Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a digital twin platform that models your entire network infrastructure to prevent outages, verify security policies, and automate complex change management tasks effectively.
Portnox Cloud
Portnox Cloud is a cloud-native network access control solution providing automated device discovery, authentication, and policy enforcement to secure your corporate network and distributed workforce.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Forward Networks | Portnox Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Website | forwardnetworks.com | portnox.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Subscription |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | $??/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2013 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, USA | Austin, USA |
Overview
Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a mathematical model of your entire network, creating a functional digital twin that spans on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. You can visualize every possible traffic path and verify that your network is behaving exactly as intended. By analyzing your network's state against your specific business policies, the platform identifies misconfigurations and security gaps before they cause outages or breaches.
You can use the platform to perform 'what-if' analysis, allowing you to test changes in the digital twin before deploying them to production. This proactive approach eliminates manual troubleshooting and reduces the risk of human error. Whether you are managing complex data centers or sprawling multi-cloud deployments, you gain a single source of truth that simplifies audits and accelerates digital transformation initiatives.
Portnox Cloud
Portnox Cloud helps you secure your entire network infrastructure without the headache of managing on-site hardware or complex appliances. You can gain full visibility into every device connecting to your network, whether they are managed corporate laptops, personal mobile devices, or unmanaged IoT hardware. By moving network access control to the cloud, you eliminate the need for local servers and simplify the way you manage authentication across multiple locations.
You can enforce strict security policies and automate responses to non-compliant devices in real-time. The platform integrates directly with your existing cloud identity providers like Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace to streamline user onboarding. Whether your team is working from a central office or a home coffee shop, you can ensure only authorized users and healthy devices access your sensitive digital assets.
Overview
Forward Networks Features
- Network Digital Twin Create a vendor-agnostic mathematical model of your entire network to visualize paths across all devices and cloud instances.
- Path Analysis Search for any traffic path between two points to see exactly how packets are handled by every hop.
- Intent Verification Define your network policies and receive instant alerts if a configuration change violates your security or connectivity rules.
- Change Modeling Predict the impact of planned changes by testing them against the digital twin before touching your production environment.
- Security Posture Blast Visualize the potential reach of a compromised host to identify and close security holes in your segmentation strategy.
- Automated Documentation Generate up-to-date network diagrams and configuration state reports automatically for simplified compliance audits and troubleshooting.
Portnox Cloud Features
- Cloud-Native RADIUS. Authenticate users and devices instantly using a globally distributed RADIUS service that requires zero on-premises hardware setup.
- Endpoint Risk Assessment. Check the health and compliance of every device before granting access to ensure they meet your security standards.
- IoT Device Fingerprinting. Identify and profile headless IoT devices automatically so you can apply specific access policies based on device type.
- Dynamic VLAN Assignment. Place users into the correct network segment automatically based on their identity, location, and current device risk level.
- Guest Access Management. Create secure, time-limited access for visitors and contractors without compromising your internal corporate network security.
- Automated Remediation. Isolate or block non-compliant devices automatically and provide users with clear instructions on how to fix security issues.
Pricing Comparison
Forward Networks Pricing
Portnox Cloud Pricing
- Cloud-native RADIUS (802.1X)
- MAC-based authentication
- Basic device visibility
- Integration with cloud directories
- Standard reporting and alerts
- Everything in Basic, plus:
- Endpoint risk monitoring
- IoT fingerprinting
- Dynamic VLAN assignment
- Automated policy enforcement
- Advanced threat response
Pros & Cons
Forward Networks
Pros
- Unmatched visibility into complex multi-vendor network environments
- Drastically reduces time spent on manual troubleshooting
- Simplifies complex compliance audits with automated verification
- Prevents costly outages by catching errors before deployment
Cons
- Initial data collection setup requires significant time
- High price point targets large enterprise budgets
- Requires consistent data snapshots for maximum accuracy
Portnox Cloud
Pros
- Fast deployment without needing on-site hardware
- Seamless integration with Microsoft Entra ID
- Excellent visibility into unmanaged IoT devices
- Intuitive management interface saves admin time
Cons
- Public pricing is not readily available
- Initial configuration requires solid networking knowledge
- Reporting customization could be more flexible