AuthPoint - easy to use, easier to manage
Updated April 29, 2022
AuthPoint - easy to use, easier to manage
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Overall Satisfaction with WatchGuard AuthPoint
We use WatchGuard AuthPoint for users to access company network resources through mobile VPN or through the WatchGuard Authentication Portal. Security and user management are both very important issues that WatchGuard AuthPoint handles for us easily by integrating seamlessly with the current infrastructure.
Pros
- Set and forget. Once initial setup is done, there's little to nothing that needs fixing or maintaining.
- Onboarding and offboarding users is quick.
- Easy to monitor and troubleshoot but I very rarely ever have to.
Cons
- User interface could use some work. While I've gotten used to it, none of my support techs know how to navigate the site and even I stumble around until I get to the control I need.
- *Every* single end-user when they initially set up the app, complains about the app "constantly downloading". I now preemptively tell users that it's not downloading anything and that is the timer for the 6 digit code. Change the interface so it doesn't look like a progress bar.
- Cyber security insurance in today's landscape is a necessary expense. Anything you can do to reduce your exposure is a positive ROI.
Enabling MFA for Microsoft 365 online services is easy and straightforward however integrating it into an on-premise Active Directory to use for mobile VPN was quite the challenge compared to the reverse of setting up AuthPoint for both AD integration and M365 online services.
Being a cloud based service allows us to easily manage users remotely and securely as it requires the same MFA to connect to the management system. The only requirement is a gateway service that can be installed on any server (or client workstation even). Setup is straightforward and management is a breeze.
Once users are properly informed that the app is not constantly downloading something and the "progress bar" is actually not a progress bar but a timer for the 6 digit code, users have no complaints with using the app. Many users also enjoy the ease of use with being able to accept the prompt directly from the lock screen.
Multi factor authentication is definitely the best solution against identity theft. Having a single solution to manage for multiple services is a huge boon for the users. Having multiple passwords, expiring passwords, and even password managers is a thing of the past when you can integrate MFA into all your systems and have it all managed with one solution.
Do you think WatchGuard AuthPoint delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with WatchGuard AuthPoint's feature set?
Yes
Did WatchGuard AuthPoint live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of WatchGuard AuthPoint go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy WatchGuard AuthPoint again?
Yes
Using WatchGuard AuthPoint
205 - All users, no matter their department or role, requires AuthPoint to be authenticated to the organization's resources. We mainly use AuthPoint for our mobile VPN authentication and Microsoft 365 Multi-Factor Authentication.
20 - Most of our IT staff is trained to support AuthPoint. Management of AuthPoint is not overly complicated and training is very fast. Most of our staff can be up to speed with general end-user support within a few minutes.
- MFA that is quick and easy to setup
- Can be integrated with several 3rd party services
- Supports single sign-on
- Creating different tenants within our main organization so we can segregate different services required
- Adding as many services in our organization usage that AuthPoint supports
Evaluating WatchGuard AuthPoint and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
The initial purchase of AuthPoint was for having a multi-factor authentication system for our mobile VPN clients. Since we already used WatchGuard firewalls in our network, AuthPoint was our first and only choice for implementing MFA. Though we could have used other solutions, the ease of setup and integration with our current systems made us ignore the rest.
We would have to change our entire infrastructure if we would change our evaluation and selection process. Because we used WatchGuard firewalls that were already integrated with our Active Directory, using AuthPoint for mobile VPN was an automatic decision. Knowing what we know now about AuthPoint and how it integrates with other services, we would likely have chosen it even sooner.
WatchGuard AuthPoint Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled - A very large portion of users were able to set up the mobile app by themselves. For different tenants we had support staff ready to help users with their setup. Very few issues were had with the implementation and I would almost say that change management was not even required. For our support staff, it was pretty much normal affairs.
- Users complaining about the app "constantly downloading" when it was really just a timer for the 6-digit code that changes every minute.
- Users saying "No" when the app asks to enable push notifications.
WatchGuard AuthPoint Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success | None |
That I am aware of, WatchGuard does not have a premium support option. I have never had any issues with support. Initial response can be a hit or miss, sometimes they respond very quickly and other times it takes several hours. I have never had an issue go unresolved though.
I've used WatchGuard support for several issues we've had with their other product offerings, however the support requests for AuthPoint are quite few and far between. The only (not really) exceptional support I can recall would be when I had a small tenant setup for 3 users. AuthPoint was working fine for 2 users but not the 3rd. Going through the logs I could see the error but could not figure out why or where the error was coming from. Speaking with support, they explained that it was the user that had disabled notifcations on their mobile device.
Using WatchGuard AuthPoint
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using | None |
- Initial setup
- Integration with Active Directory
- Onboarding and offboarding of users
- Having end users setup the AuthPoint app by themselves
Yes - The AuthPoint mobile app is small and simple to use. The app technically never needs to be "used" as the authentication can
be approved from the lock screen if set to push notification. However I frequently get complaints from end users
that the AuthPoint app is "constantly downloading". In fact, it's not
downloading anything and that what the users are seeing in the app is a
timer for the 6-digit code that changes every minute.The UI for the timer should definitely be fixed so people aren't so easily confused.
be approved from the lock screen if set to push notification. However I frequently get complaints from end users
that the AuthPoint app is "constantly downloading". In fact, it's not
downloading anything and that what the users are seeing in the app is a
timer for the 6-digit code that changes every minute.The UI for the timer should definitely be fixed so people aren't so easily confused.
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