and that requirement narrows the field considerably.
In-house IT or managed service
Do you have your own network engineer, or will you hand configuration and monitoring to a partner? This shapes the choice between cloud-managed and on-premises management.
Budget posture
Weigh the upfront investment, licence renewals and long-term support together — a cheap box can turn into expensive management.
The options — and who each one is for
Here are the main options ONYX supplies in real projects, and where each typically fits. This positioning is qualitative — about fit, not technical sizing.
Onyx Firewall — small office and branch
ONYX's own hardware product, built for small offices and branches: cloud-managed, easy to deploy, and no dedicated specialist needed on site. A sensible starting point for a business that wants reliable protection without an in-house IT team.
Fortinet FortiGate — SMB to enterprise
A flexible choice that covers a broad range from small-to-mid business up to large enterprise. For a non-bank credit organization in Baku, ONYX deployed FortiGate and handled the migration away from a legacy Cisco ASA — a strong option when you want a platform that can grow with you.
Palo Alto — enterprise
A well-known next-gen platform for large enterprise environments. ONYX supplies Palo Alto as well; it is worth evaluating for organizations with broad security requirements and a mature IT team.
Checkpoint — enterprise
A long-trusted enterprise platform for organizations with strict security standards. ONYX delivered a Checkpoint firewall project for Aselsan Azerbaijan.
Huawei — large networks and HA
For large networks and environments that demand resilience. ONYX deployed Huawei firewalls in an HA/clustering configuration for the Cüdo Federation — a fit where uninterrupted operation is critical.
How to decide
In practice, the choice usually takes shape like this:
- Single small office, no in-house IT, simplicity first — start with Onyx Firewall.
- A growing business with a few branches that needs room to scale — Fortinet FortiGate covers the broad range.
- Large enterprise with a mature security team — evaluate Palo Alto or Checkpoint.
- Large network where uninterrupted operation and HA are mandatory — Huawei clustering fits.
No table replaces your real environment. The right path is to review your network, your sites and your risk profile together, then decide. ONYX supplies and configures all of these vendors (our partners) and takes on the full cycle — from supply through installation, configuration and ongoing support.
Need help choosing?
Let's identify the firewall that fits your company's size and needs together — neutral advice, real supply and installation. Get in touch or take a look at Onyx Firewall.