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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office Requirements for Advanced Firewalls to Protect Hybrid Cloud Branch Offices and Distributed Remote Workers

By John Grady, Principal Analyst

Enterprise Strategy Group

August 2025

W H I T E P A P E R

This White Paper from Enterprise Strategy Group was commissioned by Check Point

and is distributed under license from TechTarget, Inc.

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Assessing New Threats and Branch Office Challenges ................................................................................................ 3

Rethinking Branch Office Firewalls ................................................................................................................................ 5

Check Point Quantum Force .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8

© 2025 TechTarget, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

Executive Summary

As employees have returned to in-office work, it has become critical for organizations to reevaluate their branch

office firewalls. With hybrid work models now the norm, SaaS application usage pervasive, and the threat

landscape more fast moving and sophisticated than ever, firewall requirements have changed. Today’s branch

office firewalls must not only seamlessly plug into security service edge (SSE) architectures to provide consistency

for users regardless of where they work but also incorporate SD-WAN functionality to ensure application

performance, support operational efficiency and cost optimization, and protect against sophisticated, stealthy, and

encrypted threats.

To support these goals, security leaders should look for firewalls that provide centralized policy and firewall

management that help streamline and automate configuration and rule creation, high performance in a power-

efficient architecture, and strong security backed by a variety of detection methods and performant decryption.

Check Point’s Quantum Force Branch firewalls continue the vendor’s strong track record of firewall innovation and

combine advanced threat prevention, high performance for SaaS and collaboration applications, and unified

management for hybrid networks with a hardened architecture to reduce risk.

Assessing New Threats and Branch Office Challenges

For the last few years, much of the cybersecurity discussion has centered on securing remote work and application

access. While those issues remain important, they can overshadow an area of critical need—improving branch

office security. For many organizations, as employees return to the office whether in a hybrid or full-time capacity,

the drastic changes to network architectures and work habits, as well as the impact on security, can become

painfully clear. Recent research from Enterprise Strategy Group sought to identify the most impactful cybersecurity

challenges organizations face, many of which can be tied back to the branch office (see Figure 1).1 Some of the

most critical included:

• Changing branch architectures. While there are different branch office models necessitating different security approaches, there are similarities across most offices. First, the use of cloud and SaaS applications as well as IoT devices has fundamentally changed network traffic patterns. As a result, 23% of respondents noted that securing cloud application usage was a challenge, while 31% said securely connecting IoT devices in their environment was a challenge. When SaaS applications were the exception rather than the rule, many organizations routed traffic back through the data center for security inspection. The scale and performance demands of today’s SaaS applications make that approach inefficient, creating a need for direct internet connectivity. To address this, many organizations are shifting from expensive Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) connections to low-cost, high-speed internet access to support bandwidth-intensive and latency- sensitive SaaS applications. To secure direct public internet access in the branch, firewalls now need much higher threat prevention performance and network throughput. Equally important, security and networking teams now prefer firewalls with tightly integrated SD-WAN support. At the same time, connected IoT devices such as cameras, printers, televisions, and more continue to proliferate, requiring security teams to maintain visibility and control over the traffic to and from these devices.

• Consistency for users. Many organizations have retained a hybrid work model, meaning that while employees might be in the office more often, they do consistently work remotely. Most employees working from home are accustomed to a high-performance and lag-free user experience when accessing corporate resources over their home internet connections. Yet, when returning to the office where network speeds are far slower, employees can have a frustrating user experience that negatively impacts productivity. Relative to security, this creates a need for consistency, which was cited as a challenge by 28% of respondents. Branch

1 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, Security Services Edge (SSE) Leads the Way to SASE, November 2023.

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

offices deserve the same level of high security as their HQ, but with the delay in branch office upgrades, many offices are long overdue for stronger security.

• Reducing security complexity. One of the most common challenges cited was acquiring the right level of cybersecurity knowledge, skills, or personnel (31%). Security teams today are required to do more with less, making operational efficiency critical. Network security policy management has only become more complicated over the years, with complex policy structures and rules that can overlap or conflict. Manually reviewing and disabling old or unused rules can be time consuming and prone to errors. Additionally, compliance reporting can be burdensome and pull admins away from more impactful tasks.

• Evolving threats. Perhaps most importantly, the threat landscape itself continues to lead the long list of challenges security teams cited (noted by 33% of respondents). Attackers seek to take advantage of many of the changes discussed, attempting to exploit users directly accessing the internet and SaaS applications, or IoT devices, to gain a foothold in the environment. Even the devices typically responsible for branch connectivity and security can be targets for attackers. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), maintains a catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs), which includes those targeting branch devices such as routers, switches, VPNs, and the firewall itself. Further, Check Point Research has found that branch offices now face an average of 713 weekly attempts per location (a 36% increase from the same period last year). Additionally, 50% of branch offices encounter attempts to exploit vulnerabilities from external sources.2

Figure 1. Top Cybersecurity Challenges

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia

2 Source: Nikki Ralston, Quantum Force Firewalls Bring Lightning-Fast Cyber Security to the Branch Office, Checkpoint.com, May 2025.

