The Simple Solution for Network Management

Clearwater Underwriters

Industry: Insurance

Network Size: 57 devices consisting of servers, desktops, laptops and mobile devices.

We couldn’t be happier with the pricing, flexibility, ease of use and overall results.
– Wade Neller, VP of Information Technology

Background

Clearwater Underwriters is an Excess & Surplus Lines MGA located in Clearwater, Florida. They provide Property and Casualty insurance, primarily focused on Lloyds of London products.

Wade Neller is the primary IT resource at Clearwater Underwriters, performing duties of Network and System Administration, Web Development, user support, as well as a variety of other roles.

Untangle Replaces Ineffective, Difficult to Use Incumbents

Clearwater Underwriters had previously used a Watchguard appliance and multiple third-party solutions to monitor and manage Internet usage. Wade was consistently frustrated with the cumbersome process to implement and modify Watchguard’s different functionalities and the overall poor user experience. Additionally, the third-party tools he used to supplement Watchguard created high operational overhead since they required multiple logins and switching back-and-forth between them to make sure everything worked well together. Not only that, these third-party solutions also used a large amount of network resources since they each had to run independently of one another. Wade knew there had to be a better solution available, so he began his search for a viable alternative.

Wade came across Untangle and downloaded the free version of NG Firewall to test in his network. He was surprised at how simple it was to set up. The more Wade used NG Firewall, the more he realized it could not only replace his Watchguard appliance, but also the other third-party solutions he was using such as Wireshark and Spectrasoft. NG Firewall’s Active Directory integration and user-based reporting were also a surprise discovery for Wade and quickly became some of his favorite features. After reviewing other potential replacements for Watchguard, Wade chose NG Firewall because of its unparalleled combination of a powerful feature set, affordable pricing, and user interface that made his tasks simple and automated.

Simple to Operate and Seamless to Upgrade

For Wade, NG Firewall has simplified managing the network with a full set of features and functionality all under a single pane of glass. “With Untangle, I have a better handle on my network and can efficiently filter and lock down Internet usage” said Wade. “I’m able to better manage the flow of data by user, as well as identify and resolve any network issue without having to rely on third-party tools. This has made dealing with viruses and Trojans simpler, monitoring bandwidth and event logs straightforward, and controlling what online content users can access on their devices effective.” Since NG Firewall can run on any x86 based system with two Ethernet ports, Wade was also able to create an effective, affordable solution for disaster recovery.

Like other users before him, when the time came, upgrading from v9.4 was seamless. Untangle focuses on removing complexity from the entire user experience, which translates to simplifying traditionally confusing tasks such as a system reinstall. “Upgrading from 9.4 was easy,” said Wade. “All I had to do was hit the export button to get all of my settings. With the new version mostly maintaining the same UI, moving everything over was as straightforward as it could get. The transition was seamless and the process of transferring the subscription couldn’t have been easier.”