The company coined the term “next generation firewall” (NGFW) to describe its products, which among other things, lets companies tightly control access to Internet applications for specific users. An employee could connect with Facebook, for example, but not play games.
Essentially, NGFW converges multiple security functions such as firewall, intrusion prevention systems and secure Web gateways on a single platform, Lazard Capital Markets said in a note earlier this week.
“Overall, customers get for the first time, a view of the applications and data entering and leaving their networks, such as attachments and zip files,” Lazard said.
Palo Alto Networks grew in direct proportion to social networking sites like Facebook, web-based tools like Google Inc’s Gmail and the use of Skype for communications.