21%

22%

23%

23%

26%

28%

28%

29%

31%

31%

33%

Efficiently maintaining compliance

Ineffective or inefficient security tools

Efficiently responding to security incidents and/or breaches

Securing cloud application usage

Providing third parties with secure access to our internal corporate applications

Consistently protecting sensitive data

Ensuring consistent security for users across remote and corporate locations

Securely enabling the use of unmanaged devices in our environment

Securely connecting IoT devices in our environment

Acquiring the right level of cybersecurity knowledge, skills, or personnel

An increase in the threat landscape

Which of the following cybersecurity challenges have been most impactful to your organization? (Percent of respondents, N=390,

multiple responses accepted)

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

All these factors become further highlighted when the impacts of successful attacks are taken into account.

Operationally, almost any successful attack will be disruptive. Compromised systems must be taken offline,

impacting access and slowing the business. When those systems are directly responsible for revenue generation,

the impact to revenue can be even greater and certainly

more direct. When customer data is involved, compliance

violations and lawsuits can result, creating additional

negative financial impacts. Ultimately, the cost of a data

breach will vary significantly based on the sensitivity of the

data compromised and scope of the attack. However,

research from Omdia found that 54% of organizations

reported at least one data breach costing over $500,000

(including losses and response) over the past 12 months.3 The significance of these impacts, coupled with the

increased potential for organizations to be compromised via the branch office, makes fortifying the security posture

of these locations critical.

Rethinking Branch Office Firewalls

When it comes to network security over the last few years, secure access service edge (SASE) and SSE have

received the lion’s share of attention. Typically, these approaches are cloud-centric, have been more focused on

users, and can overlook the fact that not all branch office models are the same. But many organizations have

begun to emphasize return-to-office initiatives that prioritize hybrid work, with previously remote users more

regularly working from branch office locations. At the same time, certain industries such as retail or financial

services have networks that must support a more transactional model rather than one where knowledge workers

connect to applications.

In both cases, perimeter security in the form of a firewall is still required to help scan, filter, and segment network

traffic. However, the form factor needed is different. In the first model, a cloud-based firewall-as-a-service

architecture might be sufficient for ensuring traffic destined for the internet and cloud applications is protected. For

highly transactional branches, a traditional appliance-based firewall is generally better suited to securely connect

back to the corporate data center or cloud infrastructure. Many organizations will have a mix of both types of

branches, which highlights the need for consistency across these firewalls, regardless of form factor.

Research from Enterprise Strategy Group identified some of the top attributes organizations deem important when

considering an SSE solutions, which can highlight important branch office firewall capabilities that should be

prioritized (see Figure 2).4 The most commonly cited aspect, selected by 27% of respondents, was hybrid options to

connect on-premises and cloud solutions. In other words, providing consistency across cloud-based network

security for remote or knowledge worker branch offices and on-premises firewalls for larger transactional branch

offices. Integration across network and security solutions was also important, cited by 22% of organizations. SD-

WAN, in particular, is a key element to optimize the use of different internet connections, maintain high performance

for bandwidth-intensive collaboration applications, and secure connectivity. Ease of use was also an important

aspect, with 22% of respondents citing the need for ease and speed of deployment, and 20% pointing to fully

unified management via a single console.

3 Source: Omdia Survey Results, Cybersecurity Decision Maker 2025 Survey, to be published. 4 Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, Security Services Edge (SSE) Leads the Way to SASE, November 2023.

54% of organizations reported at least one data breach costing over $500,000 (including losses and response) over the past 12 months.

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

Figure 2. Top SSE Attributes

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia

At a high level, security and IT teams are seeking to prioritize three key things from their network security

architecture, including at the branch: improving operational efficiency, realizing cost savings, and effectively

preventing threats (see Figure 3).5

• Operational efficiency. Security teams have a lot on their plate and are often understaffed or under skilled. Firewall configuration and policy implementation can be a tedious, time-consuming process. Maintaining hygiene when it comes to firewall rules, which can become outdated or conflicted over time, can be difficult for teams in this position. Consistent zero-trust security requires centralized policy and firewall management from the data center to branch offices. Beyond just management, compliance reporting and preparing for audits can be a complex and lengthy process if productivity tools aren’t integrated. Solutions that help simplify these processes by recommending policies, automating rule management, and streamlining compliance reporting will help boost operational efficiency and security team productivity.

• Cost optimization. In addition to staff and skills shortages, most organizations are cost sensitive and seek to control their spending wherever possible. Solution costs often get attention, but when it comes to on-premises firewalls, energy efficiency and scalability are important as well. Sacrificing performance, which introduces latency and can impact user experience, is not a viable option. However, firewalls that provide high performance in a power-efficient manner can be found and should be prioritized. Moreover, firewalls that provide scalability to expand capacity without having to “rip and replace” and offer flexibility to migrate from one form factor to another as needed over time provide long-term investment protection.

