Introduction

Every organization must ensure that they have an appropriate measure to protect their network from external threats. Firewalls help in preventing unauthorized access to a network by filtering incoming and outgoing traffic via the internet and other network connections. Making the decision to rent or buy a firewall will have far-reaching implications on your budget, flexibility in operations, and the scalability of your systems. In this post, we will analyze the question of renting versus buying firewalls and provide you with the adequate and necessary information to make the most informed decision.

Initial Investment

Renting

Pros

• Lower Initial Costs: Businesses that rent a firewall reduce the upfront cost that would have been paid if the equipment was to be purchased. Startup and small businesses can benefit from this rental since they have little capital or no capital to pay the equipment fee.
• Predictable Expenses: costs involved when renting a firewall are mainly fixed for different periods depending on the agreement term.

Cons

• Cumulative Cost: The total cost of renting the equipment would be higher than the purchase price. Time is taken to spend the whole amount leasing the equipment, the rental equipment price may exceed the equipment’s buying cost.

Buying

Pros

• Single Investment: purchasing a firewall equipment enables the companies to pay once and use the equipment for a considerable period of time. The facilitation of equipment price allows businesses to get equipment that they would not be able to acquire quickly.
• Ownership Benefits: the Firewall equipment is a one time payment that within ownership, an owner can use the facility in any way he/ she wishes.

Cons

• High Upfront Costs: The cost to purchase a firewall upfront is very significant and not all organizations may have the financial resources in place.
• Depreciation – Firewalls will always suffer depreciation, as all technology does (though that can be minimal in some cases based on various factors).

Total Cost of Ownership

Renting

Pros

• All-Inclusive Pricing: Most leases come with install, ongoing maintenance and sometimes even replacement of the hardware so as to limit extra fees over time.
• Managed Service: In some cases, the provider will monitor and manage with this service which can take pressure off internal resources.

Cons

• No Equity – Renting has zero value in terms of ownership EPS result (potential IYW total cost over time).

Buying

Pros

• Limited Ongoing Costs: After the initial cost of a firewall has been paid, there are usually few costs outside regular maintenance and updates.
• Asset Depreciation: If you buy equipment, it can be listed as an asset for company and depreciate over the years which will give a lot of tax benefits.

Cons

• Maintenance Costs: Routine maintenance, upgrades or repairs are the responsibility of the owner and can add to overall cost of ownership.
• Obsolescence Risks: Fast-developing technology can render your expensive firewall dated very quickly.

Upgrade and Maintenance

Renting

Pros

• Effortless Upgrades: Rental agreements typically provide upgrades whenever new technology becomes available, meaning you are always fully protected.
• Minimal Downtime: Since maintenance and upgrades are taken care of by the rental provider, there is little to no downtime experienced which in-turn ensures maximum productivity.

Cons

• Depend on Provider: If a provider is subject to slow service levels, this could be problematic for dependent businesses awaiting an upgrade or maintenance.

Buying

Pros

• Full Control: Branded Firewall – owning your own firewall means that you are responsible for ensuring the servicing and maintenance appropriate to any other technical device which is designed entirely by his hand.
• Customized Maintenance – You are able to plan and implement maintenance strategies that will work best for your operational requirements.

Cons

• Responsibility: Full control entails full responsibility. Related: If an update or maintenance to the firewall is delayed, or if it fails all together – That’s also on you.
• Cost of Expertise: Trying to keep in-house expertise knowledgeable about the latest or specific firewall technology is going to be expensive that too involves loads of time.

Flexibility and Scalability

Renting

Pros

• High Flexibility: Renting is scalable. It is easy to upgrade or downgrade the firewall solution if your need changes.
• Flexibility: They provide businesses with an empty space, but they have fewer limbs to put into work in terms of contracts as rentals are flexible.

Cons

• Substandard From Pre-Existing Obligations: Some rental contracts will impose restrictions on the freedom that you are in supply, so use caution with any arrangement.

Buying

Pros

• Static Control: Having your own firewall gives you a consistent, non-changing network that is ideal for some corporate set-ups.
• Customization: You can customize your firewall settings with high precision as the ownership has given you full control.

Cons

• Less Scalability: It can become harder for you to scale up or down the associated cost is tremendously high as in this case, you have to add resources.

Conclusion

The decision to rent or buy firewalls is generally reliant upon the particular requirements and budget constraints of your organization. As firewall rental has significantly lower CapEx and predictable OpEx, no upgrades to manage yearly subscriptions costs including licensing fees with enough flexibility it make sense for many businesses, who do not have money to invest into bigger firewalls or does not want wanna be stuck in three years of old technology. Hence after a longer time of using renting becomes more expensive.

Purchasing firewalls, on the other hand can offer potential enough cost savings over time to pay for them completely and then some – as well as complete control of an asset that doesn’t depreciate in value until it becomes obsolete. concept has its downside because buying a firewall comes with additional expenses up front such a initial cash out right payment and all you get are yearly maintenance costs associated with keeping your gear secure. In the end, good open source or closed-source software decision will depend on your company’s goals and strategies, available budgeting capacity and implementation demands.
With the rapid pace of change in cybersecurity, it seems that the flexibility and managed services model used by firewall rentals could be a sensible answer for many businesses today versus having to spend massive amounts on purchasing and managing your own firewalls.