Cloud NGFW for Azure Now Generally Available

We reached a big milestone for our customers with applications in the Azure public cloud. Two months ago, we launched the public preview version of Cloud NGFW for Azure, a managed next-generation firewall (NGFW) running as an Azure-native ISV service. This service is designed to streamline and simplify operations while strengthening security for customers running on Microsoft Azure.

Today, we’re excited to announce that this Azure-native ISV service from Palo Alto Networks is now generally available (GA), and expanding into seven more Azure regions to safeguard applications and workloads around the globe. As a generally available service, customers can now depend on Cloud NGFW for Azure to provide best-in-class security, backed by an uptime service-level agreement (SLA) of 99.99%.

Expanded Number of Regions Opens Up More Opportunities to Secure

Cloud NGFW for Azure is now available in 12 regions:

East US, East US 2, Central US, West US, West US 3, Canada Central, West Europe, UK West, UK South, East Asia, Australia East and Australia Southeast.

We will be adding more regions soon.

Customers securing their applications with Cloud NGFW for Azure will benefit from the ease of use of an Azure-native ISV managed service, the ability to extend security from on-prem to Azure with Panorama, and, of course, Palo Alto Networks best-in-class security powered by AI and ML.

Leverage the Ease of Use of an Azure-Native ISV Managed Service

Agility matters. As an Azure-Native ISV managed service, Cloud NGFW for Azure is easy to procure, deploy, operate and automate. It can be accessed directly from the Azure portal so it can be deployed in minutes, and operated just like any other Azure-native service. Palo Alto Networks manages scaling, resilience and software upgrades.

Easily Extend Security from On Prem to Azure with Panorama

Cloud NGFW for Azure is integrated with Panorama to dramatically simplify network security management. With Panorama, customers can centrally manage all of their next-generation firewalls across all environments (private, hybrid and cloud) and all form factors (hardware, software and managed service). Customers benefit from unified visibility into network traffic, threat activity and blocked activity. It is easy to apply consistent policies and employ Palo Alto Networks' best-in-class security capabilities for all apps, whether they are running on-premise or in the cloud.

Tap into Palo Alto Networks Best-in-Class Security Powered by AI and ML

Cloud NGFW for Azure incorporates Palo Alto Networks best-in-class PAN-OS and Cloud-Delivered Security Services to prevent the most sophisticated threats. Our capabilities make it easy to adopt Zero Trust across the network security stack with integrated, cloud-based security that allows customers to perfectly balance security and performance. These are capabilities that Palo Alto Networks developed and honed over many years of R&D that customers now receive as a part of an Azure-native ISV managed service.

For example, our App-ID capability uses patented Layer 7 traffic classification technology to control traffic, allowing only sanctioned applications to traverse the network, which immensely reduces the attack surface area. Then there’s Advanced Threat Protection, which prevents unknown exploits, malware, spyware and command and control (C2) while utilizing inline deep learning to halt zero-day attacks in real time.

Additionally, you can counter malicious URLs with Palo Alto Networks Advanced URL Filtering: detect and prevent file-based threats with WildFire, and prevent the most advanced DNS-layer attacks with DNS Security. What’s more, integration with Azure Key Vault enables Cloud NGFW for Azure to detect and stop threats across traffic, including encrypted traffic.

We are proud to partner with Microsoft to help make Azure a secure space to innovate. To get started, simply create an account at the Azure Marketplace to begin your free 30-day trial.