• Advanced threat prevention. No matter how much management is simplified or cost optimized, branch firewalls, first and foremost, must excel at threat prevention. Network security tools today must use multiple detection methods, including signatures, sandboxing, behavioral analysis, and AI/machine learning. These should be supported through a global threat intelligence network to quickly identify new and emerging threats, correlate threat telemetry across the world, and continuously update protections. While these capabilities can be augmented via the cloud, on-premises form factors need to be highly performant to decrypt and inspect HTTPS-encrypted web traffic and apply the different detections without introducing latency.

5 Enterprise Strategy Group Complete Survey Results, The Evolution of Network Security, September 2024.

20%

22%

22%

22%

25%

27%

Fully unified management via a single console

Ease/speed of deployment

Role-based access control to support multiple security/IT personas

Ability to integrate with existing network and security solutions

Support for all traffic and all edges in all directions

Hybrid options to connect on-premises and cloud solutions

What attributes will be important to your organization when considering an SSE solution? (Percent of respondents, N=390, multiple responses

accepted)

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

Figure 3. Expected Benefits From Network Security Solutions

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia

Check Point Quantum Force

Check Point secures over 100,000 organizations globally and offers comprehensive network security solutions for a

full range of requirements, including data centers, campuses, public and private clouds, branch offices, and remote

or mobile employees. With enterprises shifting from expensive MPLS connections to high-speed internet access to

support today’s high bandwidth and latency-sensitive SaaS apps, network security requirements have changed.

Branch firewalls now need much higher threat prevention performance and network throughput, along with SD-

WAN support. Check Point’s Quantum Force Branch office firewalls are available in both desktop and 1U rack

mount form factor, providing between 3.2 Gbps to 7 Gbps for full threat prevention throughput, and deliver:

• Advanced threat prevention. Check Point has invested in performance improvements to support high-speed decryption and inspection to detect stealthy threats. Compared to previous models, the current Quantum Force branch firewalls provide four times the performance. Further, Check Point threat intelligence, sandboxing, and behavioral analysis help detect advanced and unknown threats quickly and accurately. These capabilities are consistent across all firewall models, helping organizations ensure the same level of security across the headquarters, data center, and branch.

• High performance for SaaS and collaboration applications. Quantum Force branch firewalls provide native SD-WAN capabilities to help ensure optimal connections and maintain a strong user experience. They also offer sub-second failover and high availability between internet connections. Additionally, optimized routing for more than 10,000 applications helps support SaaS application performance with accelerated access to Zoom, Teams, Salesforce, and other key applications. Compared to previous models, the current Quantum Force branch firewalls provide a 10x improvement in network connection speeds, and greater than 3x improvement in power efficiency. Port capacity has also been increased to support growing branch needs over time.

• Unified management for hybrid networks. All Check Point firewalls, both on-premises and cloud-delivered, run on Quantum Firewall Software. This provides enterprise-wide consistency and unified security policies across enterprise, campus, branch, and cloud. This supports comprehensive policy execution across the entire

39%

44%

46%

46%

48%

56%

63%

Improved user satisfaction across stakeholders

Reduced network security operational costs

Reduced number of data breaches

Accelerated cloud migration

Reduced network security solution costs

Reduced number of security incidents

Improved operational efficiency

What are the benefits your organization would expect to see from the network security approach it takes when securing its hybrid

multi-cloud environment? (Percent of respondents, N=358, multiple responses accepted)

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White Paper: Guide to Securing the Modern Branch Office

infrastructure for zero-trust enforcement. Management deployment is flexible and available via the cloud or on premises to suit organizational preferences. Further, centralized visibility provides a consolidated view for administrators to monitor and manage distributed security infrastructure. Quantum Firewalls also provide operational efficiency via an AI-powered copilot, policy auditor, policy insights, compliance and event reporting, third-party system integration, and more. These tools accelerate security operations and help administrators identify policy conflicts and resolve complex issues quickly and accurately.

• Hardened architecture. Product quality and hardening are key value propositions for any network device, especially firewalls. The CISA catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities can help security teams view the vulnerabilities associated with specific vendors and products to inform purchasing decisions. Firewall vulnerabilities can create critical security gaps that require priority patching. Therefore, products with very low KEVs translate to much lower cyber-risk and operational costs.

Conclusion

Network security—specifically the firewall—remains a foundational component of cybersecurity. But as enterprise

environments have evolved, requirements have changed. The branch office is a clear example of this. While

protection remains non-negotiable, security teams must work to support the business as well. When it comes to

branch office firewalls, this means ensuring productivity both for users and security and IT team members

themselves. It’s easy to find network security solutions that show strong performance metrics and others that offer

high levels of efficacy. Identifying tools that offer both is more difficult but is something security leaders should

prioritize. Check Point’s Quantum Force Branch firewalls are one such example, combining advanced threat

prevention, high performance for SaaS and collaboration applications, integrated SD-WAN capabilities, and unified

management for hybrid networks, with a hardened architecture to reduce risk.

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About Enterprise Strategy Group

Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia, provides focused and actionable market intelligence, demand-side research, analyst advisory

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