Implementation of a next generation firewall (NGFW) can be a complex process, with multiple factors affecting the overall cost of deployment, maintenance, and upkeep. These should be considered over the course of the useful life of the NGFW, including:

• Acquisition costs for NGFW devices and central management system
• Fees paid to the vendor for annual maintenance, support, and signature updates
• Labor costs for installation, maintenance, and upkeep

No two network security products deliver the same security effectiveness or throughput, making “apples-to-apples” comparisons extremely difficult. In order to capture the relative value of devices on the market and facilitate such comparisons, NSS Labs has developed a unique metric to enable value-based comparisons: TCO per protected Mbps. NSS defines this metric as: Total Cost / (security effectiveness * throughput). By using total cost of ownership (TCO) instead of purchase price, it is possible to factor in management of the device via labor costs associated with product installation, maintenance, upkeep, and tuning.